Good morning………
The prospect of raising your taxes in Salem should get your attention.
The city of Salem is asking voters to do just that in the May election.
But why?
Why can’t the city live within its means?
How much money do city leaders want from you?
And what difference would extra tax money make in town?
I urge you to join the Salem Reporter team at a public Town Hall Tuesday evening.
The details are below, but here’s why you should attend.
People across all spectrums see this is a pivotal vote for Salem.
This isn’t just about city government.
It’s about how city government serves people like you.
We have assembled a panel of reputable and expert people to publicly address this issue.
At Salem Reporter, we’ve reported on these issues. And we’re far from done.
Still, there is no substitute for hearing people directly explain these matters.
Our panel includes:
*Dr. Irvin Brown, Salem city councilor. He has served on the city’s budget committee.
*Josh Eggelston, the city’s chief finance officer. He’s the numbers person – but he can explain them in a way that won’t send you into a snooze.
*Tom Hoffert, chief executive officer, Salem Area Chamber of Commerce. He’s a plain-spoken business leader and likely will address the chamber’s support for the tax vote.
We won’t hear from Mayor Julie Hoy, who campaigned for tighter city financing but now supports extra taxes. She was the first person I invited to join our panel, but she declined.
We also won’t hear from any representative of the Budget Efficiencies Committee, formed with local leaders to do an outside review of city spending. The committee elected not to participate in the Town Hall.
I wanted to be up front about these apparent omissions – they weren’t deliberate by any means. As far as we can determine, there is no organized opposition to the levy as there was on the ill-fated payroll tax measure.
Still, this is going to be a valuable forum for the community.
The three leaders will share basic details. They’re not on stage to campaign.
Then, Managing Editor Rachel Alexander and city reporter Joe Siess will question the panelists. If you’ve attended our earlier town halls, you know we’re going to be fair but tough.
And then, it’s questions from people like you.
This is your chance to ask about matters that aren’t clear or don’t make sense.
We have McKay HIgh School orchestra students coming in to grab written questions from the audience to pass on to Rachel and Joe to pose. This approach makes the evening move along faster – and spares the temptation for folks to make speeches instead of ask questions.
You’re welcome to send along questions now directly to me and we’ll add them to the mix. (Email: [email protected]).
And if you can’t attend, our colleagues at Capital Community Media will be broadcasting the entire Town Hall live and then rebroadcasting. Here’s the link for watching: Town Hall broadcast.
I hope you’ll join us for what should be an interesting 90 minutes. I look forward to seeing you.
-Les Zaitz, editor, Salem Reporter
DETAILS:
WHAT: Salem Reporter Town Hall – Tax Levy
WHEN: 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 15. Doors open at 5 p.m. Event lasts 90 minutes.
WHERE: Elsinore Theatre
FREE TICKETS: Get them online
SUBMIT QUESTIONS: [email protected].
WATCH IT LIVE: Capital Community Media
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