City Council Votes to Approve Councilor Angelita Morillo’s Compromise Amendment to Protect Frontline Services, Save Jobs, and Build Broader Council Support

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Yesterday, the City Council voted to approve Councilor Angelita Morillo's compromise amendment that preserves the core goals of Save Our Services, an ordinance introduced by Councilors Angelita Morillo, Mitch Green, Candace Avalos, Tifanny Koyama-Lane, and Sameer Kanal that sought consensus on restoring jobs and services.

The approved Morillo 1 amendment incorporates requests raised by other colleagues during the July 15 City Council meeting. Morillo 1 successfully garnered broader support to protect frontline workers and essential services that Portlanders rely on by overcoming the 6:6 gridlock that had previously blocked similar attempts during the budget process.

The compromise proposal reflects extensive discussions with Councilors, city employees, labor organizations, and community members following Wednesday's meeting and throughout the FY 2026-27 budget development process. The revised amendment incorporates key priorities raised by colleagues to advance the conversation while upholding its mission to protect jobs and services.

"Our goal of protecting workers who keep Portland running, honoring our promise to labor, and maintaining the services our communities depend on has never changed," Morillo said. "After Wednesday's difficult discussion, we listened to our colleagues' demands and worked with them in good faith to develop a necessary compromise that preserves the heart of Save Our Services while addressing many priorities raised during deliberations. We had to reach a compromise to save jobs and services; the 6:6 vote would have killed any attempt to pass the package. This proposal shows that protecting workers and services by reaching common ground is necessary."

If passed, the now-amended Save Our Services ordinance would restore 55 critical frontline positions across multiple city bureaus, preserving essential services for residents. Positions would be restored in parks, transportation, environmental services, water, Portland Fire & Rescue, 311 customer service, Public Safety Support Specialists, and other key public service roles.

If adopted next week, the ordinance would also:

• Restore 24-hour operations for three Portland Fire & Rescue emergency response vehicles.
• Preserve 12 Public Safety Support Specialists, Portland's unarmed responders to property and automobile crimes.
• Restore two 311 Customer Service Representatives to improve customer access to City services.
• Continue funding for the Portland Police Bureau training.
• Preserve 14 Parks jobs.
• Protect parks, community centers, senior services, and neighborhood programs throughout Portland.
• Increase Police training funding.
• Provide transition support that continues wages and healthcare for employees affected by the adopted budget while long-term decisions are evaluated.
• Increase the Business License Tax Reserve.

A Compromise Built From the Council's Discussion

Following the July 15 Council meeting, the amendment was revised to incorporate key priorities raised throughout the Council's deliberations.

The compromise now combines the original Save Our Services proposal with additional investments, including requested funding for police training, protection of the Business License Tax Reserve, and additional frontline positions identified in other proposals. This approach brings together ideas from multiple Council members while maintaining the amendment's primary purpose of protecting essential services.

Responsible One-Time Funding

The proposal uses one-time funding sources to restore services and avoid further impacts to the General Fund.

The funding package utilizes:

• Accrued Portland Clean Energy fund interest.
• Other non-General Fund resources.
• County intergovernmental agreement funding.

Morillo's proposal identifies PCEF interest as a transparent funding source for specific line items, rather than allocating interest earnings to the General Fund without a clear purpose. This approach ensures no existing PCEF funds allocated to current or future projects are used, making interest-only funding the most fiscally responsible option presented to the council.

Better Decisions Require Better Information

The amendment strengthens accountability by directing the City Administrator to provide a comprehensive, position-by-position service-impact analysis before any future permanent reductions. This addresses concerns that reductions affecting more than 200 positions were moved forward by the Mayor before a full-service impact analysis was completed.

Protecting Portland's Parks Levy Promise

The compromise amendment protects key Parks and Recreation services by restoring parks positions. Morillo's proposal aims to uphold more of the Council's Parks Levy commitments and prevent direct service reductions for residents.

"This proposal is ultimately about putting Portlanders first," Morillo said. Budgets are more than numbers on a spreadsheet. They determine whether emergency responders arrive when needed, whether families can access community centers, whether seniors receive services, and whether residents can reach someone when they call 311. I believe this compromise offers a responsible and necessary path that protects those services while bringing people together around practical solutions."

The Save Our Services ordinance, with the approved Morillo 1 amendment, will be considered for a final vote at the July 22 council meeting.

Media Contact:

Amane Badhasso, Communications Advisor, Office of Councilor Angelita Morillo

(971)-513-6927

[email protected]