Refer renewal of Portland Children’s Levy to City voters as a local option levy for five years commencing in FY 2024-25
WHEREAS, in 2002 City voters approved the creation of the Portland Children's Levy through a five-year tax levy to improve the lives of Portland children and youth; and
WHEREAS, in 2008 City voters approved the renewal of the Portland Children's Levy; and
WHEREAS, in 2013 City voters approved the renewal of the Portland Children’s Levy for the second time; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, City voters approved the renewal of the Portland Children’s Levy a third time; and
WHEREAS, the Portland Children's Levy on average has annually supported programs for approximately 10,000 Portland children and youth, and hunger relief services to more than 17,000 children and youth who might otherwise grow up without a healthy start and the positive influences that lead to success in school and beyond; and
WHEREAS, the Portland Children's Levy supports 86 different early childhood, after school and youth mentoring programs, child abuse prevention and intervention, and foster care programs throughout Portland; and
WHEREAS, the Portland Children's Levy has kept its commitment to voters by funding only programs which are cost effective and have a proven record of success; and
WHEREAS, the Portland Children's Levy has kept its commitment to voters by limiting its administrative costs to less than 5%; and
WHEREAS, the Portland Children's Levy has supported early childhood programs which have prepared children to enter kindergarten ready to succeed; and
WHEREAS, the Portland Children's Levy has supported after school and mentoring programs that have helped students and youth stay engaged in school and safe after school; and
WHEREAS, the Portland Children's Levy has supported child abuse prevention and intervention programs to ensure the families who are most at risk receive the support and intervention services they need; and
WHEREAS, the Portland Children's Levy has invested in programs that have helped foster children and youth succeed; and
WHEREAS, the Portland Children's Levy has invested in programs that have supported child hunger prevention efforts; and
WHEREAS, the residents of the City of Portland should be allowed to vote to continue the Portland Children's Levy, renewing the local option tax at $0.4026 per thousand dollars of assessed value, which will raise approximately $133,114,201 million for the five-year period of the levy; and
WHEREAS, the public interest in a prompt resolution of the question outweighs the costs, if any, associated with placing this on the May 16, 2023 Special District Election ballot.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Council submits an Act, attached hereto as Exhibit A, entitled: "A Measure to renew the Portland Children's Levy by directing a five-year local option ad valorem tax levy within the City of Portland at a rate of $0.4026 per thousand dollars of assessed value, outside certain constitutional limitations, commencing in fiscal year 2024-25." The Act is hereby submitted to the legal voters of the City of Portland, Oregon, for their adoption or rejection at the special district election in the City of Portland, Multnomah County, Clackamas County and Washington County to be held on May 16, 2023. Each voter who votes upon the Act shall vote "yes" or "no" in the space indicated for such vote on the City ballot at said election.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council submits the ballot title for the May 16, 2023 election ballot, as shown in the attached Exhibit B; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council directs the City Auditor to publish the ballot title as shown in Exhibit B in accordance with City Code; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the funds collected from the Children's Levy shall continue to be used to make targeted investments in proven and cost-effective early childhood programs; programs for children and youth in foster care; child abuse prevention and intervention; after school and summer programs, and mentoring programs for children and youth; and to prevent child and family hunger. The levy will extend for a period of five years and the estimated amount to be collected and spent for those programs over the five-year period of the levy is approximately $133,114,201 million; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the sponsoring elected official may submit an explanatory statement to the City Auditor for publication in the voters' pamphlet; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Auditor is directed to forward to the county Elections Office all material necessary to place this measure on the May 16, 2023 election ballot; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor of the City of Portland is hereby authorized to incur expenses, if any, necessary and incident to the conduct of the May 16, 2023 Special District Election.
Official Record (Efiles)
Impact Statement
Purpose of Proposed Legislation and Background Information
Refer renewal of the Portland Children’s Levy to voters in the May 16, 2023 special election. The current Children’s Levy ends on June 30, 2024.
Financial and Budgetary Impacts
The city may incur some cost to include the measure on the special election ballot in May. Costs are shared among all jurisdictions participating in the ballot and no estimate is currently available.
Community Impacts and Community Involvement
Community Impacts: The Children’s Levy invests $23 million annually in community-based programs supporting children, youth and their families so that children arrive at school ready to learn, succeed inside and outside school, and racial and ethnic disparities in children’s outcomes are eliminated. The Levy supports over 90 programs serving approximately 10,000 children and youth annually in early childhood, child abuse prevention/intervention, foster care, afterschool and mentoring programs, and providing 10,000-15,000 children and their families with hunger relief services. 75-80% of children served identify as Black, Indigenous or a child of color, 35-45% live or go to school in East Portland, approximately 40% live in homes where the primary language spoken is not English, and over 90% live in families with an income less than 185% of the Federal Poverty Level. Levy resources are directed toward supporting the most vulnerable children and families in our community.
Community involvement:Before the Children’s Levy runs a competitive grant funding round, it conducts a broad community engagement process. Empress Rules Equity Consulting designed and conducted an in-depth community engagement process to inform PCL’s 2019-20 funding round. Empress Rules reached 400 community members and 100 people working in service provider organizations/programs in PCL’s 6 program areas. PCL also contracted with PSU’s Center for Improvement of Child & Family Services to review PCL’s grantmaking process through focus groups and interviews with grantees and past applicants and recommend improvements. These 2 efforts offered PCL multiple recommendations to improve transparency and equity in the grantmaking process and programmatic strategies. The Children’s Levy has also created an ongoing Community Council to provide continuous opportunities for community members to participate in policy development and decision-making.
100% Renewable Goal
This action does not contribute to the City’s goal of meeting 100 percent of community-wide energy needs with renewable energy by 2050.
Financial and Budget Analysis
This Resolution will not have an immediate, material fiscal impact. If the resolution is passed, and voters subsequently renew the Portland Children’s Levy for another five-years, the levy would continue at the same rate of $0.4026 per $1,000 assessed value, raising approximately $133 million of restricted revenue for children and youth programs described in the resolution. Current grants go out to organizations supporting the program areas of Early Childhood, After School, Mentoring, Child Abuse Prevention & Intervention, Foster Care, and Hunger Relief. Specific grantees can be found on the Children’s Levy website (https://www.portlandchildrensle…).