A thorough summary of the city’s widening budget deficit and initial measures to reduce it, including hundreds of possible job losses and significant cuts to several agencies and programs, were provided by Portland authorities on Friday.
Between its general fund, which largely funds police, fire, parks, and homeless services, and other essential municipal services like transportation, permits, and water and sewerage, the city currently faces a cumulative shortfall of more than $157 million.
Michael Jordan, the city administrator in charge of Portland’s massive bureaucracy under its new system of governance, presented a preliminary set of suggestions on how to reduce that deficit by $32.5 million.
These include cutting back on everything from road maintenance to emergency preparedness initiatives to community center and sports facility hours, as well as around 275 jobs throughout the city.
According to a statement from Jordan, these concepts are meant to be a springboard for additional thought. The city must make some extremely tough decisions.
Jordan stated that Mayor Keith Wilson and the City Council might think about cutting up to $35.7 million from police, fire, and 911 operations in an effort to balance the budget, but he did not suggest any changes to public safety.
He suggests cutting $22.1 million from the Transportation Bureau by cutting back on basic road maintenance, safety enhancements, and pothole repairs, as well as by eliminating almost 100 jobs.
He added that in order to align spending with revenue, the city’s Permitting & Development Bureau would have to cut expenses by $16.7 million.
The story is still evolving. For updates, please return.
— Shane Dixon Kavanaugh focuses on accountability and watchdog reporting while covering politics and city administration in Portland.
His number is 503-294-7632.
Get in touch with [email protected].
On BlueSky@shanedkavanaugh, follow X@shanedkavanaugh.
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