Prosper Portland warns proposed budget cuts would shrink workforce services; contractors raise COEP payout concerns

At a Portland City Council Labor and Workforce Development Committee meeting, Prosper Portland staff and their partner WorkSystems Inc. told councilors that proposed general fund cuts and related funding shifts in the mayor’s proposed budget would reduce workforce-development services and risk losing federal matching dollars.

The presentation — led by Andrew Fitzpatrick, interim economic development director at Prosper Portland, with program details from Amy Fleck Rossetti, Robert Smith and Patrick Gehring of WorkSystems — described four Prosper-funded workforce programs, current outcomes and how a proposed $200,000 general-fund reduction for fiscal 2025–26 would ripple through other funding and reduce service capacity.

Why this matters: Committee members were shown program enrollment and outcome data that the agencies said depend on a combination of city general fund, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations and federal matches. Prosper and WorkSystems warned that cuts to the city general fund would reduce the federal match and result in fewer people served, lower program leverage and interruptions to supports such as paid internships, training scholarships and short-term housing and childcare assistance that help participants complete multi-month training.

Prosper’s presentation and outcomes

Andrew Fitzpatrick said Prosper administers four workforce programs for low- and moderate-income Portlanders: the Economic Opportunity Program (EOP) for adults, NextGen for youth, the district-based Community Workforce Navigator program, and the Community Opportunities and Enhancements Program (COEP).

Amy Fleck Rossetti said the EOP served 686 participants in fiscal 2023–24, with more than 80 percent gaining employment and an average wage increase of about 16 percent for completers. She said NextGen assisted 491 youth in 2023–24; 72 percent identified as people of color and about half…