Windowbox · Portland City Council

Portland councilors used a work session to press Oregon Department of Transportation officials on who will pay the citywide costs of a southbound I-5 closure through the Rose Quarter that begins September 11 and could last up to five weeks — a session that produced no vote.

City Administrator Raymond C. Lee III opened by calling the shutdown a project that "will have a significant impact on the city services, on our workers, our businesses, and our community at large" (00:06:33). Council President Jamie Dunphy (District 1) presided and skipped roll, noting work sessions take no formal action.

The closure and why ODOT chose it

David Kim, ODOT Statewide Project Delivery Manager, said the work replaces about 2,000 feet of a 38-foot-wide southbound bridge deck first laid in 1985, now 40 years old and past its 25-year lifespan. He said the Rose Quarter segment is Oregon's worst congestion bottleneck and carries the highest crash rate of any urban interstate in the state — about 3.5 times the statewide average, and 20 times higher on the southbound stretch near the Wheeler ramp.

ODOT evaluated single-lane and weekend-closure options before choosing a continuous shutdown for "safety, schedule, cost, and quality." Kim said drivers should expect travel times two to three times longer, with morning congestion starting 30 minutes earlier and evening congestion lasting 2.5 hours longer. One southbound lane stays open for local access to the Broadway-Weidler exit; the signed detour routes traffic to I-405 across the Fremont Bridge, with regional trips pushed to I-205.

Who pays for the spillover

Dunphy pressed the cost question hardest. Citing an estimate that a continuous closure saves roughly $9 million over a weekend-closure approach (01:02:26), he asked what happens if the costs pushed onto the city exceed those savings: "To whom do we send the bill?" (01:03:10). He added that the freeway "is not our asset to fix" (01:03:59).

Kim said ODOT is reimbursing the city for signal retiming, providing speed-feedback signs and some camera funding, and giving TriMet some money to review plans affecting its facilities — but "there are no funds that we typically provide for that type of response" (01:56:16).

Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2) said the mitigation ODOT described was inadequate: "I do not think 3 incident response vehicles and 4 speed signs are sufficient" (01:26:46). She asked ODOT to support the community financially "regardless of whether it exceeds the cost of the next best option" (01:29:47). Councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2) and Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) echoed the concern; Green called the shutdown "a natural experiment" and urged spending "whatever political capital we need to" to fund more transit service (02:19:12).

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A City Life Committee held over Mayor Keith Wilson's resolution to advance a new Broadway-capable theater at Portland State University and reimagine the Keller Auditorium, taking no vote and continuing the matter to August 11 after more than an hour of divided public testimony.

The four-member committee — chaired by Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2), with Councilors Eric Zimmerman (District 4), Dan Ryan (District 2) and Angelita Morillo (District 3, appearing remotely) — never reached deliberation on Resolution 37752, running past 5 p.m. with public testimony still queued (03:07:19). Councilor Candace Avalos (District 1) was absent.

Resolution on a PSU theater and the Keller's future

The resolution would direct the city to advance a Broadway-capable venue as part of a proposed Performing Arts and Culture Center at PSU while beginning planning to convert the Keller into a smaller house. Deputy City Administrator Donny Oliveira told the committee that a technical steering committee reached its recommendation unanimously and the mayor's ex officio table by majority, both endorsing the two-pronged approach — with the ex officio group specifying a 1,200-to-1,800-seat Keller.

City figures put the Keller renovation concept near $290 million and the PSU facility near $447 million (00:54:00); Oliveira said the costing was done by Venue Consulting Group in May 2024 (01:22:34). PSU Foundation President Sarah Schwarz said "the city and PSU will never need to solve for $1 billion" and asked the city to identify $44 million by December 1 — about 10% of the Broadway theater cost — to signal confidence to donors, noting three donors had committed $12.6 million (01:44:00). PSU President Anne Cudd said the university is "all in." Randall Friesen of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades said PSU and his council reached a labor agreement "late last week" and projected roughly 2,000 construction jobs and 400 permanent jobs (01:55:08).

