Here we go again.
Monday night the City Council approved spending $2.4 million in precious general fund dollars in yet another attempt to lure an airline willing to provide commercial air service at the Salem airport.
I guess Mayor Hoy and the eight city councilors have short memories. Or a penchant to forget the not-very-distant past when airlines came to town, and soon left town.
Because Chamber of Commerce types here keep promising that this time an airline will commit to providing commercial air service if enough public money is spent to show that Salem is serious about making the airport suitable for it.
Time to dust off the Charlie Brown and Lucy football metaphor. (If you aren't familiar with it, every fall Lucy promises that she'll put her finger on the ball so Charlie Brown can kick it, and every fall Lucy pulls the ball away just as Charlie Brown thinks this time she won't do it.)
Now, there's a chance this time will be when commercial air service comes to Salem and stays in Salem. But likely the $2.4 million, which is just the beginning of what the City of Salem needs to spend on airport improvements and subsidies, will be lost and gone forever before too long.
The Salem Reporter has a story about this, "Salem City Council commits $2 million to airport terminal improvements, staffing." Here's some of what should worry taxpayers about what I and many others view as a dumb move.
Tourism and business groups spoke in favor of the spending, while a majority of commenters were opposed, citing climate and budgetary concerns.
With funds approved, the airport would likely be ready for commercial service by September, months after business leaders have said interested airlines want to begin operations.
...Becktel said the next step after funding approval will be to sign an agreement with the airline, which remains unnamed due to the competitive nature of the airline industry.
The interested airline is a budget airline with ticket prices around $69 and $89 that intends to make Salem its west coast hub, according to Travel Salem President Angie Onyewuchi, who spoke at the meeting.
...Becktel noted that the improvements would be the bare minimum to meet requirements, and not make for an optimal passenger experience. The airport would likely need more improvements in the future.
...Tom Hoffert, the chief executive officer of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, spoke in support of the project and said it would help tourists visit nearby wineries.
Mike Herron of Vips Industries INC., said the airport would put more “heads in beds” at the Grand Hotel in Salem, and allow business travelers to stay in Salem longer.
At the Jan. 9 meeting, more residents submitted public comments opposed to the airport than in favor, including six people against it who spoke at the meeting.
Several members of the local climate group 350 Salem, spoke against the airport and said the funds would be better spent improving shuttle service to existing airports in Portland and Eugene.
The group asked the city to keep its Climate Action Plan in mind, and called the airport projections overly optimistic. Each wore a sticker with a red cancel mark over “FLY SALEM.”
So the nine City Council members, most of whom are progressives who claim to want Salem to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as called for by the Climate Action Plan they approved, just agreed to spend $2.4 million to bring large highly polluting commercial passenger planes to the airport.
Why? Because the Chamber of Commerce and Travel Salem want to make it easier for out-of-state people to visit nearby wineries, maybe spending time at a Salem hotel, but probably not -- since there are more attractive lodging options elsewhere in Northwest Oregon's wine country.
But, wow, we might get to be the West Coast hub for a budget airline that's probably destined to go out of business after sucking up the benefits of the $2.4 million the City Council has just bestowed on the unnamed airline.
Few people in Salem appear to want to subsidize another attempt at bringing commercial air service here. Yet City of Salem staff are for this; some in the business community are for this; so every member of the City Council dutifully went along with a project at odds with their own Climate Action Plan, and common sense, because whatever city staff and the Chamber wants, they usually get from the City Council.
When the unnamed airline ceases service in Salem after a year or two, I won't be shy in telling everyone who voted for this, "I told you so." Unfortunately, the homeless people who could have been helped mightily by the $2.4 million in general fund dollars won't be saying that to the City Council.
Because in this town those with the most money have the loudest voice. And that's who the City Council listens to most assiduously.
Is what they did financially responsible? Information presented at last night's budget meeting suggests that this may not have been the best time for this risky venture.
The consultants raised concerns about Salem's solvency. They looked at 9 similar municipalities and declared that (paraphrased): "Hard decisions will have to be made. Soon the city will not be able to pay their bills." Asked how we compare to the other cities they looked at, they responded (paraphrased): "The difference is that their senses of urgency relates to a 10 year planning period whereas, in Salem, the sense of urgency will be felt during the upcoming 5 years.
We have seen this show before. Increased levies and gas taxes were already mentioned as possible sources of future revenue. The upcoming budget discussions may get ugly. At-large members can be quite vocal.
Air service will not bankrupt us but it will force a modicum of other sacrifices within the zero sum game.
Posted by: Kurt | January 12, 2023 at 12:36 PM
We could limit the damage to our budget by including a 'not to exceed' clause in the approval. It is $2.4 million today. It will be millions more after an agreement is signed. Governments hate abandoning sunk costs. If they spend millions, they can either spend millions more or admit failure and bad judgement. It will be easier to spend more.
Posted by: mark h wigg | January 14, 2023 at 09:12 PM