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ATTLEBORO - Mayoral hopeful John Davis came out swinging in a debate with Mayor Kevin Dumas Tuesday.

Davis has been working to rescue a campaign that suffered a big setback in the preliminary election and hammered away at the incumbent in the forum sponsored by The Sun Chronicle at city hall.

Dumas beat the four-term city councilor by more than a 2-to-1 margin in September, temporarily derailing the challenger who has tried to regroup after temporarily dropping out of the race.

Davis continued an attempt to make inroads attacking the two-term incumbent on fees, a lack of inclusion in city government for residents and a lack of "longterm planning."

That last charge did not apparently apply to Dumas alone. "Long-term planning hasn't happened in my lifetime as far as I can see," Davis said.

While Davis has voted for all current water and sewer fees, he railed against Dumas, alleging the charges are too high. As mayor he said he would eliminate the indirect fee that the city charges to water and sewer departments for services it provides and save ratepayers $1.1 million.

"I believe it's a way to circumvent proposition two and a half and is used as a way to help fund other departments," he said.

Dumas fired back, saying the indirect costs are not arbitrary, but are determined every two to three years by an independent analyst hired by the city.

Steep deficits in the water budget required an increase in fees to cover the costs of the department that's independent financially from the city's general fund. And with the sewer department, a $30 million loan taken to rebuild the sewer plant prior to his election forced fees to skyrocket to pay the the debt, Dumas said.

Davis claims residents he talks to lack knowledge about city actions and he blames Dumas for a failure to reach out.

"Some people I talk to still think the Union Block is still part of the downtown revitalization plan," said Davis referring to the multi-million dollar project being run by the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority after years of planning that began in the Robbins administration.

He said one reason voters don't turn out in city elections is because they feel left out.

"A lot of people would like to contribute to the city in some small way if the city reaches out to them," he said.

Dumas countered that constantly reaches out in schools and speaks to numerous civic groups about all aspects of city government. Davis argued that Dumas' youth and lack of experience should be cause for concern about the city's future.

Dumas countered that he has run the city successfully for four years. His age is irrelevant.

"It's true I was only 27 when I was elected, but I've clearly been able to show residents that city is on a bright path to the future," he said. "Can the city do better? Absolutely. I'm not satisfied with the status quo and we'll continue to push forward."

GEORGE W. RHODES can be reached at 508-236-0432 or at grhodes@thesunchronicle.com.