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Council schedules Oct. 21 Committee of the Whole to consider Shepherd of the Valley bond request; finance committee to review budget draft
Summary
Salem City Council set a Committee of the Whole meeting for Oct. 21 to hear Shepherd of the Valley's bond request and scheduled a follow-up public hearing; the city auditor said staff expects to have a preliminary budget draft in about two weeks for the finance committee's review.
Salem City Council set meeting dates and described next steps for a Shepherd of the Valley bond request and for the city—s 2026 budget during its Oct. 7 regular session.
Mayor Dickey reported the Shepherd of the Valley organization has asked for a Committee of the Whole meeting to discuss supporting a bond issue in a pass-through arrangement similar to prior council assistance for Salem Hospital. Law Director Ron Zellers told the council the arrangement is a pass-through bond and that "we won't have any liability on that," and said bond counsel for Shepherd of the Valley will attend the Committee of the Whole meeting to answer questions.
Council set a Committee of the Whole meeting for Oct. 21 at 6 p.m., followed by a public hearing at 6:45 p.m., to consider the bond issue and related ordinances. Councilman Andrew Noll agreed to schedule the Committee of the Whole meeting and the clerk recorded the date.
On budgeting, Auditor Savino told the council staff have nine months of tax-receipt data and are roughly three quarters through the year on collections. He said year-to-date receipts are up about 6.58% compared with the prior year and that a simple 3% projection for the remainder of the year could put collections "on or about $8,000,000 by the end of the year." Savino said staff are finalizing carryover calculations and expect to be ready to present a preliminary budget to the finance committee in about two weeks.
Why it matters: The Committee of the Whole meeting will be the public venue for Shepherd of the Valley and its bond counsel to explain the request; council will have the opportunity for public comment at the Oct. 21 hearing. The budget timeline sets committee review dates ahead of formal council action on the 2026 budget.
Next steps: Committee of the Whole meeting and public hearing on Oct. 21; finance committee meeting to be scheduled after the auditor delivers the preliminary budget draft.
