Mayor Chris Hoy will make a motion at Tuesday’s Salem City Council meeting to publicly censure Councilmembers Julie Hoy and Deanna Gwyn for failing to recuse themselves in a land use hearing involving a developer who made donations to their campaigns .
In his motion, Chris Hoy accused the two council members of violating the city charter by voting during an appeal of sidewalk rules for a south Salem development.
Julie Hoy is the mayor-elect and will take office in January after defeating Chris Hoy in the May primary. The two are not related.
The motion will be voted on on Tuesday. If passed by a simple majority, it would be the first public censure of a Salem City Council member since 2016.
Other Salem City Council agenda items
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A proclamation declaring November for Youth Homelessness, Outreach, Prevention and Education (HOPE) month and November 14 as “Light the Night” to raise awareness of runaway and homeless youth.
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A proclamation declaring November 14 as ‘Ruby Bridges Day’.
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A vote approving the third amendment to the purchase and sale agreement between the city and GreenLight-HomeFirst for the former Salem General Hospital site. The 120-unit affordable housing development Gussie Belle Commons is planned for the land on Center Street NE.
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Council review of a decision approving a conditional use permit for an automotive service shop at 3393 Silverton Road NE.
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A vote on proposed fees and charges for water, wastewater and stormwater utility rates and the appropriation of up to $400,000 for the Emergency Utility Assistance Program. The Water/Wastewater Taskforce recommends a rate increase of 4.5% for water, wastewater and rainwater in 2025 and 2026.
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A motion by the Mayor to adjust the salary range for the position of City Manager to ensure that the range is at least 5% above the top step of the Deputy City Manager classification and to increase the current City Manager salary by 7, 27% to ensure it is higher than the highest paid job classification of the Executive Pay Plan.
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An informative report on Salem’s preparedness for cyanotoxins and the results of its drinking water treatment process during the 2024 algae season. Despite high cyanotoxin levels in the raw river water entering the city’s Geren Island Water Treatment Facility this summer, Salem’s water is safe to to drink thanks to $80 million in infrastructure invested in treatment since the 2018 water crisis.
How to Join the Salem City Council Meeting
The meeting is at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held in person at the Salem Civic Center City Council Chambers, 555 Liberty St. SE, and can be viewed on Comcast Cable CCTV Channel 21 or on the Salem YouTube channel in English/American sign. Language and Spanish.
Anyone who would like to provide personal comments can register for the schedules at the room entrance before the start of the meeting.
Written public comments on agenda items can be emailed to cityrecorder@cityofsalem.net by Monday at 5 p.m. Or pre-register Monday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. at cityofsalem.net/Pages/Public-Comment-at-Salem-City-Council-Meeting.aspx to speak during the meeting via Zoom.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow @wmwoodworth
This article originally appeared in Salem Statesman Journal: Salem City Council to vote on public censure for two council members
