Portland mayor’s homelessness campaign promise at risk with county budget woes

Multnomah County’s budget woes may pose a major blow to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s signature campaign promise to address homelessness.

Last week, Multnomah County dropped the news that its Homeless Services Department is facing a $104 million shortfall — or, about a quarter of its operating budget. That information has been the topic of several heated public meetings and strongly worded emails in the days since. A remedy to this crisis is not yet clear. The county has asked the state and Metro for money, but it’s clear the gap could put a dent in Mayor Keith Wilson’s campaign pledge to open 3,000 new shelter beds to accommodate the nearly 6,000 people living outside by the end of the year.

Wilson has pledged that the city will find public and private funding to open 2,000 of those shelter beds. But his mission relies on the county following through on its own plan to pay for the other 1,000 beds. Because of the projected budget cuts, the county now says it can only pay for just under 800 beds.

On top of this, Wilson has learned that $41 million in funding to operate the city’s eight existing outdoor pod shelters isn’t coming from Multnomah County as anticipated. The city and county disagree on who pays those bills.

Related: Elected officials ‘dismayed,’ ‘appalled’ by Multnomah County’s homeless budget shortfall

Wilson, known for his soft-spoken and optimistic demeanor, is taking a slightly more forceful tone as he realizes his campaign goals are on the line.

At a Wednesday joint meeting of Portland City Council and the Multnomah County Board, Wilson said he was “disappointed and dismayed” to learn the county wouldn’t be covering that $41 million cost — along with backpedaling on the 1,000 beds.

“We have a responsibility to never make excuses for allowing people to suffer and die on our street,” said Wilson.

Portland is facing its own budget crisis, with an anticipated $100 million revenue shortfall for the coming fiscal year, which begins on July 1. That shortfall includes the city’s estimated $28 million bill for Wilson’s shelter plan.

While Wilson has shared his frustration with the county over potential shelter cuts, he said he doesn’t want to resort to “pointing fingers.” At a Monday meeting on homelessness convened by the Metro Regional Government, several regional leaders blamed Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson for mismanaging the county’s homeless service budget. Wilson, meanwhile, condemned the historic “acrimony” between the city and county.

Related: Multnomah County’s homeless services department faces $104 million budget gap

Just two months on the job, Wilson is both navigating a new budget crisis and new relationships, while staying focused on his campaign goal. He’s looking elsewhere for financial support. Wilson is asking other local officials and state lawmakers to help fund his shelter program, both in public and behind closed doors.

“I have been shaking trees all over Oregon,” Wilson said Thursday.

Budget bingo continues this week. The city administrator’s office will release its budget recommendations Friday morning.