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City creates livability‑levy oversight committee and adopts fiscal year 2026 budget
Summary
Council approved a structure for a livability levy oversight committee to review expenditures and required an annual audit; the council also adopted the city—s fiscal year 2026 budget after discussion about grant repayment arrangements with a community partner.
The Salem City Council on June 23 approved a staff proposal to form a livability levy oversight committee to provide quarterly oversight of funds raised by the recently passed livability levy and directed that an independent annual audit be performed. The committee will be composed of three council members and four community members representing parks and recreation, the public library, Center 50 Plus and one at‑large resident; appointments will be made by the mayor under the city charter.
Council members emphasized that the committee is an additional accountability layer and that the levy’s ballot language and legal restrictions on spending remain binding. The committee will exercise public transparency by posting meeting materials and providing an annual report to the council; staff recommended quarterly meetings and the first independent audit following the close of the first fiscal year of levy receipts (fall 2026).
Budget adoption Later in the meeting the council adopted the fiscal year 2026 city budget. Councilor Shane Matthews had sought a short delay to confirm a repayment plan related to past federal tenant‑based rental assistance (TBRA) audit concerns; staff said they would seek agreement with the nonprofit grantee (Community Action Agency) on repayment timing before executing a pending amendment for a separate inclement weather program grant. The council voted to adopt the FY26 budget on the record.
Why it matters: The oversight committee and the required audit were framed as measures to ensure public trust and to ensure levy funds are used for the purposes approved by voters. The budget adoption sets city spending priorities for the year including downtown parking implementation and other initiatives discussed in the meeting.
Next steps Mayor-appointed membership and a schedule for quarterly meetings will be developed; staff will post materials and prepare the first audit after the levy fund closes its first fiscal year cycle.
