City Council

CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS Salem City Council & Mayor Strategic Planning Retreat Meeting Minutes March 13, 2022, 2:00 p.m. Wylie Conference Center, 295 Hale Street, Beverly Present: Mayor Kim Driscoll, Councillor-at-Large Domingo Dominguez, Councillor-at-Large Ty Hapworth, Councillor-at-Large Conrad Prosniewski, Councillor-at-Large Alice Merkl, Ward 1 Councillor Robert McCarthy, Ward 2 Councillor Caroline Watson-Felt, Ward 3 Councillor Patti Morsillo, Ward 4 Councillor Lev McClain, Ward 5 Councillor Jeff Cohen, Ward 6 Councillor Meg Riccardi, Ward 7 Councillor Andy Varela, Chief of Staff Dominick Pangallo, Finance Director Anna Freedman 1. Call to Order Council President Morsillo called the retreat to order at 2:05 p.m. 2. City Council discussion Council President Morsillo presided over a dialogue among Councillors regarding the Council rules, meeting process and protocols, the timing for filing items for Council meetings, and the status of the City Clerk’s procurement of meeting management software. Councillor McCarthy discussed the Open Meeting Law requirements. Council President Morsillo led a discussion about the resumption of in-person meetings, how the Council plans to manage hybrid meetings for both regular meetings and committee meetings. Councillors discussed the process for items filed after the Council meeting filing deadline and for money matters, the Committee of the Whole, the rules for different types of votes, motions, and the number of votes necessary for certain types of items to be adopted, rules and changes to those rules for behavior and appearance in Council chambers, the Council meeting schedule, and the types of motions. Lastly, Councillors reviewed priorities and goals for 2022. 3. Discussion with Mayor Driscoll Mayor Driscoll arrived at 3:05 p.m. and led a discussion reviewing the City mission statement, shared goals and objectives for 2022, and the workflow and organization structure of City government. She shared a sample listing of projects and policies on the agenda for the City for 2022 and Dominick presented the results from a survey of Councillors ascertaining priority areas of focus. 4. Preliminary FY23 budget review Anna and Mayor Driscoll led a preliminary discussion of the FY2023 City budget, starting with a review of the FY2022 projected revenues and budgeted expenditures. They then reviewed municipal budgeting principles and challenges and trends for the coming fiscal year. They discussed fundamentals of property tax policy and the City’s historic tax levy and bill amounts, local aid allocations, state assessments, and reserve and capital fund balances. The discussion closed with a brief review of ARPA and other federal funding sources providing additional resources to the City in the coming years. 5. Adjourn The retreat adjourned at 4:55 p.m. Minutes prepared and respectfully submitted by: Dominick Pangallo, Chief of Staff, Office of Mayor Kimberley Driscoll Know Your Rights Under the Open Meeting Law, M.G.L. c. 30A §18-25, and City Ordinance Sections 2-2028 through 2-2033