Bend city councilors revisited, at length, two seemingly simple but unfortunately complicated and politically controversial topics Wednesday night: Whether to ask voters if the mayor should be elected, not appointed by colleagues, and whether — and how — to re-examine the much-debated $68 million surface water i

Concerns were expressed about how the mayor – who leads council meetings and plays something of a facilitator role – might be overwhelmed, if he or she is directly elected without previous council experience. So some other ideas were raised, such as requiring that an elected mayor had served previously as a city councilor for at least one term – but apparently, that likely would not be a legal restriction.

They adjourned to meet one last time as the Bend Urban Renewal Agency — the downtown urban renewal district being terminated, to keep a pact with voters when they approved a $30 million road improvement bond measure last year. That will cost property owners 27 cents per $1,000 of assessed value – the same amount no longer to be levied for urban renewal, thus making the bond measure tax-neutral.

What are your thoughts? Should voters be asked if the mayor should be elected? How should we go about re-examining the $68 million surface water improvement project. We’re all ears.

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