Lawmakers plan to fund some Salem projects, while payment for city services comes up short
This story was updated to reflect the bill moving forward.
A bid from Salem lawmakers to get state help to cover the capital city’s public safety costs died this session, but lawmakers are poised to allocate millions toward other local projects.
That includes more than $6 million for the Marion Polk Food Share to purchase a larger warehouse and smaller grants for other Salem nonprofits, including the Elsinore Theatre and Salem Art Association.
The projects are included in the so-called Christmas tree bill. It’s an end-of-session tradition doling out taxpayer money toward everything from park planning to infrastructure improvements and nonprofit programs in communities around the state.
There’s no mention of money for one of the city’s key priorities — an annual payment from the state to compensate Salem for the large amount of tax-exempt state land in its borders. Rep. Tom Andersen, D-Salem, put forward an effort again this session that would have gotten the capital city $7 million, with backing from Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, and Sen. Deb Patterson, D-Salem.
It’s a longtime goal for the city as one step to address the rising cost of services. Voters in May gave Salem some reprieve when a majority agreed to increase property taxes to pay for city operations.
City officials had hoped the effort would be funded in the end-of-session package.
“There was a whole lot of money asked for and not a whole lot to give,” said Andersen, who introduced a similar unsuccessful measure last year. “We’ll bring it back again.”
He said he was happy to see other key Salem needs get money, including the food share warehouse. Andersen said Rick Gaupo, the food share’s chief executive officer, saw him at the Capitol Tuesday morning and hugged him.
“We need to take care of people’s daily needs and that’s what that does,” Andersen said.
The bill on Tuesday afternoon passed the Joint Committee on Ways. It must be passed by the full House and Senate this week before lawmakers adjourn for the session.
Projects chosen for end-of-session funds nearly always clear those hurdles.
Gov. Tina Kotek has the option to veto portions of the money lawmakers allocate as well. In 2023, she vetoed funds lawmakers had put toward a streetcar feasibility study for Cherriots.
Other Salem projects included in the end-of-session funding bill are:
- $855,000 to the Oregon State Fair and Exposition Center regional emergency center for emergency communication upgrades and water bottle filling systems.
- $824,780 to the city of Salem to create a master plan for Fairview Park, a south Salem site that for nearly a century housed a state facility for people with developmental disabilities.
- $750,000 to Willamette Heritage Center for preservation.
- $350,000 to the Elsinore Theatre for their facade renovation and new signage.
- $350,000 for the B-17 Alliance, which is located at the Salem airport, to purchase a hangar for the restoration of Lacey Lady, a B-17 World War II bomber.
- $175,000 to the Salem Art Association for a restoration with accessibility features for the historic Bush House.
Several other Marion and Polk county projects are also slated to receive money. Those include:
- $4.76 million to Santiam Hospital for an ambulance facility.
- $1.75 million to operate and buy equipment for the Monmouth-Independence trolley.
- $1.4 million to the city of Monmouth for recycled water use site development.
- $950,000 for the Salem-based Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency for a modular classroom replacement at its Head Start preschool facility in Woodburn.
- $2 million to the city of Woodburn for the historic Settlemier Park revitalization project.
- $750,000 to the city of Keizer for turf fields at Keizer Rapids Park.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
