See something we could improve on this page? Give website feedback.
Label:
Blog post
Photo: City Councilor Dan Ryan, District 2, at a Storefront Support Program gathering with Bricks Need Mortar and Portland small business owners on Feb. 6.
Published
What's been on my mind this week
Auditing the Portland Housing Bureau's finances
In early February, when the total amount of unspent funds at the Portland Housing Bureau was revealed to have reached $36 million—up from the original $21 million—I called for an independent audit to help us better understand the financial management challenges that have clearly unfolded within that bureau. Late last week, the amount of unspent funds hit $106 million. The need for an in-depth external audit, one that involves a detailed exploration of the internal financial controls and processes, has never been clearer. I'm especially interested in getting to the bottom of questions like:
- How we can better align the City's budget process to ensure visibility of restricted funds
- What accounting practices caused the Housing Bureau to not budget for entire accounts and fund balances
- How we can ensure future accuracy and transparency of the City of Portland's financial reports
In Portland's new form of government, the City Administrator and the Community & Economic Development Service Area, both of which report to the Mayor, are responsible for the management of the Housing Bureau's finances. I'm looking forward to learning what the plan is for addressing this issue—taxpayers deserve that transparency. Candidly, I'm ready to shift the Council's focus on providing services that Portlanders need—rather than placing blame. Onward for results.
Supporting Portland's storefronts
After six months of community outreach and engagement, I sponsored the development of the Storefront Support Program in last year's budget cycle. Between then and now, I've continued to meet with, learn from, and listen to many storefront owners. Their voices built this legislation. My office worked with City Council to move this body of work to City Administration, which ultimately assigned the project to Portland Solutions.
All that background to say, I was thrilled this week to hear directly from Portland Solutions' Victor Sanders, the program's project manager, about the status of the City's Storefront Support Action Plan. Presented at Tuesday's Arts & Economy Committee meeting, the plan—which represents many months of work, outreach and engagement, and feedback received directly from storefront businesses—lays out a cohesive roadmap for next steps. Guiding that work are the plan's stated goals, which include:
- Coordinating a unified response to storefront concerns
- Reinforcing a culture of real-time problem-solving
- Reversing poor perceptions of street conditions
- Reversing trends in business tax revenue declines
- Layering in a building block for continued economic vitality
In this moment, I want to thank the storefront owners who serve on this project's advisory board, and the City Administrator, for prioritizing this essential work. I'd also like to celebrate both that the City of Portland is doing the important work of listening and that the team has identified workable, tangible ways to reach the goals laid out in the plan.
All that's left to do is ensure that the funding for this work is seen through, which will be one of my main priorities for the 2026-27 spring budget cycle.
Keeping the Trail Blazers here—at home in Portland
I know I'm biased, but you can't tell a lifelong Portlander who skipped school for the first time in 1977 to attend the Trail Blazers NBA Championship victory parade, that it's okay for Portland to lose the Blazers. I will do everything in my power to keep them here.
Oregon Senate Bill 1501 was introduced in recent days, setting a framework for the state to develop a multi-jurisdictional agreement to renovate the Moda Center. Conversation around this complex topic will stretch into the weeks and months ahead, but it's important for me to share my perspective on where we're at right now:
We need to do everything we can to keep the Trail Blazers in Portland.
The Moda Center drives an estimated $670 million in annual regional economic impact, supports nearly 4,500 jobs, and brings more than 240 days of sports, community, and entertainment programming to Portland each year, according to the bill's language. Yes, the investment required to keep the Blazers here is steep for the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and the State of Oregon. Despite that, I worry if the Blazers go, it'll be the death knell for Portland's financial recovery. Despite some positive signs, Portland isn't bouncing back from the pandemic at the same rate as comparable US cities—in fact, it's not even close. Losing a major league sports team on top of that would bump Portland further down when we can least afford it.
We simply can't afford to let that happen. Stay tuned for developments on this—I know I will be. Rip City must live on!