City Council meetings are held to allow Council to conduct business, make decisions in a public forum, and formulate policy. People who wish to comment in-person at these meetings can sign up at the entryway before the meeting starts, usually at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. There will be different sign-up sheets for each meeting type: City Council, Salem Housing Authority, and Salem Urban Renewal Agency. Comment periods may include:

• Item 2a, public comment on agenda items
• Item 8a, public comment on items not on the agenda
• Public hearings

Note: To share a video (with sound) or PowerPoint presentation with music or other audio, CC:Media needs to have time to test the audio in the room before the City Council meeting begins.  It is best to arrive prior to 5:30 pm and alert CC:Media in advance. 

Online meeting participation

To sign up to provide online comment or testimony at the next Salem City Council meeting, please use the Sign Up to Comment form or the blue button at left, between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Once you’ve signed up, you will receive an email with instructions on how to join the Zoom meeting and provide your comments.

Are you experiencing technical issues when trying to sign up? If so, please try clearing your browser cache: Select the Security menu from the three-dot menu at the browser's top right, from the options, select Privacy or Privacy and Security, then click on Clear Browsing Data. Try again to sign up. If that doesn't work, please contact the cityrecorder@cityofsalem.net.

Other ways to comment

You may submit your comments on agenda items for the City Council, Urban Renewal Agency, or Salem Housing Authority Commission meetings by emailing cityrecorder@cityofsalem.net or by delivering paper copies to the Customer Service Center at the Parkway Building, 440 Church Street, 5th Floor.

Public comments on agenda items (excluding public hearings or land use issues) will be accepted early in the meeting after the opening exercises. Testimony for public hearings will take place following the staff presentation. Comments on non-agenda items will be heard towards the end of the meeting. The Mayor will announce the public comment period and invite individuals to address the City Council. Please begin by stating your name and street address or ward, and you will have three minutes to speak. A countdown clock will be displayed for each speaker during the meeting.

Meeting Schedule and Location

The Salem City Council hosts hybrid meetings regularly on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month at 6:00 p.m. The schedule for all Council meetings is noticed on the Council Meetings and Agendas Page.

Meeting Agenda and Procedures

Meeting agendas are typically available to the public by the Thursday before a regularly scheduled Council meeting. Both current and recent past agendas are available online. Topics scheduled for discussion at a Council meeting will appear on the agenda, within the following categories:

• Opening exercises: roll call, Pledge of Allegiance, ceremonial presentations, and proclamations
• Public comment on agenda items except public hearings or land use issues
• Consent calendar: meeting minutes, routine resolutions, and items reported by staff requiring Council action. All items are accepted and approved with one motion.
• Public hearings: public testimony and Council deliberation on matters under consideration by the Council. Public hearings will begin no later than 7:30 p.m.
• Special orders of business: items deferred from the consent calendar, matters of special importance to the Council, Mayor- and Councilor-initiated items, and formal presentations by city boards, commissions, or committees, or by outside agencies providing services
• Information reports: reports from staff on items that do not require Council action
• First and Second Reading of Ordinances: Title of ordinance read aloud, and generally no action is taken or testimony is considered during ordinance reading. Ordinances are local laws enacted by City Council.
• Public comment on items not on the agenda
• New business: action items brought forward by the Mayor or Councilors

City Council Rules govern procedures at City Council meetings. As described in these rules, each member of the Council has an opportunity to speak about a topic on the agenda. In order for the Council to make a decision, one Councilor must make a motion to act on a topic, a second Councilor must support the motion, and a majority of Councilors in attendance must vote in agreement for the motion to pass. If a majority of Councilors in attendance do not agree, the motion fails.

Other Council Meetings

In addition to regular meetings, the City Council periodically holds work sessions and executive sessions. A work session features a detailed presentation by staff followed by a discussion among Council members on a specific topic. While the public is welcome to attend work sessions, there is no opportunity for public comment, and the Council typically does not make substantive decisions during these sessions.

Executive sessions, on the other hand, are not open to the public. State law allows the City Council and other governing bodies to conduct executive sessions on specific topics, including real estate matters, labor negotiations, litigation, or other records that are exempt from public disclosure. Any final decisions regarding matters discussed in an executive session must be made in a public meeting of the Council.

Reasonable Accommodation

Disability-related accommodations, including auxiliary aids or services, for participation in a City Council meeting, are available upon request. Sign language and interpreters for languages other than English are also available upon request. To request such an accommodation or interpretation, contact the City Recorder 48 hours prior to the City Council meeting.