New London — The fiscal health of the city and ways to stem its rising tax rate took center stage during a debate Friday among the 12 candidates seeking a seat on the City Council.

The Neighborhood Alliance hosted the at times confrontational debate that was moderated by local attorney Gordon Videll at the New London Senior Center. More than 80 people were in attendence, an abnormally large crowd.

Videll asked questions specific to some candidates but pressed all of them for specifics on ideas to generate more revenue for the city.

Republican candidates for council are Kat Goulart, Tim Ryan, Martin Olsen, Michael Fred Hudson and John Russell. Democratic candidates for City Council are Anthony Nolan, Don Venditto, Michael Tranchida, Martha Marx, John Satti, Alma D. Nartatez and Efrain Dominguez. Nartatez is the only non-incumbent on the Democratic ticket.

Russell, a former councilor himself, called out the current council members, saying, “since it’s been all Democrats running the show, our taxes have gone through the roof and I’m fed up with it.” One of his suggestions for generating revenue was charging for parking in municipal lots at night and collecting revenue from abandoned vehicles.

Tranchida agreed that the revenues from abandoned vehicles would provide a short-term lift and also serve to help clean up the city because he said many of them would disappear if the owners received a personal property tax declaration.

Venditto, a strong supporter of the work of the city’s development arm, the Renaissance City Development Association, said new developments poised to be built in the Fort Trumbull area have the potential to generate the much-needed revenue and also help cut the city’s reliance on the state.

Dominguez added the National Coast Guard Museum as another example of a “New London on the rise.” He said the current council is trying to replenish its fund balance and recover from the financial mismanagement of years past.

When Videll asked the entire panel about whether they could hold the line on taxes, incumbent Democrat Martha Marx was the only candidate to say “no,” explaining that without a tax increase, the drop in state funding this year likely would lead to a halt to all city services. Marx also said she recently proposed a $4.2 million cut to the school board’s budget that will be taken up by the council next week.

Goulart said the city needs to be better prepared for the possibility of things like reduced state revenues. She suggested one central location somewhere in the city to let business owners, or would-be business owners, know what commercial spaces are available. Vacant buildings are depriving the city of tax dollars and "business attracts business," she said.

Hudson suggested the city fundamentally change the way it taxes, replacing property taxes with taxes for separate elective services. As an example, Hudson said the city would be spending significantly less money if the many nonprofits in the city were forced to pay for things like their own trash removal.

Nolan said that among other ideas he has presented to the council to help cut costs was the consolidation of the school and city information technology director position, something he said he is now in the works.

Ryan said he couldn’t understand why the city has yet to consolidate things like the finance departments of the city and the school district, where he said there are now three positions worth $400,000.

Nartatez, a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, said the recent approval of a housing complex at the former site of the Edgerton School was a step in the right direction as a tax generator. She said infrastructure improvements, such as the road reconfiguration proposed by the city, also would help make it more attractive to visitors.

Satti suggested higher fees at the transfer station and agreed with Olsen that perhaps the city should look to legislation that would allow the city to collect money from the thousands of ferry passengers that pass through the city each year. He said the mayor also should be pressing Connecticut College for higher yearly payments to help pay for services.

Olsen said the council already should have reduced the city budget in light of a petition from taxpayers upset over the 9 percent tax rate hike.

“The budget was challenged by a petition. The council opted to punt. They tucked the petition into the finance committee and have done nothing until recently. I call that irresponsible,” Olsen said.

The school district’s budget also remained a hot topic.

Ryan said the Board of Education needs to be held accountable for administrative costs that far exceed the state average. The school district, he said, has 32 administrators making more than $125,000 a year.

Friday’s debate was the first of two hosted by the Neighborhood Alliance. It will host the Board of Education candidates next Friday.

g.smith@theday.com