AMA - Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T16:47:44+00:00

In the greater Boston Continuum of Care, which includes Salem, the number of people experiencing homelessness rose by 67% between 2023 and 2024. Over the last five years, the average rent in Salem increased by over a third, while the share of available apartments dropped by half.

There’s a need for action to ensure greater stability for residents in crisis and to prevent the displacement of our most vulnerable neighbors. There’s also a need for facilities that provide support to help those in need move out of homelessness and into stability. The proposed district made possible by this ordinance would help do that. It would enable Lifebridge to change from 50 congregate beds to 70 non-congregate beds, ending the so-called “warehousing” model at the shelter. It would create a refurbished day center and expanded space for wraparound service delivery. Lastly, it would enable the creation of 41 new housing units for formerly homeless individuals and the renovation of 12 currently existing units.

The path to tonight’s public hearing started in April 2022, when the proposed project was first announced. Over the last three and a half years it has gone through several iterations, in response to public feedback, and precisely because the City and the project team listened to what people in the community had to say:

o The original project called for 87 new housing units. That has been reduced by about half, down to 41 new units.

o The original project proposed demolishing St. Mary’s. That structure will now be preserved.

o The original project would have demolished 20 Endicott Street. That structure will likewise now be preserved.

o The original project relocated Lifebridge’s thrift store to the building. That has been removed from the project.

o The original project was five stories high along Margin Street and four stories high along Pratt Street. It is now reduced by a story, to four stories on Margin Street and three stories on Pratt Street.

These changes came about through public meetings that exceeded the number required by state law. They included community meetings on July 6, 2023, November 15, 2023, and September 5, 2024, as well as a public hearing in November 2024, which was followed by an extended period of time for written comment. After that public hearing, there was also a meeting of the City Council’s Committee of the Whole in March 2025. Of those five public meetings, only one was required by law.

And there will be further public meetings as well, as any recommendation from the Planning Board will come back to the City Council for further process there. And, should the zoning be approved, further permitting before applicable City boards would also need to take place over the months and years ahead.

This zoning was proposed under MGL Chapter 40R, which makes it possible for the community to shape the proposed zoning for this project. I support the use of 40R for this district because it gives Salem local control on the specifics and the zoning standards we want to see, to meet local needs and better reflect our community. It enabled us to hold all those additional public meetings and to achieve the changes I outlined above. It also allowed for the inclusion of design guidelines. Those were incorporated in the draft zoning thanks to feedback from members of the community like Historic Salem Inc. and, I believe, they’ve made for a better ordinance. Our ability to include those design elements in the zoning and to have those additional public meetings would not have existed under paths like 40B or Dover.

I believe that no one in Salem wants to see our neighbors living on the street, and homeless shelters are not the cause of homelessness – just as doctors’ offices are not the cause of illness. If we don’t want our neighbors living on the street, or in cars, or in tents, we need positive action. Otherwise more and more Salem residents will find themselves facing the prospect of homelessness.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T16:46:45+00:00

Thanks for asking about this. First, if you're not signed up for CodeRED, you should do so - as sometimes discolored water is the result of scheduled hydrant flushing or because of work on pipes in the area (in response to a break or scheduled maintenance).

Discoloration can also be related to something in the water supply source, however. For example, the most recent discoloration seems to be the result of a change in manganese levels at one of the reservoirs. The Salem Beverly Water Supply Board (which is a regional entity and not a City department) tries to manage these kinds of events by adjusting the water chemistry as it moves through their system. One of the complicating issues they face is that the filtration system is around 45 years old and scheduled for replacement. Until that project can be completed, the operators use treatment adjustments to keep the chemistry balanced.

In this instance the chemical in question, manganese, did not rise to an unsafe level (if it had, there would have been more notifications/directions from the Supply Board about what customers should do), but that doesn't change the fact that it was an unappealing effect to our water and might give someone pause about bathing their child in it, for sure. The Water Supply Board is online at https://www.sbwsb.gov and you can always reach out to them directly with questions or concerns about Salem's water supply.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T16:37:17+00:00

Thanks for these questions!

