Asked what he considered "essentials, Wells said it refers to core services the city provides its residents. He listed police, fire, water and sewer. "That's basic government, taking care of the basics," he said.

With a field of six candidates running for two positions on the council, Wells looked at past actions of council members to explain why Homer residents should vote for him Oct. 6.

"My guess is that in the past people have been on the city council who were too willing to spend taxpayers' money without asking them," Wells said. "If the city voters don't vote to increase a tax and to specifically pay for something, I won't be voting to spend any money."

That includes the public's input on the city's budget process. "I believe that the budget should be put to city voters," Wells said. "The city council should be advisory and tell the citizens whether they want to pass the budget. Then it should be voted on by the city."

If local voters don't pass a city budget, it would mean paying "certain items that legally have to be paid. Anything else doesn't get funded," Wells said, adding that if left to voters, "There's a lot of things that have been funded in the past that would not be funded."

How the council would make up for lost revenue if taxes were cut is a plan Wells hasn't formed yet, but said he thinks "the city has plenty of revenues. They just need to cut the expenses."

The cuts should come from anything that doesn't fall under his definition of core services or anything that doesn't carry a legal obligation. Funding for local nonprofits, such as the Pratt Museum, which Wells considers a nonessential service, would require a vote of city residents.

"Nonessential services should be on a ballot every year, which makes it hard for those services to figure out what their budgets would be, but they'd have to deal with that," Wells said, comparing it to the way private businesses are managed. "A business has to have a plan a year or two in advance. If there's something it needs, it saves for it and gets the patrons behind it."

Although he recognized the impact some cuts would have on nonresidents using city services, Wells does not believe anyone living outside the city should have a say in city decisions. "I don't see them having any role at all in city government," he said.

The guiding principal for budget decisions Wells would make as a member of Homer's City Council would be based on whether or not it was an essential service.

"If it's not essential, it's not needed," he said. "It all goes back to core services."