Funding Failure: Portland's $14.7M Budget for Cruelty

 

Jamie Partridge, member of the Democratic Socialists of America, listens to public testimony at the City Council meeting.
Eli Imadali / OPB

By Abby Watson

A recent, contentious City Council meeting revealed a deep and growing divide in Portland’s leadership, a chasm created by Mayor Wilson’s failed strategy to address homelessness in Portland. The fight wasn’t even about eliminating his controversial sweeps program; it was a modest proposal to cut $4.3 million from its $14.7 million annual budget. $4.3 million that was meant to be reallocated to direct aid and housing programs, like housing grants, food assistance, and support services. But even that was too much for the Mayor, who fought to protect every dollar for his “Impact Reduction Program”: a program that does not reduce impacts, but rather displaces the unhoused.

The core of the conflict is simple: other city leaders are finally stating publicly that the Mayor’s strategy is both harmful and a colossal waste of money. As Councilor Mitch Green stated, these sweeps are “not only ineffective, they are counterproductive,” adding that they “layer trauma on top of trauma, and they lead to more deaths on our streets.” Councilor Candace Avalos was just as blunt, noting the city is “spending millions and millions” to move people block to block without addressing the real issue.

This public, bitter division at City Hall is the inevitable result of Mayor Wilson’s insular, unilateral strategy that actively excluded community and expert voices. When a Mayor designs multi-million dollar systems, from unwanted shelters to traumatic sweeps, without a shred of meaningful collaboration, the result is a city at war with itself. This desperate budget fight is a symptom of a failed partnership, one that the Mayor refused to build. This is the inevitable outcome when leaders are forced to beg for compassion in a public forum because they were never invited to the table in the first place.

The Mayor got his way. The proposal to cut his sweeps budget failed. The city will continue to spend $14.7 million to displace its most vulnerable residents. This is Mayor Wilson’s choice: to fund a revolving door of trauma.

But while Mayor Wilson chooses to exclude the unhoused from his plan, you can choose to support them directly. Click here to support Street Roots, the newspaper that gives the unhoused of Portland a voice and income with dignity.