TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Krishna Namburi, City Manager
SUBJECT: Safety and Livability Update
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A safe, clean and healthy Salem update
Ward(s): 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): CANDO, ELNA, NESCA, NOLA, Northgate, SCAN, WSNA
Result Area(s): Safe and Healthy Community, Strong and Diverse Economy, and Welcoming and Livable Community.
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SUMMARY:
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This report outlines Safe, Clean and Healthy Salem initiative progress and community engagement. The City’s initial focus is on downtown and northeast Salem. These two areas of Salem experience higher volumes of requests for police support and emergency medical response, and concerns about cleanliness and unsanitary conditions.
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ISSUE:
Information only.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Information only.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
On October 13, 2025, Salem City Council passed a supplemental budget to advance the Safe, Clean and Healthy Salem initiative. Since June 2025, City Council has considered options to enhance safety, cleanliness, and health in the downtown and northeast Salem in Work Sessions (July 21, September 17) and Council meetings where staff shared updates on continued engagement with businesses and residents, and current community-led and City-supported activities to improve safety, livability, and cleanliness in downtown and northeast Salem. These two areas of Salem experience higher volumes of requests for police support and emergency medical response.
For the purposes of the data described in this report, the “Downtown” area includes core downtown area as well as Wallace Marine, Riverfront, and Bush parks.
Community Engagement: Broad, Inclusive Conversations
As Council conversations have progressed, staff continue to seek input from residents, downtown and Northeast Salem area businesses, the Salem Main Street Association, and representatives of service organizations, those with lived experience, and advocates for Salem’s unsheltered population. Summaries of these conversations have been attached to earlier Council reports. Conversations will continue with both downtown and northeast stakeholders, and staff will report this information to the Council in future meetings.
Actionable Strategy for Safety, Cleanliness, and Health
While staff continue to build a broader coalition of support for a holistic, comprehensive solution, City Council has advanced an actionable strategy (Attachment 1) with immediate, near-term, and longer-term options for City action and possibilities for future funding to support a safe, clean and healthy Salem.
Progress Report: Near-Term, Immediate Actions
• Since mid-July, staff enhanced police visibility in both downtown and in northeast Salem by allocating additional overtime assignments, funded by salary savings, under the direction of a dedicated Sergeant.
• For greater efficiency and impact, staff are looking at employee engagement organized around teams focused on how we are providing existing services to improve safety, cleanliness and health outcomes. Through this type of employee engagement, we think we can increase our efficiency and have a greater impact.
• October 13, City Council approved a mid-FY26 Budget adjustment which provides six months of funding for:
1. Two additional Homeless Services Team (HST) Police officers to expand coverage to seven days per week. (staff & materials / services - $275,200, beginning November 2025)
Following successful recruitment and training, two additional HST officers were in the field mid-November for 7-day-per-week coverage. “Downtown” area includes core downtown area as well as Wallace Marine, Riverfront, and Bush parks. Wallace Marine Park has been a focal point for our work. Salem Police provided an update to the Marion County Public Safety Coordinating Council on January 13, 2026 (Attachment 2).
2. Piloting community health response model that would deploy integrated teams consisting of a Salem Fire Department paramedic, EMT-basic, and mental health clinician to incidents involving emotional disturbance, overdoses, and other health emergencies while also conducting proactive outreach to prevent emergencies before they occur. (Fire Department Costs: $200,000 for six months for an EMT-Basic and a Paramedic, beginning January 2026)
On January 20, Salem Fire and Marion County Health and Human Services launched REACH - Rapid Engagement, Assessment, and Community Health (REACH) Team. The REACH Team training occurred the week of January 12, 2026. On November 4, 2025, Marion County’s Board of Commissioners approved funding for a mental health associate as part of the community health response pilot program following Council’s October funding action. The REACH Team will respond to and handle calls, preserving fire engine or ladder truck response for higher acuity calls.
As a result of this investment and partnership, Salem will track and expects to see:
• A reduction in unnecessary emergency room visits;
• A decrease in repeat calls from individuals who make frequent emergency calls;
• More individuals connected to services (such as shelter, addiction center, mental health providers); and
• Cost savings throughout the system resulting from avoided emergency room visits, ambulance transports, and hospital admissions.
3. Expanding cleaning services in high response areas to further improve health and safety. (Additional overtime, disposal and contracting fees for the Salem Outreach and Livability Services Team in the Community Services Department for $151,000, beginning November 2025)
Salem’s Clean Team, previously referred to as Salem’s Outreach and Livability Services Team (or SOS), began seven days a week coverage in late October 2025.
In December 2025, we achieved a total of 41 tons of waste removal, a significant increase from 21 tons in December 2024, representing an approximate growth of 95.24%. This increase can be attributed, in part, to our transition to a seven-day-per-week operational schedule. However, it is important to recognize that tonnage does not necessarily double each month. Future tonnage will be influenced by several factors, including project size, weather conditions, contractor availability, and other variables.
Operating seven days a week has enabled us to respond more quickly and assist at a greater number of locations. Notably, our two largest sources of waste removal were Wallace Marine Park and the banks of Claggett Creek. The additional workdays allowed us to proactively address waste management ahead of anticipated heavy rains and rising river levels in these areas.
In response to community reports, staff were able to remove 20.8 tons from Wallace Marine Park altogether in December and 7.57 tons from the banks of Claggett Creek. Please note trash removed from Wallace would have been submerged by the heavy rains and rising river levels that followed in the days after.
