Council accepts city manager Stahley’s resignation, provides little public explanation

Salem city councilors voted unanimously Monday to accept former Salem City Manager Keith Stahley’s abrupt resignation but provided little public clarification on the circumstances surrounding his departure.

His resignation came one month after a performance audit faulted Stahley’s leadership, saying he often made decisions using unclear criteria without informing or consulting affected city employees and failed to effectively delegate or manage workloads for the people reporting to him. Mayor Julie Hoy cited that report ahead of the vote.

“This is an important decision for each member of council. Many of us on council have growing concerns about leadership for the organization as articulated in an early draft of the enterprise leadership performance audit,” Hoy said at Monday’s council meeting leading up to the vote. “Those concerns must be weighed against the need for stability for our community and for the organization. I know that each of us wants what is best for the community and the city.” 

City officials confirmed that Stahley had tendered his resignation over the weekend and was not in the office Monday.

Councilors met for a non-public executive session prior to the city council meeting to “consider the dismissal or discipline of an employee.” State law allows reporters to attend such meetings, but they are barred by law from reporting on what is discussed beyond the meeting’s general subject.

Courtney Knox Busch, the city’s strategic initiatives manager, declined Monday afternoon to immediately release Stahley’s resignation letter in response to a request from Salem Reporter.

“The City is reviewing the letter and will be prepared to release it February 11, 2025,” Knox Busch said in an email.

City councilors reached by Salem Reporter Monday declined to share the resignation letter or discuss the circumstances of Stahley’s departure. Hoy did not respond to a call from the news organization Monday seeking information about Stahley’s resignation ahead of the meeting.

Hoy said during the city council meeting that Deputy City Manager Krishna Namburi, a veteran city employee, will serve as interim city manager. She oversees a number of departments including human resources, information technology, customer service and risk services.

Namburi was promoted into the deputy role as part of a city leadership reorganization in 2023.

City councilors Irvin Brown and Paul Tigan, and Council President Linda Nishioka, who attended the meeting remotely, all spoke about Stahley’s departure leading up to the vote. 

“I will be voting to accept city manager Stahley’s resignation this evening but I also want to acknowledge the work he has done on behalf of the city. It has been a remarkably trying few years that he has tried to help guide the council and our city,” Tigan said. “I also want to acknowledge that the way in which the resignation takes place allows for the city manager to receive a severance and be made whole as contemplated in his contract. It is a very important part of the decision to support accepting his letter of resignation.” 

Nishioka said she agreed with the sentiment shared by Tigan. 

“I too want to state that I am very happy that Keith served for us and I recognize all the hard work that he did and all the efforts that he did and I believe that he has chosen this path, and I do want to ensure that he receives all the benefits and severance packages that he deserves,” Nishioka said.

Stahley came to Salem in September 2022 from Olympia, Washington, where he served as deputy city manager.

Under his contract, he must provide 60 days notice of resignation. Stahley is eligible for severance if he resigns following a change in job duties, reduction in salary or “a request to tender resignation, oral or written, made by a duly authorized representative of a majority of the Council.”

It’s not clear if such a request was made.

Councilors during the Monday meeting did not elaborate on the details of any severance package for Stahley.

The abrupt shakeup in city leadership comes as Salem is at a crossroads, with officials considering how to address an expected $14 million budget deficit and contemplating seeking public support for a tax levy to pay for operations.

In a call with Salem Reporter Monday, Stahley declined to answer questions about his decision. He had been scheduled to present a budget to the city budget committee April 16.

Hoy, who took office as mayor in January, has been publicly critical of the city’s budgeting process and direction, though she has not publicly criticized Stahley personally.

As a city councilor in November, she was a no vote on a 5-3 council decision to give Stahley an $18,000 raise, which brought his salary to $270,000. The raise, championed by former Mayor Chris Hoy passed 5-3, with dissenting councilors citing poor optics given the city’s budget shortfall.

“I would feel better about passing a motion like this after a January performance review,” she said at the time.

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790. Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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