37596

WHEREAS, the City of Portland, throughout the pandemic, directed approximately $45.5 million in emergency relief dollars to houselessness response and household stabilization; and

WHEREAS, one year ago the City of Portland (City) and Multnomah County (County) jointly invested $38 million on a homeless services package; and

WHEREAS, the City and County have overlapping geographic bounds that requires coordination and partnership to successfully address the multifaceted crisis of homelessness; and

WHEREAS, progress can only be made on the crisis if the City and County have clarity on our charter responsibilities and coordinate them successfully; and

WHEREAS, it is vitally important that the City and County define what each government must bring to the table regarding to the homelessness crisis, including financial resources; and

WHEREAS, in 2020 the region passed the Metro Supportive Housing Services measure to establish a regional supportive housing funding program, providing the resources to address unmet needs of people experiencing or at risk of experiencing long-term or frequent episodes of homelessness in the greater Portland region; and

WHEREAS, the supportive housing funding program established by the Measure has one-time, unanticipated revenues above the current fiscal year’s original projections; and

WHEREAS, in 2023 Metro regional government has the authority to revisit the allocation formula in the Metro Supportive Housing Services measure for the unanticipated revenue; and

WHEREAS, the City of Portland has advocated for a holistic approach of fair and equitable housing policy across the continuum of need, such as inclusionary housing (2016 – SB 1533), funding increases for the Emergency Housing Account (EHA) and State Homeless Assistance Program (SHAP), expansion of bonding authority for affordable housing (2018 – HJR 201), and establishing a just-cause eviction standard and rent stabilization policy (2019 – SB 608); and

WHEREAS, the Oregon Mayors Association (OMA) created a Taskforce on Homelessness (Taskforce), consisting of 25 mayors from across the state, in May of 2022, to develop a response to homelessness that would help all communities statewide, regardless of size, or location, to address Oregon’s homelessness crisis ; and

WHEREAS, over the summer and fall of 2022, the OMA Taskforce met regularly to develop its homelessness plan, finalizing the same on October 14, 2022; and

WHEREAS, the plan proposed by the OMA Taskforce  calls for a partnership between the state and Oregon’s 241 cities to allow for the establishment and expansion of local, community-based responses that provide immediate shelter, needed services, and secure safety for unhoused Oregonians; and

WHEREAS, the OMA Taskforce’s plan requires the enactment of two separate, yet parallel, budget proposals during the 2023 Legislative Session: (1) a budget package which provides direction allocation to cities for homelessness response and prevention services; and (2) an allocation that provides capital improvement funding for cities; and

WHEREAS, the budget package proposing a direction allocation to cities for homelessness response and prevention services recommends providing each city with funds in an amount equal to $40 per resident, in accordance with the latest official population estimates from Portland State University, with no city receiving less than $50,000 in direct funding, and requires the funds to be used by the city, or a community partner of the city’s choice, for homelessness response and prevention services; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of Portland supports the plan proposed by the OMA Taskforce on Homelessness; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that City Council directs the Office of Government Relations to include the OMA proposed plan in the City of Portland’s 2023 State Legislative Agenda; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, City Council recognizes and acknowledges that the plan proposed by the OMA Taskforce on Homelessness may be subject to amendments provided the spirit of the plan  is maintained; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that City Council urges Multnomah County to jointly clarify roles and responsibilities to address the immediate and longer-term needs of Portlanders experiencing houselessness; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that City Council directs the Office of Government Relations to engage in collaborative work with regional partners (Metro and county partners) to ensure appropriate surplus funding levels from Metro Supportive Housing Services measure reach those people in counties in the greatest need; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that City Council directs the Office of Government Relations to work coordination with our congressional delegation and collaborate with our partners at the US Interagency Council on Homelessness to identify federal policies, programs, and funding opportunities that can be amended or used to address homelessness in Oregon.