Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Internal Services Realignment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Portland targets 20% cuts across internal services; administration outlines phased realignment
Summary
City Administrator Mike Jordan told council the mayor’s proposed budget assumes a phased redesign of internal service delivery with a 20% savings target for several enterprise functions, implementation staged across the coming fiscal year and possible reinvestment of savings into technology.
City Administrator Mike Jordan told the Portland City Council on May 14 that the mayor’s proposed budget embeds a multi‑phase plan to redesign internal service delivery and seek roughly 20% savings in several enterprise service areas.
Jordan said the approach differs from standard “hack away” cuts and asks leaders to redesign business processes so services can operate at an enterprise scale. “We’re asking leaders in each of these business processes, not just to get us 20% savings from the business process, but also redesign it so it can work at an enterprise scale,” he said.
The council was shown a conceptual org chart and a timeline for phased implementation. Jordan said some changes could be implemented by the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year, the bulk by the middle of the fiscal year (around Dec. 31), and the final elements — notably human resources — in the fourth quarter. He cautioned the 20% figure is a target, not a guaranteed outcome: “I can’t guarantee you today that we will hit 20% right on the button,” Jordan said.
City staff told council the mayor’s proposed budget already includes reductions: roughly 75 positions were listed in materials the council received this week. Staff estimate the mayor’s proposed package bakes in about $9.5 million in savings for the coming fiscal year; staff noted the timing of implementation will reduce the total first‑year savings relative to the 20% target, with a fuller roll‑up expected in year two. More than half of the projected reductions are expected to fall to non‑general funds because many internal staff are funded across utilities, transportation and development programs as well as the general fund.
Jordan stressed that the review will assess total spend in each service area, not just personnel counts: “We’re not looking at just the personal services part of those budgets. We’re looking at the entire spend. So we have a lot of outside contracts in some of these service areas. We will be looking at those also.”
Technology was explicitly included in the assessments but was treated differently: Jordan said staff will look for 20% savings from some internal services but expects to recommend reinvestment of a portion of savings into consolidated enterprise technology platforms because the city currently uses many fragmented platforms. “We are going to come back to you with a significant percentage of those savings and look at reinvesting them in technology,” he said.
Next steps identified to council include ongoing inventory and current‑state assessments across business processes, staff notifications where positions may be eliminated, and a series of budget amendment discussions through the fiscal year as realignment proceeds.
Why it matters: The administration’s approach would change how internal services such as HR, communications, purchasing and technology are delivered to bureaus, could reduce vendor and contract spending, and may lead to position eliminations or reassignments. Councilors asked for more concrete metrics, implementation schedules and committee engagement as the work proceeds.
