Everybody should applaud the Salem Reporter, our city's online alternative to the Statesman Journal, for holding a town hall on the proposed payroll tax at the Elsinore Theatre this evening.
For whether you oppose or favor the payroll tax, or don't have an opinion on it, it's great that a public debate on the tax happened prior to voters casting their ballot on it in the upcoming November election.
I didn't attend the town hall. But I've watched some of the You Tube video of it, which I'll share below. (The screenshot above is just to show the debaters, Oregon Business & Industry president Preston Mann, who opposes the tax, and Salem City Council president Virginia Stapleton, who favors it.)
Both did a good job, from my viewing of part of their remarks. The Salem Reporter had a live blog of the town hall which provides a summary of what transpired. In case the live blog isn't accessible to those who don't subscribe to the Salem Reporter, here's what was said about the debaters' remarks.
6:15 p.m. – Salem City Council president Virginia Stapleton is leading the pro-tax campaign Save Salem.
Stapleton said the passing of Measure 5 in 1990 resulted in Salem property taxes being capped at $10 per 100,000 of assessed value. Seven years later, Measure 50 created a permanent tax rate. “These rates have been frozen in time ever since the 1997,” she said.
Stapleton said the cost of running the city is outpacing its revenue from property taxes. Salem officials have been slowly cutting services for over two decades and have had to “get creative” to find ways to boost revenue, she said.
That includes the city’s operations fee, which went to utility bills on July 1 and goes to emergency services, libraries, parks and other services. “But we can no longer continue to make cuts,” she said.
If the payroll tax fails, the city’s proposed budget cuts include closing the west Salem library, reducing hours and days at the main Salem Public Library, Stapleton said.
She also said the city would need to cut seven positions at the Salem Fire Department, five positions from the Salem Police Department, 13 positions across support services such as the city’s Human Resources, Information Technology and Legal departments, and seven positions from parks and maintenance crews.
“Salem is a wonderful town and it has amazing potential. The one glaring issue is the city’s general fund,” she said. “The payroll tax will stabilize that general fund and provide the city the ability to keep investing in our community and meeting the needs of our residents.”
6:30 p.m. – Oregon Business and Industry led the campaign to get the vote put on the ballot.
OBI President Preston Mann said his organizations sees dozens of tax measures come through the state Legislature. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a tax as complicated and convoluted as this one,” he said.
Mann said he finds the proposed tax troubling because most residents are not clear on when they enter or exit city limits.
He said as much as the city budget might be in a crisis, family budgets are as well. “I think we can’t forget that in this conversation. People are having a very difficult time paying the bills right now, and 500 to $1,000 per family, that’s a lot of money. And frankly, I don’t think people can afford that,” he said.
Mann said he rejects any implication that those opposing the tax don’t support homeless services, police or firefighters.
“Many of the 13,000 people that signed this petition, we simply disagree with this particular tax increase. This particular approach is complicated and cost too much and there has to be a better way,” he said.
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