Windowbox · Portland City Council

Windowbox · Portland City Council

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Windowbox · Portland City Council episodes

  • Portland City Council Regular Session 09/24/25

    Portland's council voted 12-0 to authorize a prepaid lease of about $705,000 for an in-district office serving two of the three District 1 councilors, after the third councilor pulled the item to challenge the city's construction and internal-service costs.

    District 1 office lease exposes cost dispute and a rift among the district's councilors

    The council approved an emergency ordinance letting the city sign a lease for office space at 305 NE 102nd Avenue for Councilors Candace Avalos (District 1) and Jamie Dunphy (District 1). The measure passed 12-0 (01:40:04), clearing the nine votes an emergency ordinance requires. The space runs about 2,900 square feet, with rent near $6,522.75 a month and an all-in run rate of roughly $90,000 a year, prepaid through June 30, 2029, according to Maddie Sautter, director of the Bureau of Fleet and Facilities.

    Councilor Loretta Smith (District 1) pulled the item from the consent agenda to question the numbers. She said she declined a joint office because she "didn't want to have a hostile environment" and had been told she "didn't have the same values as, uh, Councilor Avalos by her directly" (01:04:13). Smith also refused a build-out at the Nick Fish Building quoted at $1.2 million on an 18-month-to-two-year timeline. Avalos explained that the three District 1 councilors had toured spaces together; Smith took a small, already-built-out former Office of Civic Life office at the Nick Fish Building, while Avalos and Dunphy pursued the Multnomah Plaza site.

    The $705,000 was pooled: $235,000 from Avalos, $255,000 from Dunphy, $150,000 from Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3), and $75,000 from Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2). Smith and Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) retracted their contributions. Koyama Lane said she gave from her budget because 16% of District 1 residents live below the poverty line and she wanted to "put my money where my mouth is." Dunphy called it "an incredibly awkward conversation" and said he was "not accustomed to the level of scrutiny that my office budget is being put under" (01:13:08), while arguing the $1.2 million Nick Fish quote was not justifiable given East Portland's lack of city-owned space.

    Councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2) said physical office budgets should become a council operations expense rather than a per-councilor cost, and cited a $25,000 quote to move desks 30 feet within a pod (01:22:13). Sautter said city construction costs more than the private sector partly because of added requirements and because the city debt-finances aging facilities through internal-service rates. During the discussion, Councilor Eric Zimmerman (District 4) interrupted Avalos: "I'm going to interrupt you. There's somebody talking in chambers and it is coming right into me. I cannot focus on what the councilor is saying" (01:36:53). Kanal cast his vote with a caveat: "Well, I don't think this is an emergency, but aye" (01:39:55). The office is expected to open around January.

    Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2025-09-24-1

    Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

    1 hr 42 min
  • Portland City Council Regular Session 09/17/25

    Portland City Council adopted a resolution reaffirming its Vision Zero commitment and creating a cross-bureau task force to end traffic deaths, passing it 12-0 after adding two amendments (03:40:14). The meeting opened with a disruption that forced the council to clear the chamber.

    Vision Zero resolution passes with two amendments

    The resolution, sponsored by Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3) with five co-sponsors, recommits the city to the pledge it first made in 2015 and directs deputy city administrators to convene a task force spanning public works, public safety, and community and economic development, with quarterly reports to council. Koyama Lane said "every Portlander deserves to make it home safely at the end of the day" (01:20:13).

    Both amendments passed 12-0. Councilor Candace Avalos (District 1) added a clause requiring "meaningful community engagement" and informing communities of the new plan (02:52:35); Councilor Loretta Smith (District 1) pressed on what "meaningful" meant, prompting a rewrite. Councilor Eric Zimmerman (District 4) added a clause directing the task force to examine the overrepresentation of traffic deaths among people experiencing homelessness (03:03:01). Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3) supported that but warned the data must not be "utilized against our houseless neighbors," noting the only long-term fix is housing (03:01:26).

