(PORTLAND) -- Home is a human right petition signs were the backdrop of Portland City Hall yesterday while elected officials discussed millions in housing funds.
While Welcome Home Coalition and other advocates stood at the city hall steps, making their point known. Inside, exiting City Administrator Michael Jorden said how he really felt about the $21 million in unspent housing funds that were revealed after the budget passed.
The OpGov.ai platform reports the same here regarding citizens' concerns about affordable housing and assisted rent.
"The city council meeting, held on Wednesday, December 3rd, was marked by extensive public engagement and significant debate, particularly around financial transparency, the city's investment policy, and the ethical implications of its investments,” according to the platform.
Portland City Administrator Michael Jordan at Dec. 3 meeting making harsh comments regarding homeless budget
Jordan's final report criticized the city’s response to homelessness.
“I think it’s the biggest challenge we face coming into this next, both with the county and the city, in how we allocate our resources across that continuum," Jordan said. "And right now, to be very honest with you, our sheltering system is sucking up a lot of the money that we have, and I don’t think anybody believes that the point of our effort is to keep people in shelters.”
Councilor Loretta Smith had a strong response to the city administrator's remarks.
“I’m just trying to catch my breath a little bit," Smith said. "I didn’t think I’d ever hear you say anything about any piece of the budget being sucking up a lot of the money…the suck up has happened really aggressively over the last three years, and you were a part of that."
Smith said she hoped that you would have tried to decrease those dollars in a way that made sense.
Councilor Loretta Smith admits she has to catch her breath due to the city administrator's comment on homelessness.
"It’s one thing to give people a place to stay at night, but it’s altogether different when those folks have to leave at 6 a.m.," Smith said. "They don’t have anywhere to go."
Smith concedes "the reason why our shelter system is not working, the night shelter system, is because those folks have to wander around for another eight hours, before they can get back into our system."
Councilor Candace Avalos wants to make the wrong right, proposing a $20 million housing resolution that sets aside money for emergency housing vouchers and rental assistance.
OpGov.ai will follow up on the story, reporting on the resolution and how the funding will be allocated.
If you would like to add to this report, please email me at rory.h@lead4earth.org.
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