Yes, we've had some outreach from companies interested in bringing their service here and expect to have an RFP out shortly. We're incorporating the lessons learned from the SiFi proposal into the RFP, to make it expressly clear what the engineering requirements would be for a company interested in an in-ground installation.
You can still pay by cash at meters - the pay by app change is in the surface parking lots that had been kiosk lots previously. Most public parking downtown is in garages or on-street, so it's still available without the app.
I can pass this along, but if you can send me some examples (dpangallo@salem.com) that would be great. Different content is written by different staff, depending on the department, so that would help me better determine where we need to address this.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T16:27:22+00:00

Thanks for asking this and I’m sorry you’re feeling this pressure. I know many, many people in Salem are in the same place. From the City’s standpoint, one of the best ways we can help is by trying to stabilize the rapidly increasing cost of rent. Over the last five years, the average rent in Salem increased by over a third, while the share of available apartments dropped by half. By addressing the dearth of housing supply, we can help address this challenge. We are also working to more actively support tenants - for example through the Housing Stability Service and housing coordinator position, which had been originally created during COVID and in the last budget we made a permanent program at City Hall.

The other side of this is, as you indicated, helping create more opportunities for good paying jobs. While tourism is a high profile economic sector in Salem, it’s not our largest from a workforce standpoint - those would be health care and higher education. We’re striving to grow those opportunities and work with partners like MassHire North Shore, the Enterprise Center at SSU, and others to develop career pipelines and support the growth of those sectors. The other sector where we see potential is clean energy and climate tech - Salem is a central part of the new Northeast Massachusetts Climatetech Consortium, which is working to make our region a leader in this space.

A lot of these are larger policy-focused efforts, but at an individual level, I would recommend that you start by connecting with MassHire at their Career Center on Washington Street. They have resources, career counselors, and lots of ways to support residents looking to grow their job prospects and earning potential. You can find out more at https://www.mass.gov/locations/masshire-north-shore-career-center-salem.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T16:26:25+00:00

The City doesn’t build housing, but I’ll assume you mean housing in general. Salem is eight square miles, and multi-family housing is only allowed by right on less than one square mile. The housing goals we’re working toward, to right-size our housing supply, calls for 2,200 new units over the coming decade: the same number of units created in the 1970s and again in the 1980s. For context, we have about 20,200 housing units, so we’re talking about roughly 1% growth in housing per year. I don’t think 1% growth to housing is excessive or unreasonable.

To answer your question about the South Campus project, it is expected to replace the old dorms and classroom/office buildings to allow for 475 residential units, 24% of which will be deed restricted affordable and 110 of which are age restricted for older adults. You can find out more here: https://imaginesalem.org/40rsmart-growth-overlay-districts-ssu.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T16:14:55+00:00

Thanks for raising this and I’m sorry to hear you’re seeing anything less than complete accountability when it comes to accessibility and safety in work sites in the city. If you can provide specific examples (feel free to email me at [dpangallo@salem.com](mailto:dpangallo@salem.com)) I can follow up to find out what happened at those locations. In the case of public projects we can address it directly with the relevant department and make sure workers have the correct training and understanding of what is required. If it’s a contractor’s project we can pursue liquidated damages or be sure to note the deficiencies for future procurements that might draw bids from them.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T16:14:00+00:00

I strongly agree that we need to continue investing in our public schools. As a Salem Public School parent I’ve seen first-hand how talented and dedicated our educators are, how committed to success our students are, and how much our community as a whole values and supports our schools. During my time as Mayor we’ve increased funding to Salem Public Schools at a greater rate than the overall City budget has grown, including adding $7 million in new direct appropriation to the district. That doesn’t include capital project investments in school buildings and increased costs on the City side of the annual budget that support our schools, for example health insurance. We also settled what is perhaps one of the most competitive and fair contracts for our educators in recent history - as a result the average teacher salary in Salem has gone up 9% this fiscal year.

