The Governance Committee voted to send a resolution creating a Portland City Council governance handbook to the full council after accepting several friendly amendments from the city attorney and staff.

Craig Cook, council policy analyst, and Aubrey Chen, senior council aide, told the committee the handbook is intended as a living compilation of governance guidance, pulling together relevant code, procedures and existing policies for councilors, staff and the public. Portland City Attorney Robert Taylor recommended removing a section on the handbook that attempted to label items “binding” or “nonbinding” city policy, calling that labeling system inconsistent and recommending the committee work with his office to address the issue through code and administrative rules instead.

Why it matters: the handbook is designed to be a practical reference for council operations and to improve transparency. Public testimony urged the committee to go further: Edith Gillis told the committee she wants the handbook to require an accountability evaluation grid for decisions that measures how each action aligns with declared priorities such as housing, climate justice and equity.

Committee action and next steps: The committee accepted attorney-recommended edits and amendments clarifying that the handbook’s section on committee assignments will be updated as committee structures change. The committee approved the resolution and will send it to full council with a recommendation to adopt (vote recorded in the committee as 3 ayes, 2 absent). Committee members said they expect to return with technical edits and additional clarifications at full council.

Representative quotes: City Attorney Robert Taylor said the old labeling practice “has not always been consistent” and suggested removing that text from the handbook and addressing the problem through code and administrative rulemaking. Public commenter Edith Gillis urged the committee to require a publicly available evaluation grid to score proposals against core priorities such as racial and climate justice.