Salem’s budget committee on Wednesday directed city leaders to prioritize funding Salem’s fire department, police department, library and homeless outreach team while crafting a budget for 2025. The fate of the city’s library, as well as other community services such as Center 50 + and parks maintenance, was a primary topic at the meeting as the group got to work on addressing Salem’s projected $18 million budgetary shortfall.  The 18-member budget committee, which includes the mayor, city council and nine appointed community volunteers, will not meet again until January 15 when it will discuss the city’s five-year financial forecast. In the meantime, city employees will get to work drafting a budget proposal based on community survey feedback and from the committee members who were also asked to take a survey ranking their top priorities.  The committee also voted to direct city staff to brief the city council during its next meeting on a possible levy on the May 2025 ballot to fund the library, parks maintenance, and Center 50+. That’s despite public polling released in October showing nearly 40% of likely Salem voters were unwilling to pay more to fund city services.  In poll, Salem residents say they won’t pay more property taxes for public safety, library or parks Local government funding measures on the November ballot failed at a higher rate than typical across Oregon, including a construction measure for Chemeketa Community College that would have kept taxes flat.  Community shows strong support for library City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke told Salem Reporter budget committee members were  “getting flooded with emails to support the library” leading up to the meeting.  During the meeting, she waved a thick stack of printed emails from community members in support of the city’s library, giving her hope in community support for a property tax increase on the May ballot.   “When you saw how the library ranked within this body, how many of you ranked it a little bit higher because of all the input and testimony you’ve gotten?” Nordyke asked the committee. “I’d like to think it had an impact. That tells me that people can be persuaded so long as you don’t talk down to them. It’s possible. And I’d like to explore it.”  About eight community members including Oregon Sen. Deb Patterson spoke during the public comment section of the meeting. Several people in written comments suggested the city should instead look for cuts in the police department, which consumes a far larger share of Salem’s budget. The library already cut hours last year, including closing on Sundays.  Salem Public Library to close Sunday, reduce hours starting in January Victoria Timm told the committee that the community is counting on them to make the best out of a bad scenario. Timm reminded the committee that the decisions they ultimately make will have repercussions for decades to come.  “You have the power tonight to choose what kind of city Salem will be. What your legacy will be. If in your choices you decide to defund or close the library, that will be your legacy,” Timm said. “A legacy that will make the national news. A legacy of shame and for the distaste for the most vulnerable among us. History will know you best for when you turned your back on the city.”  Beth Fox said growing up with a public library instilled in her a love of reading, and she said having a library leads to better students and more educated adults. She told the committee about a recent trip she took to the library.  “I went up to the children’s discovery room and there were kids everywhere … I remember this one kid. I noticed her because she reminded me of me when I was a little girl. When I was about that same age,” Fox said. “She was about three and she was clutching her books to her chest. They were about as tall as she was. She was bouncing up and down. She was so excited to be there. And all I could think was, if the library closes, her parents are going to have to tell her that she can never come back again. And it’s going to break her heart.”  Many of the committee members agreed with those who spoke publicly about saving the city’s library. City Councilor Trevor Phillips said he personally would prioritize the library, police and fire on equal footing and said that he believes libraries are part of public safety.  “The million dollar question, or the $18 million question, is how do you rank a community not having a library as the thing that got the most testimony both in emails to this body and tonight, versus making reduction to police and fire. These are impossible questions and it is what this body moving forward in January is going to really have to start to tackle.”  Committee member Stacey Vieyra-Braendle said she witnessed how people were affected during Covid when many amenities including the library were limited due to shutdowns. She said services like the library, Center 50 + and the city’s parks are crucial to livability.  “I think we are going to see people not have resources, not have the support that they are used to and have what they need to give them, again, that hope to maintain a sense of well being and to maintain their health,” Vieyra-Braendle said.  Committee member Julie Curtis agreed, and said there are other ways to tighten the city’s belt without closing the public library or Center 50+ entirely. She suggested cutting elsewhere and considering reducing hours. “I don’t think we can have a decent city that’s just police and firemen. We have to have community services to make this a livable place. And if 60% of our budget is police and fire, they got to (be) cut,” Curtis said. Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE – If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. 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