Portland Clean Energy Fund plan details $1.6 billion of allocations; community leaders urge protection of CBO grants

City staff presented the Portland Clean Energy Fund’s five-year Climate Investment Plan and budget to the Climate Resilience and Land Use Committee on March 27 and said the plan now allocates roughly $1.6 billion of funding through June 2029 across bureaus, strategic programs and community grants.

Dona Olivera, deputy city administrator overseeing program stewardship, opened the PCF briefing by reminding the committee that the fund “only exists because of the brilliance and determination of community leaders” and that the fund’s purpose is to advance climate justice, support resilience and create green jobs for communities historically left out of city investments.

What staff presented

Eric Kingstrom, director of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, and James Valdez, who leads strategic partnerships for PSF, walked the committee through the climate investment plan’s structure and the fiscal picture. Staff described two primary funding pathways: strategic programs administered by bureaus or contracted administrators, and competitive community grants led by community-based organizations.

Key fiscal points and allocations described by staff: - Total Climate Investment Plan allocation through June 2029: approximately $1.6 billion. - Community grants allocation in the CIP (five years): $363 million. - Staff said PSF awarded about $91 million in grants in the most recent round and opened the 2025 grant cycle with a $72 million award cap; staff noted the grant cap was higher this cycle in part to respond to high demand and potential federal funding loss. - City bureaus collectively are the largest recipients in the CIP; staff provided program-level examples including nearly $90 million for PBOT capital projects (sidewalks, bike and safety infrastructure), about $157.7 million for Portland Parks & Recreation street-tree and tree-care work, $29.2 million for fleet electrification, and allocations to Portland Public Schools and TriMet (staff cited roughly $120 million for school upgrades across six districts and $55 million for the 80 Second Avenue TriMet project). - PSF staff showed a near-term peak in fund balance and projected that expenditures will ramp up in years 2 and 3 of the plan as capital projects and multi-year grants mature. Staff described a planned reserve of roughly $100 million to stabilize the fund against revenue variability.

How the program operates and recent adjustments

James Valdez told the committee that the Climate Investment Plan was developed after an audit and extensive public process and that it will be updated annually with public input starting this fall. He emphasized that strategic programs and community grants are complementary and that the program has 37 strategic programs in the CIP, with 28 delivered directly by city bureaus.

Jess Klein, PSF data and performance manager, walked committee members through the multi-year budget profile, explaining that start-up and personnel costs dominate year one and capital and grant expenditures ramp in later years. She reported a FY26 PSF budget near $340 million, with roughly 42% allocated to bureaus through strategic programs, about 33% to community grants, 14% to sub-strategic program dollars and 6% to administrative costs (around $19.4 million).

Community groups’ response and council concerns

Damon Montstory, Oregon chapter director for the Sierra Club, and Jenny Lee of the Coalition of Communities of Color described the fund’s origins as a ballot measure and urged continued community-centered stewardship. Montstory said the campaign united conservation and racial-justice organizations to address disproportionate climate impacts, and he closed by saying, “the transition is now inevitable, but justice is not.”

Councilor Carmen Rubio (referred to in the meeting as Chair Marillo) and Councilor Jo Ann Hardesty (referred to as Novick in the transcript) and others asked detailed questions. Several councilors — most notably Councilor Susana Avalos — pressed staff on the balance between bureau-directed projects and direct community grants. Avalos said she was concerned that bureau allocations have grown relative to direct community-grant funding and emphasized the need for stronger accountability and more capacity building for smaller community-based organizations.

Staff responses and next steps

PSF staff said the CIP reflects a deliberate pivot after audit recommendations and that the larger-than-expected revenue picture after the pandemic required a different approach to deploy funds at scale. Staff acknowledged the tension Avila described and said that annual updates to the CIP will allow the council and the PSF committee to revise allocations as revenue and community needs evolve. Staff also noted that larger capital projects sometimes fit better with bureau administration while community grants remain the “heart” of the fund.

Questions left open at the briefing included the specific mechanics of how bureau allocations affect general-fund spending, the long-term grant-cap decisions for community grants beyond the current cycle, and detailed accountability metrics linking bureau projects to direct benefits for priority populations. Staff said the program will return with annual CIP updates starting this fall, and the committee scheduled further budget discussion tied to the citywide budget process.