Salem city councilors unanimously advanced a plan on Monday to poll likely voters about their appetite for raising property taxes to fund city services.
The poll is intended to give city leaders a sense of what the community would be willing to pay for, and how much Salemites would be willing to pay. Councilors have signaled they’re likely to put a property tax increase on the May 2025 ballot in an effort to avoid sweeping budget cuts that would further reduce the public library and again cut parks programs, and eliminate positions within the police and fire departments.
The city council discussed the matter of a local option levy at length during an Aug. 19 work session.
Councilors expressed concern that there is little time to both educate voters and gain buy-in and trust from the community. They’re wary of moving too abruptly toward a levy in the wake of last year’s payroll tax failure.
As part of the plan authorized Monday, the city manager’s office will hire a third-party to review the city’s five-year financial forecast. They will also seek a performance audit done on specified city departments to identify efficiencies and to find ways to save money. According to a staff memo from City Manager Keith Stahley, the hope is to have as many as three city programs audited before June 30, 2025.
“We are not suggesting that this is going to be a complete organization-wide performance audit. That would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and would take months or years to complete. Our general fund budget alone is $190 million in which we have a hundred different program areas,” Stahley said Monday. “Our suggestion will be that we start with those entities and programs that have an organization-wide impact. Things like our IT system, or the city manager’s office, and that we look at how the entity is organized. Who are the people that are doing that work? Are they the right people doing that work? What are the associations and connections they have to the rest of the organization?”
The city already has funds budgeted for a community satisfaction survey and will swap the survey for the new polling which the leaders hope will provide a clearer sense of how to proceed with a possible levy.
The city will also dedicate about $10,000 to develop a communications plan to better inform and build relationships and trust with the community.
Stahley said the first course of action is to get the polling completed to better inform future decisions on the matter of a levy.
“We need to have this polling out on the street as soon as possible in order to avoid confusion and conflict with the upcoming presidential election,” Stahley told the council. “There simply is no time. Literally…we need to finalize this, by September 5 in order to get it on the street by September 10.”
Stahley said once the polling is complete, there will be results to present to the city council during an Oct. 21 work session.
Councilor Jose Gonzalez pointed out the matter of a levy going on the ballot will ultimately be decided by the next Salem city council which will convene early next year. Gonzalez did not seek re-election, and his successor, Irvin Brown, is one of three new councilors who will be seated in January.
Councilor Trevor Phillips, said while he supports the plan, he is concerned that due to the timing, it could be difficult to persuade the community to vote for a levy. He suggested presenting two separate levies to the community as a way to test the waters.
“We do something like the library and parks or the library and the Center for 50 + in May, and then in November, maybe we do police and fire. So, we try a smaller thing first as an option levy and then try what I think would be a slightly bigger ask for public safety in November,” Phillips said. “We can learn from what we do in May, but I just feel like if we don’t have something ready for council to consider that could go on the ballot in May it is a missed opportunity and it puts us further behind the eight ball … At some point the money is going to run out and real cuts are coming.”
Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.
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Joe Siess is a reporter for Salem Reporter. Joe joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government but loves surprises. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially starts, and grew up in the Kansas City area.
