SALEM – The health department issued more than 1,200 birth and death certificates in 2025. 

During her annual state of the city address, Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey said that the health department issued a total of 1,295 birth certificates and 1,244 death certificates in 2025. She said that the number of death certificates issued is expected to increase in 2026 as the department can now issue death certificates for people who passed anywhere in the state rather than just within city limits. 

In 2025, 186 cases of communicable diseases and 143 deaths were reported in the city. The leading cause of death were heart conditions followed by respiratory issues, then cancer. The department also had 212 office visits and administered 374 vaccines. 

The department also saw several personnel changes following the resignation of Health Commissioner Kayla Crowl from the department in December. Crowl was succeeded by Director of Nursing Chelsea Clark, who will serve as both Health Commissioner and Director of Nursing. Deputy Registrar and Public Health Nurse. Jodi Snyder was promoted to Accreditation Coordinator, and Debra Clark was hired to fill the vacant Deputy Registrar Position. 

The department also hired Charles Weatherly as sanitarian-in-training to partially replace Environmental Health Director Alan Master, who also resigned in 2025, while Crowl took a contracted position as Registered Sanitarian to oversee Weatherly’s training. The department also welcomed a new face on the health board as Barb Stamp succeeded Bill Wilkins, who resigned due to a family emergency after more than 10 years of dedicated service. 

Last year also saw the housing department, which had been operating under the health department, instead placed under the oversight of city hall. The Housing Department welcomed a new face with the hire of full-time Housing Inspector Richard Snyder. Snyder and part-time Housing Inspector Jarrod Richter completed all the department’s backlogged inspections and remain up to date on inspection throughout 2025. 

The department’s fee schedule was updated to more accurately reflect its inspection costs in 2025 with the occupancy license fee increasing from $140 to $4,014; fines for uncut grass violations increasing from $760 to $1,950; while re-inspection fees decreased from $5,600 to $1,950. This increase in enforcement in conjunction with the fee changes drove an overall revenue increase for the department driven primarily by occupancy license fees which increased from $59,382 in 2024 to $109,359 in 2025.