City auditor: Portland lacks citywide asset-management strategy; audit cites over $1 billion funding gap

City Auditor Simone Reddy and Audit Services Director Casey Jones told the Portland City Council on Sept. 4 that a performance audit found Portland has not adopted a citywide asset-management strategy, leaving the city without coordinated governance to address a growing infrastructure funding gap.

"We found that the city has not adopted a citywide asset management strategy," Jones said during the audit presentation, noting that the lack of a single governance structure and long-term decision framework has hampered coordinated planning. Jones described assets owned by major infrastructure bureaus — roads, parks, water systems, buildings and equipment — and said a 2023 estimate put the replacement value of those assets at more than $74 billion.

The audit traces an increase in Portland’s annual infrastructure funding shortfall from an estimated $112 million in 2007 to more than $1 billion in 2024. Jones and the audit team concluded that, without a citywide strategy and governance, the city lacks the decision-making tools to prioritize and fund critical maintenance and replacement to keep services running.

The audit recommended that the city develop a comprehensive citywide asset-management strategy that establishes governance, decision-making processes, and a long-term approach for meeting the city’s infrastructure needs. The report also recommended steps to promote buy‑in from city leadership and the public, such as requiring the city administrator or designee to present the strategy and regular implementation updates to council in public meetings or make the strategy public on a dedicated web page.

Jones noted the citywide asset managers group (CAMG) had long identified capacity gaps and that the transition to Portland’s new form of government presents an opportunity to assign responsibility and build capacity. City Administrator Michael Jordan told council he welcomed collaboration and, in his response to the audit, generally agreed with the findings and said he would direct staff to develop a strategy.

Councilors were told that council earlier this month unanimously passed a resolution citing the audit and directing the city administrator to submit a citywide asset-management strategy to council by Sept. 30, 2026. The audit documents that the city administrator’s office agreed in its official response to lead development of the strategy.

Jones also reviewed the audit division’s annual schedule. He said the division published 11 planned projects for the coming year, with five underway and six not yet started. The parks fiscal-management audit is in the reporting stage and the office is planning a mid‑October release, Jones said. Other projects in progress include audits on climate justice, arts education access, emergency communications, and community safety divisions’ anti‑gun-violence efforts.

Audit Services also summarized two public reports generated from its hotline investigations. One report found waste and inefficiency in Civic Life’s management of a fiscal‑sponsor nonprofit (EPN), which became financially insolvent; auditors found Civic Life paid certain insurance brokers in excess of the existing agreement and did not pursue available remedies. A second hotline report found the Portland International Raceway North Portland Trust Fund — a fee-funded grant program — had not distributed required small grants since 2020; the fund contains over $282,000 in fees and interest and the audit recommended awarding grants and updating the governing policy.

Auditor Reddy and Jones said the audit team will publish an audit impact report in early October that tracks the status of recommendations from prior audits. Jones said the audit office also manages the city’s fraud-hotline investigations and uses public suggestions to shape future audit topics.

Councilors praised the audit work and asked about how the audit office will coordinate follow-up and reporting to ensure recommendations are implemented. Jones said the audit office will continue to monitor implementation, publish impact updates and deliver reports intended to inform council and the public.