Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen said Thursday in proposing his budget for the upcoming fiscal year that three troubling facts should temper the news that the county's $4.4 million shortfall is "more modest" than in years past.
The first of those three facts, Cogen told his board colleagues, is that the community's need for county services has increased during the ongoing economic downturn. The second is that the shortfall marks the 11th straight year the county has faced cuts to current service levels. And the third is that the county must prepare for looming cuts from federal and state sources that combine to provide about 30 percent of the county's funding.
The chair assured the audience that critical county services would be maintained through belt-tightening steps such as freezing wages and cost-of-living increases for management and supervisors. (Cogen also has asked all the county's unions to consider no cost-of-living increase in the upcoming year. )
Among the key county initiatives Cogen cited that will be preserved in this budget despite these tough economic times are funding for all open jail beds and the continued partnership with the City of Portland and nonprofits to fund the Gateway Center for Domestic Violence. Among the examples of new initiatives the chair noted were an increase in funds for temporary rent assistance, additional support for the Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) program that saves the program at three schools where federal support is expiring, and creation of a micro-lending program to help fledgling small business.
For more details, read the chair's budget message FY 2012 Proposed Volume 1- Tab 1 Chair's Message (124.83 KB)or watch this video of his remarks in their entirety.