Salem city councilors weighed the budgetary and economic realities the city faces as they began an exercise Monday to set overarching goals to guide the next five years of city services.

They face an uphill battle as a recent survey by an independent research firm found 59% of Salem residents believe the city is on the wrong track. That’s an improvement from 2022, when 69% said the city was heading in the wrong direction.

That survey also found that 68% of respondents believe the city’s problems are a combination of things within and outside of the city’s control, a theme that emerged during Monday’s work session. 

Salem has gained temporary financial stability for the next four years after voters approved a property tax increase in May, but the clock is ticking to take maximum advantage of that stability, city leaders said. 

“It seems to me that since I’ve been involved with council, the answer to why we can’t do something is always, ‘We don’t have any money.’” Salem Mayor Julie Hoy said. “That does seem like a weakness to me. We are always scrambling for resources to make things happen. That said, we’ve turned around a budget, and gone from a giant deficit to in the green for the next four years, so it feels like we are in a better place, but we are not quite there. And I don’t know how you ever get there, frankly, because everything just keeps getting more expensive.”

The last time the city went through the process of developing its strategic plan was in 2021.  

The new five year plan will cover 2026 through 2031, and will help focus the city’s mission and vision for the future, according to consultants with advisory firm Baker Tilly who presented its data and findings and insights based on results from the recent 2025 City of Salem Community Satisfaction Survey to Salem city councilors on Monday. 

City spokeswoman Erin Neff told Salem Reporter in an email that the city has budgeted $60,000 to complete the planning process, which should be done by March. 

Neff said that once complete, the plan will include specific deliverables and metrics to help assess how well the city performs on an annual basis. 

“It’s a little too early to say what those measures will be, as we’re still getting council and community input on the priorities,” Neff said. 

Neff said city consultants have dug into city documentation and plans specific to transportation and housing production among others as part of the early stages of the process. 

“Throughout this iterative process, we’ll be engaging with our community. Our community benefits from this work by providing input on, clarity to, and focus for our community and the city council’s vision for our next five years’ priorities.” Neff said in the email.

As part of the process, consultants interviewed the mayor and city councilors, and administered a survey to 131 city employees, 84 of whom responded. 

They used that information to recommend a preliminary vision statement: “a safe, livable, and sustainable capital city, with a thriving economy and a vibrant community that is welcoming to all.”

Consultants also recommended a mission statement: ”to provide fiscally sustainable and quality services to enrich the lives of present and future residents, protect and enhance the quality of environment and neighborhoods, and support the vitality of our economy.”

The consultants also listed five values that should guide city work: community-focused, inclusive, proactive, accountable, and respectful. 

The survey found that a majority of city staff who responded found the city’s vision, mission statement, and value statements to be a good or OK fit. 

Some top concerns from community survey respondents included crime and public safety, economic downturn and job losses, an increasingly competitive job market, and limited affordable housing among others. 

The consultants also provided some key feedback themes from its survey including a sentiment among city staff that the city is not proactive enough in its approach to issues, instead reacting when new concerns arise.

City Manager Krishna Namburi addressed the finding and said one of the city’s goals should be to find ways to prolong the city’s current financial stability.

“I think we are in 2025 where things are quite different than five years ago, and we have an opportunity to reimagine services. We don’t have to be providing the services the same way…we have to be innovative,” Namburi said. “We have to reimagine services. And the proactive term, I know the staff might see this as aspirational, and we need to think about it, but I think we are at a turning point right now as a city, and this is the time to talk about proactive services.”  

Councilor Irvin Brown also homed in on the city’s financial woes and called the state’s property tax system “broken.” 

“When we think about our tax system in this state, it is a structural tax system that does not work,” Brown said. “We know that. We know that we do not have enough money, folks paying their taxes, going into the general fund, to where we can do more.”

Councilor Vanessa Nordyke said she believes the city’s mission statement should prioritize affordable housing given the current harsh economic realities in Salem and the country. She is running for mayor against Hoy.

“When I see that our mission statement talks about our ability to provide services and to protect and enhance our environment and neighborhoods and support the vitality of our economy, I don’t feel that our commitment to affordable housing is addressed in that,” Nordyke said. 

Nordyke said that while she doesn’t believe solving the housing crisis is only the city’s problem to solve, she said the city’s ongoing efforts on that front do make a difference. 

“I would hate to see a mission statement that doesn’t give at least so much as a nod to that,” Nordyke said. 

When it comes to broadcasting the city’s commitment to equity, Nordyke said the city’s services affect the city’s poorest and most vulnerable. She said she would like to see the word “poverty” appear in the verbiage. 

Councilors also discussed the city’s inclusive statement which included, “We are an anti-racist organization that actively fights against racism and all other forms of discrimination.” 

Councilor Shane Matthews said he believed that the statement could be shortened and that the anti-racist language could be removed. He said a broader, more holistic term would make more sense. 

“To just say we are committed to ‘ensuring equity and accessibility across city services,’ hard stop, for me would be enough,” Matthews said. “But if we needed to explain why we feel that way, I suppose, to add in, ‘Diversity is a core strength of our community and we are dedicated to creating a city where everyone regardless of culture, race, or ability can thrive.’ That is somewhat holistic to me.” 

Brown said he does not believe that language should be taken out without further discussion on the matter. Councilor Mai Vang agreed. 

“I look at the survey results and I think this is an area where we can improve and better define what inclusivity means and so to me, that doesn’t mean removing the anti-racist language. I’d still like to keep that in there because it is signaling to our community something that the city, something the council, stands for,” Vang said. “I think that is really important to continue to highlight and put on paper and make it visible.” 

By December, the consultants will have a draft of the plan. Then, city management will have the opportunity to provide input.  

In January, city employees and the council will provide input and then in February the community will have the opportunity to weigh in. 

In March, the plan will be finalized and the council will consider it for adoption. 

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.

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