Bellevue mayor race: Hike, Pflager address taxes, Olde Towne and development

BELLEVUE, Neb. — Bellevue voters will choose between longtime Mayor Rusty Hike and challenger Kevin Pflager, with property taxes, development and the future of Olde Towne among the issues shaping the race.

Both candidates say they want to provide property tax relief and continue improving Bellevue, but they differ on how the city should get there.

Property taxes were top of mind for voters I spoke with in Olde Towne.

Hike pointed to major development projects, including the water park and REACH project, as part of a strategy to attract more visitors and businesses to Bellevue and expand the city's tax base.

“Working on things like the water park, the REACH project, now we’re bringing in hotels with these items, restaurants,” Hike said. “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.”

Pflager said he would work to make those projects successful if elected, including making sure development surrounding the water park complements the attraction.

“We have to do everything in our power to make sure it’s a success,” Pflager said.

But Pflager argues Bellevue also needs consistent sales tax growth rather than relying heavily on large projects for tax relief.

“The water park is a big, fancy idea and I think it will help,” Pflager said. “It is not going to be the sustainable, guaranteed, foolproof method to get these down.”

Both candidates want improvements in Old Towne

Hike said revitalizing Old Towne remains a priority.

“Rebuilding that, getting Bellevue’s identity back, that is our downtown,” Hike said. “That’s a place to go.”

Pflager also supports improvements in the area and said he would look to grants and loans to help pay for them.

“It should be a place where people come on a Friday night to have fun with their friends, family,” Pflager said.

Candidates address why there hasn't been a debate

One 18-year-old voter I spoke with said they were disappointed an official debate had not been held and wanted to learn more about the candidates before casting their first ballot.

Pflager had floated the idea of a debate online.

When asked why one had not happened, Hike said he would participate if it were organized by an independent party.

“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. “Unless there’s a formal person putting it together, I’m not interested.”

Pflager said he believed his request constituted an official invitation.

“I feel like it was an official ask,” Pflager said. “He had a Facebook post about me, I asked if he’d do a debate on there.”

Both candidates respond to conflict-of-interest questions

Some Bellevue residents also wanted Hike to address his real estate business and whether it could affect his decisions as mayor.

Hike said it does not influence his decision-making and said he recuses himself from votes involving projects near his company's properties when necessary.

“It doesn’t come into play,” Hike said. “I do own some properties around town, but there’s a lot of people who own some properties around town.”

Hike also raised questions about Pflager's job as a city planner for neighboring Papillion.

“How can you effectively represent the city of Bellevue when you are working on planning for the competing city?” Hike asked.

Pflager said the question misunderstands the role of a city planner and said his job is not to recruit development to Papillion.

“When we have developments come through, they have already selected a site that they’re interested in,” Pflager said. “My job is not to sell the city of Papillion.”

Asked whether his job could require him to recuse himself from decisions as Bellevue mayor, Pflager said he could envision conflicts involving matters such as land swaps or boundary adjustments.

“The only things I can see conflicts of interest arising is if there’s a land swap or a boundary adjustment,” Pflager said, adding that many such matters had been agreed to years earlier.

The race gives Bellevue voters a choice between an incumbent emphasizing continued development and a challenger arguing for a broader approach to generating sustainable tax revenue.

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