Request the City Budget Office provide balanced program offer information for Portland Parks & Recreation as pilot project for FY 2026-27 budget
WHEREAS, City Code Section 3.16.010 provides that the City Budget Office is responsible for coordinating development and administration of the city's budget; and
WHEREAS, City Code further provides that the City Budget Office is responsible for monitoring expenditures and revenues for the city and all bureaus and providing this information to the Council when requested; and
WHEREAS, City Charter Sec. 2-128 and ORS 294.423 provide that the Council is the budget committee for the city; and
WHEREAS, Portland's new form of government became effective on January 1, 2025, and the newly constituted Council took office while the City Budget Office was already in the process of working with the administration and bureaus to develop the FY 2025-2026 budget; and
WHEREAS, during budget committee and Council hearings on the FY 2025-2026 budget, Councilors expressed dissatisfaction with the level of detail in the information they received, particularly regarding the personnel, materials, and services, and capital that were funded by different revenue sources in individual bureaus; and
WHEREAS, the 2025 Parks Levy specifically identified three types of services that would be funded with the Levy; and
WHEREAS, Finance Policy (FIN) 2.04 provides that the Council may request information on revenues, expenditures, and performance at the program level; and
WHEREAS, it is important for Council and the public to receive information early in the budget process about the different types of funding that support programs, the types of services that are being provided with different types of funding, and the number of staff working on each program; and
WHEREAS, the Council recognizes that requiring this type of information from all bureaus and offices citywide would not be feasible for the FY 2026-2027 budget; and
WHEREAS, the Council would like to institute a pilot program for Portland Parks & Recreation in the FY 2026-2027 budget to determine if providing such information allows the Council to better perform its budget responsibilities.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that pursuant to City Code Chapter 3.16 and FIN 2.04, the Council requests that the City Administrator, through the City Budget Office, require Portland Parks & Recreation to prepare its requested budget for the FY 2026-2027 budget with information showing the different types of funding that support programs, the types of services that are being provided with different types of funding, and the number of staff funded in each program by revenue source; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Administrator, through the City Budget Office, will require the Portland Parks & Recreation FY 2026-2027 budget to clearly show which of the bureau's programs are supported in full or in part by the 2025 Parks Levy, and how that is aligned with the text of the ballot information; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council requests the City Administrator, through the City Budget Office, to include such direction in the budget preparation guidelines; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the Mayor's proposed budget for the Portland Parks & Recreation is not based on the additional information referenced in the first be-it-resolved statement, the Council, acting as Budget Committee, anticipates that it will require such information be provided before approval; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that to ensure this pilot establishes consistent and equitable transparency standards across the City, Council directs the City Budget Office, in partnership with all bureaus, to develop a scalable reporting framework based on this pilot. This framework should outline the data, systems, staffing, and preparatory work required for every bureau to produce a comparable revenue-and-expense breakdown beginning no later than the FY 2027–28 budget cycle. The City Budget Office will return to Council by October 2026 with:
- A proposed standardized template for all bureaus;
- A readiness assessment detailing what support bureaus need to meet these expectations; and
- A proposed implementation schedule, including potential policy updates, that ensures all bureaus adopt this enhanced transparency standard in the next budget cycle.
Exhibits and Attachments
Impact Statement
Purpose of Proposed Legislation and Background Information
This resolution intends to address Council's dissatisfaction with the level of detail provided during the previous budget cycle. It proposes using Parks & Recreation's upcoming budget as a pilot to provide greater budgetary details, particularly information showing the different types of funding that support programs, the types of services that are being provided with different types of funding, and the number of staff funded in each program by revenue source.
Additionally, the resolution requests the City Administrator to require Portland Parks & Recreation's FY 2026-2027 budget to clearly show which of the bureau's programs are supported in full or in part by the 2025 Parks Levy, and how that is aligned with the text of the ballot information.
Parks & Recreation was chosen for this pilot in order to provide additional and appropriate fiscal oversight of the recently passed 2025 Parks Levy.
This resolution is a crucial step forward in Portland's new form of government, particularly as related to Council's role as the budget authority.
Financial and Budgetary Impacts
This resolution does not have any direct financial impacts. However, it is intended to pilot a process with much greater transparency and oversight in budgetary and financial decision making.
Economic and Real Estate Development Impacts
While fiscal oversight of a bureau or the budget broadly is of wide interest to the economic health and vitality of Portland, this resolution will provide oversight of the 2025 Parks Levy. Because the Parks Levy impacts taxes paid on properties in the city, providing Council and the public with greater detail on how those funds have been allocated and spent will create a more robust process of economic decision making during the budget cycle.
Community Impacts and Community Involvement
During the discussions around the 2025 Parks Levy, it was clear that many community members and stakeholders wanted greater transparency on Parks and Recreation's budget practices. This resolution intends to deliver on those requests. In part, this resolution will create a more robust community engagement process by allowing community members and stakeholders to have access to a greater amount of detail when advocating for or against different aspects of Parks and Recreation programming and spending.
100% Renewable Goal
Not applicable
Financial and Budget Analysis
Analysis provided by City Budget Office
This resolution directs the City Budget Office, in partnership with Portland Parks and Recreation, to pilot a specific level of detail during the budget development process for FY 2026-27. There is no anticipated direct financial impact to either bureau to complete this scope of work, but appropriation-neutral technical changes to the budget may occur as a result in Portland Parks and Recreation.
Economic and Real Estate Development Analysis
Analysis provided by Prosper Portland
An Economic and Real Estate Development Impact Analysis was not submitted for this proposed action. Pursuant to City Council Resolution 37664, Prosper Portland staff has reviewed the action and agree that it does not require an Economic and Real Estate Development Impact Analysis.
Document History
Document number: 2025-465
President's referral: Finance Committee