- Ms. Namburi has been with the City for 25 years
- She has improved strategy and operations across multiple departments
Salem, Ore. – At its March 10 meeting, in a unanimous vote, the Salem City Council named Krishna Namburi Salem’s Interim City Manager.
“Ms. Namburi is nothing short of an outstanding individual and I can think of no better person to serve us in this time of transition,” said Councilor Vanessa Nordyke, who made the motion. “We have a lot on our plate folks, in addition to an airport, we have a budgetary cycle, we have a city to run and none of these decisions can wait. They all require constant leadership and respect.
The Council directed staff to prepare an Interim City Manager employment agreement and delay the search for a permanent City Manager until at least September 2025. This decision gives Ms. Namburi time to lead the City through the local option levy election and the Fiscal Year 2026 budget process.
“I am incredibly impressed, and have been since I’ve been on council, with Krishna Namburi,” added Councilor Linda Nishioka. “I feel she will be excellent, along with our additional leadership team. Remember it is a leadership team she will be working with. I believe in all of them and think fellow councilors do. I want to reassure the public that we are moving forward and are very happy with this situation.”
Experienced Leader Steps Into New Role
Krishna Namburi has been with the City of Salem for 25 years, holding a variety of leadership roles. Before this appointment, Ms. Namburi served as Deputy City Manager, overseeing Enterprise Services. These services include Human Resources, Information Technology, Facilities, Fleet, Risk and the Customer Service Center. She has been acting-in-capacity City Manager since February 10.
One of Ms. Namburi’s key accomplishments has been realigning the strategy and operations of multiple departments to transform city services from a reactive to proactive function of city government. Her efforts have increased efficiency and made City services more effective for the public.
Prior to embarking on a career in public service, Krishna worked as a Senior Consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. She attended the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur for an M.S. in Civil Engineering and Portland State University for an M.S. in Computer Science.