Council President Jamie Dunphy (District 1), who sat on the ex officio table, urged a do-pass, cataloguing the Keller's flaws — no loading dock, too few bathrooms, no ADA compliance, poor acoustics — and warning that renovating it in place would mean "no Broadway in Portland" for over five years (02:01:00). Council Vice President Olivia Clark (District 4), also on that table, said she did not agree with its majority and offered amendments: questioning the 2030 opening date, adding operations-and-maintenance detail, and requiring the Keller's future be funded "in tandem" (02:03:07).

Opposition centered on cost and PSU's finances

Lejeune Thorson, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, asked the committee to reject the resolution and disputed the level of support, saying that of 14 ex officio members who submitted final questionnaires, "only 7 endorsed building at PSU," six wanted more cost and funding information, and one abstained (01:32:00). She and Karen Whitman of the Halpern Landscape Conservancy — who put "about $1 billion for both projects" (01:34:00) — pressed for a $10-to-15-million deferred-maintenance fix instead.

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Portland's Public Works Committee took no votes on July 28, placing on file two Portland Bureau of Transportation presentations — one on rolling out the new transportation fees, one on regulating driverless taxis — but a committee member said he would block one measure in September unless staff bring more options (00:36:21).

Councilor Olivia Clark (District 4), the committee's chair and vice president, presided. Vice Chair Loretta Smith (District 1) was absent. The committee approved its June minutes by unanimous consent and heard no live public testimony on either item.

Transportation fee rollout and a discount fight

PBOT Director Millicent Williams told the committee the transportation utility fee and street damage restoration fee, both approved this spring, take effect January 1 and have already stabilized the bureau's budget. "If not for the transportation utility fee, PBOT would have faced very significant reductions in services this fiscal year," Williams said (00:10:31). She said the local gas tax now buys half of what it did in 2016.

Staff laid out this year's allocations: the fee revenue splits 75% to maintenance and 25% to safety, with $15 million to $26 million for pavement maintenance (00:20:31) — the range driven by uncertainty over how much the street damage fee will raise — plus $1.8 million for streetlights and signals, $2.9 million for Vision Zero, and $2.9 million for sidewalk infill.

Councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2) pressed staff on the low-income discount for market-rate multifamily renters, saying the research presented only advanced one approach, a direct-to-tenant rebate. "I won't vote yes on anything if I don't get another option besides that in September," Kanal said (00:37:34). He disputed staff's account of engagement: "The time was offered. My staff did meet. We asked if more research had been done. And in that briefing, we were told no" (00:41:40). Chief of Staff Shoshana Cohen answered that the three models shown reflect implementation feasibility, not a final choice, and "we have done more research" on what she called a hard problem with few national precedents (00:39:39). Williams said the team needs more time to weigh a fuller set of options. Kanal later said his April vote "was contingent on credible affordability analysis" and that a bill delivered in a way "easy and/or cheap for the city but harmful for our community's most vulnerable was not a policy decision that I thought I was voting on in April" (01:24:43).

Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) said he wants to revisit the rate design before the non-residential rate hearing, calling the commercial side hard on small businesses, and offered to work through the August recess "cracking open some spreadsheets" (00:53:50). He also urged bonding against Vision Zero revenue, noting $2.9 million could back roughly $27 million in bonds (01:07:12). Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3), attending remotely, asked how the bureau would target funds to save the most lives and whether fee money could pay for safety studies ahead of paving.

