The Board of Aldermen voted to renew a contract with Walden for the position of city administrator at the Sept. 14 meeting.
Before voting on Walden’s contract, alderman James read from a written statement that he had prepared to share with the public at the meeting:
“Over the last two and a half years, the City has struggled with project deliveries, specifically the AMI meter project. This struggle, along with other challenges along the way has overshadowed a grassroots movement to overall improve the City of Salem and advance the opportunities that the City and County have for attracting business, tourism and new families to the community. The future of Salem has a bright outlook and will continue to improve as all citizens, city officials and staff continue to hold each other accountable, improve our systems and actively participate in the process.
“Over the past several weeks, I am hopeful that you have noted the changes and improvements that are occurring under new leadership. Mayor Steelman and the Board of Aldermen have a strong vision for community while keeping each citizen’s interests in mind.
“The City Administrator’s new contract has been developed through negotiation and an understanding of performance. An improved level of accountability for Mr. Walden is guaranteed. Mr. Walden is the City’s Chief Administration Officer and is willing to ensure accountability of his staff and outside customers while providing strong, consistent future improvement.
“Please know that I have not taken my decision this evening lightly. I have spent time talking to my constituents—understanding their points of view and ensuring that all aspects are taken into account. In addition, I have prayed over this decision and listened for direction.
“Thank you for being here this evening, ensuring your presence and voices are heard.”
After James’ remarks, Steelman also spoke about the decision.
“Kevin (James) already said a lot of what I would say, but I would just like to reiterate that I’m really excited about the direction that the city is taking moving forward,” she said. “We’ve already been making a lot changes in the past couple of weeks as Kevin said. We have a lot more goals we want to meet, and Ray (Walden) is a big part of that puzzle.”
Steelman also iterated how helpful and available that Walden has been to her during her transition from alderwoman to mayor.
“Ray and I have had many conversations, and I’ve communicated that my expectations are high but realistic, and I have faith that Ray will meet those expectations.
“I truly believe that you would be hard-pressed to find a more dedicated employee than Ray. We all know that there have been incredible difficulties over the past few years, and Ray has been the one to take the brunt of a lot of those complaints, even sometimes when they weren’t warranted and they weren’t actually his responsibility. Sometimes he was the one to fall on the sword anyway, and I think a lot of people probably would have walked away a lot of times. I can’t say that I would have stuck it out to be totally honest, and I’ve told him that. Expectations are high for the board, but Ray is holding himself to a high standard as well.
“We’re excited about the direction that we’re going, and we hope that the community shares in that excitement, because it’s really about us all working together to meet our goals going forward to make this community we all live in the best place to live.”
Aldermen Greg Parker, Kala Sisco and Bolerjack made no remarks, but Parker quipped after the meeting, “I was going to say something, but how do I follow that?” he said gesturing to alderman James, referencing his prepared statement.
Later, during Walden’s report to the board, he thanked them for extending his contract another year. This contract runs from Sept. 1 of this year through Aug. 31 of next year with a base salary is $78,832 for 2021-22. During 2019-2020 Walden’s salary was $76,152.96 per year and was increased to $77,667.20 annually for 2020-21. To see the full terms of Walden’s contract see thesalemnewsonline.com.
