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Budget director outlines $241.8M Non‑D budget; commissioners press for structural and transparency changes
Summary
County budget director Christian Elkin presented the Non‑Departmental (Non‑D) budget — roughly $241.8 million operating budget and nearly $300 million including transfers — and described debt service, staffing trends and a plan to isolate security costs; commissioners pressed for data on spans of control, ordinance versus administrative assignments, and asked for follow‑up on amendments ahead of a June 4 adoption.
Multnomah County budget staff briefed the Board of Commissioners Wednesday on the chair’s proposed budget and a slate of department amendments as the county moves toward budget adoption in June.
Christian Elkin, county budget director, summarized the Non‑Departmental ("Non‑D") budget — the county’s set of offices and program offers that aren’t organized as traditional departments. Elkin said the Non‑D operating budget stood at about $241,800,000 (excluding transfers, contingencies and unappropriated balances), a 1.1 percent increase ($2.7 million) over last fiscal year, with a total near $300 million after transfers. He reported a net reduction of about 5.75 full‑time equivalent positions across Non‑D and noted that roughly 50 percent of Non‑D spending is debt service.
Elkin described fund breakdowns (general fund, bond funds, PERS bond sinking fund and other special funds), the mix of county‑wide offices within Non‑D (communications, government relations, Office of Community Involvement, Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission) and program categories that include corporate obligations such as courthouse debt and the law library. He also highlighted three countywide changes: updated ledger accounting for security costs to improve transparency, staffing adjustments tied to labor bargaining and an adjustment to the district attorney supplemental salary based on a salary commission report.
Commissioners pressed staff on organizational structure and transparency. Several members questioned why some county offices remain coded as Non‑D by ordinance, how reporting lines work in practice, and whether Non‑D’s average 'span of control' accurately reflects permanent supervisory ratios when limited‑duration assignments are included. Commissioner questions prompted staff to promise a follow‑up that would specify which offices are codified by ordinance and to provide spans‑of‑control data showing permanent versus temporary assignments.
Elkin also reviewed technical amendments and program reallocations. Among notable adjustments he previewed were a reallocation of the Youth Opportunity/SummerWorks program to the Department of County Management, ledger changes that will separate security into its own line item, and a set of staffing and revenue amendments across departments.
Department officials then presented more than a dozen specific amendments. Highlights included:
- Department of Community Justice: technical FTE reassignments and a revenue allocation from the 2025‑27 criminal fines account to add capacity for juvenile treatment and pre‑sentence evaluations.
- Department of Community Services and County Assets: classification changes in transportation leadership to separate County Engineer and Transportation Director responsibilities after an upcoming retirement, and capital project true‑ups including a City of Portland contribution for the justice center.
- District Attorney’s Office: a $772,349 TriMet revenue reduction that eliminates four positions (two investigators, one victim advocate, one legal assistant), because TriMet’s budget could no longer sustain the prior six‑FTE arrangement.
- Health Department: multiple staffing and revenue amendments including reclassifying positions tied to aid‑and‑assist populations, converting on‑call roles to FTE, a proposed 0.8 FTE behavioral health officer role to split operational and clinical leadership, and new grant revenues to expand peer‑delivered services and a regional behavioral health call center funded in part by neighboring counties.
- Homeless Services: technical transfers to align program offers and a $692,000 state award to expand long‑term rent assistance for 14 additional households via regional vouchers.
- Library: a staffing realignment with net zero FTE impact and $1.4 million in passthrough funding from the Library Foundation for programming and outreach.
Board members asked for more granular documentation — program offer numbers and purchase order (PO) references — so they could review specific line items before adoption. Elkin said the full amendment sheet contains program offer identifiers and that staff would circulate an updated slide set and materials with program numbers and sourcing detail.
What happens next: the county is scheduled to adopt the budget on June 4. Commissioners may pull individual department amendments for separate votes if they request it; staff said that process is straightforward and common practice for items with conflicts or for additional scrutiny. Staff also committed to follow up on ordinance vs. administrative assignments for Non‑D offices and to provide a spans‑of‑control breakdown separating permanent and limited‑duration assignments.
Sources: Christian Elkin and multiple department representatives who presented the Non‑D overview and department amendments during the board's May 20 budget work session.
