PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, OCTOBER 16, 2015
Transit board member talks of tax
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WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE
Today in History
Eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure (Baby Jessica) is
rescued from a an abandoned water well in Midland, Texas
after being trapped for 58 hours. The event had people
from around the glued to their televisions.
— October 16, 1987
Food 4 Thought
“The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the
grasp of executive power.”
— Daniel Webster
The Month Ahead
FINAL PERFORMANCES
Doubt: A Parable, Tony-winning play by John Patrick
Shanley will have its fi nal three performances this
weekend at Chemeketa Community College Auditorium,
Bldg. 6. Shows at 7 p.m. tonight and Saturday, Oct 17, 2
p.m. matinee on Sunday, Oct. 18. Tickets are $12, available
at the door. keizerhomegrowntheatre.org.
Friday, October 16
An Evening with Edgar Allen Poe, 7 p.m. at Deepwood
Estate. Tickets are $15 regular, $12 members. Seating is
very limited. historicdeepwoodestate.org
Sunday, October 18
Lunch/dance at Keizer/Salem Area Senior Center, corner
of Cherry Ave. and Plymouth Drive. Lasagna meal served
at 12:30 p.m, dancing to Crossfi re follows. Tickets are $13,
$11 in advance. 503-390-7441.
Monday, October 19
Keizer City Council meeting, 7 p.m. in council chambers at
Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE.
Tuesday, October 20
Keizer Points of Interest Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m. in
council chambers at Keizer Civic Center.
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Opposition to the proposed
business payroll tax to pay for
local transit service has been
rather vocal.
But there are those calling
for the Salem-Keizer Transit
District’s 0.21 percent payroll
tax on the Nov. 3 ballot to be
passed.
Kathy Lincoln from the
Salem-Keizer Transit Board of
Directors falls into the latter
category.
Lincoln spoke about the
measure at the Oct. 8 West
Keizer Neighborhood Asso-
ciation meeting. The tax would
pay for extended evening bus
service, weekend service and
free bus passes for area middle
school and high school students.
The extended service would be
phase two of the transit district’s
Moving Forward plan.
“We haven’t had these ser-
vices here since 2009,” Lincoln
said. “There is (currently) no
service from 9 p.m. Friday to
6 a.m. Monday. We have almost
200,000 people in the area. We
need a bus service to at least
bring us up to the service in
Corvallis and Tillamook. Eu-
gene-Springfi eld has an amaz-
ing service. More transit ser-
vices allows for a larger labor
pool, brings people downtown
and allows more people to at-
tend events on the weekend. It’s
Saturday, October 24
Bowser’s Boo Bash, the Willamette Humane Society’s
annual costume party, dinner and auction benefi ting
animals, will be held at Salem Convention Center from 5
to 9 p.m. Advance tickets are $60, $75 after Oct. 16. info@
whs4pets.org.
In My Life: a musical theatre tribute to The Beatles, 7:30
p.m. at the Elsinore Theatre. Tickets begin at $35. www.
elsinoretheatre.com
possibilities of rate increases are
pretty slim in the foreseeable
future.”
Lincoln noted the property
tax brings in about $10 million
a year, while the .6 percent tax
on wages for state employees
brings in more than $5 million.
“Oregon state pays more
(in percentage) than we’re ask-
ing with this tax,” Lincoln said.
“This would be on privately
owned businesses and the self-
employed. It would also be on
hospitals. Hospitals are not pay-
ing for transit services now, but
they are heavy users of transit.”
Lincoln pointed to the Lane
Transit District in the Eugene-
Springfi eld area as a model ex-
ample.
“That is a successful system,
with a .7 percent payroll tax,”
she said. “They have solid busi-
ness support. It’s such a good
system, they get a lot of federal
money. We don’t get that (fed-
eral money), since we have a
little podunk service. It’s an es-
sential service. We need an ex-
panded transit system in Salem-
Keizer.”
According to Lincoln the
payroll tax was seen as the best
way to expand the system.
“The payroll tax is the only
option we really had,” said Lin-
coln, who joined the transit
board after the decision had
already been made. “Businesses
feel upset, but they stand to
benefi t because of more shop-
pers and labor pool. A healthy
transit system attracts young
people to live in the area. I
know there is a lot of public
support for this.”
