Multnomah County Board holds third and final public budget hearing on Fiscal Year 2027 budget

Next year’s County budget faces substantial constraints: an $11 million General Fund spending gap along with a $67 million gap for homeless services. The shortfalls are driven by slowing growth in commercial property taxes, ongoing inflation, state and federal cuts, and personnel and operational costs outpacing revenue.

Chair Jessica Vega Pederson’s $3.9 billion proposed budget makes difficult decisions to prioritize direct services for those who rely on the County most while still serving the community’s essential needs. The Board of County Commissioners is currently discussing potential amendments to the Chair’s proposal before voting to adopt a final budget Thursday, June 4.

“This is really a tough budget year for Multnomah County,” said Chair Vega Pederson. “And despite that, the job of this Board is to make the best use of the dollars that we do have to serve our community's essential needs and ensure resources are going to the people who rely on them the most, and whose needs we must prioritize during challenging times.

“Your feedback will inform 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 serve.”

Youth and Family Services: SUN, Multnomah Stability Initiative and eviction prevention

Rebecca Gundle, a parent at Vestal Elementary School, advocated for the funding of the SUN (Schools Uniting Neighborhoods) Community Schools program. Gundle said the program offers accessible, effective extracurricular activities and noted that 239 students participated in the after-school enrichment program. She also highlighted her own child’s personal growth.

“My youngest kid, who is on the shyer side, has made friends through SUN when he couldn’t connect with other kids in the classroom,” Gundle said. “Through his current drumming class, or STEM exploration class in the past, he was able to make friends and try activities he isn’t offered during the regular school day.

“Cutting SUN would be a devastating loss to our school community.”

Hanna Voronina, a housing stability specialist with the Immigration and Refugee Community Organization, advocated to preserve the Multnomah Stability Initiative, a County program that helps provide essential support like rent assistance, utilities and food. Voronina said the proposed cuts would directly affect the vulnerable households their organization works with.

Voronina shared the story of a client whose husband was detained by immigration authorities for more than two months, leaving a terrified mother alone with three young children.

“We were able to help this family stay in their home during one of the most traumatic times in their life, and without this support they could have become homeless,” Voronina said. “I am here today because I want you to understand that this funding is not just numbers on paper; this program saves families from homelessness. They give people safety, stability and hope.”

Other community members advocated for the Multnomah County Youth and Family Services Division’s eviction prevention support program, which offers legal consultation, negotiation and defense services to tenants facing eviction notices or court cases.

Nicole Velsuscek, a housing attorney for Metropolitan Public Defender’s Community Law Division, urged Board members to fund the eviction prevention program at the same level as last year’s budget. Only 15% of tenants have legal representation, she said.

Velsuscek also recounted a story illustrating why that legal representation matters, sharing that they represented a disabled and elderly client who faced eviction from the RV he had owned for over 15 years due to a dispute over a fence. Through negotiations, Velsuscek persuaded the landlord to waive $1,200 in legal fees, settle the fence issue and pay for repairs to the resident’s home.

“Without our eviction prevention program, this disabled client would likely be homeless and would have lost his RV for violations that were inaccurate and could be remedied,” Velsuscek said. “I encourage you to renew our funding at the same level as last year so we can continue to provide these much-needed legal services.”

Health Department: corrections and behavioral health

Dr. Daniel Hoover, an addiction medicine physician at Oregon Health & Science University, advocated for the full restoration of the Transition Services Program (TSP). Hoover, who directs a statewide technical assistance program supporting Oregon jails in delivering medications for addiction treatment, encouraged the Board to restore two to four staff positions specifically involving mental health courts and general population transition planners.

“These positions are crucial to provide release coordination of services alongside the lifesaving medication treatments provided by Corrections Health,” Hoover said.

Hoover said that while medication treatment helps reduce post-release overdose recidivism, understaffed jails cannot sustain those benefits.

“Jails understaffed for release coordination are unlikely to see much benefit from medication alone, since in the release chaos, patients will lose access to their medication, not stay in treatment and then be at high risk for overdose,” Hoover said. “I hope my remarks are helpful in reinforcing the value of the jail's TSP program.”

Isadin Mumin, a former client of the REAL (Recovery, Empowerment, Achievement in Life) program at LifeWorks NW, advocated for continued County funding for the initiative. The program provides culturally responsive alcohol and drug treatment for African American young people ages 12 to 18.

“I can say from lived experience that this program changed and truly saved my life,” Mumin said. The program helped them achieve sobriety, heal from deep trauma, complete probation and graduate from high school, they said. They are currently in college working toward becoming a medical assistant.

“I respectfully and urgently ask that the County continue funding the REAL program so that others can have the same chance I was given — a chance to heal, to grow and to build a better future,” Mumin said.

