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Commissioners approve CBAC appointments after discussion about geographical and economic representation
Summary
The board approved first‑ and second‑term appointments to departmental Community Budget Advisory Committees (CBACs) but commissioners raised concerns about under‑representation in District 4 and over‑representation of higher‑income residents on some committees, and staff said fall recruitment will target under‑represented areas.
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners approved the first‑ and second‑term appointments for departmental Community Budget Advisory Committees (CBACs) after commissioners raised concerns about representation.
Commissioner Moyer said the demographic packet supplied with the appointments was useful but flagged representation gaps: she said District 4 appeared underrepresented, some CBACs skewed towards higher‑income members and several CBACs lacked self‑identified lesbian, gay or bisexual members even where transgender representation had been recorded. “We have an overrepresentation of economically well off individuals on our CBAC,” Moyer said, calling out the health department CBAC where she said 33% of members reported household income over $200,000.
Amada Perez, staff leading outreach for CBAC recruitment, told the board summer outreach was “robust” and that the county will prioritize targeted outreach to District 4 in the fall recruitment, and can add sexual‑orientation fields to the report. Perez said some applicants decline to answer sexual‑orientation questions. Commissioners and community speakers urged more targeted recruitment for public safety CBACs; Commissioner Singleton said public safety committees are “almost all upper income white men” and asked staff to help the DA’s office and sheriff recruit intentionally.
Public commenters said recruitment should be tied to program budgets and that the county should use waiting‑room QR codes and other accessible outreach to diversify participation. Charles Johnson said community members should be able to discover CBAC openings while receiving services and suggested program‑linked outreach.
The board voted to approve the appointments. Commissioners asked staff to return with follow‑up plans, including targeted outreach to District 4 and improved data in future CBAC demographic reports.
