Save Salem Public Library in Oregon!
JANUARY 2025 UPDATE:
The City Council will meet on 1/27 at 6 pm in the Council Chambers at 555 Liberty St SE, though they will not be discussing the option of putting a "livability levy" on the May 2025 ballot, which would fund the library, parks/recreation, and Center 50+. Still, we must make public comment on non-agenda items and/or send in written testimony.You can sign up to comment day-of in-person. You can also provide live virtual testimony by signing up on 1/27 between 8 am and 4 pm by clicking here.At a Budget Committee meeting in December 2024, the City proposed Leadership Team Principles that "Cuts made to-date have eroded some service areas to the point that additional cuts would render the service ineffective" and that they'd prefer to "Do it well or don't do it at all." This seems targeted at community services like the library, parks, Center 50+, etc., as funds for public safety (police and fire) have already been diverted from these services to public safety in the General Fund.Background:
The public library for Salem, the capital city of Oregon, was fighting budget options in spring 2024 that included losing 8 FTE come July 1, 2024. These options primarily affected Spanish-speaking staff and targeted diverse programming.Thanks to then-Mayor Chris Hoy, a motion was put forth to use temporary funding from the Transient Occupancy Tax to save the library at current operations until June 30, 2025. This saved the 3 Librarians and 3 Library Assistants their jobs for an additional year. Unfortunately, since then 3 Librarians have resigned.Photo by @kelseydawn.art and used with permission