Nate Brown, the director
of Community Development
for Keizer, on hand for another
presentation, disagreed with an
audience member’s assessment
of the current system being suf-
fi cient.
“The system is not fi ne,”
Brown said. “My fi rst reaction
to the payroll tax option was
holy mackerel, that’s a tough
way to go. But we constantly
deal with transportation issues.
We’ve got to fi nd a way to have
a decent public transit system. I
wish there were better answers
and that the state had a better
system. The system is not fi ne
the way it is.”
Gary Blake asked why the
system needs to be expanded
via the payroll tax.
“Where does personal re-
sponsibility come in?” Blake
asked. “This is putting the re-
sponsibility on businesses.”
Lincoln said not having
bus service on the weekend
would be equivalent to being
in a wheelchair on a 12 th fl oor
apartment and having the el-
evator turned off for the week-
end at 9 p.m. Friday.
“It’s an enormous problem,”
she said.
SKSB elects budget committee
By HERB SWETT
For the Keizertimes
Two of fi ve candidates, one
an incumbent, were elected to
the budget committee of the
Salem-Keizer School District
by the Salem-Keizer School
Board on Tuesday.
Each position is for three
years, to end June 30, 2018. The
incumbent is Mark Bateman of
Salem, who has two children in
the school system and has been
chair of the Sherwood city
budget committee. The other is
Marcia Atkinson of Salem, who
has served two terms on the
Portland Community College
board of directors and taught
business classes at PCC.
One of the other three can-
didates was Michael Elliott of
Keizer, who is state school fund
coordinator for the Oregon
Department of Education and
has a daughter who is about
to enter the school system.
The others were Kyle Carl-
ton of Salem, an underwriter
for the State Accident Insur-
ance Fund, who has a daughter
in kindergarten in the school
system, and David Gulliver of
Salem, who works for the Or-
egon Department of Human
Services in the self-suffi ciency
programs for Marion, Polk and
Yamhill counties.
Director Chuck Lee of
Keizer commented what he
called the “high caliber” of all
fi ve applicants and urged that
the three who were not elected
consider applying in the future.
• The board approved its
annual proclamation of Hands
and Words Are Not for Hurting
Week, which will be the week
of Oct. 18-24. The proclama-
tion calls for ending all forms
of physical and verbal abuse.
• The board discussed a vote,
to be held sometime after a
Nov. 3 work session on revi-
sions to various board policies.
Director Chris Brantley said
he will not vote for such a pro-
posal unless it includes a provi-
sion for board members to let
more public opinion be heard
on district matters and one for
the board to listen to more ex-
perts on school policies.
• Natalie Altermatt of Keiz-
er was one of three audience
members who spoke to the
board. She complained that
not enough science classes
were available for students in
sixth and seventh grades, in-
cluding her son. Jerry Thomp-
son of Salem, a director of Sa-
lem Area Mass Transit, urged
voter approval of a proposed
.21 percent business payroll
tax to provide extended bus
service. Brittany Cronin of
Portland, a campaign organizer
for Oregon State Public Inter-
est Research Group, spoke in
favor of eliminating corporate
tax loopholes for offshore op-
erations.
Personnel actions approved
by the board include the fol-
lowing involving the McNary
High School attendance area:
• Contracts for employment
as temporary full-time teachers
of Connie Schroeder, second
grade, English for speakers of
other languages, Keizer El-
ementary School; Vanessa Ritz,
fi rst grade, Gubser Elementary
School; and Lori Lloyd, fi fth
grade, Clear Lake Elementary
School.
• A contract for employ-
ment as a fi rst-year probation
part-time teacher of Christo-
pher Tasner, mathematics, Mc-
Nary.
local
weather
public hearings
Thursday, October 22
First Anniversary Soiree at The Arbor at Avamere Court,
450 Claggett Ct. N., 5-7 p.m. It will feature a glitz and
glamour theme of the 1920s and 30s to refl ect the lives
of the facilities residents. Spirits and appetizers will be
served. Come dressed in period costume. 503-383-6084.
an essential public service any-
more.”
