Larry Schoen and Dale Ewersen painted stark contrasts Wednesday evening between themselves in their quests to represent Blaine County's District 1 County Commission seat.
Schoen, who currently represents the south county seat, and Ewersen debated the merits of their governing styles during a packed Pizza and Politics forum at the Old Blaine County Courthouse in Hailey.
The Idaho Mountain Express sponsored the event. Smoky Mountain Pizza provided the pizza.
Schoen's primary message was one of bringing leaders from the county and area municipalities together to solve funding challenges. That includes disagreement over how to fund consolidated emergency dispatch services.
Schoen predicted that an "equitable" solution will be found to the impasse, which began earlier this year when Hailey protested its assigned share of funding dispatcher salaries. County voters will consider an override to local property tax levy rates that would be used to fund the annual $835,000 cost of the dispatcher salaries.
Though he admitted the dispatch discussion is a "complex issue," Schoen said "we will get through this."
A proponent of smaller government ("I'm fiscally conservative to begin with"), Ewersen sought to convince voters that the county jumped the gun by unveiling a full-fledged consolidated dispatch service. In 2002, Blaine County residents voted "yes" to charge themselves $1 per month per phone line to enhance the county's emergency 911 system.
That vote ultimately led to consolidation of all emergency dispatch services in the county into one service in Hailey in December 2007. That led to the disagreement this year between the county and local cities over funding dispatcher salaries, as the $1 per phone line charge cannot be used for salaries.
Ewersen said the county should have started with a "Ford" rather than the more expensive and complicated "Lexus"-quality system. He said a less complicated dispatch system would have been more effective.
Schoen repeated a message he's voiced in recent days, that the county and local cities need to work together to make fire, police and ambulance services work more efficiently, most likely by consolidating.
Both men acknowledged that local governments face declining revenues and a need to cut their budgets.
Ewersen said his business background—as co-owner of the Splash and Dash convenience store in Bellevue—as well as his experience as Bellevue mayor and a City Council member in the 1980s give him the tools he needs during these times.
"When you run a business, you know how to make the bottom line work," he said.
Schoen, a farmer from the Bellevue Triangle, said the old mindset in Blaine County that said county revenues could fund any number of programs is changing. He said county department heads searched their budgets to find ways to cut back during fiscal 2009.
"If we need to turn programs back, that's what we'll do," he said.
Schoen and Ewersen disagreed over whether the County Commission should have placed a temporary, two-year property tax override on the November ballot to fund open-space preservation. A simple majority is required to approve the measure.
Though Schoen expressed reservations about the majority's imposing its will on a minority in this taxation issue, he agreed to let the voters decide because so many spoke in favor of the measure.
Ewersen said the county shouldn't be funding open-space preservation.
"It should have nothing to do with taxes," he said.
In 2006, Schoen beat Ewersen by 23 percent in the race to represent District 1.
Former Bellevue Mayor Dale Ewersen, a candidate for Blaine County’s District 1 County Commission seat, debates the issues with incumbent candidate Larry Schoen, seated to his left.
