SALEM — City Council considered nearly 100 pieces of legislation in 2024.

The city council considered 95 pieces of legislation last year, an increase from 71 in 2023. Council hit the ground running in 2024, with two ordinances approved in its first meeting of the year Jan. 2, 2024, and remained active throughout the year with an ordinance and two resolutions approved in a special meeting Dec. 30.

Of the 95 pieces of legislation presented to council in 2024, all were approved but three — resolution 240507-26, resolution 240716-52, and ordinance 241001-70 — two of which were tabled, with the other referred to committee.

First proposed in council’s May 7 meeting, resolution 240507-26 would have authorized Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey to sign an application to establish a second Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA), which allows residents to buy alcohol from a participating bar or restaurant in a designated cup and freely walk around with it outside in the set DORA area, on the city’s east side. The resolution was tabled and transferred from the rules and ordinances committee to the economic development committee where it was discussed in the committee’s July 2 meeting, at which time the committee decided further research and discussion was needed before the resolution could be considered further.

Introduced in council’s July 16 meeting, resolution 240716-52 would have mandated the interest generated by the then approximately $1.29 million in the “Wastewater Treatment Phase Three Debt Repayment” fund remain within the fund to be used for debt repayment rather than being collected by the city for use elsewhere. The resolution was instead referred to the finance committee in its July 23 meeting where it died for lack of a motion to return it to council.

Ordinance 241001-70, which would update the city’s ordinance regarding the harboring of animals, was first discussed at length in the rules and ordinances committee’s Oct. 1 meeting and subsequently introduced to, and tabled by, council in its meeting later that evening. The ordinance was further discussed in the committee’s Dec. 12 meeting, and re-introduced to the committee in a revised form based on a similar ordinance on the books in Columbus in its Jan. 7 meeting, where it was ultimately decided to make a fourth round of revisions which would have been discussed for potential referral to council in the committee’s canceled meeting Tuesday.

Council approved more legislation in 2024 than in years past, updating the city regulations and introducing new regulations on a wide range of subjects. Some of the legislation approved in 2024 included: an ordinance implementing a temporary moratorium on the issuance of building permits or certificates of occupancy for any building, structure, or change of use which would enable the cultivation, processing, or sale of recreational marijuana; new regulations for renewable energy equipment, yard and garage sales, food trucks, and light shielding, which is also known as light trespassing; and sweeping changes to reflect the implementation of a citywide fee schedule to be proposed by the mayor and approved by council annually to allow the city’s departments to adjust their service fees to match the costs of providing those services without requiring a modification to the city’s ordinances every time a fee is updated as in years past.

As 2024 drew to a close, council took the first steps to seek renewal of the 1-mill operational levy on the ballot in November, which was previously approved by voters in 2020 and generates approximately $221,000 for the department, approving two resolutions requesting the county auditor certify tax valuation information in anticipation of levying a tax in excess of the 10-mill limitation in Columbiana and Mahoning counties, respectively, in its Dec. 30 special meeting. Council still needs to finish that process by approving legislation declaring it necessary to place the renewal on the ballot for both counties prior to the filing deadline for inclusion on the ballot on Feb. 5.

Other matters which are expected to continue this year from 2024 include ongoing negotiations between Salem and Perry Township regarding a potential resolution to ongoing annexation disputes between the two municipalities and the possibility of developing and entering a joint economic development agreement.

City council will meet next at 7 p.m. Jan. 28.