    About 18 people testified. Rob Galanakis of District 3 cited $6.5 billion in costs from the 500-plus lives lost since Vision Zero was adopted and named cities that cut deaths — Stockholm, Oslo, Barcelona at one-fifteenth Portland's fatality rate, and Hoboken, with no traffic death in seven years (01:35:00). Kate Connolly, Connor Lennon, and Glen Fielding of AARP each described being struck; Fielding said AARP has about 80,000 Portland members (01:45:17). Michelle Dewberry of Families for Safe Streets said her son Seamus was one of 26 people killed in 2010 and that 58 people died in Portland traffic last year, noting Seattle, with 100,000 more residents, had 20 fewer deaths in 2023 (02:07:45). Eric Escueta of the Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association cited that 69% of fatal crashes involve impaired drivers, and Vicki Payne argued infrastructure alone won't change driver behavior, citing that over 70% of fatalities involve speeding or intoxication and unhoused people entering traffic (02:13:21). Andrea Hamburg of the Multnomah County Health Department said traffic injury is the third leading cause of death in the county.

    Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2025-09-17-1

    Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

    3 hr 43 min
  • Portland City Council Regular Session 09/03/25

    The Portland City Council passed to second reading a package suspending street-tree and building-upgrade requirements for many renovation projects until 2029, aimed at cutting permitting costs, and confirmed two Revenue Division Appeals Board members 12-0 only after a prolonged dispute over how the council uses its consent agenda. Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2) presided.

    Code changes to speed permits

    An ordinance sponsored by Mayor Keith Wilson, Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3), and Council President Jamie Dunphy — the agenda lists Dunphy as a sponsor, though Pirtle-Guiney presided — moved to a second reading after roughly an hour of discussion. It suspends street-tree planting requirements for additions and alterations and nonconforming upgrade requirements until January 1, 2029, suspends seismic evaluation reports for certain older buildings, and applies a partial waiver of street frontage improvements.

    Council Policy Analyst Claire Adamsick said the Homelessness and Housing Committee, chaired by Councilor Candace Avalos (District 1), recommended passage. Avalos called it "the low-hanging fruit" in a broader code reform effort. Dunphy gave a homeowner example: adding a $25,000 basement bathroom can trigger about $2,500 in street-tree costs (00:50:31). Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) corrected the timeline, saying the work "started years ago" through a 2021 Permit Improvement Task Force, not last November.

    Councilors pressed staff on what the city gives up. Deputy City Administrator Donnie Oliveira said the change speeds internal processes and has "no bearing" on how the city plants and maintains its canopy, and that the main material impact is roughly 15 ADA ramp projects a year (00:44:52). Brian Landom of Urban Forestry said the city expects "a few hundred fewer trees" planted each year through development requirements but plants "several thousand street trees" through a separate program (00:48:57). Councilor Eric Zimmerman (District 4) warned against fixed thresholds untethered to inflation, saying a $25,000 figure "meant" something different in 1997 than in 2025. Three members of the public testified, all in support — Wade Lang of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Oregon, Kelly Ross of the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association, who cited a letter signed by 10 business organizations, and architect Michelle Schultz of GBD Architects. Committee and council members said they received no opposing testimony beyond one late written comment on street frontage.

    Consent-agenda fight over board appointments

    The council confirmed the reappointment of Revenue Division Appeals Board chair Adam Abplanalp and the appointment of Craig Freeman, both certified public accountants, by a vote of 12-0 (01:51:49). Councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2) had pulled the item from consent, as he does with advisory-board appointments, saying he wants the full council to engage with who gets appointed because "5 does not make 7."

    Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2025-09-03-1

    Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

    1 hr 56 min
  • Portland City Council Special Meeting 08/13/25

    I'll work through this systematically, building the ledger first from the transcript.

    Now the digest:

    Portland's City Council sent an ordinance returning to weekly Wednesday meetings to a second reading on September 3, after amending it to hold one evening meeting a month rather than two. The ordinance, sponsored by Councilors Sameer Kanal (District 2), Candace Avalos (District 1) and Jamie Dunphy (District 1), would put council back on a regular weekly schedule for the first time since the new government's meetings became irregular. No final vote was taken at the August 13 session; the council continued its second, contentious item — a new committee structure — to a recessed meeting the next day.

    The meeting schedule

    The council took the ordinance up amendment by amendment. A package from Kanal, folding in feedback from an earlier work session and stripping four sections of enacting language, passed 12-0 (00:50:35). Kanal said it reflected "everything that was discussed that was a consensus position or near consensus" (00:39:31).

