At the third and final public hearing on Multnomah County’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, Stacey Mingo joined several dozen community members who offered impassioned testimony on behalf of more than 20 different County or County-supported programs and services.
“I’m here today with my heart out, saying help is needed all around,” Mingo said, addressing the Board of County Commissioners at the May 28 virtual meeting.
“All I’m asking is for you guys to look at the budget and put the money where the heart is. Because the heart is what’s helping the community.”
Many of the more-than-50 spoken testimonials given over video (plus 104 written submissions) advocated for many of the matters that received attention at two previous hearings this spring, including Multnomah County’s Animal Services, legal services, eviction prevention support, employment services for people experiencing homelessness and support for youth. The verbal and written testimony underscored concerns about many of the programs and services facing potential elimination or funding cuts.
Written submissions were similarly dominated by comments with deep concern about budget proposals affecting the County’s Office of Sustainability, a local animal hospital and public safety — including funding for public defenders and the District Attorney’s Office.
Next fiscal year’s budget includes substantial constraints driven by the County’s largest funding gap in more than a decade. The reasons for the gap include lower-than-anticipated revenue from both Metro’s Supportive Housing Services Measure and property taxes — compounded by the unpredictability of federal funding cuts.
Chair Jessica Vega Pederson’s $4 billion proposed total budget makes difficult tradeoffs to prioritize direct services to those who rely on the County most. This includes a focus on services for children, families and people who need shelter, rent assistance, and services for substance use disorder and mental health.
"Today's budget hearing is one of the ways that Multnomah County collects community feedback on our budget before it’s going to be adopted on Thursday, June 12, at the regular meeting of the Multnomah County Commissioners,” Vega Pederson said at the opening of the virtual meeting.
“Hearing from you about this year's proposed budget priorities and how they represent Multnomah County's values is really an essential part of our budgeting process. The feedback that you give us informs our decision-making as we continue working towards an adopted County budget in June that is truly representative of the communities we partner with and we serve.”
DoveLewis Animal Hospital
Nearly 50 written comments were submitted supporting continued funding for DoveLewis, including from Katherine Mack, a community member who recalled her gratitude for after-hours veterinary care.
“DoveLewis provided my family with outstanding service for my dog when she needed it most – at the end of her life in the middle of the night,” Mack wrote. “Their compassionate care was a godsend to us. Please, please do not cut funding for DoveLewis.”
Current County funding supports DoveLewis medical services between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. That would be eliminated as part of the proposed 2026 budget, which would cut more than $200,000 that DoveLewis uses for on-call and animal rescue programs.
Tess Payne, a member of DoveLewis Leadership Team, appealed to the board by citing recent same-night incidents of a lost dog taken to DoveLewis after being hit by a car, and a 10-month-old kitten that was “coughing up blood” and had a dislocated tail.
“These scenarios are daily occurrences at DoveLewis,” Payne said on video. “Without the county's funding, those animals would have suffered needlessly … Considering animal services as secondary to human services is flawed.”
Multnomah County Office of Sustainability
More than 30 written comments were submitted supporting continued funding of the Office of Sustainability, which could have four of its five full-time positions cut as part of a proposed budget amendment.
In written testimony, Anders Hart cited the “vital work” of the Office — such as overseeing the County’s climate many action efforts (including the recent community-driven draft Climate Justice Plan) and supporting efforts to phase out gas leaf blowers. Hart urged the Board to maintain the Office’s funding, writing, “With federal policy undoing climate protections, now is not the time to scale back our climate efforts.”
Jennifer Hill-Hart, a member of Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board, told the Board on video that the Office is preventing evictions and homelessness and safeguarding public health “by leveraging bill discounts and disconnection protections ... This office punches above its weight and delivers very real and, frankly, life-saving results for Multnomah County communities.”
Public Safety
With the District Attorney’s Office budget slated for a 2% cut, Karen Chirre expressed her worry about safety in her District 1 neighborhood, citing four shoplifting incidents at her business during a recent two-day period. She said one suspect was jailed for an outstanding warrant and another was cited and released because the suspect could not be booked into the jail.
“It’s time for the County to care for more than just the marginalized,” she told the Board on video. “We must also support the businesses and residents who pay taxes into our community.”
She added that she recently learned that one assistant district attorney is managing 500 cases. “How is that even manageable? … I urge you to prioritize opening more jail beds and increasing the number of assistant DAs and public defenders.”
Grant Hartley, Multnomah County Director forMetropolitan Public Defender, advocated on video for “continued full funding” of the organization’s case manager program and legal services provided for the community law division.
“I appreciate the commission making public safety a priority in this budget cycle,” he said. “But I ask that you think critically about what that really means. For too long, a ‘commitment’ to public safety has meant merely increasing the budget for law enforcement and district attorneys without an expectation of meaningful or demonstrable results.”
“As someone who works directly in the system, I’ve seen firsthand what motivates change in those involved in that system.… Our community law programs help prevent entry and re-entry to the system by removing barriers to housing and services through eviction prevention, expungement, immigration services and other legal representation. Our case managers help stabilize those who end up in the system by providing connections to services and supporting them in their journey out of the system. By supporting these programs and others that provide these essential services, you are indicating to our community a true commitment to meaningful and demonstrable public safety.”
Lone Fir Cemetery
The Board again was reminded of their commitment to repair past harm done by the County to the Chinese community in the 1920s, when Multnomah County ordered members of the Chinese community to remove buried loved ones from Block 14 of Lone Fir Cemetery — then owned by the County — to make room for a maintenance building.
Lucas Zhang urged the County to provide further funding for a memorial at the site honoring the Chinese community members affected by that decision.
“Over time, I’ve learned about the history of anti-Chinese discrimination at Block 14 in Lone Fir Cemetery,” Zhang said.
”As a Chinese American, a Portlander who cares about the wellbeing of the city, and an American who believes in the values that this nation upholds of equality, this unfolding story is truly important to me and all of the communities I’m a part of.”
Next steps
Written testimony on the proposed budget can be submitted until Thursday, June 12, at multco.us/budget-feedback. Community members can also email comments to the Board Clerk at boardclerk@multco.us. The Board of County Commissioners will vote on the budget Thursday, June 12.
Watch a video of the full budget hearing here. Learn more about the budget process at: multco.us/budget-feedback.
