This reflects our priorities. When I say "as soon as possible", it is exactly what is meant.
Balancing on top of bugs is not going to help build a stable foundation. If you remember the drone bugfixes recently - those were perceived as a "nerf" (e.g. a balancing matter) by some people even though not aimed at altering balance. Bugs like this need fixing for a balancing to make sense.
As the entire team currently consists of community members, the short answer is: yes
On a more serious note:
We will make an official announcement concerning these issues when the time arrives.
I would hope we can find a way to boost community participation some way or the other - there could already be a lot more input via detailed bug reports, brainport issues and playtesting on the Testserver. As long as many people do not make the jump from (rightfully) moaning about issues ingame to (usefully) reporting them outgame and help get them fixed, we have some work to do in that area.
That said, every player who is currently involved and making an effort in the Bugreports/Brainport section of these forums is truly awesome and deserves a badge of merit.