Reporting Live: City Council's Contentious Budget Meeting - Portland Mercury

Portland City Councilors are meeting to consider amendments to Mayor Keith Wilson’s proposed budget to address a $160 million gap. Proposed changes aim to preserve union jobs while reducing management positions. The amendments would stop diverting Portland Clean Energy Fund dollars to other city programs. They also would move $10 million from a new police oversight board to the Portland Police Bureau and Portland Fire and Rescue. Public safety amendments begin Tuesday. District 3 Councilor Angelita Morillo proposes reallocating funds from expanded council security services to the Office of Violence Prevention and the Ceasefire program, parks events, and restoring jobs for CHAT and Portland Street Response, the unarmed crisis response teams. Security staff cite increased threats and argue for maintaining current service levels.

"Morillo said the security team was being overutilized and said security may not need to expand from four agents to ten. "People are using it for anything and everything," Morillo said. District 2 Councilor Dan Ryan said he had multiple trespassers at his home, damage to his home last year, and that he appreciated the security staff's quick response during those incidents. District 4 Councilor Eric Zimmerman said he is motivated to vote for higher security staff due to a handful of incidents over the past year, including protests at City Hall du"

"It would take dollars from Wilson's proposal to add over $2.5 million in councilors' security services, and move $1.5 million to the Office of Violence Prevention and the Ceasefire program, $211,000 to parks events, and restore jobs to CHAT and Portland Street Response, the city's unarmed crisis response teams. At City Administrator Raymond Lee's request, the security team testified saying last year's budget was used up by an increase in security threat, saying it needed the additional dollars to continue the same level of security it provided last year."

"The city is working to address a $160 million budget gap, and the proposed amendments seek to hold onto union jobs and instead cut management jobs, stop Wilson's proposal to divert Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) dollars to other city programs, and move $10 million from a fledgling police oversight board to the Portland Police Bureau and Portland Fire and Rescue. Tuesday's meeting kicks off with public safety amendments."

Read at Portland Mercury