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Multnomah County approves $339,000 contingency to restore eviction-mitigation legal services
Summary
The Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to allocate $339,000 from general-fund contingency to restore eviction‑mitigation legal services, move the county contract to the Department of County Human Services and coordinate with the City of Portland's separate $2.7 million RFP for eviction defense.
Multnomah County commissioners on July 7 approved a $339,000 contingency budget modification to restore eviction-prevention legal services and move the existing contract into the county’s Department of County Human Services.
Commissioner Moyer, who brought the request forward, said the cut was not made clear during the recent budget process and the county must correct gaps that leave people without legal representation. “Not only was it not clear to the commission in the program offer, it was never made known to the contractor who currently does this work,” Moyer said, arguing the contract’s services are vital to keeping families housed.
Becky Strauss, managing attorney for the Oregon Law Center’s eviction defense project, described the organization as the central intake for renters in Multnomah County and said the program pairs legal representation and rent assistance. “We are the central intake point for all renters in Multnomah County,” Strauss said, summarizing the center’s data collection, screening and case-placement role and its legal representation workload.
Rachel Pearl, director of the Department of County Human Services, said moving the contract into DCHS would align eviction-legal work with rent-assistance administration and help the county evaluate systemwide roles. Deputy COO Sarah Morrissey noted the City of Portland plans an RFP this fall that will award about $2.7 million for eviction-legal defense, and said the county will coordinate with city efforts.
County budget director Christiane Elkins warned that adopting the contingency allocation would reduce the general‑fund contingency from $1.6 million (the adopted figure at budget adoption) to roughly $1.2 million and urged caution about earmarks and other reserves. Elkins said contingency includes set‑asides such as severe-weather funding and that the county must be careful not to convert one-time funding into ongoing obligations.
One public commenter, Lightning, verbally supported the allocation and urged more analysis of underlying economic trends that drive evictions.
The board voted by roll call—Commissioners Moyer, Singleton, Broom Edwards, Jones Dixon and Chair Baker Peterson—to approve the contingency appropriation. The modification is one‑time contingency funding and will be used to preserve eviction-legal services while county and city partners continue a broader evaluation of eviction-prevention legal supports.
