Albany Pride flag to be displayed at City Hall — but not on a pole

On May 10, city councilors voted to hoist the progress Pride flag as a “symbolic act of inclusion” at City Hall in June for Pride month. But, earlier this week the effort was put in doubt after some questioned if that would be possible given the logistics of the flagpole and whether the city should implement a flag policy first. 

Now it seems, city leaders have reached a compromise.

Staff was in the works of generating funds and installing a second flag pole for nongovernmental flags because the current pole can support just two flags without sustaining damage, City Manager Peter Troedsson said.

The current pole displays the state and federal flags. Staff has learned that it’s technically out of compliance with a state law that requires cities to also raise the POW/MIA flag.

But a secondary flag pole won’t be installed before the start of June for Pride month, Troedsson said.

Although it was his recommendation to establish a flag policy before any more banners go up, the City Council could override that recommendation, Troedsson said.

Establishing a code would ensure that future requests would be reviewed fairly, he said in a previous interview.

If leaders decide to develop a code, the League of Oregon Cities offers a good guide, he said. Paraphrasing a passage from the League of Oregon Cities, an organization that lobbies state leaders on cities’ behalf, Troedsson said that flag-raising is considered “government speech.”

“The city may choose to fly the nongovernmental flags and government flags of its choosing. It’s recommended that a city develop a policy regarding the types of flags the city will fly, whether by request of a member of the public, city staff or the council itself,” he said.

At the Wednesday, May 24 City Council meeting, Councilor Marilyn Smith made a motion to create a flag policy, and it passed unanimously.

City staff distributed a graphic for an alternative display of the flag, placing the progress Pride flag in a high window, visible from the street.

Councilors voted to hang the Pride flag as pictured in the graphic. The motion passed with five yes votes. Councilor Matilda Novak left the room, and her vote was not counted. Smith acknowledged that her silence counted as a “yes” vote.

For Councilor Steph Newton, who initially proposed the raising of the flag, the resolution felt like a compromise.

“I’m happy about it. It’s a good compromise, and I’m hopeful that we will be able to fly the flag on a pole proudly next year,” Newton said after the meeting.