    The sharper fight was over evening meetings. Councilor Loretta Smith (District 1) moved to hold meetings each Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. with a single evening meeting on the third Wednesday, citing "the increased costs and the toll evening meetings have on our support staff" (00:44:31). Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2) said a day running from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. amounts to "about a 16-hour day for staff" once prep and wrap-up are counted (00:53:24). Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) offered a friendly amendment making the third Wednesday an evening meeting in place of that morning's session; Smith accepted it.

    Kanal, Avalos and Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3) pushed back. Kanal argued the council had already budgeted for two evening meetings a month in June and that the real question was whether the second slot went to the full council or a committee (01:05:12). Morillo said evening meetings draw different residents than daytime ones, which tend to bring "people who are either wealthy, retired, or... lobbyists for organizations" (01:16:11). Councilor Eric Zimmerman (District 4) backed Smith, framing fewer night meetings as concrete support for staff: "we can either talk about supporting the employees who support us, or we can take action to support the employees who support us" (01:02:05). The Smith amendment passed 7-5 (01:27:47). Because the ordinance carries no emergency clause, Pirtle-Guiney said it would not take effect until 30 days after passage — likely October 3.

    A 6-6 tie on the agenda deadline

    Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3) moved to cut the time the presiding officer has to schedule a committee-cleared item to the full agenda from 90 days to 45. She argued that with meetings doubling, "we may no longer need the full 90 days" (01:28:08).

    Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2025-08-13-1

    Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

    3 hr 5 min
  • Portland City Council Regular AM Session 08/06/25

    Portland's council adopted a resolution 11-1 directing the city administrator to fold the city's scattered housing plans into a single unified housing strategy, with Councilor Dan Ryan the lone no vote. (02:18:12)

    Unified housing strategy

    The resolution, sponsored by Councilor Candace Avalos (District 1) and Council President-designate co-sponsor Councilor Jamie Dunphy (District 1), directs the city administrator to align existing housing, shelter and homelessness plans and deliver a draft to the Homelessness and Housing Committee by December 1, 2025. Avalos said Portland needs 120,000 homes by 2045, that "over half of renters are rent burdened, with 1 in 4 severely so," and cited "nearly 15,000 people experiencing" homelessness in 2025 and "the lowest level of multifamily housing construction since 2011" (01:32:00). Dunphy described the aim as getting "our house in order" (01:34:43).

    Councilor Eric Zimmerman (District 4) pressed the sponsors, saying "I'm still really lost at what this is" and warning against being "hostile" to private development (01:56:07). Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3) answered that "this is the council that just waived" system development charges and rejected the characterization (02:10:22). Deputy City Administrator Donnie Oliveira told council the existing housing production strategy "wasn't comprehensive" and that the city lacked a "North Star" (02:05:08). Sarah Ratcliffe of Habitat for Humanity Portland Region testified that the city's strategies "have largely left out homeownership," noting two-thirds of Habitat's buyers earn 35% to 60% of area median income (01:45:16).

    Asset management strategy

    Council adopted a resolution from Council Vice President Olivia Clark (District 4) 12-0 directing a citywide asset management strategy, with a report due no later than September 30, 2026 and a paired general obligation bond strategy (02:43:19). Clark said the city owns about $80 billion in assets against a maintenance backlog of "over $1 billion a year" and has had no common methodology across bureaus; she put $30,000 of her council budget toward an RFP to design the process (02:21:09). Michael Jordan, the former City Administrator, said asset management maturity is uneven, with the Water Bureau "near self-actualization" while others are "searching in the wilderness." Councilor Steve Novick (District 3) put on the record his intent that sustainability and climate-resilience language be treated as required rather than optional.

    Police retire-rehire extension

    Council voted 12-0 to authorize a letter of agreement letting the police chief offer five sworn members a fourth year in the retire-rehire program (01:13:08). Chief Bob Day said the program has existed since 2016, with 105 requests and 91 accepted, and that 19 members are currently in it; the five at issue are four in investigations and one Central Precinct sergeant (00:57:04). Mark Porras of Portland Cop Watch called "retire, rehire" misleading, describing it as "double dipping" and saying the five bring "more than half a million dollars per year in pension" above their salaries (00:59:07).

    Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2025-08-06-1

    Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

    3 hr 54 min
  • Portland City Council Special Meeting 07/16/25

    Portland City Council voted 11-0 to refer a five-year parks levy to the November 4 ballot at $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed value — up from the current 80 cents — to keep Portland Parks and Recreation operating and begin chipping at a maintenance backlog (02:46:14). Councilor Olivia Clark (District 4) was absent.

