Salem city councilors agreed they are likely to put a property tax increase on the May 2025 ballot to help pay for the library, parks and Center 50 +, but will decide how much of a tax increase to seek at a meeting next month. Councilors met Tuesday evening for a work session to discuss the option, one of several under consideration to address an expected $14 million budget deficit.  If voters reject a levy, as they indicated they would in a poll last fall, the city will have no choice but to further reduce or even eliminate services such as the library, parks maintenance and Center 50+ and to lay off 50 to 60 city employees including police officers and firefighters, according to City Manager Keith Stahley.  During the meeting on Tuesday, city councilors discussed their chances of passing a five-year levy at a rate between 98 cents and $1.10 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That would cost an average Salem homeowner about $229 to $257 per year, while raising about $14 to $16 million for the city. The lower option would maintain the status quo of reduced library hours without Sunday service, while the higher rate would bring services back to pre-pandemic levels.  Some councilors said it would be wise to start the levy rate off low to better the chances of passing it, while others hoped to ask for the maximum amount to provide the highest level of service possible.  “I think we have to be very careful about asking for too much our very first time that we attempt this. We want it to pass, right?” City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke said. Hundreds of residents wrote to city councilors, most of them in support of a levy to fund services they do not want to see reduced or eliminated.  “I have lived in Salem for a little over five years now. One of the main reasons I moved to Salem was because I saw how incredible the library here was,” wrote Jauane Mateer. “Libraries have always been my favorite places to visit. The idea of shutting down the library is devastating to me and I will never vote for anyone choosing to sacrifice it.”  Councilors floated ideas such as putting two different levies on the ballot with different rates to give voters a choice and discussed how the measure would be worded to best communicate what it would fund.  There was a general consensus that going out for a levy is the only way for the city to avoid sweeping budget cuts across city departments. “We have made substantial cuts to our 2024 and 2025 budgets totaling over $5 million dollars. Even these relatively measured cuts were challenging to make,” Stahley said. “The $14 million in cuts that we are going to talk about this evening, necessary to balance the 2026 budget, will be far more challenging.”  Stahley said that Tuesday afternoon city staff had already begun working on the 2026 budget.  “We are literally off and running with that,” Stahley said.  If passed, a levy to help pay for library, parks and Center 50+ would free up money in the city’s general fund, avoiding cuts to the police and fire departments. Councilors agreed those two city services are too important to fund through a levy which must be accepted and renewed by voters.  “Our backup plan is called the fiscal year 2026 budget. I mean, it isn’t the backup plan. It’s the plan,” City Councilor Paul Tigan said. “By the time we decide for this to go on the ballot and by the time that budget is revealed to the public they are going to have a clear choice to make. Either pass the levy and restore the services, or don’t pass the levy and we will pass the 2026 budget.” Salem-area legislators are meantime seeking an annual $7 million state payment to help pay for the city’s police and fire response, a longtime city goal. Even if legislators agree on that funding, it will likely come after the city has to finalize a budget for the coming year.  City Councilor Irvin Brown clarified that if a levy fails and cuts are made they would be across the board.  “No entity or department comes out of this scot-free,” Brown said. “Someone is going to lose their job.”  Nordyke linked services provided by the library, parks and Center 50+ with the broader discussion over public safety.  “Libraries prevent crime, libraries reduce crime. So do access to clean parks, and so does Center 50+,” Nordyke said. “When you drill down and look at the social determinants of health, we all have a question before us, ‘What kind of city do we want to live in?’”  Tigan said it is important to keep in mind that passing the levy makes it less likely the city will have to fire cops and firefighters. “The promise of shifting support for these liveability functions is that they then take pressure off of the general fund and what’s remaining in the general fund can be focused on fire and police and emergency response and other general fund functions,” Tigan said. “By focusing on this and offering the voters a choice to positively fund it, it also leaves the remaining part of the fund back for fire and police.”  Mayor Julie Hoy added to that notion with an anecdote about when she recently saw a burning shopping cart in the library courtyard near the door. She said a library employee pushed it away from the door before it could cause severe damage.  “Library staff handled that beautifully,” Hoy said. “I consider public safety to be an issue of livability as well. So, it is all in there.”  City councilors will meet on Feb. 10 to continue discussing the levy and vote on a measure to put on the ballot. In the meantime city staff will draft the measure in preparation for the February meeting. A final decision from councilors on whether to proceed will come on February 24. 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 Salem city councilors move toward levy on May ballot without consensus on amount appeared first on Salem Reporter.