Lincoln, who ran unopposed
for a transit seat in the spring,
noted the transit district had
levies fail in 2006 and 2008.
That led to a question this year:
adding to property taxes or a
payroll tax. The transit district
had a survey done to get feed-
back.
“We found overwhelming
support for using the payroll
tax, which hasn’t been popular
with a lot of people,” Lincoln
said.
Both the Salem and Keizer
Chambers of Commerce have
been running organized cam-
paigns against the proposed tax,
claiming it’s unfair.
Lincoln said there are about
5,600 businesses in the area,
with a median annual income
of $80,000. The tax would
equate to $169 a year on an
$80,000 payroll. The tax could
be increased up to .002 percent
a year, meaning it could be .23
percent after one year and so
on.
“More service would start
in 2016 but we would not col-
lect the tax until 2017,” Lincoln
said. “We don’t have any inten-
tions on raising it in the future.
Payroll is going up, but transit
will attract new business to the
area. Hopefully those things
will work together so there’s
no need for the higher tax. The
The Keizer City Council
will hold a public hearing on
Monday, Oct. 19 to consider
a liquor license application
and change of ownership
for Salsa Rica Restaurant,
located at 3844 River Road
N in Keizer. The hearing will
take place at 7 p.m. in coun-
cil chambers at Keizer Civic
Center, 930 Chemawa Road
N.
Council will hold another
hearing on Oct. 19 for a new
liquor license application for
Pats 1 Cig, located at 4486
River Road N. The applica-
tion is for off-premises liquor
sales.
Council will also have a
hearing Oct. 19 to consider
a proposed text amendment
to Section 2.203 (permitted
uses generally) to the Keizer
Development Code to pro-
hibit the storage or display of
merchandise or other mate-
rial for commercial use on
a sidewalk, street, median or
other portion of a right of
way.
sudoku
Saturday, October 24 – Sunday, October 25
Clackamette’s 51st Annual Gem & Mineral Show Saturday
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the
Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby. Free admission.
503-631-3128.
Tuesday, October 27
Keizer Public Arts Commission meeting, 6 p.m. in council
chambers at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE.
Saturday, October 31
Community Harvest Party—Safe Zone for Kids, 1-3 p.m.,
Village at Keizer Ridge, 1184 McGee Court NE behind
Emerald Pointe Retirement Community. Oregon Dream
Ponies, food, music, candy. Free admission. 503-390-
1300.
Monday, November 2
Keizer City Council meeting, 7 p.m. in council chambers at
Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE.
Tuesday, November 3
Community Build Task Force meeting, 6 p.m. in council
chambers at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE.
Friday, November 6
Holiday craft bazaar sponsored by Salem Hospital
Auxiliary in Building D on Oak Street. Free parking in
hospital garage. Twenty-fi ve vendors. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 503-
364-7785.
Sunday, November 8
Thomas Lauderdale plays Gershwin with the Salem
Concert Band, 3 p.m. at the Elsinore Theatre. Tickets
range from $25 - $35. www.elsinoretheatre.com
Monday, November 9
Golden Dragon Acrobats, 7:30 p.m. at the Elsinore Theatre.
Tickets range from $20-$35. www.elsinoretheatre.com
looking back
in the KT
5 YEARS AGO
Japanese infl uence in
Keizer area could be
recognized by group
Enter digits
from 1-9 into
the blank
spaces. Every
row must
contain one
of each digit.
So must every
column, as
must every
3x3 square.
A project commemorating the
Japanese infl uence in the Keizer
area could be on tap.
3893 COMMERCIAL ST SE
THIS WEEK’S
MOVIE TIMES
10 YEARS AGO
Sports center fi scal
outlook unveiled
Two leading advocates of the
Keizer Sports and Community
Center last week unveiled more
detailed fi nancial projections for
the proposed project in North
Keizer.
15 YEARS AGO
Woman’s body found
in Keizer yard
Police are investigating the
death of a body found in a
Keizer yard by a local resident.
20 YEARS AGO
District battles glitches
in fi re call dispatching
The Keizer Fire District is
seeing delays -- an average of
almost three minutes -- for
9-1-1 emergency calls to reach
its crews.
KEIZERTIMES.COM
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