    The levy

    The measure sets aside $1.37 of the rate for parks and recreation operations and 3 cents for capital maintenance projects, co-sponsors Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2), Councilor Steve Novick (District 3) and Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3) told the council. Without a new levy, the Parks bureau faces 50% cuts (00:08:47). Acting Parks Director Sonya Szymanski said the rate needed to sustain current service had dropped from $1.60 to $1.37 after budget changes, which cut about 20 central-support positions and reduced urban forestry, and that the levy would not affect the Portland Children's Levy.

    Novick said the 3 cents would fund small-scale work such as fixing bathroom roofs and that the resolution recommits the council to a 2015 policy directing half of any excess general fund balance and half of one-time resources toward major maintenance (00:11:49). The $600 million deferred capital maintenance backlog was cited repeatedly; the Portland Parks Alliance said the city budget office recommends $60 million a year just to maintain parks assets, while the city has been appropriating about $5 million, and the 3 cents adds roughly $2.1 million a year (01:21:22).

    Amendments

    The council adopted four amendments unanimously and rejected two.

    Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) won an 11-0 change to have the city seek to clarify its authority to spend system development charges on capital assets that near failure, striking "authorize" for "clarify authority for" (01:35:46). Green said the City Attorney "does not support this interpretation" of state law, adding "I'm not convinced." Novick negotiated a wording shift from "major maintenance projects" to "capacity-improving projects."

    Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) won approval to require Parks leadership to submit performance indicators for a levy dashboard by December 31, 2025 (01:45:14). His draft called for exactly 10; Morillo moved to drop the number and Ryan agreed. Novick, before the change, asked Ryan whether "you and I are of a certain age and share cultural references, are you sure you wouldn't want to go to 11?" (01:40:35). Novick's own amendment added "maintenance" wherever the text said "capital," set a target to adopt a long-range financial plan by the end of fiscal year 2027-28, and required annual reporting on the share of parks operations funded by the levy.

    Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2025-07-16-1

    Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

    2 hr 48 min
  • Portland City Council Special Session 06/25/25

    The council voted 12-0 to reverse its own earlier decision on the Portland Children's Levy, repealing a one-year funding extension and the remand of grant recommendations and approving the original Allocation Committee awards for July 2025 through June 2028. (01:53:44)

    Council reverses course on Children's Levy grants

    The item was not on the printed agenda. Councilor Steve Novick (District 3) moved to suspend the rules to add it, seconded by Councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2), and the suspension passed 12-0 (00:12:47). The ordinance repealed a one-year extension of current grants, rescinded a June 4 remand, and approved the Allocation Committee's recommendations. Novick said restoring the recommendations would rebuild trust with volunteer advisory bodies, arguing the June 4 vote's effects were "obvious consequences. They were intended consequences." (00:39:36)

    Councilor Loretta Smith (District 1) opposed the reversal at the outset, repeatedly citing a 12-0 vote weeks earlier to extend current grantees and arguing resources could be found after July 1 so "everyone can win." Levy director Lisa Pellegrino, answering Smith on the record, said no letter promising money had gone out — the office sent "a recap of the allocation committee meeting" stating "the city council must approve these allocations." Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3) raised concerns that some funded organizations did not meet a criterion of serving at least 51% Black or brown participants.

    Roughly 13 people testified, nearly all urging approval of the committee's awards. Deon Salazar of the Community Advisory Council cited 90 diverse reviewers and said the portfolio funded a first-ever Pacific Islander program and first-ever trans-focused program, with one metric rising "from 7 to 19 organizations." (00:45:04) Aisha Carter of Bradley Angle said 36 organizations stood to lose Levy dollars. Sarah Hobbs told the council to "put your darn egos on the back burner and ultimately put the children first." (00:59:23)

    A compromise amendment from Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3), moved by Morillo and seconded by Councilor Mitch Green (District 4), failed on a 6-6 split (01:24:12). Novick called it "a gut and stuff" and asked for "an up or down vote in my ordinance." (01:18:54) When Morillo said Novick had "apologized for your Uber vote 10,000 times" (01:19:33), Novick answered, "And I haven't heard either of you apologize for anything, Councilor Morillo." (01:19:49) The presiding officer asked colleagues to "keep it civil." A later friendly amendment from Koyama Lane, directing the Levy to report on how it addressed or plans to address equity concerns, was accepted, and the ordinance passed 12-0.

