Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Forecast topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Multnomah County finance officials report $57 million shortfall after Metro cuts SHS forecast
Summary
At a January work session, Multnomah County Chief Financial Officer Eric Cardano and Joint Office Finance Director Antoinette Payne told the board that Metro’s December forecast reduced regional SHS revenue by $51 million for FY25, including an estimated $22 million hit to Multnomah County; combined with earlier budget carryover issues the Joint
Multnomah County finance officials told the Board of Commissioners at a January work session that Metro’s revised five‑year forecast for the Supportive Housing Services (SHS) tax reduced FY25 revenue across the three counties by about $51 million, and that Multnomah County’s share of the FY25 reduction is roughly $22 million.
Eric Cardano, Multnomah County chief financial officer, framed the presentation as a warning to the new board: “I am gonna share a bit of bad news,” he said before describing Metro’s revised forecasts and the county’s ongoing monitoring of receipts. Antoinette Payne, finance director for the Joint Office of Homeless Services, told the board that when the updated Metro forecast is combined with an existing one‑time carryover shortfall, the joint office faces roughly a $57,000,000 budget gap: “the joint office now in totality, faces a $57,000,000 budget gap.”
County staff explained the components of the shortfall. Metro’s December 5‑year forecast reduced FY25 regional revenue by about $51 million; Multnomah County’s portion of that reduction is estimated at $22 million. Staff said that earlier undercollections and a $35 million carryover gap for FY25 — disclosed to the board in September — contribute to the total gap. County finance staff said receipts are tracking below even Metro’s revised forecast and that they are working with Metro to reconcile the numbers.
Anticipated next steps and board requests included a staff commitment to return in a few weeks with formal budget modification proposals and options to minimize service cuts for the fiscal year. Commissioners asked staff for more granular scenarios showing how proposed measure changes (for example, indexing income thresholds versus rate reductions) would change revenue and what service reductions or program pauses those revenue changes would produce. One commissioner asked staff to model the household tax relief a rate cut would provide at sample incomes to compare the public benefit against service losses.
Board members expressed frustration and cautioned Metro about mid‑year forecasting changes. Several commissioners said they had earlier heard that SHS carried unspent funds and cautioned that taking revenue expectations down while urging counties to spend was a mixed message. Commissioners pressed staff to secure assurances that counties would not be left midstream on multi‑year provider commitments and asked for clarity about audit and oversight proposals related to Metro’s governance proposals.
What’s next: staff said they will return with budget modification proposals in the coming weeks, continue monitoring receipts, and prepare a clear written summary of the board’s takeaways for use in Metro stakeholder conversations and upcoming Metro meetings.