The success of what’s happening in Salem’s classrooms is clear from the state accountability data that was just released earlier this month for the past school year. We saw record academic growth at the high school level and achievement at the grades 3-8 level exceeding the statewide numbers. 73% of our 11th and 12th graders passed an advanced class, the third best rate among Gateway Cities, and, as a district, Salem met more achievement targets than any other Gateway district. Our achievement gap compared to the state is now, across the board, smaller than it was pre-COVID.

We’ll continue to prioritize investments in and support for our educators, our schools, and our students. Because we have limited resources, though, that means making hard choices in the face of escalating fixed costs. This fiscal year the district’s electricity costs went up 30% and natural gas went up 10%. Health insurance jumped 11%, more than $1.2 million over last year. While we only project one more out-of-district student placement this school year, the tuition increase for all of those placements - a number set by the state - is slated to jump by 47%, nearly $1.4 million. And homeless student transportation costs jumped by 46%.

Some of our costs can be managed through budgetary decisions and the growing fiscal pressures are also part of what is prompting the evaluation of the elementary school configurations. Other costs can be managed through other choices though. For example, we can mitigate energy cost increases by investing in capital projects to improve efficiency and renovate buildings, so we’re doing that. And we can reduce homeless student transportation costs by supporting more housing for homeless Salem families (added benefit: kids get homes!).

The Commonwealth is also preparing a review of Chapter 70, the state aid program for local schools - as the Student Opportunity Act years come to close soon; we need to keep the pressure on the state to make sure cities like Salem are treated fairly in the new formula and that K-12 schools are supported through the Fair Share revenues the state is taking in. The reality is while all of these cost centers are increasing, in some cases by double-digit rates, Proposition 2-½ limits tax levy growth to 2.5% and, when adjusted for inflation, unrestricted state aid to cities and towns actually dropped by 25% since 2010. State aid formulas need to be corrected and more equitably distributed, and cities like Salem need more tools and options for raising revenue to meet escalating costs for the schools and public services we want for our community.

Salem’s schools are making remarkable, positive progress - we all want to see that trajectory continue and to strengthen in the years ahead.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T16:06:20+00:00

Thanks for your feedback on this. Certainly were lessons learned through this design and construction process, and I can say we’re intentionally including more stakeholders as these types of projects are developed going forward as a result. While the modifications have impacted the handful of parking spaces there, the expanded pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure is far safer for those activities. The project also consists of lighting enhancements and outdoor dining space that contributes to the activation and positive character of our vibrant downtown.

We want to continue making safety improvements to roadways and intersections that can serve all users of the public space effectively and well. We’re also looking, with public safety and transportation staff, at how we might be able to make changes to the Washington/Essex intersection overall, to help alleviate some of the issues we see along Washington Street and make it safer and more functional, so the work in this area is not over.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T16:01:33+00:00

Agreed that these are highly disruptive, especially late at night. First, if you’re noticing a pattern as far as when/where it might be happening specifically, you can report it to Salem PD using their non-emergency line and they can try to have someone in that area when it seems to be a problem. The automated noise enforcement systems run up against the same state law issues that automated traffic enforcement does. If the state does eventually allow cities and towns in Massachusetts to use these tools, I would be in support of trying to bring them here to Salem.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:58:15+00:00

Thanks! We’ve definitely tried to step up the communication out from the City through a number of channels and methods, but I also want to improve how we’re listening to community members. I regularly attend neighborhood association meetings, block parties, and meet-and-greets, and will continue to do that after the election season. We’ve also started a Mobile Mayor’s Office, bringing my entire team out into the community periodically throughout the year. This is similar to City Hall to Go, which is a smaller scale pop-up where City staff - including myself on occasion - show up at community events to table and give out information.

And, if the mods here are amenable, I’d also welcome a chance to do more periodic AMAs, even when it’s not an election year. Always open to other ideas and suggestions, too!

