Finance committee refers Portland's annual financial report and auditor-required plan of action to council

The Portland City Council's Finance Committee voted unanimously on Dec. 8 to refer the city's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, and a required plan of action to the full City Council.

Jonas Berry, the city's chief financial officer, told the committee the ACFR is an important transparency tool for bond rating agencies, investors and the public and summarized material weaknesses identified by external auditors. Berry said the city is addressing root causes by "assigning additional staff resources, enhancing training, and instituting opportunities for communication between bureaus and central accounting" and noted the city reduced a prior PBOT capital-assets discrepancy from about $260 million to roughly $14 million.

Why it matters: the plan of action is required by the Oregon Secretary of State after auditors find a material weakness. Approving it commits the city to specific remediation steps and a public submission that informs state oversight.

Committee discussion focused on staffing, prioritization and reporting. Councilor Green said she would support additional resources to "beef up the resources that we need to do this good, financial oversight that Portlanders deserve." Vice Chair Perugini pressed the CFO on whether improved fiscal alignment across bureaus would prevent future findings; Berry replied that alignment plus additional resources "should" reduce recurrence and that the administration will pursue metric tracking and monthly reporting to give council visibility.

The committee took two formal actions. Councilor Green moved and Vice Chair Perugini seconded the motion to accept the ACFR; the clerk recorded votes of Avalos, Perugini, Novick, Green and Zimmerman as "Aye" and the committee referred the report (document number as posted) to city council with a recommendation to accept. The committee then approved the plan of action (moved by Perugini, seconded by Green) and referred the associated resolution to council for adoption. The committee record shows both items passed on 5-0 roll calls.

What's next: Both items will be placed on the City Council agenda for final action and the plan of action will be submitted to the Oregon Secretary of State as required by state guidance.

Sources: Remarks and answers by Jonas Berry to the Finance Committee during the Dec. 8 session, and roll-call votes recorded by the clerk.