Portland City Council on Dec. 17 approved a city–county homelessness response system action plan and a set of 12 key performance indicators (KPIs) intended to guide joint work with Multnomah County, voting 9–3 after extended debate.

Supporters said the KPIs create a shared measurement framework for a complex system and reflect input from the steering and oversight committee (SOC), which includes government and community representatives. "This is one way for us to do that," the council president said when introducing the item, adding that the KPIs grew out of multi‑jurisdictional work and community input.

Opponents and some supporters pressing for changes said the document lacks clear numeric targets and that many goals are not yet tied to measurable outcomes. Councilor Dunphy said the plan is "a better product than it was a year ago," but added, "this ain't it" unless it contains concrete metrics. Councilor Ryan and others requested explicit measurement targets for KPIs such as workforce integration and behavioral‑health outcomes.

Staff explained the KPI development as a three‑phase process: phase 1 identifies what to measure (the list now before council), phase 2 defines how each measure will be counted or expressed, and phase 3 — goal‑setting with specific numeric targets — is scheduled after the FY 2027 budget process. Staff noted that baseline data for the new KPIs will be June 2026 and that "the clock starts ticking" on the new KPIs on 07/01/2026, tying goal setting to the budgetary context.

A key point in the discussion was a budgetary uncertainty staff said informed the timeline. The presentation noted the city and county are waiting to hear whether roughly $36,000,000 in federal funds for permanent supportive housing will be available; staff warned that losing that money could change priorities and the ability to set ambitious near‑term goals.

Several councilors urged stronger accountability and requested that sub‑indicators and existing data (for example, rent burden statistics and vacancy rates for affordable units) be made more visible to the public. Councilor Smith emphasized that the KPIs must be used to inform budget decisions and community expectations.

After the debate the council approved the resolution to adopt the action plan and KPIs. Staff and council members said the KPIs will be revisited annually by the SOC and that additional numeric goals will be set once budget implications — including potential federal funding losses — are clearer.

What’s next: Staff said they will provide transition materials and tools to link budget choices to likely KPI outcomes as the FY 2027 budget process proceeds; the SOC will reconvene in July 2026 to set specific numeric goals tied to the new KPI framework.