Dominic Doherty, a licensed clinical social worker and a member of CARES Northwest’s Family Support Team, urged the Board to preserve funding for culturally responsive mental health consultant positions.

“When a child experiences abuse, the impact extends far beyond the child,” said Doherty. “It affects the entire family. The Multnomah County mental health consultants on the family support team provide critical support to caregivers through crisis intervention, education and ongoing connection to resources. They help families navigate some of the most overwhelming and difficult moments of their lives and begin the process of healing.”

Doherty warned that cutting these essential behavioral health roles will spike staff caseloads, degrade the quality of trauma care and harm vulnerable communities who already struggle to access supportive services.

“Losing these extremely valuable positions will create even greater barriers for communities who are already facing challenges accessing mental healthcare and other supportive services,” Doherty said.

Chinese memorial at Lone Fir Cemetery

Michael Yun, a landscape architect and board member of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, strongly urged the Board to support an amendment introduced by Commissioners Julia Brim-Edwards and Meghan Moyer to fully fund a memorial at Lone Fir Cemetery. Last year the Board approved $1 million for the memorial while also issuing a formal apology for County actions decades ago that bulldozed graves of Chinese and Chinese-American residents to put up a maintenance building and parking lot.

As written, the amendment would be paid for by reducing funding to relocate the County’s Vector Control program, which must move from its current City of Portland-owned facility.

“When I learned about the history of the Chinese cemetery at Lone Fir, including the details of the past Multnomah County Board’s actions, I was shocked and saddened,” said Yun. “I couldn't believe the County had desecrated hundreds of Chinese graves, demolished the traditional altar bonehouse and cultural artifacts for the pedestrian purpose of constructing a maintenance building.”

Design on the memorial began six years ago, and the project is just eight months away from completion.

“There will be no future opportunities to follow through on this commitment,” Yun said. “I ask you sincerely to act on this opportunity to facilitate genuine repair and meaningfully support this project.”

Homeless Services Department: employment programs, fair housing

Timothy Childress, speaking from personal experience, advocated to protect funding for comprehensive housing and employment programs, such as A Home for Everyone.

Childress shared that after struggling with homelessness, addiction and unemployment for three years, they found stability through Urban Alchemy’s recovery program and Central City Concern’s Clean Start program. These services provided them with recovery assistance, job training, mental health support and, eventually, their own apartment.

“Programs like A Home for Everyone work because they combine employment support with housing and stability,” Childress said. “They help you become self-sufficient, they reduce reliance on emergency services and they strengthen communities. Please continue funding programs like this that create real, long-term change.”

Ariel Vanfossen, an employee at Stone Soup PDX, highlighted the transformative power of culinary-based workforce initiatives by sharing the story of Hannah, a mother who entered the program while living in a shelter.

“Hannah had virtually no support outside of Stone Soup, and she was in a perpetual state of stress,” Vanfossen said. “In our program, Hannah was connected to resources and essentials. She was provided culinary training and employment support, and she had a support system that uplifted and empowered her.

“Hannah said that it felt like she had been thrown a life preserver, and because of the extent of the support she received, she felt reenergized to make the swim to shore.”

Hannah graduated from Stone Soup’s program, secured a job as a prep cook and recently moved into her own apartment.

“People deserve to change their life for the better and it is our responsibility to facilitate that for the sake of our community,” Vanfossen said. “Continued funding of these programs is life changing, and it is also life saving.”

Stephen Crawford, legal director of the Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO), called for the restoration of County funding for services provided by the council.

Crawford said that the council’s East County operations include rental audit testing, complaint investigations, direct advocacy and resource referrals for housing consumers.

“East Multnomah County is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse areas of the state, yet FHCO still sees significant disparities in the area based chiefly on disability, source of income, race and familial status,” Crawford said. “If we lose these funds, we will not be able to assist these people in East Multnomah County any longer, and there remains plenty of work to be done.”

Crawford said that over the past three years, the council has handled more than 140 discrimination complaints and provided direct assistance to at least 50 families in the area.

"Civil rights don't just happen,” Crawford said. “There has to be an enforcement mechanism if civil rights laws protecting housing consumers are going to have any effect. Without this funding, assistance to Multnomah County families experiencing discrimination will fall to the already-overburdened civil legal aid providers in our area.”

Next steps

The form to submit written testimony remains open throughout the budget process. It is available in multiple languages and can be found at multco.us/budget-feedback. Alternatively, community members can email their comments to the Board Clerk at boardclerk@multco.us.

The Board of County Commissioners will vote on the budget Thursday, June 4.

Watch a video of the full budget hearing here. Learn more about the budget process at: https://multco.us/info/fy-2027-budget.