Portland council rejects $80 million revenue bond to fund ADA curb ramps and street improvements

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland City Council on April 23 defeated an ordinance that would have authorized up to $80 million in revenue bonds to finance curb ramps and related street improvements, voting 4-8 on a motion to approve the nonemergency measure.

The ordinance (Document No. 2025-131) was presented to the council by Christopher Hare, council policy analyst and staff to the finance committee. City finance staff told council the proposed borrowing was intended to close a multiyear funding gap for curb ramps and street work and to produce near‑term budget savings.

The proposal drew detailed operational testimony from the Portland Bureau of Transportation. Millicent Williams, PBOT director, and Deirdre Davis, manager of the ADA curb ramp division, explained how ramp work is selected and financed, and why some ramps appear to be replaced in areas that already have access while other neighborhoods lack ramps at all. “We do our ramps about 8 to 12 months ahead of the paving,” Deirdre Davis said, explaining PBOT's sequencing and communication plan when ramps precede repaving.

Jonas Biri, the city's budget finance official, said the financing as proposed would achieve two objectives: fill a project funding gap and produce roughly one year of cash‑flow savings. "We can achieve the first objective and also receive around $12,000,000 in savings," Biri said, and added the savings were expected to split roughly between the general fund and the transportation fund.

PBOT staff and councilors spent significant time on three linked issues: (1) legal and federal triggers that require ramp upgrades to current ADA standards, (2) the bureau's process for prioritizing which corners are rebuilt now versus later, and (3) rapidly rising per‑ramp costs as crews move into more complex sites that require drainage, signal pole relocations or other adjustments. PBOT's engineering and maintenance managers described four delivery paths for ramps — developer projects, ramps-by-request, capital improvement projects (CIP), and grind‑and‑pave programs — and said federal requirements and a settlement with plaintiffs (the "Creek" settlement referenced in committee testimony) establish many of the triggers for upgrades.

Several councilors criticized the distribution of ramp projects, saying high‑visibility corridors and fully funded capital projects sometimes receive high‑end replacements while other neighborhoods go without any ramps. Councilor Ryan and Councilor Dunphy both described constituent frustration when a ramp is rebuilt but a nearby pothole or missing pavement is left for a year until paving is scheduled. Councilor Clark moved to approve the ordinance; after a brief closure of debate the council voted. The motion failed with four yes votes and eight no votes.

City attorneys had noted earlier in the meeting that, if adopted, the nonemergency ordinance would move to a second reading for final action at a future meeting. Because the motion failed, the ordinance did not advance. PBOT and finance staff told council they expect to reassess borrowing needs within roughly 18 to 24 months and said additional borrowing to complete the multi‑year ramp program is likely if other revenues do not materialize.

Why it matters: The vote halted a financing plan intended to accelerate delivery of ramps needed to meet current ADA standards and to create short‑term budget relief. PBOT officials said the city must deliver roughly 1,500 ramps per year under the settlement schedule and that the total number of ramps to be upgraded over the next several years remains large; without a dedicated financing plan the bureau said it may need to pull funds from other programs or return later with new financing proposals.

Looking ahead: Councilors and staff said PBOT will continue to report ramp delivery data to the council. Staff also offered to provide additional information on the bureau's new centralized ADA ramp delivery approach, ongoing cost control measures, and a three‑year paving list used to sequence ramp and paving work.