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City of Columbus pauses meeting to hold executive session on labor negotiations
Summary
On Jan. 26, 2026, the City of Columbus presiding official announced an executive session to conduct deliberations on labor negotiations under state statute; the official reminded members the session is confidential and that no final decision may be made in closed session.
Unidentified Speaker (presiding official) called the City of Columbus meeting to order on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, at 5:34 p.m. and said the council would pause its regular session to meet in executive session to "conduct deliberations with persons designated by the governing body to carry on labor negotiations," after which the council would reconvene.
The presiding official said there were no substantive public agenda items on the evening's docket. During roll call the official named three members present: Rich Salsa, Greg Caseman and Christopher McWard.
Reading an executive-session statement, the presiding official invoked state law authorizing such closed deliberations and said designated staff, the news media and other designated persons would be allowed to attend the executive session. "No final decision may be made in executive session," the presiding official said, and asked other members of the public to leave the room. The official also reminded members and staff that confidences discussed in the executive session "belong to the city council as a body" and should not be disclosed unless the council as a body approves disclosure; anyone who could not maintain those confidences was invited not to participate.
The transcript of the reading contains inconsistent references to the council's name (the meeting was opened as a meeting of the "City of Columbus City Council," while the read statement refers to the "Paloma City Council"); the presiding official's statement invoked a provision of the Oregon Revised Statutes for executive sessions (the transcript's text for the citation is garbled). The council said it would reconvene in open session after the executive session.
