Mayor Chris Hoy served during one of the most contentious periods in Salem’s history as a looming $17 million budget crisis threatens widespread cuts that could reduce firefighters and police, and leave the state’s capital city without a public library.  His time in office is punctuated by successes providing shelter for the homeless, bringing more affordable housing to the city, and helping revitalize Salem’s downtown.  The position of mayor in Salem is unpaid and as the titular head of the city government the mayor holds one of nine votes on the city council.   He said in a recent interview that while he hoped to win reelection in the spring, he is looking forward to a much needed break. His successor, Mayor-elect Julie Hoy, takes office on Monday, Jan. 13. The two Hoys are not related. “I am trying to fill out my entire term, fully. Being fully present. Being the mayor until the last minute, and then taking a break,” Hoy said. “I haven’t taken a break in 36 years and I am looking forward to it.” Hoy, 59, plans on spending more time with his friends and family and picking up some old hobbies which include cycling, photography, and growing roses in his garden.  Hoy said he is relieved to bow out from the difficult work ahead of balancing the city’s budget.  “On the other hand, I would much rather be at the helm guiding the city and guiding the process through that. Because I know what it entails, I’ve been through it,” Hoy said. “There are going to be hard conversations and hard decisions and it is going to take strong, strong leadership. That’s one of the reasons I ran, because I felt like that was lacking.”  Hoy moved into elected office after a 30-year career in law enforcement, retiring as undersheriff in the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department. Hoy started as a city councilor in 2017 and then was elected mayor, taking office early in November 2022 after his predecessor, Chuck Bennett resigned.  He also served briefly as a state representative from Salem after he was appointed to represent House District 21 after Rep. Brian Clem, a moderate Democrat, stepped down from his post to care for his aging mother.  Hoy cited city progress on key issues during his time in city service. Those accomplishments include micro shelter communities administered by nonprofit Church in the Park, projects completed through the statewide Project Turnkey program, and the city’s safe parking program. Since 2020 the city has added over 500 shelter beds and hundreds of new affordable apartments, such as Sequoia Crossings, a 60-unit complex that opened in February.  Salem is in an affordable housing building boom, but need remains high The city’s navigation center at 1185 22nd Street S.E. is also a point of pride for him, Hoy said. A report issued last summer showed that half of those utilizing the navigation center moved into permanent housing.  Half of city navigation center residents moved into permanent housing, report says When it comes to homelessness, Hoy said circumstances have improved tremendously.  “We were nowhere in 2017. We weren’t doing a darn thing. We didn’t have a women’s shelter, we didn’t have a low barrier men’s shelter. We’ve made tons of strides,” Hoy said. “We had people who were living on our streets downtown in huge numbers. Downtown was not a great place to be. And now we’ve really transformed that.” Hoy knows the importance, too, of neighborhood projects. He said Northeast Fisher Road in Northeast Salem was dangerous for pedestrians for a long time. After a woman was killed in a hit-and-run accident, Hoy pushed to make the area safer.  “That is a really specific tangible thing and it is very specific to Northeast Salem, it’s an area of town, and one of the reasons I ran is because we haven’t had a voice in a long time,” Hoy said. “I wanted to be the voice of northeast Salem and I feel so proud of that project.” But the decision he thinks cost him the election was his vocal support for a new city income tax. “I offered a solution. I get it. People didn’t like it. I didn’t like it…I knew it might cost me my job. And it did,” Hoy said. “It’s ok because it was the right thing to do. It would have continued us on a trajectory that everybody would have loved in terms of the services that we would have.” He thinks the community still faces the challenge he hoped to address with new revenue for the city. “The city is in a desperate financial situation. The tax system is broken. Every city in Oregon is facing this,” Hoy said. “Until there is leadership stepping up to fix the overall system, we have to find the best Band-Aids that we can and that was the best Band-Aid at the time.” He blames the state’s property tax system with its limits on increases for the trouble facing Salem now. “We literally are in survival mode at this point, so that trumps everything until we somehow resolve this revenue crisis,” Hoy said. “I was trying to get the statewide conversation going on property tax reform and on tax reform in general and I feel like I made some good strides. But the work is not done, obviously, we haven’t even started, hardly.” He blamed the Legislature and Gov. Tina Kotek for ignoring the needs of the state’s capital city. He said a legislative proposal he promoted while in the House would have provided the city an extra $5 million a year, compensation for the heavy presence of tax-free state property. That amount of money could be the difference to keep open a fire station and avoiding laying off police officers, Hoy said.  The legislation failed last year.  Salem legislators seek annual state payments to cover police, fire “I want the governor to hear me. She is going to be up for reelection soon. She needs Salem voters, right? Bring us a win, Governor Kotek. Bring us a win,” Hoy said. “We are not the state government, we are a functioning city. And we are the second largest city in the state. We are critical to the vibrancy of this state and we need the resources just like Portland does, just like Eugene does. Quit overlooking us.”  Hoy doesn’t support current efforts to audit some city operations or the formation by the business community of an outside committee to examine the city’s budget for efficiencies. Hoy said such endeavors are a waste of time.  He said those who wish to parse the city’s budget seem more interested in cutting than solving the underlying issues. “Their agenda is not to solve this problem,” he said. “They are not going to get on board with the levy (to help fund city services). That is not their goal. They are trying to cut government spending,” Hoy said. “They come from a political philosophy where they want the smallest government possible.” Chamber, home builders association call for new committee to focus on city budget  A city survey released in October showed local voters don’t support raising property taxes to continue city services as they are now. Hoy said he still believes citizens will support such a move once they understand what’s at stake. “We have to get every leader on board and to quit undermining the message saying that we don’t have a spending problem, we have a priorities problem,” Hoy said. “That is what the mayor-elect has been telling everybody for the last year and it is wrong, it’s not true and it needs to stop. Because we absolutely have a budget problem, we have a revenue problem. This is not a priorities problem.” In poll, Salem residents say they won’t pay more property taxes for public safety, library or parks Hoy said one result of the city’s budget crisis is the trouble hiring a new city employee to help manage a key city initiative, the Community Violence Reduction Initiative, which seeks to curb rising street violence in Salem. The city is attempting to fill the key role as a temporary position given budget constraints, stalling progress on the safety campaign.  “We’ve done a lot, which is really great, but now we’ve got the work. Until we get a staff person who can be dedicated to that, it is a real challenge,” Hoy said. “Given the city’s financial situation that’s hard. Highly qualified people are not necessarily willing to jump on a limited duration position.”  City pauses hiring for critical community violence reduction coordinator   As he prepares to step down as mayor, he said he has no aspirations to return to public office.  “I am not ruling out anything and I am definitely not ruling in anything. Who knows? I honestly don’t know and I have no plans,” Hoy said. “I look forward to taking a break and I’ll figure out what’s next from there.”  Hoy has plenty to fill his days ahead. “I’m going to get back into some hobbies that have been neglected during my time on council and as mayor,” Hoy said. “I love to garden. I grow roses. I love to do photography. I love to cycle.”  He enjoys taking photos of landscapes, wildlife and portraits for high school seniors.  “High school seniors are like the best because they don’t give a crap, they don’t have all these hang ups,” Hoy said. “Usually they’ll do anything you tell them, like, ‘Hey, walk across that creek and do this and do that,’ I love doing that.” Hoy said.  “Life is short and time is precious, and I am going to try to invest more time in my family and friends,” Hoy 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. 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. The post Outgoing Mayor Chris Hoy talks tax reform, homelessness and the budget crisis  appeared first on Salem Reporter.