Keizer officials raise alarm about growing costs, money needs

City leaders want the community to join in deciding the future of police services in Keizer as costs outrun income.

Administrators reported at a recent meeting of the Long Range Planning Task Force that the city of Keizer will be dipping into reserves to cover policing costs. They say more revenue will be needed soon to pay the salaries and overhead of the Keizer Police Department.

The police agency now costs the city about $10 million a year. Most of that comes from city property taxes but the city also now collects about $1 million a year more through a monthly fee, established in 2017.

Some officials say it’s time to consider raising the fee again or consider a new tax levy.

“This scares the bejeebers out of me,” said Council President Shaney Starr as she looked over projections stretching out to 2030.

Those numbers show police costs rising year by year but revenue from property taxes and fees not keeping up.

The city has had some budget relief recently because of empty positions at the police department. That means money budgeted hasn’t been spent for salaries. The agency hasn’t been fully staffed since 2023.

“Being fully staffed has been a challenge due to retirements, officers failing to complete probationary periods and others moving on to other police departments,” according to Lt. Trevor Wenning of the Keizer Police Department.

That is about to change, he said. Job offers are pending to fill five officer positions.

City Manager Adam Brown said he is likely to recommend increasing the monthly public safety fee.

The fee for a Keizer household started out a $4 a month in 2017 and has climbed to $6.90. That now generates about $1.1 million a year.

A city projection showed that increasing the fee by 10% each year for the next five years would raise an additional $700,000 for police services. Under that plan, the monthly fee would escalate by 60% in the coming years, hitting $11.11 a month in July 2029.

The fee is billed monthly to households and businesses with breaks for apartments and low-income and senior residents.

The Keizer City Council has authority to raise the fee on its own. A special tax levy would require a public vote.

Councilor Lore Christopher noted there was no vote when the safety fee was imposed in 2017. She told the task force there should a public vote on any new fee increase.

“We could go out on an advisory vote before we actually need to raise the police fees,” she said.

She said she didn’t want the council making the decision.

“I don’t want to forget the community,” she said.

Christopher didn’t respond to emails and voice messages seeking additional comment.

At the meeting, though, Starr said city leaders could get public opinion by having “conversations” with citizens.

Mayor Cathy Clark in a later interview agreed. She said city leaders could engage in town hall sessions, surveys and appearances at neighborhood association meetings.

City leaders agreed that public safety is a community priority.

“The community of Keizer supports public safety,” Christopher said at the meeting.

Starr said as she moves around the community, safety is a top concern for residents.

She said city officials have to make clear the elements of police spending, noting the costs go beyond funding a patrol officer.

“It’s important that we are doing good job of telling the story of what goes into that,” she said.

Clark agreed.

“Do people understand how our people are funded?” she asked.

She said community conversations would be as much about sharing information as gathering citizen views. She said she wants the community to understand what service they are paying for now ­– and how that may change as costs rise.

The focus, she said, is not on expanding the police department but preserving operations.

“These conversations will help us all understand what’s it going to take, what do we need to keep our minimum current level of service.”

This article was originally published in the Keizertimes and is reprinted with permission. Contact Keizertimes at [email protected].

News tip? Email [email protected].

A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.