Cherriots board to delay tax vote, negotiate with business groups

Leaders of Salem’s transit district will delay plans to expand bus service with a new tax on businesses, instead hoping to negotiate a compromise with advocacy groups that have opposed the plan.

The Salem Area Mass Transit District board decided Wednesday evening to form a committee including board members, representatives from a coalition of six business and real estate groups, and citizens.

Cherriots, as the agency is better known, initially planned to consider a payroll tax to fund service expansions at an Oct. 23 meeting. The tax would have raised about $39 million per year starting in 2027 for expanded evening, early morning and weekend buses and other additions.

Now, that will be delayed as the board negotiates with opponents over the specifics of the tax. The goals of that commit