Candidates for Denton City Council renewed calls for the city to control spending Wednesday, a day after a financial forecast showed revenues dipping more than expected in coming years.

Candidates for three council seats in the May 9 election called for a back-to-basics approach to spending, during a lunchtime forum sponsored by the Kiwanis Club.

“We are facing probably the worst economic situation this city has ever seen and probably will ever face,” said District 2 candidate Roger Strahan, 60, a real estate appraiser and one of several candidates running on a platform of fiscal conservatism. “This is what we’re facing: a lack of control at City Hall and a lack of priority in funding.”

Seven of the 10 candidates for council Districts 2, 3 and 4 appeared at the hour-long event at Fremaux’s Metropolitan Catering. The Kiwanis Club will welcome candidates for council District 1 and two school board seats next Wednesday.

The forum took place on tax deadline day as Denton residents and other Americans gathered for “tea parties” to protest government spending. It came a day after the city’s finance director offered fresh projections showing more declines in property and sales tax revenue because of the struggling economy.

Many council candidates struck a conservative tone during the forum, saying the city should focus on basic services — streets, drainage, police and fire — and reduce spending elsewhere.

“We’ve got to look at the budget and just cut out the fat,” said Chris Watts, 48, a lawyer and real estate investor running for a second term in District 4. “There are things out there that Denton is subsidizing. There were things that we thought were about economic development but we’re still subsidizing. If it’s not doing what we thought it would do, we need to cut it loose.”

After the forum, Watts identified the failed biodiesel plant at the city landfill, the municipal airport and the water park/natatorium as examples of city-subsidized operations.

Asked if he was calling for the city to stop funding those operations, Watts said, “I’m saying that we have to start taking a harder look at projects that we had hoped would carry their weight but are not yet. How long do we want to stay committed?”

While all candidates expressed a desire for responsible spending, they disagreed on which programs to cut or whether major reductions were even needed.

“I don’t support cutting any services,” said meat market owner Hatice I. Salih, 51, one of five candidates running for the District 3 seat Jack Thomson is leaving because of term limits. “I don’t think there’s a need to.”

The city could save money in other ways, Salih said, such as cutting back on glossy parks and recreation brochures that are mailed to residents.

District 3 candidate Amy Manuel, 44, a computer analyst, said the city should eliminate outsourcing that duplicates existing city services, earning an “Amen!” from someone in the audience. The council has faced criticism in recent years for outsourcing some city services, especially engineering and legal work.

Another District 3 candidate, marketing specialist Jim Engelbrecht, 61, said he supported more “efficiency and effectiveness” in spending but that it would be up to City Manager George Campbell and his staff to propose specific cuts. Denton has a council-manager form of government, in which an appointed city manager carries out policies set by the council.

District 2 hopeful Dalton Gregory, 57, a retired school principal, said one man’s waste is another man’s essential service. Gregory is one of three candidates running to succeed council member Rudy Moreno, who is not seeking re-election.

“Before you start cutting services that are essential to somebody … you find ways to find the efficiencies and do freezes on hiring until the budget recovers,” Gregory said.

Information technology manager Michael Roby, 36, another District 2 candidate, shot back: “Mr. Gregory was right. But you can’t fund everything. The city cannot realistically fund everything that’s important to everybody. Nobody wants to admit that, but you can’t.”

Roby renewed his call for a freeze on new spending until the economy improves.

Candidates agreed that the city was behind on street and drainage repairs. On other topics, Manuel said she feared that Denton was “being absorbed by Dallas” and losing some of its character, while Salih called for stronger protections for personal property rights.

Not appearing at the forum were District 3 candidates Sam Casey, 21, and Andrew “Teets” Teeter, 21, both college students, and District 4 write-in candidate Phil Kregel, 24, a substitute teacher. Strahan left the forum early for another appointment.

Early voting begins April 27.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com .