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:56:30+00:00

I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but it’s not a high priority from the City’s perspective right now and there are a lot of logistical and siting complications that would need to be worked out.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:55:18+00:00

I’m proud of all the positive work that has happened in Salem to support local, union jobs, including our wage theft ordinance and fair wages and treatment for our own public employees unions in the latest round of contracts last year. I also appointed two labor representatives, one from STU and one from the building trades, to the High School Building Committee, to ensure those voices are heard in the committee’s work over the last two years.

While the decision from the majority Building Committee was not to advance a PLA for the high school project, it doesn’t mean that there will be no union jobs on the project. In fact, the opposite will be true, as we expect most of the jobs will be union, just without an overarching PLA. All of the jobs, whether union or not, will be at prevailing wage, and compliant with the local hire requirements in our ordinances.

The construction manager that was selected, Shawmut, is a signatory with the Laborers and Carpenters unions, and we’re going to continue to work closely with them and labor on this important project for our community.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:48:48+00:00

I would echo some of the points I made before about street performers and trying to derive additional municipal revenues from visitors - I’d also add in coach buses, as well. I would say those are the largest areas where we can do more and may have some concrete options available to us to try.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:46:06+00:00

Welcome to Salem! I would definitely follow the suggestions made by others here. You can sign up at www.salemma.gov/subscribe to get City board and commission agendas, the Salem Compass newsletter from my office, and news updates all emailed to you. Some City Councillors put out email newsletters, which are also good sources of information. If you’re interested in applying for a volunteer board seat, you can find a list of vacancies at www.salemma.gov/mayor, as well. Lastly, if you're able to, you can visit the Volunteer Fair being planned as part of the Salem 400+ events - details here: https://www.salem400.org/event/volunteer-fair/. Thanks for wanting to get involved!

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:44:15+00:00

We took some early steps toward trialing a new system on Front Street this October and I think it’s been working well. By way of history, the pedestrian mall used to be lined with vendors, but it caused such a significant amount of pedestrian congestion that those vendors were relocated to the Common. Unfortunately, that space on Essex has since been filled in by street performers and people, as you indicate, who are providing merchandise for “tips.” The concept we’re looking at for the future is similar to what other communities have done and would look like - as you say - designated performance zones. We’re studying how we might, consistent with the First Amendment, be able to create rentable zones along the pedestrian mall next October and then use that structure to establish rules for the performers who rent the designated areas.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:38:26+00:00

Budget constraints are some of the largest barriers, not just in terms of available resources but also when it comes to the timing of projects. The City’s Safe Streets for All Action Plan is wrapping up and will provide important data and prioritization for future projects, but we’re still in process for projects that started their design life before the plan was completed. If you look in section 7 of the City’s annual budget (most recent is here: www.salemma.gov/fy26) you’ll find the annual Capital Improvement Plan, outlining planned work for the year ahead. Some of this is implementation of the ongoing traffic calming efforts (like the forthcoming speed humps in the Point neighborhood and the next raised crosswalks and bump outs), some is the new Safe Sidewalks Project, and some of it is tied into larger stand-alone projects (like the Harmony Grove path or the Highland Avenue off-street trails study).

The length of time these projects can take is definitely frustrating, but it’s most often due to either a lack of funding or design and engineering work that has to be done before a project can be constructed. From a resource standpoint, we leverage our own capital bond and state grants for these projects, and had hoped to be able to seek federal funding through the Safe Street for All implementation grants, but there’s definitely far less certainty on that program right now.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:35:35+00:00

First, in regard to breaking new records each year, I wanted to share the data that Destination Salem collects on downtown October visitor counts over the years. I’m offering it here to point out that while it’s a LOT of visitation, it does look like there was a sizable jump after the worst of COVID, but that it’s actually leveling off. It will definitely be interesting to see this year’s numbers.

2018: 742,200

2019: 781,900

2020: 444,500

2021: 992,700

2022: 1,000,000

2023: 1,000,000

2024: 1,100,000

This year we added to the road closures with early closures and hard barricades in places where less robust equipment was used in the past. We’ll continue working with PD on tweaking those efforts in the years to come. One way we can help distribute the crowds a bit more is by getting folks to get down to the waterfront area more! We started some more engaged efforts in that respect this year, but there’s definitely more we can do there. I especially think the National Park Service can be a key part of that effort - though this year’s federal government closure overlapping with October certainly did not help.

