Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s proposed $8.2 billion budget ‘builds on the momentum we’ve achieved’

Mayor Ted Wheeler unveiled his final proposed budget as Portland’s top leader, an $8.2 billion package that he said would complete changes approved in November 2022 for city council voters and accelerate addressing the crises that have plagued him throughout his second term in office.

“I have led Portland through what I believe is the most challenging period in our city’s history,” Wheeler said at a news conference last week before releasing his 322-page budget blueprint. “(This is) a balanced budget and builds on the momentum we have achieved in meeting Portlanders’ most critical needs.”

The city faced a $70 million revenue shortfall at the start of this year’s budget cycle, largely due to high inflation, depleted federal relief funds provided during the pandemic and lower-than-expected revenues, according to the mayor.

Portland’s growing infrastructure backlog, now in the billions of dollars, has put further strain on municipal finances, Wheeler said.

The mayor’s proposed budget falls short of preserving all jobs and programs across several city agencies and programs, city budget officials said. But it pays the full costs, including inflation and pay increases, of critical public safety services such as police, fire and 911, they said.

“Public safety is a top priority for Portlanders,” Wheeler said. “That shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us.”

The general fund is also poised to receive a cash infusion of about $38 million from the Portland Clean Energy Fund, the city’s lucrative, unique climate justice tax on major retailers, said Ruth Levine, deputy city budget director.

Another $139 million from the clean energy fund will go to the agency’s coffers this year, officials said. However, that money is limited to projects that reduce CO2 emissions or promote climate resilience, and not to basic municipal services.

All told, the mayor is recommending the city spend $732 million, a 3.5% increase from the current $708 million, on discretionary funds, which city budget officials say make up the bulk of the city’s general fund .

The city’s workforce would grow to 7,480 under Wheeler’s proposed budget, up from about 7,275 authorized employees currently, documents show.

Wheeler said he will try to keep Portland Street Response, the popular non-police response program, at current staffing levels and close an $11 million budget gap facing Portland Fire & Rescue amid a surge in overtime spending for firefighters and other personnel.

The mayor will also propose continuing to invest millions of dollars annually in clearing homeless encampments, trash collection and graffiti removal by creating a new citywide program focused on livability issues called “Portland Solutions.”

And he touted the upcoming launch of a new Portland Permitting & Development Bureau, currently under the control of Commissioner Carmen Rubio. The agency aims to streamline the city’s byzantine — and almost universally loathed — commercial and residential building permit system, which currently includes seven separate agencies.

The mayor’s proposed budget also lays the final groundwork for the bureaucratic makeover that voters will implement with the passage of Measure 26-228 in November 2022.

In January, Portland will turn over day-to-day government operations to a city manager chosen by the mayor and approved by an expanded 12-person City Council. This year, almost 75 people are currently running for city office, a number that is likely to increase further in the coming months.

Yet Wheeler’s proposed budget would provide only $1.4 million of the $7 million requested by leaders of the program that provides public campaign dollars to city candidates. That would mean a 60% reduction in the city funding limit for November’s historic election.

“The Budget Office has not recommended funding this program. It was not seen as one of the top priorities around transition financing,” the mayor said.

“There’s still a competition,” Wheeler continued. “It’s not as generous as it was during the race when there was only a smaller group of people running for public office. “That does mean that candidates will have to do more work in the community to support their campaigns.”

As part of City Hall’s renovation, more than two dozen Portland bureaus and agencies, along with their existing directors, have already been combined under six broad service areas: budget and finance, community and economic development, city operations, public safety, public works. and vibrant communities – managed by a team of interim deputy city administrators.

Last week, Wheeler named Michael Jordan — Portland’s current chief administrator and leading architect of the city government’s transition plan — as interim city manager.

Portland’s general fund normally represents about 10% of the entire city budget, which consists primarily of services paid for by water raters, permit holders and others who pay the city’s fees for services.

About 70% of the city’s general budget goes to just four agencies: the police and fire departments, Portland Parks & Recreation and the homeless agency run jointly by Portland and Multnomah County.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on Wheeler’s proposal on May 9 before voting on it later this month.

— Shane Dixon Kavanaugh covers Portland city government and politics, with a focus on accountability and watchdog reporting.

Reach him at 503-294-7632

Email at [email protected]

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

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