Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek backs Salem livability levy, concept of state payment to capital city

Gov. Tina Kotek promised to protect Oregon values during her first press conference after the Nov. 5 election. (Photo by Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Oregon governor and Salem resident Tina Kotek plans to vote for a temporary new property tax levy that aims to keep the city's library, parks and senior center open as the capital city faces a $14 million budget gap.
Kotek told reporters Monday that she will support the levy, which would charge property owners 98 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, or about $229 annually for the average Salem homeowner. She said she hoped other residents would join her.
'They've made a strong case that (the levy) will help keep the senior center open, the libraries open,' Kotek said. 'It's a really important measure.'
Kotek, who lives in the state-owned governor's mansion, Mahonia Hall, wouldn't pay the new levy if voters approve it. The state government doesn't pay property taxes, which is part of the reason Salem's in such dire financial straits. About 8% of property in the city is owned by the state government, and the city provides resources like police and fire response to those properties but can't collect taxes from it.
'I have been publicly supportive of the state helping the city of Salem out, because we do have obviously a lot of state buildings that don't pay local property tax,' Kotek said. 'We do need to have a conversation.'
But she said she hasn't yet seen a proposal this legislative session for the state to aid Salem. A bipartisan group of legislators led by Rep. Tom Andersen, D-Salem, introduced House Bill 2531 to send $7 million annually to the city to pay for emergency response services stressed by the state government.
Kotek said she hasn't talked with Andersen about the proposal. Andersen confirmed the two haven't spoken about his bill, which didn't receive a hearing before a legislative deadline.
His next step is to ask the budget-writing Joint Ways and Means Committee to take up the request and consider including it in the state budget or the 'Christmas tree bill,' an end-of-session bill laden with lawmakers' pet projects like a tree with ornaments.
It's a tough year for budget requests, as lawmakers brace for cuts to federal spending and the impact of tariffs. But Andersen stressed that his $7 million request is small compared to the state's budget.
'$7 million, we can find that in the legislative couches,' Andersen said.
And, he said, the bipartisan coalition of Salem-area representatives — Democratic Sen. Deb Patterson, Republican Rep. Kevin Mannix and Democratic Rep. Lesly Muñoz, all of whom represent portions of Salem, are cosponsoring it, as are Republican Rep. Ed Diehl and Democratic Rep. Paul Evans from neighboring districts — will help convince lawmakers from other parts of Oregon of the capital city's importance.
The last time Andersen testified to a committee about an earlier version of the bill, he held up a picture of the state Capitol burning in the 1930s, the second time the statehouse was destroyed by fire.
'It was the city of Salem fire department that rescued and saved people's lives in that fire,' Andersen said. 'So the city provides valuable, extremely needed and necessary services to the state property within the city limits. That should be acknowledged, and there should be some sort of payment from the state to the city for those services.'
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