    Noise enforcement consolidated

    The council passed Ordinance 192081 by 12-0, repealing two Title 14 noise provisions and moving all noise enforcement to Title 18. Council President Jamie Dunphy (District 1), participating remotely, said the change ends reliance on a "plainly audible" nuisance standard that police had increasingly used as noise-office staff were cut. His policy advisor Evan Hoffer described a history of "jurisdiction shopping" and said the work began by asking why Black-owned music businesses were closing.

    Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2025-06-25-1

    Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

    5 hr 4 min
  • Portland City Council PM Session 06/18/25

    I'll work through this systematically, building the ledger first from the transcript.

    Portland's City Council adopted an $8 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 on an 11-0 vote, with Councilor Jamie Dunphy (District 1) abstaining on his city attorney's advice over a conflict of interest tied to a garden grant (01:48:00).

    The budget and a conflict-of-interest abstention

    The budget passed as amended after roughly two weeks for councilors to develop changes, a timeline several members criticized. Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3) said the rushed schedule left staff "at their wit's end" and that the budget arrived "pretty much brought to us in the form that the mayor presented." Councilor Steve Novick (District 3) said an earlier proposed budget next year would mean "fewer mistakes, less confusion, and fewer hard feelings."

    Dunphy announced he would abstain from the final vote after the city attorney called him to say his wife's employment at Leach Botanical Gardens — the subject of a Leach Garden Amendment that had passed 10 to 2 — was "an actual conflict of interest rather than a potential" one. Dunphy said his wife's position "is not contingent on the outcome of this amendment," and told colleagues that "2 of my colleagues have taken the opportunity to openly question my integrity from this dais, but neither have said a word to me directly."

    The debate turned pointed over how the council operates. Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) asked what he called the "Peacock Caucus" to name its "North Star" and whether Portland is "the testing site to eliminate capitalism in favor of socialism." Morillo answered that "I don't know why people don't seem to comprehend what a majority is on a city council," and suggested colleagues frustrated with the outcome try "coordinating better." Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) said his North Star is bottom-up economic development, noting "half of this city are renters, and half of those renters are rent burdened," and that people leaving Multnomah County have a median income "about $56,000 a year" (02:10:00). Councilor Candace Avalos (District 1) said East Portland residents have "10 years less life expectancy and $30,000 less in average income than any other part in the city." Morillo said unhoused people are "getting swept more under this administration than they ever were under Mayor Wheeler's administration."

    Related budget ordinances passed the same night: accepting state revenue sharing funds 12-0 (01:47:36) after Councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2) changed his vote to aye, and levying taxes 12-0.

    Police accountability board seated

    The council confirmed the first members of the Community Board for Police Accountability by an 11-1 vote, with Ryan the lone no. Kanal, who moved the item to the top of the agenda to respect volunteers' time, called it "a vote about your stewardship and a vote for the people," noting voters approved the measure "1,688 days ago" as "the greatest number of votes cast... in support of any ballot measure in the history of the city." Ryan said "I don't think we landed this right," citing imbalance "by district, by demographics."

    Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2025-06-18-1

    Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

    4 hr 21 min
  • Portland City Council Special Session 06/10/25

    Portland's City Council spent June 10 rebalancing its 2025-26 budget toward parks, arts, and housing, voting 8-4 to move about $2.1 million in parks levy money out of tree regulation into parks maintenance and 7-5 to shift the entire tree regulation program to a different bureau, then passing a 7-5 package of small cuts to fund social services — with the full budget vote pushed to June 11.

    The council took up the annual budget (Ordinance 192070) as the centerpiece of a two-day session that opened with technical steps. Budget Director Ruth Levine walked members through state shared revenue items — the budget anticipates $21 million from state cigarette, liquor, and cannabis taxes, split between fire prevention and police patrol (00:15:30) — which were continued to June 18. A tax levy ordinance and a $50 million interfund loan from the Parks system development charge fund to the Fire and Police Disability and Retirement Fund both passed to second reading. Jonas Biery, deputy city administrator for budget and finance, said the loan bridges a cash-flow gap because FPDR collects its levy in November but pays claims starting in August (00:23:26).