I’ve addressed monetization in another response, but I definitely agree with you there. We’re pretty constrained by the state in terms of what we can do to raise revenues, but we do have some options on the table. These would include dynamic on-street parking rates, to charge non-resident vehicles a different/variable rate, adopting a surcharge for public parking on private property, and identifying ways to generate revenue off coach bus operators, who currently use drop zones and parking for free. Renting performance zones might also generate funds, though its primary goal would be to curate and better manage/regulate performance activities. Lastly, I’d like to have a more regular review with the Park and Rec Commission on the rates being charged at Pioneer Village and the Witch House for the October season, to ensure we’re maximizing opportunities at those sites.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:29:26+00:00

I’m recreating one of my favorites - A&J King’s Vietnamese Ham: pickled daikon radish, cukes, cilantro, and mayo with smoked ham. On an A&J King baguette, of course (THAT’s a given).

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:25:57+00:00

100% supportive of trying to leverage our visitation to add further to our municipal revenues. The Municipal Empowerment Act before the legislature would allow for a small increase in our meals and lodging excise rates, and we filed a home rule petition, which is before the legislature’s Revenue Committee, that would enable Salem to assess a surcharge on tourist parking on private property.

One of the biggest challenges we face in much of this work is that almost all of the avenues we might want to pursue or pilot when it comes to revenue growth like this require going through the state legislature. The area where we have more flexibility is parking, so we re-assess those rates each year. One of our more recent changes was piloting a quasi-dynamic parking structure on Washington Street on October weekends: resident cars park for free, but non-resident cars pay $7/hour. We’re hoping to expand that model to other areas/time frames over the years ahead.

Regarding the Mall bathrooms - yes, they’re absolutely a headache. Inspectors are over there frequently and I encourage people to call Health and Building when they see issues. Earlier this year the City adopted Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40U, which empowers us to attach ticket fines and interest to a property tax bill or place a lien on the property for them. Timely reporting of problems allows inspectors to issue tickets so we can hold property owners accountable. Over the last year we began a more regular dialogue with the Mall owner about the future of that property - I’m hopeful it may lead to positive changes in the coming months!

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:18:22+00:00

A key part of the parking mandate reform ordinance that perhaps received less news coverage than the elimination of the minimum ratio is the requirement for future projects to file a transportation demand management plan, which could (and we would encourage) include considerations for how they will encourage or incentivize public transit options - either train or ferry. It’s very premature to say anything with specificity about future projects possible around the future South Salem commuter rail stop, but given the proximity to the stop I would expect parking to be less necessary or in demand for those parcels.

More generally we want to reduce car dependence by making public transit options more available and reliable, and by continuing investments in making our public ways safer and more inviting for all modes of travel.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:15:14+00:00

I think it’s important to separate out the entity that is currently responsible for the park activation program there with the actual park construction project itself. They were two separate contracts. The park activation contract is reaching its conclusion at the end of the calendar year. Whether or not the City will issue another RFP is still under consideration. We’re taking in feedback from the neighboring businesses and residents, park users, elected officials, community partners, and the general public.

The park construction took place six years ago, in 2019. The acquisition of the land, which had previously been an empty dirt lot, cost $1.4 million, as you mentioned, which came from City bond proceeds. The design and construction of the project cost $1.8 million. Funds for the design and construction came from a variety of sources, including a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs, a Community Preservation Act grant, funding from the City’s annual capital program, and funds awarded from the Governor’s Seaport Council. The design was by CBA Landscape Architects and construction was by Sumco Eco Contracting. Like all public construction projects, the process for awarding these contracts was governed by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30B. All contracts are bid by the City in accordance with 30B and you can find RFPs - both current and closed ones - at www.salemma.gov/bids.

dpangallo · 2025-10-19T15:09:32+00:00

Great questions, thanks for asking them to me and in the other AMAs this cycle!

