After a critical audit of the city’s leadership team found a lack of communication and overworked, understaffed departments, Salem City Manager Krishna Namburi says she wants the city to stay accountable and work smarter to address key inefficiencies.
A draft of the audit was released in December 2024, and the final results were published in February 2025. The audit included nine findings and recommendations. Salem had a different city manager, Keith Stahley, when the audit was conducted by consulting firm Moss Adams.
The audit found an “unsustainably high” span of control for city and department leaders. It also noted a system that gets stymied by details rather than focusing on strategic and policy-oriented discussions…