    The fight over urban forestry and parks

    Councilor Eric Zimmerman (District 4) brought two reworked amendments. The first moved roughly $2.1 million in parks levy funds from the tree regulation program to parks maintenance, arguing levy dollars should not pay for code enforcement (03:07:01). During debate, staff discovered that an unvoted change already sat in the adopted "change memo" moving that same levy money out of tree regulation. Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2) said, "I'm really concerned with what I just heard" (03:34:01), and Biery replied, "I don't know how that number was changed, and I would welcome someone who does know how that number has changed to come join me" (03:34:01). The figure attributed to tree regulation shifted across the record — $1,582,931, $2.1 million, and a number the Council President said she was shown of "something like $4,000." The amendment passed 8-4, with Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3), Angelita Morillo (District 3), Steve Novick (District 3), and Candace Avalos (District 1) opposed (04:11:46).

    Zimmerman's second amendment moved the tree regulation program and staff to Portland Permitting and Development, with no funding cut in the move itself, to take effect no later than October 1 after a friendly amendment from Novick (04:02:43). Zimmerman said the Parks Bureau's conduct through budget season "has been a series of months of gaslighting" (03:20:04). Deputy City Administrator Sonia Szymanski cautioned the move "more creates an anomaly than resolves one," since bureaus generally administer their own code (04:03:37), while Deputy City Administrator Donnie Oliveira called integration "certainly doable" with more time (03:56:12). Koyama Lane asked colleagues "to not refer to our city staff by name and instead by title" (03:47:13). It passed 7-5 (04:13:40).

    Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2025-06-10-1

    Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

    5 hr 31 min
  • Portland City Council AM Session 06/04/25

    The Portland City Council voted 7-5 to send the Portland Children's Levy's three-year grant recommendations back to the levy for reconsideration, then passed an emergency ordinance extending current grants for one year at reduced funding to prevent a July 1 lapse.

    Children's Levy grants sent back over process concerns

    The council remanded the levy's funding package for July 2025 through June 2028 after more than two hours of debate over how applications were scored and whether longstanding organizations serving Black and other BIPOC communities were shortchanged. Angelita Morillo (District 3) moved the remand, Loretta Smith (District 1) seconded, and it passed 7-5 (02:33:22), with Dan Ryan (District 2), Steve Novick (District 3), Olivia Clark (District 4), Eric Zimmerman (District 4), and Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2) opposed.

    Smith argued the scoring failed to account for pandemic-era drops in the number of people organizations served and had pushed out established grantees like REAP and Self-Enhancement Inc. in favor of newer applicants. Sahon McKelvey, Director of Advocacy and Engagement at Self-Enhancement Inc., told the council that 13 African American agencies applied for mentoring dollars and six were funded, and objected that "white agencies are being awarded to provide mentorship for Black kids when Black agencies are not being awarded to do that" (01:12:48). Mitch Green (District 4) said "it's going to be hard for me to vote to accept a package that says that Black-led organizations cannot be the mentors for Black" children (01:43:40).

    Ryan, who opposed the remand, defended the process as thorough and data-driven, citing a 21% drop in revenue between when the request for proposals went out and when decisions were made (01:01:00). He said only one council office accepted an offered briefing, and pointed to Sunshine Division at 75%, Oregon Food Bank at 72%, and Meals on Wheels' Meals for Kids at 83% service to the BIPOC community. Levy director Lisa Pellegrino said every application was scored, that revenues were down about 21%, and that a full redo could take roughly a year. Clark called the remand "really micromanagement" (02:31:05). Before voting, Zimmerman noted the remand "will stop funding on June 30th" (02:31:22).

    To avoid that stoppage, Zimmerman moved a new emergency ordinance from the floor to extend current grants for up to one year, with reductions of up to 25% delegated to the director to reflect lower revenue. Pellegrino said "current funding minus 21% for everybody" should work. The council suspended its rules to add the item and passed it, with the clerk announcing 11 ayes, 1 absent (04:01:29). McKelvey testified in support: "I don't think this is the ideal situation, but I think this is where we are" (03:59:25).

    Continue reading the summary and transcript on Windowbox: https://portland.windowbox.app/meetings/2025-06-04-1

    Audio is the City of Portland's public recording of the meeting. Windowbox is not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Portland.

    4 hr 18 min

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