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Portland's council voted 12-0 to establish a Drivers' Resource Center for ride-hailing drivers, adding an emergency clause from the dais that put the ordinance into effect immediately. (01:13:36)

Ride-hailing drivers get a resource center

The council passed the ordinance amending the Vehicles and Traffic Code to create a Drivers' Resource Center for transportation network company drivers, sponsored by Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2), Councilor Steve Novick (District 3), Council President Jamie Dunphy (District 1) and Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3). Pirtle-Guiney's amendment, adopted 12-0 (00:59:39), added a definition of deactivation and clarified that the center "does not exercise regulatory or adjudicatory authority" — the point she said had been the "main crux of the concern that Lyft and Uber raised." Joe Jackson of the Drivers Union told the council, "We have had a chance to review the amendment, and we do believe that this will help us accomplish our goals" (00:57:29).

Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) moved mid-meeting to attach an emergency clause so drivers would not "have to keep coming back." When Council President Dunphy insisted the emergency justification be put in writing, Ryan replied, "I don't know about that, but I think you might be taking it too seriously" (01:02:33). The drafted clause cited "the ongoing deactivation of rideshare drivers in Portland" (01:11:00); it passed 12-0 (01:12:27), as did the final emergency ordinance (01:13:36). Novick called the measure "the appetizer. The ordinance on compensation will be the entree" (01:12:35). Rideshare driver Nathaniel Hudson Hartman said he was "just overcome with emotion" and "not quite prepared for this to become an emergency ordinance" (01:07:00).

Affordable-homeownership rule advances after two amendments fail

The council sent to a second reading, set for July 29, an ordinance introduced by Mayor Keith Wilson that would temporarily remove income requirements on homeownership units built under the affordable-housing System Development Charge exemption program. Staff estimated the change would affect 200 to 400 homes (01:22:56) that qualify for a capped sale price but are not selling.

Councilor Pirtle-Guiney and Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3) offered an amendment to stair-step the income cap — from 100% of median family income up to 120% after 60 days on the market, 140% after 120 days, and no cap after 180 days — and to direct a report on down-payment assistance. Pirtle-Guiney argued the council should decide whether homeownership for people making "an average wage" remains a policy goal rather than simply "move the inventory." Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) opposed it, calling the underlying ordinance a low-cost fix worth "$20,000 to $30,000" per unit against a down-payment approach he pegged at "$300,000 to $400,000 per unit" (01:46:24); he corrected himself on the record after misreading part of the amendment as reallocating funds. Councilor Loretta Smith (District 1) said District 1 homes had sat unsold for 245, 336 and 246 days. Councilor Steve Novick (District 3) said "proving that you're poor is a pain in the neck" (01:38:42). The amendment failed 2-10 (02:26:59).

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The Finance and Governance Committee of the Whole voted 11-1 to send Mayor Keith Wilson's reappointment of Marcelino Alvarez and Eric Kress to the Prosper Portland board to the full City Council with a recommendation to accept, with Councilor Loretta Smith absent (01:44:04).

Prosper reappointments carry an unresolved settlement fight

The reappointment report drew more than an hour of questioning. Committee Chair Sameer Kanal (District 2) told Prosper Portland leaders he wants the agency to pay a larger share of a lawsuit settlement over Black residents displaced in Albina during a proposed Legacy Emanuel expansion. The council approved that settlement June 5 at $7.5 million from the city and $1 million from Prosper, and Kanal said Prosper should contribute an equal share, pressing for an additional $3.25 million toward what he called a $4.25 million fair share.

Executive Director Cornel Wesley answered that "Prosper's committed share has always been $1 million" (00:43:00), that the amendment raising the city figure never changed Prosper's obligation, and that the agency has invested more than $135 million in North and Northeast Portland over the past decade. Kanal said "My vote on this at the council will be dependent on this issue" (00:45:28) and asked that Deputy City Administrator Oliveira, absent Thursday, be present at the full council. Alvarez said he would recommend the board discuss the settlement in public (01:37:18).

Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3) raised the failure of the Made in Old Town project, whose loan defaulted. Wesley said the board acted "immediately," took a deed in lieu of foreclosure, and reorganized the agency's underwriting after he audited "every grant, every loan, every policy" (01:31:55). Board chair Gustavo Cruz said the loan "was not — it was obviously not something that one of my clients would have done" (01:31:23). Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) pressed on whether Prosper's Strategic Investment Fund might be used in the Moda Center capital stack and on the opportunity cost. Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) said stalled projects at the Broadway Corridor and Centennial Mills were "embarrassing sometimes that it's not moving the way it should" and added, "I want our budget to actually have money in it again" (01:16:00).

Two members of the public testified. Skylar Cruz of Goose Hollow said "spending money on shoe manufacturing companies with bad business models is a waste of our time" and called housing the number-one priority (01:23:00). Jordan Lewis, a volunteer lobbyist for the Portland Democratic Socialists of America, began testifying on Vision Zero; Kanal cut him off: "we do have rules of conduct that say testimony has to be on the matter at hand" (01:20:40).

Vision Zero data shows a motorcycle spike

The committee heard a Vision Zero update from Dana Dickman, the city's Vision Zero policy manager, then continued the item to August 6 so a public hearing could be held. Dickman reported 25 traffic fatalities so far this year, trending 12% below the four-year average, but motorcycle deaths up 67%, accounting for 11 of the 25 (02:20:00). She said about 70% of fatal crashes involve impairment, 49% involve speed, and 56% occur on streets with four or more lanes — 4% of the city's streets. Requested outreach funds, both internal and a state grant, were unavailable because of budget constraints.

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Portland's council split 6-6 on a $13.1 million plan to restore jobs cut in June, and Mayor Keith Wilson broke the tie by voting no, clearing the way for a smaller competing budget that passed 10-2 minutes later.

Two supplemental budgets, one that could survive

Council President Jamie Dunphy (District 1) said state budget law allows only one supplemental budget at a time, so the council would hear both ordinances in filing order knowing only one could become law. The first, from Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3), would have appropriated $13,076,892 in Portland Clean Energy Fund interest income, $5,491,200 in other fund resources and $335,000 in county intergovernmental agreement revenue to restore frontline positions (00:54:36). Morillo noted that her June amendment to save 103 jobs at about $22 million died 6-6, and said the rival plan "relies on funding that does not yet exist" (01:04:43).

The council roll came back 6-6, with Councilors Steve Novick, Olivia Clark, Eric Zimmerman, Loretta Smith, Elana Pirtle-Guiney and Dan Ryan voting no. Dunphy then read Wilson his tiebreaking prerogative under the charter (01:17:12). The mayor, offered two minutes to speak, said only that his vote was no, and the clerk announced the ordinance failed 7-6 (01:18:11).

Interim Human Resources Director Ron Zito warned that intent and outcome would not match: "across both ordinances, we see we've got about 10 vacancies of the positions being restored," and some restored positions would return to teams already disbanded "with no manager" (00:59:31).

The ordinance that passed

Vice President Olivia Clark (District 4) presented her ordinance as a compromise built with labor unions that "will extend pay and benefits to all laid-off employees through September 30th" (01:18:47). Smith (District 1) backed $9.96 million in general fund underspend as a "close-the-gap remedy" after learning that 10 of the 30 additional jobs in Morillo's ordinance were vacant (01:56:32). Zimmerman (District 4) counted 30 full-time positions restored across ten bureaus (01:45:35).

Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) rejected the fiscal framing: the measure "is going to validate deep cuts in the Parks Bureau, full stop," he said, warning voters would remember it at the next parks levy (01:34:11). Morillo put the gap between the two plans at about $4 million, "0.05% of the over $8 billion budget this council adopted" (01:29:17). Councilor Candace Avalos (District 1) said the ordinance lacks any requirement that the administration explain future job cuts, and noted police are "currently sitting on 70 unfilled positions while we're cutting 200" (02:05:35). It passed 10-2 (02:13:15). The roll is garbled, but Avalos is recorded voting no, and the second no aligns with Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane, who said minutes earlier, "I plan to vote no" (01:55:11).

