There are a lot of positive developments underway in the City of Salem. We recently passed a levy that will bring Salem an $80 million new, much-needed elementary/middle school campus.

We recently secured over $1 million in state funding to complete a new town square, which will be a focal point for our historic downtown shopping district

Another $450,000 in private donations has been raised to expand that town square park area over to the Memorial Building.

And we are very near on an announcement that a new, multi-million dollars South Lincoln overpass bridge is to be built over the very busy Salem railroad intersection, through federal and state funding — a project that has been in the works for decades.

Capping all of this off, the city received word just recently that it had been named the 12th best “micropolitan” community in the nation, covering communities with a population between 10,000 and 50,000. This award was based on the numbers of new jobs of over 20 per site; capital investments of over $1 million per site; and square footage of new facilities brought online within the city durng the past year. What a nice tribute to the City of Salem.

It is with all this positive momentum in mind that the local Democratic and Republican parties leadership have come together, united in their show of support for passing the . 25% city income tax renewal that is on the May 6th ballot. The proceeds of this measure are 100% committed to the improvement of our city’s streets and sidewalks, perhaps the most important community infrastructure investment any community can make.

Within just the last ten years — since this measure was enacted by the city’s voters — more than $13 million in city income tax revenues have been invested in Salem city streets, alleys and sidewalks. Another $5.5 million in federal and state “matching” funds have been added to this, for a total of over $18 million invested. These dollars have gone toward the paving of 70% of all the streets in Salem, paving 163 Salem city streets in all corners of the city — some 44.8 miles of new pavement.

Finally, to make the case even sweeter for Salem voters, the Regional Income Tax Authority, which certifies the tax collections for the city of Salem, has certified that 84% of the city’s .25% income tax receipts come from taxpayers who work and are taxed in Salem but who reside in communities other than Salem. So, essentially, only 16% of the proceeds from this tax are actually funded by the resident taxpayers of Salem. What a deal for the city.

All we are asking for here is that Salem voters continue on with the mere 1/4 of one penny out of a dollar taxed (mostly on the 84% of the taxpayers who come to Salem for employment) be approved by Salem city voters on May 6th. This is a relatively small personal investment that has quite an enormous impact on the well-being of our entire community. It is not an increase. Only a renewal. We urge that every Republican, Democrat and Independent in the city vote “YES” to its passage on May 6th.