Councilor Micki Varney has proposed the city set up a budget efficiencies committee and require the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce to pay for its expenses.  Varney is putting the proposal forward at the Salem City Council’s first meeting of the year at 6 p.m. Monday. Also at the meeting Julie Hoy will be sworn in as mayor Monday alongside three new city councilors, Irvin Brown, Shane Matthews, and Paul Tigan. The new council will also appoint volunteers to several city boards and commissions. READ IT: Agenda for Jan. 13, 2025 Salem City Council How to participate The meeting starts at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13, and will be both in-person at the council chambers, 555 Liberty St. S.E., and available to watch online. Members of the public can submit a comment for any item on the council agenda. To comment remotely, sign up on the city website between a.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday. The meeting will be livestreamed on the YouTube in English and Spanish. For written comments, email [email protected] before 5 p.m. on Monday, or submit on paper to the city recorder’s office at the Civic Center, 555 Liberty St. S.E., room 225. Include a statement indicating the comment is for the public record. Budget efficiencies The chamber and the Home Builders Association of Marion & Polk Counties — collectively known as Salem Solutions — called for the formation of a budget committee in December.  Chamber, home builders association call for new committee to focus on city budget  The new committee would consist of citizens with professional experience dealing with budgetary matters who would be tasked with combing through the city’s budget to find efficiencies as the city confronts a multimillion dollar budgetary shortfall.  In her motion, Varney said she wanted the chamber to pay for the costs associated with its request given budgetary constraints.  “Staff time is not free. Our city is looking at nearly an $18 million deficit in our general fund for the upcoming fiscal year. Our council members must be good stewards and mindful of taxpayer dollars,” Varney said in her motion. “We already have a reduced staff workforce, we know that our employees are picking up the slack of missing employees, often doing the work of multiple positions to ensure that essential city services can continue to be provided. A redirection of staff to support the formation and operation of this committee will require other essential services to be put on the back burner.” Relocating City Hall Salem city councilors will vote on a lease that would allow most city employees to relocate to the SAIF building at 440 Church St. S.E. while the Salem Civic Center undergoes a seismic retrofit, according to Public Works Director Brian Martin.  Civic center business would be moved to the SAIF building for a period of 18 to 24 months during construction and would cost roughly $30,000 per month under the lease agreement. The term of the lease is June 1, 2025, to Nov. 30, 2026.  Appointees to commissions and boards City councilors on Monday will appoint members to the Salem Public Art Commission, the Center 50+ Advisory Commission, the Community Police Review Board and the Salem Planning Commission.  Councilors will consider reappointing Grant Yoder and appointing Joaquin Lara Midkiff to the Community Police Review Board, a staff memo from the Council Board and Commission Appointments Committee said. Yoder would be reappointed for a second term expiring in Jan. 1, 2027, and Midkiff for a first term expiring on Dec. 31, 2028. The city council will vote on whether or not to appoint Karl Roth, a principal designer with Framework Studio Architects, to the Salem Public Art Commission, a report from outgoing Mayor Chris Hoy said.  Also on Monday four appointees to the Center 50+ Advisory Commission will be announced. They include Salem Health executive Katie Dobler, Marion Polk Food Share Meals on Wheels Director Carolyn Scarbrough, retired city of Salem employee Lynette Tribbett, and Salem resident Mark Kiernan, a report from outgoing Mayor Chris Hoy said.  Other items Councilors will vote on designating May 20 for a special election to fill Julie Hoy’s seat on the city council representing Ward 6, a staff report from city Attorney Dan Atchison said. Because Hoy is to be sworn in as mayor on Jan. 13, the council must designate an election date because there is more than one year until the next primary election in May 2026. More information on running for public office in Salem can be found online here, or by reaching out to the City Recorder’s Office at [email protected] or by calling 503-588-6097,  Salem city councilors on Monday will also vote on whether or not to authorize a roughly $164,000 settlement for a lawsuit related to a fatal car accident involving Sara Schumann in August 2020, Deputy City Manager Krishna Namburi said in a staff report. About $134,000 will be paid out of the city’s self-insurance claim fund, and remaining $30,000 will be paid by other defendants named in the lawsuit who are not affiliated with the city.  Finally, Salem city councilors will vote on whether or not to authorize the creation of a forest restoration project at the Minto Island Conservation Area, Public Works Director Brian Martin said in a staff report. The project includes the removal of invasive species and the planting of native species in the 48-acre conservation area and would be funded by a $546,530 restoration grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. 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 Varney proposes city charge Salem Chamber for budget efficiency committee appeared first on Salem Reporter.