Bellevue Mayoral Race: Candidates Split on Tax Relief Strategy

Bellevue voters deciding the mayoral race will see two paths to lowering property taxes, one built on large visitor attractions and the other on steadier sales tax collections. The choice comes as property taxes ranked among the top concerns voiced by residents interviewed in Olde Towne.

Mayor Rusty Hike, the longtime incumbent, points to the city's water park and REACH project as the foundation for widening the tax base. Hotels and restaurants are following those developments, Hike said, and visitors from outside the city spend money locally. "When you're coming from out of state or outside the city, those people are leaving money here in your city, which allows you to start lowering your property taxes," Hike said.

Challenger Kevin Pflager said he would work to make those projects succeed if elected, including shaping development around the water park so it complements the attraction. "We have to do everything in our power to make sure it's a success," Pflager said. He argued Bellevue also needs steady sales tax growth rather than heavy reliance on individual projects. The water park, he said, is "a big, fancy idea and I think it will help," but "it is not going to be the sustainable, guaranteed, foolproof method to get these down."

Both candidates back improvements to Olde Towne, the city's downtown district. Hike called revitalization of the area a priority. Pflager said he would seek grants and loans to fund work there, describing a place where people gather on Friday nights with friends and family.

No official debate has been scheduled. Pflager raised the idea of a debate online. Hike said he would participate if an independent party organized it but not otherwise. "I'm certainly not afraid to debate anybody, but I want to make sure it's an unbiased debate and not some kind of hit job," Hike said. Pflager said he considered his request an official invitation, made in response to a Facebook post Hike wrote about him. An 18-year-old preparing to cast a first ballot said they wanted to learn more about the candidates and criticized the absence of a debate.

Questions about conflicts of interest have surfaced for both men. Some residents asked Hike whether his real estate business affects his decisions as mayor. He said it does not and that he recuses himself from votes on projects near his company's properties when necessary. "I do own some properties around town, but there's a lot of people who own some properties around town," Hike said.

Hike questioned Pflager's work as a city planner in neighboring Papillion, asking how he could represent Bellevue while planning for a competing city. Pflager said that view misreads a planner's role and that his job does not involve recruiting development to Papillion. Developers, he said, typically choose a site before approaching him. He said conflicts he could foresee as mayor would involve a land swap or boundary adjustment, adding that many such matters were settled years ago.

The race places an incumbent focused on continued development against a challenger arguing for a wider approach to building tax revenue. Bellevue voters will decide between Hike and Pflager.