Council Approves City Budget
May 23, 2019
This evening, Council approved the City Budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year. In June, City Council will formally adopt the budget. Nick's full statement during the vote is below:
Thank you, Mayor.
And thank you for introducing this year’s new budget process. It required us to think about bureaus and their budgets in a new way, and to build the budget from the ground up.
I’m pleased to support this budget. The process was collaborative – and ultimately, this budget is responsive to community concerns, and reflects our shared priorities as a Council.
It also advances a number of my priorities, including:
• Significant investments in supportive housing, including funding for deep rental subsidies and services for people struggling with homelessness, mental health challenges, and addiction.
• Continued support for brownfield remediation, our work to convert contaminated land into productive community use.
• Funding for the Portland Film Office, which supports film production in Portland.
• Seed funding to support the Albina Vision, a community-driven plan for re-developing the Rose Quarter and repairing the damage done by urban renewal.
• Establishing the Age-Friendly Coordinator position in the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability to guide the City’s work on age-friendly services and practices.
• Launching a Dark Skies initiative, also in the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, to reduce urban light pollution.
• And support for the Portland Rose Festival – our official festival.
The budget includes significant one-time funding for the Parks bureau to continue summer programming, to keep Columbia Pool open for another year, and to transition other spaces to new models.
And the Parks bureau will also receive much-needed ongoing funds for operations and maintenance of new parks and playgrounds, including many in East Portland.
Thank you, Mayor Wheeler, for your partnership and for your vital support of our Parks in this budget.
I want to acknowledge that there were no easy fixes for the $6.3 million structural gap Parks faced. One-time funds are not a solution. They would only extend the problem for another year, allowing it to grow and worsen.
It would be a disservice to the community, to Parks employees, and to Council’s stated goals of equity, affordability, and fiscal responsibility to avoid addressing the root cause of the budget gap – the bureau’s business model.
The bureau and its Budget Advisory Committee put together a thoughtful, balanced approach to closing the $6.3 million gap. They prioritized equity, long-term financial sustainability, safety, and maintenance.
And with the one-time support in this budget, the transition will be on a timeline that continues summer programming and provides additional time for the bureau, workforce, and community to plan for the future.
To our workforce: this budget affects 50 people and includes potential layoffs of deeply valued colleagues.
Parks and Human Resources are working closely with each affected person. Our goal is to help affected people find other positions at the City.
Parks has shared with me that half of the people affected as of July 1 will be moving to other positions within the Parks bureau.
For those we can’t retain at the City, Parks is providing support including:
• Career counseling, interview coaching, skill assessments, and resume and cover letter help – both in workshops and one-on-one.
• Thanks to our partners at the Bureau of Human Resources, a new initiative to prioritize affected employees for hiring in certain classes Citywide – affected Parks employees are specifically invited to participate.
• Onsite Employee Assistance Program support and referrals to health coaches and a wide variety of wellness programs.
Colleagues, I am committed to continuing the hard work of stabilizing the Parks bureau and building toward a sustainable future. That includes looking at new models for funding and delivering services. I will have more to say about this important effort later.
Mayor Wheeler, thank you again for your leadership and collaboration on this year’s budget.
Thanks also to my colleagues, to my bureau leadership teams, and to my City Hall team.
I vote aye.