Brenton Gicker, left, prepares to pull CAHOOTS van toward a 911 call at Eugene Public Library.
The Salem City Council meets Monday evening to consider a motion from Councilor Vanessa Nordyke directing city officials to request a proposal for a mobile crisis response unit in Salem.
Councilors will consider transferring $200,000 from the general fund to cover “unforeseen expenses” for implementing the Salem Climate Action Plan.
The council will consider approving a one-year contract extension of the 2019-2022 collective bargaining agreement between the city and the fire fighter union. They will also consider a one-year extension of the city’s 2019-2022 collective bargaining agreement with 911 Professional Communication Employees’ Association. Both agreements would span from July 2022 through June 2023.
They will consider adopting the National Fire Protection Association’s response time standard of 5 minutes and 20 seconds between an emergency call and the first unit’s arrival 90% of the time for all “emergency fire and special operations,” the action item said. The standard is 5 minutes from the report to arrival for all other emergency calls.
Councilors will consider adding Juneteenth, a federal and state holiday traditionally celebrated as the end of slavery in the U.S., as a paid holiday for eligible city employees.
The council will also consider a motion from Nordyke to direct staff to explore creating a request for proposals to operate a mobile crisis unit.
Nordyke said in a Facebook post Thursday that every city needs mental health first responders, and that Salem is overdue to contract with a community organization to respond to people experiencing mental health crises.
“Mobile crisis units save lives and save money, by diverting folks from costly trips to our city’s only emergency room, freeing up our police officers and firefighters for higher acuity calls, and more,” she wrote.
Despite widespread public support for a crisis response program separate from police, the city last fall paused plans to start one through United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley after learning the state money they hoped to use had to first go through Marion County. Meanwhile, county officials said they didn’t want to pursue a program that overlapped with crisis response services already in place.
The plans for a non-police crisis response program drew broad support from Salem residents who testified as the city was planning its budget for the coming year. Nearly 100 people wrote to the budget committee asking members to recommend funding for a program and more than a thousand signed a petition.
A similar program in Eugene, CAHOOTS, has received national attention in recent years as more U.S. cities look for alternatives to law enforcement responding to mental health concerns.
Nordyke said people can show support for the idea by emailing [email protected] and [email protected] with the subject line: “Vote yes on Agenda Item 5.b: Motion from Councilor Vanessa Nordyke regarding directing staff to explore the creation of a request for proposals to operate a mobile crisis unit,” and explain why they believe Salem needs a mobile crisis unit. They can also pre-register before 2 p.m. to testify at the meeting.
How to participate: View the meeting on YouTube or watch on CC:Media Channel 21. Submit comments on agenda items by 5 p.m. on the day of the meeting at [email protected]. Public comment and testimony may also be provided during the meeting via Zoom. Pre-register between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the day of the meeting at the following link: https://www.cityofsalem.net/Pages/Public-Comment-at-Salem-City-CouncilMeeting.aspx
-Ardeshir Tabrizian
