Portland administrator orders 20% target on seven core service systems; Portland Solutions, shelters and ADA staffing draw scrutiny

Portland’s city administrator told the Finance Committee on May 12 that the administration is pursuing a “core services realignment” that asks managers of seven enterprise service systems to redesign operations to reach a 20% reduction in expenditures over time.

The directive affects internal services such as communications, human resources, finance and city operations and is intended to roll initial changes into the 2025–26 fiscal year and deliver deeper savings in the subsequent year. “I have given the leaders of those systems a 20% target, to ultimately look at 20% lower expenditures,” City Administrator Mike Jordan said during the meeting.

The change matters because the city’s proposed budget reflects both one-time and recurring pressures — including expenses tied to addressing unsheltered homelessness — and the administration says the realignment is intended to produce structural savings rather than one‑time trims. “I’m asking them to redesign them from an enterprise perspective,” Jordan said, adding the first implementations could begin as early as the end of the first quarter and roll into the following fiscal year.

City Administrator’s office and Portland Solutions Annie Vonberg, assistant city administrator, said the City Administrator’s office budget shows a marginal increase driven primarily by investments addressing unsheltered homelessness through Portland Solutions. She said the shelter portfolio is split into alternative shelters (24/7 pod program) and overnight shelters and that much of the shelter spending in the proposed budget uses one‑time or non‑city resources. Vonberg said the administration anticipates underspending in the current year and plans to request carryover in the fall.

Vonberg also said the Sunderland RV Safe Park is not continued in the proposed budget. Skylar Birkenaupp, identified in the meeting as director of Portland Solutions, said the Sunderland site was scheduled for decommissioning and is being transitioned to housing through Habitat for Humanity; staff said the site will close this week and that some capacity from the site is moving to other locations. Birkenaupp said Peninsula Crossing held about 60 units and that the decommissioning process has moved some capacity (staff cited “15 units” transferred to other sites).

Outreach and impact‑reduction programs Vonberg described proposed additions for the Street Services Coordination Center (SSCC) that would add 10 outreach FTEs to handle 3‑1‑1 outreach requests, connect people in high‑impact encampments to services and manage alternative shelter referrals. She said the Impact Reduction Program (IRP) budget could rise depending on ODOT revenue tied to cleanup and abatement on ODOT properties.

Equity, ADA and staffing questions Jeff Selby, interim director of the Office of Equity and Human Rights, confirmed the office’s 8% reduction includes cutting one ADA‑specific position under the city’s proposed 8% cuts. Selby said the realignment aims to inventory ADA work across bureaus and redeploy resources, but acknowledged the cut “is a big hit” and said the administration will prioritize “compliance and manage our risk when it comes to ADA, when it comes to civil rights issues.” Jordan and Selby told councilors the realignment process should surface where ADA and equity work sits across bureaus and how to meet requirements with redistributed resources.

City operations and service‑funding mechanics Sarah Morrissey, interim deputy city administrator for city operations, said the new city structure will move central communications, grants and the city budget office among other units into City Operations, producing a combined portfolio of approximately $1.02 billion and roughly 743 employees in the 2025–26 configuration. Morrissey said some suggested savings would come from fleet and facilities capital timing, vehicle retirements, and system reductions in technology; she also emphasized the city is reviewing internal service fund rates and interagency agreements.

Council questions and next steps Councilors pressed staff for specifics on where reductions would come from, how many cuts are vacancies versus filled positions, and whether faster timelines would produce unacceptable collateral impacts on staff and services. Councilor Dan Ryan (Vice‑chair) and others urged care on timing so employees are not destabilized; Jordan said faster schedules are possible but warned of unintended consequences.

Clarifying financial details discussed in the hearing included a $4,000,000 one‑time general fund policy set‑aside request tied to shelter services (stated by Annie Vonberg), an anticipated $9,900,000 of state revenue the administration expects but which “has not been voted on” yet (Vonberg), and staff statements that one year of operations to continue Sunderland into September would cost about $2,000,000 (Skylar Birkenaupp). Councilors were told Bybee Lakes operations for the same 50‑bed program have a roughly $1,000,000 decision package in the proposed budget as a continuation from opioid settlement dollars used earlier in the fiscal year (Skylar Birkenaupp). Staff also said Portland Solutions has a fiscal cliff and relies on a mix of one‑time and recurring funds.

What was not decided The committee received presentations and asked for follow‑up data; the session did not adopt an ordinance or finalize cuts. Councilors asked for follow‑up documents breaking out vacancies versus filled positions, the impacts on ADA specialists across bureaus, and more detailed financial tables before adopting final budget amendments.

The administration said the realignment is enterprise‑wide, and that some savings will accrue to non‑general funds because many positions and expenditures sit outside the general fund. Jordan characterized the exercise as a multi‑quarter redesign rather than an across‑the‑board personnel reduction: “It does not necessarily mean 20% fewer people, but it does mean lower expenditures.”

Next actions and meetings Staff said they will return with further detail during the service‑area work sessions and that councilors may propose budget amendments during that phase. City staff also offered site briefings and tours for councilors on Sunderland and related shelter operations.