As a result of this investment, Salem expects:
• Faster response to reports of unmanaged encampments and associated safety concerns;
• Increase in service contacts, referrals, and placements into shelter or treatment;
• Longer-lasting cleanliness and safety in parks, business corridors, and other high-impact areas;
• Fewer large unmanaged encampments and associated complaints;
• Reduced costs and workload tied to repeated postings and large-scale cleanups;
• Fewer repeat 911 usage among identified high utilizers;
• More timely, appropriate care for individuals experiencing behavioral health or substance use crises; and
• More calls where a fire company and/or ambulance remained available for other emergencies.
Longer-Term Actions
In longer-term, for FY27, the actionable strategy considers:
• Funding eight additional Police officer positions in FY27 to restore a pro-active community policing approach to needs in downtown and northeast Salem. The goal of pro-active community policing is to address issues before they escalate and work closely with service providers, businesses, and city departments to resolve underlying issues. (staff & materials / services- $1,663,650 annually)
• Maintain Salem Clean Team funding and sustain the team before September 2026 to improve cleanliness. (staff & materials / services - $400,000 for 9 months)
• Learning from McKay Park pilot of small, single-stall public restroom, staff are considering installation of a self-contained, single-stall public restroom (commonly referred to as a Portland Loo) as part of the park improvement project. For future installation of this restroom in the park, a pad with electricity for automatic doors and lighting, water service, and sewer hookup is being prepared. While this pilot is underway, should Council direct staff, the City may explore possible locations in downtown area with electrical, water service and sewer hookup options.
• The recent community survey also identified drugs as a top priority after homelessness. The City is evaluating potential approaches and will return to Council for further discussion.
Possible funding resources may include: (1) possible additional revenue from the transition to paid on street parking to support additional safety and cleanliness services in downtown; (2) additional resources resulting from transition to City-provided EMS; (3) ending Tax Increment Collections on Urban Renewal Areas to return resources to the General Fund; and (4) continued efforts to secure payment in lieu of taxes from the State of Oregon.
Other ideas of interest include further exploring:
• Expansion of Homeless Services Team, in co-response with qualified mental health professional
• Funding models, including collaboration with Marion County and private sector partnerships
• Engaging businesses, through an ambassador program paid for and/or managed by a downtown business improvement district or business association with the intent of keeping business districts welcoming, clean, and safe.
Update on Cross-Sector Collaboration, Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative
As part of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, the City was selected for a year-long partnership around a key priority area in the Collaboration Track from the three available tracks (Data, Innovation, and Collaboration). There are 11 other cities in the Collaboration track from around the world from this 9th Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative cohort <https://www.cityofsalem.net/Home/Components/News/News/1671/>.
The Mayor identified public safety as a priority and convened an October 7 cross-sector collaboration kick-off session, facilitated by a Bloomberg-Harvard team. Along with other participants representing multiple perspectives (resident, business, service providers, those with lived experience) around downtown public safety and livability, the group reconvened January 20, 2026 to continue its work and forge new partnerships.
With the framework for this cross-boundary collaboration in place, we will expand to engaging northeast Salem area residents, businesses, service providers, and those with lived experience to improve safety and livability in northeast.
Topics for Future Council Discussion
The Council has not yet had an in-depth discussion about: (1) drug prevention and enforcement program or (2) public restrooms in downtown.
From Drug Prevention to Enforcement
Staff are preparing for broader community engagement on a drug prevention through drug enforcement strategy. Staff are (1) documenting current practice along the continuum of services, partnerships, and resources available in our community to identify gaps; (2) preparing a strategy for community engagement around a vision; and (3) planning to return to Council with an update on our progress in March 2026.
Public Restroom Research
At its November 24, 2025 meeting, the City Council received an informational update on public restroom research, completed for the Bond Oversight Committee. Several park improvement projects funded through the 2022 Safety and Livability Bond include restroom replacements and the addition of two new restroom structures within the city park system.
The first of these projects, scheduled for construction in 2026, includes the installation of two modular, single-user restroom structures at McKay Park, along with other park improvements. Staff will monitor and evaluate the performance of these facilities to guide future applications, including additional restroom projects planned later in the ten-year bond program. While this installation is not intended as a one-size-fits-all solution, staff anticipates the potential for broader applicability across the city.
While discussions around the Safe, Clean, and Healthy Salem initiative identifies public restrooms as an important community need, no dedicated funding sources have yet been established for their implementation.
Next Steps
• April 2026 - Council considers the City’s Strategic Plan.
• April - June 2026: Salem’s Budget Committee considers the FY27 Budget, and recommends the budget to City Council.
BACKGROUND:
At the June 9, 2025, City Council meeting, Mayor Julie Hoy indicated she would bring a motion at the June 23, 2025, meeting to direct staff to report on ways to increase police presence in the downtown to improve public safety. On July 21, City Council held a work session to consider comprehensive information concerning public safety and livability in the downtown and reflect on results of additional community engagement and concern for both downtown and northeast Salem. Throughout the summer, Council received information reports and considered potential service improvements in downtown and northeast Salem. On October 13, 2025, City Council unanimously approved a supplemental budget for FY26, adding resources to support the Actionable Strategy for Safety, Cleanliness, and Health.
Courtney Knox Busch
Assistant City Manager/
Director for Strategy and Engagement
Attachments:
1. Actionable Strategy for Safety, Cleanliness, and Health
2. Wallace Marine Park update