The people who shape what Salem looks like lean on a small army of volunteers to make decisions affecting thousands of local residents. The city of Salem’s boards and commissions often operate in obscurity. But 16 active advisory groups meet regularly to get into the weeds on city business as d iverse as how to best curate and utilize the city’s public art collection, how to properly preserve the 200 year-old white oak trees in Bush’s Pasture Park, or whether the city should waive certain code requirements to facilitate a new housing development.    Salem city councilors often rely on the legwork and consideration done by community members willing to volunteer.  “For the most part, they (boards and commissions) are the litmus test. If they endorse an initiative or a plan, or whatever it happens to be before it goes to the city council, it signals to the city council that there has been a vetting of it already by that group,” said Rob Romanek, the city’s parks planning manager, who serves as the staff liaison for the Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. “I assume that reassures our elected officials that something that is coming has been thoughtfully prepared.”  The work of volunteer boards was recently thrust into the public spotlight after a split city council vote in December to appoint a convicted murderer to Salem’s Community Police Review Board. Councilors reversed that decision in January, and made changes to the appointment process to ensure background checks were completed on applicants. But the discussion highlighted that it’s often challenging for the city to fill its volunteer roles. Get involved  Open spots on city boards and commissions are listed on the city’s website here To apply to serve on a board or commission, the application is online here Community members are welcome to attend any advisory group meeting. Find the city’s public meetings calendar here  Few volunteers According to the city’s website, there are currently 18 vacancies on city boards and commissions including on the Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the West Salem Redevelopment Advisory Board, and the Center 50+ Advisory Commission.  In December, councilors discussed the fact that there are very few applications to city boards and commissions. They floated the idea of removing some of the barriers that currently exist, like an outdated application process and positions with certain requirements to serve, such as being a property owner.  “We don’t always get a lot of applicants. First of all, a lot of people don’t have the bandwidth to serve and volunteer their time. They are busy putting food on the table. They are taking care of their family. They are running a business. They are working long hours,” City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke said during the council’s Dec. 8 meeting. “So, there’s a lot of folks who cannot give and so they are already removed from consideration because they’ve removed themselves from consideration.”  Nordyke also said there are people in the community who are qualified and ready to serve, but do not feel seen or heard, and as a result do not apply to volunteer. She said it’s typical to get one or two applicants at most for an open seat. Nordyke serves on the city’s appointments committee along with Mayor Julie Hoy, and Councilors Shane Matthews and Deanna Gwyn. The committee is in charge of vetting applicants and making recommendations for appointments to boards and commissions. Some appointments are made by the mayor, and others require a council vote, depending on the group’s specific rules. Council President Linda Nishioka said during the council meeting that city employees are  already working on ways to simplify and streamline the application and appointment process. She said a plan to do that will come before the council for consideration in the coming months.  City boards and commissions typically have between three and 15 volunteers as well as staff liaisons. There are 144 total seats in city advisory groups.  What committees do Some boards and commissions require a heftier time commitment or have more influence than others. While some meet monthly on a regular basis, others, like the Salem Community Police Review Board only met one time in 2025 because of struggles reaching a quorum.  When there aren’t enough volunteers on a board or commission, the city’s work is stalled, Romanek said.  “These are public boards. They do their business in public meetings. So, when there are vacancies, it makes it more difficult to have a quorum present and for them to have meetings. If we don’t have a quorum we can’t conduct business,” Romanek said. “If enough of that happens we get into the situation where we have to cancel the meeting and the business that was planned on the agenda cannot occur.”  Volunteers like Celine Coleman submitted a general application to the city. She said she wanted to see from the inside how the city worked, and also wanted to make an impact on the decisions that shape her city.  Coleman now serves on the police review board and the Human Rights Commission. She said joining a board or commission was a way for her to do what she can to work toward change on the city’s many issues.   “People complain about the community all the time. And yet they are not trying to be a part of the solution. I just feel like that’s a waste,” Coleman said. “Why even complain if you are not even going to try to fix it?”  Marissa Theve serves on the Planning Commission, which advises the city council on development in Salem. Theve, an environmental scientist, was appointed in 2024.  “Planning is a hot topic right now with all the new state laws and our climate action plan and our Salem plan and our transportation plan update that’s coming, so there’s all sorts of stuff bubbling up that involves planning commission right now,” Theve said. “So it is kind of a really exciting time to be part of it and have more of an influence in, say, how Salem will look in the coming decades.”  Susan Napack serves as the chair of the Salem Public Art Commission which is charged with overseeing the city’s sizable public art collection.  For Napack, serving on the art commission is about “fostering awareness about art.”  “Bringing more public art to any place where I live is always something that brings me joy, and I think it brings other people joy,” she said.  She pointed out that it was the art commission that helped guide the decision to place the stainless steel cube sculpture outside of Ritter’s Housemade Foods at State Street and Northeast Liberty Street.  “It is good for the economy, it is good for your state of mind, there are so many positive things about public art,” Napack said. Getting involved Gretchen Bennett, who runs city community services, also serves as a staff liaison. She encouraged people who are interested in applying to attend meetings to get a sense of the decorum and procedure.  The city regularly advertises when there are openings on boards and commissions through social media, newsletters, at neighborhood association meetings and through media releases, a city spokesperson said.  Oftentimes, vacancies are communicated through word of mouth.  Marilyn Daily-Blair, the Center 50+ director, said serving on the center’s advisory commission requires only 90 minutes per month. The commission currently has three vacancies, according to the city’s website. Seven of its 15 positions are meant for community members who are 50 years or older.  “We meet in the morning. Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. It’s been that way since we opened in 1976,” Daily-Blair said. “I think we are coffee drinkers and early birders.”  Daily-Blair said the commission is focused on the general concerns of seniors in the community. She said the group doesn’t have an issue recruiting everyday community members interested in serving, but it does have trouble recruiting people who represent the center’s partner organizations such as  Chemeketa Community College, the Marion-Polk Food Share, and from the faith and business community among others.  Those who wish to serve must go through an application process, available online, and many spots on boards and commissions have different requirements, which are listed on the city’s website.  For example, the Downtown Advisory Board requires one member to represent an institutional organization like the State of Oregon, Marion County, or the Salem Area Mass Transit District. It also requires that six of its members represent downtown business owners or property owners.   When somebody applies to a board or commission, their application is reviewed by the city council’s Boards and Commissions Appointments Committee. Once the appointments committee reviews and determines eligibility, the candidates’ applications are forwarded to either the mayor or the city council for final consideration and approval.  The process now requires a criminal background check following a city council vote last month. Previously, the city was only performing background checks for city employees and other city volunteers. City policy required such checks to be conducted for the police review board, but they weren’t done regularly until last year, said Courtney Knox Busch, the city’s strategic initiatives manager. Background checks became a topic of discussion after the criminal history of a member of the city’s Community Police Review Board was flagged. It became apparent that a background check was not conducted despite the group’s charter requiring background checks for applicants.  The new background check system is still being implemented, Knox Busch said. Knox Busch said the current cost per background check for city employees and other volunteers is between $35 and $65. Knox Busch said the city is working to streamline the process by contracting with an outside vendor. She said new vendors may charge between $12 to $15 per background check.  Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected]. LOCAL NEWS DELIVERED TO YOU: Subscribe to Salem Reporter and get all the fact-based Salem news that matters to you. Fair, accurate, trusted – SUBSCRIBE The post Serving on city boards and commissions is critical for Salem to do its business  appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less