Councilor Sameer Kanal's Statement on Mayor Wilson's Proposed Budget

I'm pleased to see that Mayor Keith Wilson's proposed budget makes targeted investments in some of the areas most important to Portlanders, like public safety, parks and recreation, and homelessness services. It's clear that he listened to the voices of community safety advocates saying that we need to fund holistic, preventative approaches. In particular:

• Funding for 14 additional positions for Portland Street Response and making an additional 11 temporary positions permanent.
• Saving the Safe Blocks program, which the Public Safety Service Area previously recommended eliminating.
• Saving the Community Health Assess and Treat (CHAT) program, which had also been on the chopping block.
• Adding 10 new firefighter positions and converting an additional 6 temporary positions to permanent positions.
• No cuts to the Bureau of Emergency Communications.
• No community centers closing.
• Columbia Pool will not be demolished.
• Commitments from outside parties to fully fund the Mayor's plan to end unsheltered homelessness.

There are still areas that need more consideration. Sunderland RV Safe Park's funding will expire in September unless we can find a way to fund it indefinitely. The Bureau of Emergency Management's budget was cut by approximately 20%, which will negatively impact Portland's ability to adequately prepare for and respond to emergencies like an earthquake. We need to find a way to increase Portland Fire and Rescue's recruitment capacity so they can fill vacancies faster by hiring bigger classes of recruits. And while community centers will remain open, their hours of operation are at risk.

I'm also mindful of how this budget affects people's livelihoods. We need to do more to save rank-and-file City employees by looking at where else we might reduce managerial bloat and wasteful contracts. While I can't promise there will be no reductions, I know what it's like to have months of uncertainty as a City employee, and I will always consider the human impact of the City Council's decisions.

As we move through this phase of the budget process, my focus is on ensuring we continue to put the City's dollars where they'll both reflect our values and do the most good: equitably promoting true community safety and health, parks and recreation programs that make this a place where people want to live and can thrive, proven solutions to address homelessness, and a functional local government that consistently reflects Portlanders' values in its policy decisions.

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