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Portland City Council Housing & Permitting Committee 07/21/26, Tuesday, July 21, 2026.

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Portland's chief financial officer presented 44 potential actions to stabilize the city's finances at a September 21 work session, where councilors debated priorities but took no vote.

Council President Jamie Dunphy (District 1) opened the session and handed the gavel to Councilor Sameer Kanal (District 2), who chaired the discussion. Kanal said the city's financial situation is "in crisis," driven not by "one or two bad years" but by "structural long-term issues" (00:07:36). Chief Financial Officer Jonas Beery, who anticipates the city "will still be in a financial crisis mode for fiscal '27-'28 budget development," walked the council through recommendations from a Financial Stabilization Workgroup and his own implementation proposals.

The workgroup and the CFO's plan

The workgroup was co-chaired by Councilors Eric Zimmerman (District 4) and Mitch Green (District 4), who described themselves as representing "very different sides of the ideological spectrum." Zimmerman said the city is "oftentimes a reactionary government" and that it's "time to be more deliberate" (00:09:03). Green recalled getting the assignment from incoming City Administrator Lee: "oh no, we're in a financial crisis" (00:11:29).

Beery said the workgroup's recommendations reflected disagreement rather than consensus, and he translated them into 44 potential implementation actions grouped by feasibility and timeline. He grouped recommendations into financial strategy and discipline, decision support and governance, regional coordination and advocacy, and administrative effectiveness. Kanal reminded the room at the outset that "there's no decision that we have to take right now."

Where councilors pushed

Council Vice President Olivia Clark (District 4) named defining core services and auditing city facilities as her priorities, saying the facilities audit belongs on a nearer-term list than the CFO proposed. Dunphy questioned why items like organizational structure and intergovernmental-agreement protocols sat on a financial list, calling them "good things we should do to get our house in order," and voiced "deep concerns about biennial" budgeting, urging it not be prioritized. He closed with a recurring plea: "Portland loves to reinvent the wheel. Please don't" (01:21:33).

Councilor Loretta Smith (District 1) pressed Beery on why a formal revenue report was slated for spring 2027 when the adopted budget already lists revenue sources. Beery said the action would add "context" and volatility ratings the raw numbers lack. Smith asked that ongoing money like opioid-settlement funds, expected "for the next 20-some odd years," be shown as line items (01:23:56).

Councilor Steve Novick (District 3) urged near-term discussion of span of control and contracting, pointing to "those 50 people that supervise fewer than a few people," and pressed for annual review of one-time-funded programs (01:43:39). Councilor Dan Ryan (District 2) called for a 10-to-15-year look back at spending, warning that county cuts tied to "the deep devaluing of properties downtown" would hit the city's general fund, and championed a citywide economic development strategy, citing the city ranking "80th out of 81" as a place to invest (01:50:45).

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The City Council voted 10-1 to amend a budget ordinance restoring 55 frontline positions with roughly $18 million, most of it Portland Clean Energy Fund interest, over the objection of Councilor Steve Novick (District 3), who called it "a desperate effort to save face" (03:23:50).

Two budget ordinances head to a second reading

The council spent the afternoon on rival plans to reverse job cuts in Mayor Keith Wilson's approved budget. Councilor Angelita Morillo (District 3) brought a same-day amendment to her ordinance (2026-222) that she called "my final stand for a compromise." The full package appropriates about $18 million and funds 55 positions across parks, transportation, water, environmental services, fire, 311, police unarmed responders and other offices, drawing roughly $9 million from Portland Clean Energy Fund interest and about $4 million from bureau contingency and reserve funds. Morillo said the fund's available interest was found that morning to total $27 million (02:44:20). Over her own stated objection, she added $3 million for Portland Police Bureau emergency-medical training and $1.7 million for a reserve, saying she heard "so strongly" that colleagues wanted the training (02:46:00).

