Councilor Morillo's 2026 Budget Recap

Information

Portland's 2026/2027 Budget

Dear Neighbors,

I hope you're enjoying this beautiful season. Our city is facing a deficit, and I know many working families are having a hard time making ends meet. I stand with you as we work for Portland where everyone can thrive and feel at home.

Today, I want to share what we accomplished during this budget cycle and what's ahead now that the budget is approved. The city's budget is about more than numbers. It affects whether families can reach an unarmed crisis responder, whether kids have safe summer programs, whether community centers stay open, how quickly firefighters respond, and whether you can talk to a real person when you call 311. Our final budget kept these important services in place.

This year, Portland had to make some tough choices because of a budget shortfall. Being careful with our finances helps protect residents, keep important services running, and avoid higher costs later. Many of you spoke up about putting community needs first. I'm still committed to a budget that reflects our shared values, especially safety and access to key services.

We made real progress, even though we lost some important worker protections. There's still more work ahead. On June 17, 2026, the City Council approved Portland's $8.5 billion budget for the next fiscal year, starting July 1. I supported moving the city forward, but I pushed back against cutting frontline services before fully understanding how it would affect services, safety, jobs, and our finances.

What We Won

$2.5 million — Morillo 1: Community Health and Safety

Redirected funding initially proposed for additional elected official protection to programs that directly serve Portland residents.

Portland Street Response — $659,274 and 4 FTE. Restores peer-support capacity seven days a week so appropriate behavioral-health calls can receive an unarmed response.
Community Health Assess and Treat — $500,000 and 3 FTE. Connects medically vulnerable and unsheltered residents with care before health needs become emergencies.
Ceasefire and the Office of Violence Prevention — $1,143,726. Restores community-based violence interruption, outreach, and prevention work to stop harm before it escalates.
Summer Free for All / Lunch and Play — $211,000. Preserves free, accessible summer activities and safe programming for children, young people, and families.

More than $800,000 — Novick–Morillo 1: City Data Privacy Office Realignment

Amendment passed with unanimous support

Establishes staffing for the City Data and Privacy Office.
Protect residents' sensitive personal information.
Establish consistent privacy and data standards across bureaus.
Improve cybersecurity and data governance.
Ensure high-risk technologies and data practices receive meaningful oversight.

Together, these two amendments direct more than $3.3 million to crisis response, health outreach, violence prevention, youth programs, and better protection of Portlanders' personal information.

Why I Fought for Services First

Councilors Mitch Green, Candace Avalos, and I introduced the Services First amendment because the proposed budget cut frontline jobs before Council had all the facts about how services would be affected. Our amendment would have kept 96 non-manager, non-supervisory positions and required a full review and worker input before making any permanent cuts. It did not pass, ending in a 6-6 vote.

What I'm Still Fighting For: Ordinance 2026-222

Alongside Councilors Mitch Green, Candace Avalos, Sameer Kanal, and Tiffany Koyama Lane, I introduced Ordinance 2026-222. This ordinance allocates one-time funds to restore services for the 2026–27 fiscal year and require a detailed report on service impacts prior to the fall revenue forecast.

Amount: $12,784,910 in one-time resources

graphic outlining the details of Ordinance 2026-222

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How the Proposal is Funded

$7,150,007 in accrued Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund interest income.
$5,299,903 from non-General Fund contingencies.
$335,000 in Multnomah County intergovernmental-agreement revenue.

For the record: The proposal does not use any money already allocated to the PCEF fund or from pending projects in the fund. It only uses part of the accrued interest. These appropriations are one-time and do not create ongoing obligations beyond FY 2026–27.

Adopted Budget Wins that I Supported

Kanal 2 — Save St. Johns' Fire Engine: $2.5 million.
Restores Engine 22, preserving fire and emergency-response capacity for St. Johns and the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub.

Kanal 8 — Reduce 911 Response Times: $142,686 and 1 FTE.
Restores one Emergency Communication Call Taker to increase emergency-call answering capacity.

Zimmerman 7 — Preserve Shelter and Prepare for Severe Weather: $1.4 million.
Maintains City Team Grand shelter operations and provides flexible and severe-weather shelter capacity.

Pirtle-Guiney–Avalos 1 — PCEF Realignment: $5.4 million.
Restores funding for transportation, stormwater, and environmental infrastructure programs.

Koyama Lane 9 — Montavilla Park Picnic Shelter: $377,500.
Provides City funding toward rebuilding the Montavilla Park picnic shelter.

What Comes Next

Portlanders deserve budget decisions that clearly outline which work will stop, who will assume responsibility, and the expected outcomes.

Two Ordinances, Two Different Approaches

After we filed a compromise ordinance (2026-222) to protect jobs and services, Councilors Novick, Pirtle-Guiney, Clark, and Smith filed a different ordinance (2026-223). These two proposals are quite different.

Both ordinances address the budget deficit and require difficult decisions about reductions. However, they differ in which services to protect, the number of positions restored, funding sources, and the extent of analysis required before making permanent reductions.

Here are the key differences in our ordinance:

Graphic describing differences in ordinances

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Take Action

Follow Ordinance 2026-222: Track the Council agenda and read the full ordinance, exhibits, testimony, and any amendments before the vote.

Tell City Council to support frontline workers and the services Portlanders rely on.

READ ORDINANCE 2026-222

How to Participate

Thank You

This decision is not just about choosing between fiscal responsibility and protecting services. The best way forward is to use resources openly, avoid unnecessary disruptions, and make permanent staffing changes only after careful review.

Your testimony, emails, calls, and participation continue to shape my work at City Hall.

For More on the Budget, Read These Records

Thank you for being my partner in this work. I could not do any of this without your support.

In Solidarity,

Councilor Angelita Morillo