Editor's Note: The following commentary appeared in the Oct. 19 Eden Prairie News.

By Phil Young

“Elections are about the future.” Never has that statement been more true for the residents of Eden Prairie than this year.

City leaders 30 years ago planned the vision which later city councils and staff have faithfully implemented and which deserves much of the credit for making Eden Prairie a tremendous city in which to live, work and raise a family.

Eden Prairie has received many accolades over the years, most recently being named a Top 10 City in which to live by Money magazine. These awards are a testament to the foresight of those city leaders 30 years ago and a reflection of the hard work by many other elected leaders, residents and business owners since that time.

Yet, it is also true that Eden Prairie has now completed the original development plan and the next City Council will be the leaders who will largely create the second long-term plan for our great city.

The mayor and two council members chosen at this November’s election will have a wonderful opportunity. The job will not be easy and will require addressing challenging issues such as declining non-tax revenue to the city, a changing population demographic, stagnant commercial property values, increased competition for residents and businesses with neighboring communities, transportation congestion, and increased upward pressure on residential property taxes.

In many ways Eden Prairie is in a time of change. The challenges it faces today are different and some are more complicated than those it faced in the last decade. If its elected leaders do not recognize this then, as some concerned residents properly recognize, it is “time for a change.”

Residents and businesses love Eden Prairie and do not want to alter its fundamental character. At the same time, though, they recognize that property taxes are rising at an increasingly higher rate. The first challenge for the next City Council will be to continue providing quality services while controlling the growth of property taxes.

Fiscal discipline has been a hallmark of my council service. Two years ago, I focused on our city’s rapidly growing cash reserves, which had grown to a high level not recommended by the Minnesota State Auditor. I pressed for and ultimately achieved reform of our “rainy day funds.” Last year, I proposed specific changes to our city budget which would not have affected city services at all but would have brought the growth in our budget in line with inflation.

The next City Council must involve all stakeholders – residents and businesses – in the long-term plan of our city. And, the City Council must listen to what those stakeholders say. The City Council cannot, as it did but five years ago, poll its residents in a survey and then spend hundreds of thousands of tax dollars contrary to the results of that survey.

I have consistently opposed spending tax dollars on council priorities such as historic preservation not because I do not value Eden Prairie’s heritage (in fact I do) but rather because I believe that we have spent too many tax dollars on it, especially when our most recent citizen survey ranked it as unsupported.

Similarly, I fully recognize that the business community is our partner in the success of Eden Prairie. Businesses pay half of all taxes in town and thus subsidize many of the amenities which residents exclusively enjoy. I am proud of my involvement with the business community and my recent endorsement for mayor by the Eden Prairie Chamber Government Leadership Council.

The population of Eden Prairie is aging and the services which our city provides in the future must reflect our growing senior community. The recommendations from our Senior Task Force provide a good road map for our city to follow.

Transportation, too, will be a challenge for our next City Council. Some roads will need to be widened; others require improved turn lanes; many roads need more integrated signalization. Regional groups, such as the Southwest Corridor Commission on whose board I serve, must continue as leaders for improvements to our highway system.

Eden Prairie will always be a strong and envied community. The challenges it faces are not unique to cities which have reached maturity and are certainly overcome with good planning and respectful stewardship of our tax dollars.

I am running for mayor of Eden Prairie because I want to help plan Eden Prairie for its next generation of residents and businesses. I want Eden Prairie to be as special for my four young sons as they grow into adulthood as it is for my wife and me today.

Phil Young is an Eden Prairie City Council member and candidate for mayor.