Jack Bullock suggested divesting more council property and looking at the options of running some facilities on a more business-like footing.
But not all agreed debt was the problem. For Jenny Duncan it was about building the population, while Jason Granville said the council needed to be generating revenue ideas rather than focusing on debt.
Ian Harrex said he wanted to see a shift in culture from one of spending to one of saving.
Martin Visser said debt should not be the sole focus; the key was marketing the city.
Bevan Johnston said the council needed to drop its reliance on consultants, a view that was also held by Gordon Lambert.
Robert Scott said belt-tightening was needed, while Garth Scown wanted staffing levels to be looked at.
Rory Smith pointed the finger at central government demands being foisted on council - "We need to push back," he said.
The wastewater treatment plant problems generally kept the candidates on the same songsheet.
Randhir Dahya promoted a consensus line, saying the council would be better working with industries than working against them, a view shared by most candidates.
And there were like views held on the matter on economic development, with most seeing the council's role as that of facilitator.
Ms Duncan said the council needed to adopt a "red carpet rather than red tape" approach to new businesses, and Mr Granville said it made sense to tap into the innovative minds in the city.
As with last week's line-up, the contenders backed earthquake-strengthening the Sarjeant Gallery but baulked at any extension unless someone else was paying for it.
Subsidising the PS Waimarie brought a mix of suggestions, from parking it up as a static display to giving it over the private enterprise to run, but the majority favoured continued city support with some tags.
Mr Visser said the boat was a treasure and needed to be marketed as Wanganui's point of difference.
Wanganui's image prompted the liveliest responses, with the media - this newspaper included - in the line of fire.
Mr Smith said people needed to look at themselves first before a change could be made and the council needed to correct what had been a "dysfunctional marketing strategy".
Mr Scown said the image was a perception held more by outsiders than locals - "if there's a better place to live, then tell me about it".
Most candidates were not impressed to be asked which of the three mayoral aspirants they could work best, as it was the electorate who chose the mayor.
There was concern about UCOL's future but some of the candidates said the campus had to provide courses with future job opportunities.
However, Mr Wills said he always believed UCOL wanted to close the Wanganui campus.
"We don't see them spending a lot of money promoting the courses they run here," he said.