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Salem committee approves $570,809 Veterans Services budget, staff seek outreach to reach more veterans
Summary
The Salem City Council administration and finance committee recommended approval of the Veterans Services department FY26 budget totaling $570,809, including a personnel increase to make an assistant’s pay competitive. Director Kim Emerling described steady caseloads and ongoing housing challenges for veterans.
The Salem City Council Committee on Administration and Finance recommended approval Thursday of the fiscal year 2026 Veterans Services budget totaling $570,809, including $160,009 in personnel and $410,800 in expenditures.
Kim Emerling, director of Veterans Services, told the committee the office is small and “pretty stable,” serving about 40 to 45 clients and handling benefits work, VA compensation claims and state Chapter 115 benefits. Emerling said recent federal and state changes have opened more compensation options and the office has seen an increase in veterans filing claims. “We run about 40 to 45 clients, essentially,” Emerling said.
The budget hearing focused on maintaining current services and an adjustment to staff pay. Emerling said the principal change in the proposed FY26 budget is a payroll increase to bring her full-time assistant’s salary up to parity with the new grade. “She was well below the average across the state,” Emerling said, and the adjustment was intended to make the position “equitable.”
Committee members asked about housing assistance and outcomes. When asked how many veterans the department helps obtain housing each year, Emerling estimated “10 to 15 a year at any given time,” and described the mix of temporary and longer-term placements. She explained some veterans use VASH (the VA’s Section 8 voucher program), which can involve long waits and requires coordination with landlords and local programs. Emerling said waits for some emergency-to-permanent placements can be “3 or 4, could be 5 months,” depending on applicants’ circumstances.
Emerling described a transitional home in Beverly operated by North Shore Counseling with about 16 rooms that can be used for temporary placements; placements there are considered transitional by the VA and do not always remove a veteran from emergency lists.
Councilor Stott moved to recommend approval of the Veterans Services personnel and expenditures lines; Councilor Harvey seconded. Chair Merkel said she saw two hands plus her own and the matter carried.
The committee did not adopt new policy changes; discussion centered on maintaining current services, outreach to identify eligible veterans, and the effect of federal and state benefit changes on local caseloads.
