Michael Hoselton for Salem City Council Ward 5

I am an award winning paralegal and community leader.  I know firsthand how wasteful government spending can be and how to save money simply using smarter management techniques and better technology.  Every business in America has been forced to adopt new technologies and adapt to a shrinking labor force.  You know what it's like to do more work in less time than it took you ten years ago. 

It's time for the City of Salem to learn how, too. 

You've probably been told that there is no way to balance the budget without increasing revenue.  What you have not been told is that Salem's revenue actually exceeds its expenses, that the operational deficit is only 2% of total expenditures, and that Salem revenue has increased 55%, adjusted for inflation, since 2010.  Then why do we have a deficit?

Politicians have tied our money into so many knots over the past 25 years, the head of the finance department actually testified that he could not explain how the budget works.  Maybe that's because it doesn't work.  The City blames our budget problems on Measures 5 and 50.  According to the Revenue Task Force, if Measure 50 was repealed, the cost of housing in Salem would increase by $400-$800 per month.

I can't afford that.  You can't afford that.  We can't afford to throw more money at a City that will simply use that to buy more things on its wishlist, only to come back to us next year, hat in hand, to ask for more.

Policy Platform

Balance the Budget

We don't need to raise taxes and fees. Cutting jobs and services are not the only ways to cut costs.  Salem must modernize its bureaucracy.  I don't want to cut jobs, I want to make them redundant.

Pro-Business

Salem needs to be an attractive, low cost place to do business in order to bring in private investments.  I support the Siletz Casino Project to build an over $100 million resort complex in Ward 5, which will share 25% of its profits with the City and State.

Public Safety

The top budget priority must be public safety, including hiring more police, firefighters, and crisis responders.  Our officers work 20 hours of overtime routinely.  Hiring more officers will reduce costs and burnout.

Endorsements

What about the homeless?

We need to partner with non-profits and state agencies to offer greater rehabilitative services to our homeless neighbors.  Not everyone you meet on the street can be helped, but most people who experience homelessness will someday return to permanent housing.  To get there, they need access to programs for addiction, mental health counseling, and occupational therapy.  I meet a lot of people who have no idea these services exist or where to access them.  Because the city can not afford to provide these services, we must bring in new partners to expand their programs to Salem.

What about infrastructure?

Because the City government has declined to adjust its budget and revenue system to the reality imposed more than 20 years ago by Measures 5 and 50, Salem's infrastructure has decayed and been repaired in stops and starts.  We need to focus on maininting and repairing our existing roads and sidewalks, while limiting new infrastucture spending to sustainable, safety focused projects, such as ensuring children have safe paths to school.

What about the climate?

Salem's Climate Action Plan is a hope and a prayer that forces far beyond our control will save us.  It would also make it so expensive to live in Salem that me and all of my neighbors would be priced out.  We deserve a real action plan with manageable goals to reduce pollution by making a green lifestyle more convenient and affordable.  We should expand tree planting programs, paint bike lines on streets wide enough for them, and take advantage of federal programs to make more energy efficient homes.

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