City of Salem – 07/16/20 12:00 PM
Salem, Ore. —The City of Salem will close limited in-person services at the Civic Center at close of business Friday, July 17, 2020 due to the increasing number of new Coronavirus infections in our community and additional guidance provided by public health agencies earlier this week about limiting indoor gatherings to no more than ten people. Salem will return to providing service to our community through our call-in, virtual, and electronic portals until further notice.
“For everyone’s safety, we’ve decided to close our storefronts. We don’t want to be a source of the spread of this virus,” said Fire Chief Mike Niblock. “We’re grateful to our community for helping those in need, doing their part to reduce the spread by wearing masks and social distancing, and for staying strong in these challenging times. We continue to closely monitor the evolving public health situation and rely on guidance from public health agencies on the best ways to keep our community safe.”
This change will effectively close the limited in-person bill payment, parks reservations, and development permit service center the City had begun offering on July 6, 2020. While some customers have returned to the Civic Center, the City isn’t seeing the volume of customers anticipated at its in-person service locations. Most of our customers continue to make use of e-services. For example, permits for development have remained on pace with last year.
If you need help, call us. The change will have no effect on emergency response, public safety and other essential services, including water service to all customers. For emergencies, dial 9-1-1. We have staff available 24 hours a day in our dispatch center at 503-588-6311.
Most City services are available to the community via our website. Building permits and land use applications may be submitted online. Utility bills, parking tickets, and other business with the City may also be conducted online. Other on-line resources include: Salem Public Library, Center 50+, Municipal Court forms, Salem Police Records Requests or Submit a Police Report.
Information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is changing by the hour and by the day. At this time, there is no planned date to reopen in-person services.
Our response to the virus continues to require changes in how we serve our community. We’ll continue to share new information and how it will impact City services on our website (https://www.cityofsalem.net/Pages/covid19.aspx) and through social media.
