Housing director previews new city committee, social housing study and ‘one housing plan,’ flags $90M budget gap

The Portland Housing Bureau director told the oversight committee the city has shifted housing items to a new homelessness and housing committee at City Council and previewed several citywide initiatives: a one-year study on social housing, an emerging “one housing plan” to consolidate existing housing strategies, and ongoing negotiations over a reported more-than-$90 million citywide budget gap.

The director said the homelessness and housing committee meets twice monthly under Chair Councilor Candace Avalos and Vice Chair Councilor Jamie Dunphy, and includes council members Angelita Murillo, Dan Ryan and Eric Zimmerman so that "the entire city is represented on the committee." The North Northeast housing strategy and the bureau’s preference policy presentation are scheduled for the homelessness and housing committee on June 24, the director said, and bureau staff encouraged committee members and the public to attend.

The director said the Council adopted a joint resolution — authored by Councilor Mitch Green and Councilor Candace Avalos — to study social housing; bureau staff will lead the study and return recommendations to council in May 2026. “There’s not a single definition of what it is,” the director said of social housing, and described the study as an exploration of models that could be adapted to Portland.

The director also described a proposed “one housing plan” that Councilor Avalos is expected to bring as a resolution; the plan aims to unify multiple existing strategies into a single cross-cutting plan spanning homelessness response, housing production, preservation, tenant protections and pathways to ownership. The director named several expected partners: the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, Prosper Portland, the Portland Solutions team, and Multnomah County staff working on homelessness.

On the city budget, the director said press reports indicate a greater-than-$90 million gap; the mayor presented a balanced budget on May 5 and councilors are now in a deliberation and amendment period. She said the mayor proposed efficiencies totaling 20% to be implemented over two years, with a 10% reduction expected in the next fiscal year, and that the housing bureau submitted a balanced budget to the mayor and expects to maintain current service levels for the coming year. “There’s a lot of nervousness within the city,” the director said, noting potential reductions in force but adding that no specific layoff decisions had yet been made.

Deputy Director Angel Andron (finance) told the committee the housing bureau’s proposed budget is balanced and that proposed citywide administrative efficiencies are intended to generate $9.5 million over 10 years; the bureau applied a 10% general-fund cut assumption in its submission and currently sees no significant service impacts in the next fiscal year. “This is something that is changing every day,” Andron said, and said staff would continue to monitor negotiations and report back.

Committee members raised concerns about the committee-level process replacing full council attention and warned that a single consolidated plan could obscure community-specific needs. Committee member Jillian said a single plan risks erasing plans that center historically underserved communities; other members echoed worries that consolidation could blunt the attention given to tenant protections and displacement prevention. The director said those concerns could be raised to the homelessness and housing committee and pledged to carry the committee’s concerns to city leaders.

No formal council action occurred at the oversight meeting; the director invited committee members to participate in upcoming committee presentations and noted the bureau would continue to brief this oversight committee.