Novick refused to support it, saying "I frankly am not interested in negotiating with Councilor Morillo" and referring to "Councilor Rio and her fellow peacocks," adding "The peacocks had a strong position that they want poorly trained police" (02:48:33). Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2) said she was "a little shocked by the extent of the price tag" and warned that pulling forward money available for next year doubles the size of future cuts (03:06:50). Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) said he would "take my lashings probably for funding police training with PCF" (02:56:50). The amendment passed 10-1 with Pirtle-Guiney absent; Novick was the sole no (03:23:50).

The competing Save Our Services ordinance (2026-223) from Pirtle-Guiney, Novick, Council Vice President Olivia Clark (District 4) and Councilor Loretta Smith (District 1) was kept under $10 million. Councilor Eric Zimmerman (District 4) said a prior-day change to its funding source "introduced a poison pill," saying he had never passed a budget "where we didn't actually know where the money was coming from" (03:47:46). Novick answered that the ordinance always listed clean-energy-fund interest as a backup and that the change only broadened a reference to general-fund underspending (03:48:00). Both ordinances move to second reading July 22 at 9:30 a.m.

A separate amendment from Councilors Sameer Kanal (District 2) and Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3) sought to restore a ceasefire coordinator and an international relations position. Smith disputed the need, saying she was told Ceasefire had "$300,000 that POIC didn't use." Director of Community Safety Stephanie Howard said "We did not have carryover in the ceasefire program at all," and Chief Financial Officer Jonas Biery agreed there was no carryover (03:29:36, 03:32:16). Smith told Howard "you don't even know when you're winning" (03:30:33). Koyama Lane withdrew the amendment after it appeared to lack votes.

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The council split 8-4 to strip language naming the police-accountability office as a budget backfill source from one of two rival plans to reverse this year's layoffs, then continued both plans to the next afternoon without adopting either.

The night pitted two budget ordinances against each other, both aimed at undoing cuts in the adopted budget before layoffs scheduled for early August. Under state law only one supplemental budget can take effect, so the council can pass just one.

Two plans to reverse the layoffs

Councilor Mitch Green (District 4) presented "Save Our Services," Ordinance 2026-222, sponsored with Councilors Angelita Morillo (District 3), Candace Avalos (District 1), Sameer Kanal (District 2) and Tiffany Koyama Lane (District 3). Green said the $12.8 million package funds 48 positions the mayor proposed cutting, spanning parks, transportation, water, environmental services, fire, 311 dispatchers and unarmed police responders, and restores 24-hour coverage for three fire rescue units (00:52:31). Most of it draws on Portland Clean Energy Fund interest already earned — over $7 million of the $24.3 million available, "less than a third" (00:56:04). Green said his plan restores 18 more positions than the alternative and, unlike it, adds no $3 million for police training and funds the police-accountability office rather than drawing on it.

Vice President Olivia Clark (District 4) presented the "Risk Reduction Rescue Plan," Ordinance 2026-223, with Councilors Elana Pirtle-Guiney (District 2), Steve Novick (District 3) and Loretta Smith (District 1). Clark said it uses $9.96 million in general fund contingency to restore peak-hour public-service-specialist coverage, fund police training in vehicle operation and crisis de-escalation, preserve fire and rescue teams, and return $1.75 million to the Business License Tax Reserve Fund to protect the city's credit rating (00:58:52). She cited "America's leading Democratic Socialist, the New York mayor," as also investing in police training, and said the plan "does not delay, defund, or interfere with the Office of Police Accountability in any way" (01:01:37).

The dispute centered on how 223 would refill the contingency it spends. Its text directed the City Budget Office to look for underspending, naming the Office of Community-Based Police Accountability and Clean Energy Fund interest. Budget Director Ruth Levine told the council the ordinance would not reduce the accountability office's budget now and that naming a specific bureau was "not required" legally (01:12:14). She said the office's preliminary underspending for 2025-26 was $12.2 million, noting it stood up only partway through the year (01:21:39).

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