Butler has a race for its two city council seats up for election Tuesday.

Bill Criley, an independent candidate, is challenging the two incumbents, Kathy Kline and Richard Schontz Jr.

Kline has served two terms on council while Schontz is completing his first four years.

Criley, a project manager for Etzel Masonry in Butler, also ran for council two years ago.

Two of the three will be elected.

All three said the biggest issue facing the city is its $7.8 million budget.

“The budget is always the biggest issue,” Kline said.

Schontz said the city needs to find a way to increase revenue.

“We need to find new revenue streams to have the money for a high level of services,” he said.

Both Kline and Schontz said redevelopment is the key to increasing revenue.

“That’s where all the revitalization efforts come in,” Kline said. “There’s no quick fix.”

The biggest redevelopment effort is the Centre City project, which will bring an 80-room Marriott Springhill Suites Hotel, a new Rite Aid Pharmacy, and a 225-lot parking garage to downtown.

Both Kline and Schontz said they back the hotel and parking garage.

“I’m in support of the whole project,” Schontz said. “It will spur downtown development. We just need to get everything in order financially and then proceed.”

Kline also stressed a need to make sure the numbers line up.

“I support it, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed,” she said.

Criley said he would like to see the hotel succeed, but has some doubts about it.

“I truly hope it becomes an incubator for attracting more business to the city,” he said. “I am, however, skeptical that it can do so.”

Criley said he doesn’t see the point in having Rite Aid be part of the project.

“I find it hard to believe that the Rite Aid store moving from an existing building one block away and taking away a parking lot on Main Street will attract new businesses or shoppers,” he said.

He also doubts the hotel will meet it’s projected occupancy rate of 68 percent.

The city has tried to encourage business through a tax abatement program that provides 100 percent tax abatement for two years to all new businesses.

The program has had little success as of yet as the number of new businesses has been consistent with years before the program.

Kline said the city might want to revert to its previous abatement program, which offered 50 percent abatement the first year and 25 percent the second year, until the new hotel is completed.

“I think it might have been a little premature,” she said.

She said the hotel would add to the draw of new businesses.

“It would give the program more teeth,” she said.

Criley said the abatement program may need more time, but it hasn’t been too successful yet.

“I thought it was a good idea when council initiated it,” he said. “Maybe it needs more time, but at this point I haven’t seen any indications that it’s attracting many new businesses into the city.”

Criley said it is more important for the city to cut tax rates to encourage new businesses.

“We need to find ways of cutting expenses so that we can reduce our tax rates and become more attractive to businesses and homeowners,” he said.

Schontz said he would like to lower the business privilege tax for businesses that have been downtown for a number of years.

“That will help them stay competitive, and show them we appreciate their dedication to the city,” he said.

Kline and Schontz both said there is little the city can cut from its budget, but they will continue to look for any savings possibilities.

“There’s nothing to cut unless we do away with services,” Kline said.

Criley said the city could cut the health insurance for members of council.

“We must continue to find ways to cut expenses, no matter how small the amount,” he said. “This includes eliminating city-funded health insurance for members of council.”

Criley also said he believes better preventive maintenance on the streets would save the city money in the long term.

Schontz, who heads the streets department, said the department is doing the best it can with its budget.

He said each department tries to find ways to create savings while keeping the same level of service.

“Each department is looking at things they can cut,” he said. “But the real need is to find new revenue streams to have money for high level of services.”

Kline and Schontz said they feel like they’ve had success on council.

Schontz said the removal of blighted buildings by the city also will contribute to growth downtown and in the neighborhoods.

Kline, who has led the fire department for the past two years, said the new annual fire inspections of all commercial buildings, which includes residential properties with three or more units, will make the city a safer place.

Before taking control of the fire department, Kline was in charge of the city’s parks department for six years.