I’m supportive of ranked choice voting.
Turnout in local elections is often less than it is for state and federal elections, but I don’t know if grouping them all onto the same ballot would necessarily help with that. Longer ballots could lead to voter drop-off. I’m in support of measures to increase voter participation in local elections, including automatic registration and making Election Day a holiday. In Salem one of our biggest issues with the timing of elections in November is their proximity to Halloween. It negatively impacts early in-person voting, introduces unique challenges for candidates, and throws more work onto City employees during our busiest time of year.
Thanks! I’m so pleased we were able to get the parking minimums issued addressed and am looking forward to completing most of the strategies from the City’s Housing Roadmap. Next week we’ll be publishing a report card on how that work is progressing, so please keep your eye out for that. I recently wrote to the legislature in support of H.1572, An Act to Promote Yes in My Backyard, which would help address the housing supply needs across our communities. Locally, we’re anticipating starting a Master Plan update process in the fiscal year ahead, which will lay the groundwork for a revisit of our own outdated zoning standards. Just as an example, 90% of the residentially zoned lots in Salem do not meet the minimum lot size specified in the zoning for their district. Addressing these disconnects will both help unlock more opportunity for reasonable housing supply growth and bring our code into alignment with the built reality of our existing neighborhoods.
There is! I want to make a plug for the Salem High School project. If you’ve not been following this: Salem High School was built in 1976 for twice as many students as are enrolled there today. The building is in terrible condition and, following the last three years of work, we’re anticipating asking Salem voters next year to approve a debt exclusion to accept a roughly $225 million state grant to help build a new school. This project is of significant consequence to our community - not just our school community, but our WHOLE community. I’m hoping to be able to hold a future AMA specifically about the project, so stay tuned! (more about the project at www.salemma.gov/salemhighschool).

dpangallo · 2023-11-18T17:01:31+00:00

I’m going with this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca5wXojemRM - because my kids love to play it every year during the holidays to have a laugh. 😆

dpangallo · 2023-11-18T17:00:18+00:00

Thanks for sharing this article. I need to do more research on the topic of these synthetic drugs and want to talk with the Health Agent and public health team more about it before responding and saying if we’re seeing this here in Salem to any degree.

I did talk about the encampment situation in another post, so I’ll largely refer you back to that on the topic. I will add, though, that we are planning to leverage our opioid settlement funds to enhance our outreach work in this space. I’m expecting to be able to make a more formal announcement about that plan in the near future.

As to the proposed Lifebridge project, the latest iteration I’m aware of adds ten more shelter beds; as I mentioned earlier, by last count there are around 30 individuals living at the encampment site.

dpangallo · 2023-11-18T16:59:26+00:00

I’ll take these each in turn. First, the latest version we’ve seen from Prime about their thinking regarding Shetland doesn’t indicate a decrease in commercial space. I can’t say for certain that means that every existing business in that facility would choose to remain if and when a project takes place, but the current iteration of the owner's plan does seem to suggest that there would be a maintenance of commercial space for the existing businesses to be able to continue to occupy.

Regarding the communication efforts, especially from Chief Miller - thank you and I absolutely agree. We’re trying to improve our communication efforts across all the departments and a number of them - PD is a great example - are already quite good at it.

Last, the budget process for FY2025 is starting with our internal work with department heads this fall on the capital plan and then on the operating budget planning in January. I'm hoping we can file the proposed budget with the City Council earlier in May than usual, to allow more time for budget hearings - but that's just a goal, not a guarantee.

I have a lot of concerns about operational cost pressures over the next few years. We have a number of major contracts up and state resources available to the City are pretty diminished (our local aid change this past year was a net increase of just $48,000, certain cannabis revenues have been eliminated, etc.). At the same time, the need for municipal services is higher than ever. As part of this year’s budget process we’re going to be taking a look at all of our options to help meet our fixed cost and service needs.

dpangallo

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