How Salem is run
Who runs Salem, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Salem's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Salem
The council appoints a city manager, who runs the city's administration and carries out its policies. The mayor and eight ward councilors make up the nine-member council that sets policy and passes ordinances.
What they are paid
- Deferred compensation of 6% of base salary a year
- City pays her 6% employee contribution to Oregon PERS
- $500 a month car allowance
- $8,000 relocation payment; must live in Salem
- Severance of 9 months' base salary plus 1 month per year as manager, up to 12 months
Salem city staff
1,356 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2024-25 (audited report, statistical section). Down from 1,375 in FY2023-24. City of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
The audited report gives staff counts by function. We found no city-published list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Salem in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
The city's own outlook
The city's five-year forecast finds a structural imbalance between general fund revenue and the cost of services. It shows the fund balance falling below council policy by the end of FY2028 and fully spent in FY2031. City of Salem · Jan 1, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $29.3M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep about 15% of general fund budgeted revenues in contingency and unappropriated fund balance. The audited report says the fund's ending balance was 16.8% of FY2025-26 budgeted revenues, which complies with the policy. City of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27 (forecast revenue; fund balance use from the approved budget).
Comes from
- Property taxes$101M · 51%
- Franchise fees$24.8M · 13%
- Cost allocation and internal charges$20.9M · 11%
- Fees for services and other fees$19.5M · 10%
- Use of fund balance$11.9M · 6%
- State shared revenues$7.2M · 4%
- Fines and penalties$3.8M · 2%
- Rents, permits and licenses$3.4M · 2%
- Other (sales tax, grants, transfers, miscellaneous)$5M · 3%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$74.3M · 38%
- Fire$58.9M · 30%
- Information technology$16.5M · 8%
- Non-departmental (incl. $3.5M contingency)$8M · 4%
- Community development$7.4M · 4%
- Facilities$6.8M · 3%
- Finance$5.1M · 3%
- Other$20.6M · 10%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About 41 cents of each property-tax dollar goes to the city ($8.03 of $19.63 per $1,000), counting urban renewal. A new city local option levy of $0.98 per $1,000 started after these rates.
41¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Salem
- Salem-Keizer School District6.86 · 35%
- City of Salem (permanent rate)5.39 · 27%
- Marion County2.78 · 14%
- Other agencies1.96 · 10%
- City of Salem urban renewal1.43 · 7%
- City of Salem (bonds)1.21 · 6%
- Total ($ per $1,000 of assessed value)19.63
FY2024-25 rates for property in the city of Salem (Marion County). City of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
See what a Salem house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Salem is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySalem Police DepartmentCity of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
- Fire protectionThe citySalem Fire DepartmentCity of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
- Ambulance (EMS)The cityCity of Salem Emergency Services fund (Salem Fire)Advanced Life Support and ambulance transport; the city became the primary ambulance service.City of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Salem UtilityCity of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
- Sewer and stormwaterThe cityCity of Salem UtilityCity of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
- LibraryThe citySalem Public LibraryCity of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of SalemCity of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of SalemCity of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
- Municipal courtThe citySalem Municipal CourtCity of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
- AirportThe citySalem Municipal Airport (city)City of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | BendOR | GreshamOR | EugeneOR | SalemOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 107,342 | 111,513 | 178,618 | 181,779 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $260,000 | $306,000 | $305,000 |
| Council member pay | $30,000 | $28,956 | Not confirmed | No salary |
| General fund per resident | $1,885 | $1,171 | $2,779 | $1,087 |
| Debt per resident | $5,387 | $814 | $359 | $1,394 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $991 | $1,372 | $1,702 | $1,273 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.7 | 6.2 | 9.4 | 7.5 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how).
What Salem publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY 2026 adopted budget book is on the city's budget page. The FY 2027 adopted totals and appropriations are in the council's June 2026 resolution. City of Salem
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Salem · Oct 27, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Salem
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe audited report states the mayor and councilor positions are part-time, without pay. City of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no city list of pay by employee. The audited report gives staff counts by function only. City of Salem · Jan 22, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city's forecast shows the general fund balance falling below council policy by the end of FY2028 and fully spent in FY2031. Which revenues or services will change to prevent that?
- Police ($74.3 million) and fire ($58.9 million) are the two largest parts of the $197.7 million FY2026-27 general fund budget. How will rising public safety costs be covered?
- The FY2026-27 general fund plans to use $11.9 million of fund balance. How much will remain on June 30, 2027?
- The city's share of the Oregon PERS net pension liability was $231.5 million on June 30, 2025. How will PERS rate increases affect the general fund?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The city manager's recommended budget goes to the Budget Committee (the council plus an equal number of appointed residents) in early spring, and the committee approves it in late spring. The council holds a public hearing in June and adopts the budget by June 30. The FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 22, 2026. See who is running for council
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