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WHEREAS, the Portland Police Bureau and the City of Portland have an obligation to enact evidence-based policies and procedures to address public safety needs, enforce the law, and engage in community-based policing; and

WHEREAS, the City of Portland currently has 877 police officer positions, equaling to approximately one officer per 725 residents, and has 65 vacant positions; and

WHEREAS, the City of Portland Public Safety Service Area leadership identify metrics including but not limited to response times and the number of investigations as relevant performance metrics directly impacted by staffing levels; and

WHEREAS, Public Safety Service Area leadership identify a four-precinct model and the expansion of community partnerships as potential strategies for meeting public safety goals; and

WHEREAS, the Portland Police Bureau must maintain staffing levels that adequately meet the public safety standards and best practices of a major US city as well as the context of other public safety systems in and serving Portland (e.g. BOEC, Parking Enforcement, Portland Street Response, and county/regional/state public safety systems); and

WHEREAS, a comprehensive assessment of personnel needs, employee Recruitment workload, and associated expenses for the Portland Police Bureau would empower Portland City Council to make evidence-based budgeting decisions; and

WHEREAS, there is public interest in considering alternative sources of funding for police, and those considerations must be grounded in fact and sound organizational theory; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Portland City Council requests the Deputy City Administrator for Public Safety to prepare and submit a report to Portland City Council by June 1, 2026, or earlier, comprising a comprehensive organizational assessment of the Portland Police Bureau:

• Organizational Chart: The report shall include a proposed organizational structure to positively impact desired outcomes across relevant public safety metrics, identified and endorsed by the Chief of Police, the Deputy City Administrator of the Public Safety Service Area, the City Administrator, and the Mayor. This section should include the progression from current state through proposed end state.
• Timeline: The report should detail the timeline associated with reaching proposed staffing levels, with an estimate for how much time it might reasonably be expected to take to achieve that goal.
• Recruitment Costs: shall include a recruitment plan, encompassing advertising costs, recruitment efforts, and personnel overseeing recruitment efforts.
• Training Costs: These costs will encompass the expenses incurred by the City of Portland related to training facilities, training personnel, and the use of materials and equipment necessary for effective training.
• Retention: shall include information on retention patterns and proposals for retaining PPB personnel, recognizing that recruitment will increase staffing levels only if it outpaces retirements and other separations.
• Sustaining Costs: The report shall include an analysis of ongoing costs, such as salaries, COLAs, bonuses, benefits (including estimated increases to annual healthcare costs), retirement costs, uniforms, ongoing training and professional development costs and equipment for the new personnel, as well as estimated changes in personnel overtime expenses. Any miscellaneous costs that were not included above should also be accounted for.
• Additionally, the Deputy City Administrator for Public Safety should calculate and report a projected cost ratio that reflects the increase in the city's population and urban growth over the next 10 years, as well as changes to other parts of the public safety system which may affect PPB workload (e.g. Council-approved direction for the expansion of Portland Street Response). This will allow Council to project necessary adjustments in both employee workload and budgeting, ensuring that the Portland Police Bureau remains adequately funded and staffed in alignment with the city's growth, Portland's public safety system, nationally recognized best practices, and the core values of the City of Portland.