By: Jesse Peone
A proposal for a $39 million annual payroll tax drew more than 30 speakers to the Cherriots board Wednesday night, with business leaders and transit riders staking out opposing sides — and one community leader urging board members to consider the human cost.
Tom Hoffert, CEO of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, spoke on behalf of a coalition of six business groups that includes the Keizer Chamber of Commerce, West Salem Business Association, Mid Valley Association of Realtors, the Home Builders Association of Marion & Polk Counties and SEDCOR. He warned the tax would cost small businesses an average of $3,500 a year, discourage hiring and ultimately be passed on to consumers.
“Just two years ago, 82% of Salem voters rejected a city payroll tax. This Cherriots proposal risks repeating a similar outcome,” Hoffert told the board. He cited new polling showing 62% of likely voters oppose the measure. “For consumers, they can expect higher prices, placing further financial strain on our most vulnerable citizens. What’s worse, our residents will not be allowed to vote on your proposal.”
Hoffert urged the board to work with business leaders on alternatives. “Collaboration is the only pathway forward,” he said, pointing to the city’s 2023 Livability Levy as an example of compromise after the failed payroll tax.
Transit riders painted a different picture. Kim Davis, a parent, said reliable transportation is essential for workers facing rising costs. “It is shortsighted for employers to complain about a minor loss in profit when the service is essential for their own employees and customers,” she said.
Benjamin Frybeck, a regular rider, said Cherriots saves him an estimated $13,000 annually. “Our transit service is pathetic on the weekends,” he said. “This expansion doesn’t just make my life easier — it makes life easier for thousands of Salem residents.”
Salem resident and community leader Jonathan Castro Monroy drew a unique contrast, telling the board the proposal would fall hardest on the very people it was meant to help.
“We are told this is a business tax,” Castro Monroy said. “But the truth is, costs always get passed down. Wages freeze. Hours get cut. Prices rise. And the ones who feel it the most are our most vulnerable — the very same people we as a community are supposed to protect.”
He pointed to the struggles of families across Salem. “The single mom choosing between rent and groceries. The senior on a fixed income stretching medicine to survive. The immigrant family, like mine, who works hard, pays in, and is always first in line to sacrifice.”
“This is not a business tax,” he added. “This is a workers’ tax. This is a families’ tax. This is an immigrants’ tax.”
Castro Monroy urged the board to put the measure to a public vote, citing past defeats. “People feel betrayed because they have already spoken. In 2015 they said no. In 2023 they said no. Different details, but the same story,” he said.
He closed by framing the debate in stark terms. “This is not about business or government. It is about the powerful versus the vulnerable. I stand with our most vulnerable, and I invite you to do the same.”
Cherriots Board President Maria Hinojos Pressey defended the payroll tax, describing it as “an $83 million investment to Salem” that would return more than two dollars for every one invested. She criticized “empty calls for collaboration,” pointing to past failed efforts with business groups. The Cherriots board did not take action Wednesday,
