WEBVTT

1
00:05:22.588 --> 00:05:25.100
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I am going to call this council meeting to order.

2
00:05:25.245 --> 00:05:29.093
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>It is Wednesday, January 15th at 6:01.

3
00:05:31.201 --> 00:05:32.639
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Keelan, could you call the roll please?

4
00:05:33.903 --> 00:05:34.117
<v Candace Avalos>Avalos.

5
00:05:34.995 --> 00:05:35.771
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Dunphy.

6
00:05:38.233 --> 00:05:38.346
<v Dan Handelman>Here.

7
00:05:38.795 --> 00:05:40.115
<v Loretta Smith>Here.

8
00:05:42.641 --> 00:05:42.737
<v Eric Zimmerman>Now.

9
00:05:44.168 --> 00:05:44.298
<v Dan Ryan>Here.

10
00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:45.831
<v Dan Handelman>Here.

11
00:05:47.016 --> 00:05:47.130
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Here.

12
00:05:47.586 --> 00:05:47.699
<v Helmi Hisarik>Here.

13
00:05:48.545 --> 00:05:48.918
<v Robert Taylor>Here.

14
00:05:49.113 --> 00:05:49.244
<v Angelita Morillo>Here.

15
00:05:49.781 --> 00:05:50.024
<v Loretta Smith>Here.

16
00:05:51.478 --> 00:05:55.005
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Here.

17
00:05:57.598 --> 00:05:58.146
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

18
00:05:59.692 --> 00:06:13.336
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, we, for this meeting operating under our current rules, need to approve the agenda before before we approve the agenda— President Pirtle-Guiney, I'm so sorry to interrupt.

19
00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:17.069
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, may we ask the city attorney to read the rules of decorum?

20
00:06:17.312 --> 00:06:17.798
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, thank you.

21
00:06:17.846 --> 00:06:18.511
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, thank you.

22
00:06:20.956 --> 00:06:21.617
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you, President.

23
00:06:21.987 --> 00:06:23.262
<v Robert Taylor>Welcome to Portland City Council.

24
00:06:23.552 --> 00:06:29.324
<v Robert Taylor>To testify before council in person or virtually, you must sign up in advance on the council agenda at www.portland.gov/council/agenda.

25
00:06:32.812 --> 00:06:36.065
<v Robert Taylor>Information on engaging with council can be found on the council clerk's webpage.

26
00:06:36.579 --> 00:06:40.634
<v Robert Taylor>Individuals may testify for 3 minutes unless the presiding officer states otherwise.

27
00:06:40.987 --> 00:06:43.166
<v Robert Taylor>Your microphone will be muted when your time is over.

28
00:06:43.632 --> 00:06:45.298
<v Robert Taylor>The presiding officer preserves order.

29
00:06:45.475 --> 00:06:53.778
<v Robert Taylor>Disruptive conduct such as shouting, refusing to conclude your testimony when your time is up, or interrupting others' testimony or council deliberations will not be allowed.

30
00:06:54.291 --> 00:06:56.103
<v Robert Taylor>If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given.

31
00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:59.132
<v Robert Taylor>Further disruption will result in ejection from the meeting.

32
00:06:59.502 --> 00:07:03.019
<v Robert Taylor>Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass.

33
00:07:03.357 --> 00:07:06.617
<v Robert Taylor>Additionally, council may take a short recess and reconvene virtually.

34
00:07:07.291 --> 00:07:09.990
<v Robert Taylor>Your testimony tonight should address the matter being considered.

35
00:07:10.166 --> 00:07:13.122
<v Robert Taylor>When testifying, first, state your name for the record.

36
00:07:13.298 --> 00:07:14.728
<v Robert Taylor>Your address is not necessary.

37
00:07:15.403 --> 00:07:19.016
<v Robert Taylor>2, If you are a lobbyist, identify the organization you represent.

38
00:07:19.338 --> 00:07:23.579
<v Robert Taylor>And 3rd, virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the council clerk calls their name.

39
00:07:23.899 --> 00:07:24.173
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you.

40
00:07:24.461 --> 00:07:27.673
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilmember thank you.

41
00:07:30.339 --> 00:07:41.158
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So our first item of business tonight— and Keelan, do we need you to read the— these first couple of items that are administrative, or— okay, great.

42
00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:44.113
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Our first item of business is approval of the agenda.

43
00:07:44.194 --> 00:08:03.916
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Before we approve the agenda, um, I would accept a motion To amend the agenda to refer item— let's get the right number, I apologize— uh, to refer item 10 back to the mayor's office.

44
00:08:04.076 --> 00:08:18.995
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>This is a reappointment request, and because we have not had time to create a process for consideration of appointments, the mayor has graciously agreed to take that item back and bring it to us a little closer to when that reappointment is actually up.

45
00:08:19.076 --> 00:08:19.204
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you.

46
00:08:20.572 --> 00:08:20.783
<v Dan Ryan>Second.

47
00:08:20.831 --> 00:08:21.043
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So moved.

48
00:08:23.072 --> 00:08:24.339
<v Dan Ryan>Oh wait, you already did the motion.

49
00:08:25.428 --> 00:08:26.208
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe we had a motion.

50
00:08:28.336 --> 00:08:31.014
<v Mitch Green>Oh, I move to, uh, refer that back to them.

51
00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:33.645
<v Jamie Dunphy>Second.

52
00:08:36.001 --> 00:08:37.374
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Keelan, could you call the roll for us?

53
00:08:42.450 --> 00:08:42.942
<v Robert Taylor>Um, would you—.

54
00:08:43.583 --> 00:08:43.879
<v Dan Ryan>Is that—.

55
00:08:43.928 --> 00:08:44.816
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yeah, okay, sorry.

56
00:08:45.078 --> 00:08:45.375
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Avalos.

57
00:08:46.128 --> 00:08:46.207
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

58
00:08:47.495 --> 00:08:47.575
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

59
00:08:47.847 --> 00:08:48.201
<v Loretta Smith>Smith.

60
00:08:48.942 --> 00:08:48.990
<v Jamie Dunphy>Aye.

61
00:08:49.682 --> 00:08:49.971
<v Angelita Morillo>Ryan.

62
00:08:50.485 --> 00:08:50.518
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

63
00:08:51.595 --> 00:08:52.222
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, Kanal.

64
00:08:52.802 --> 00:08:52.961
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

65
00:08:53.590 --> 00:08:53.991
<v Helmi Hisarik>Koyama Lane.

66
00:08:54.650 --> 00:08:54.812
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

67
00:08:55.068 --> 00:08:56.484
<v Angelita Morillo>Morillo.

68
00:08:56.677 --> 00:08:57.062
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Novick.

69
00:08:57.303 --> 00:08:57.320
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

70
00:08:57.465 --> 00:08:57.818
<v Eric Zimmerman>Clark.

71
00:08:58.350 --> 00:08:58.398
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

72
00:08:58.751 --> 00:08:58.895
<v Loretta Smith>Green.

73
00:08:59.957 --> 00:09:00.005
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

74
00:09:00.375 --> 00:09:00.682
<v Helmi Hisarik>Zimmerman.

75
00:09:01.003 --> 00:09:01.019
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

76
00:09:01.470 --> 00:09:01.792
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Pirtle-Guiney.

77
00:09:02.130 --> 00:09:02.178
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

78
00:09:04.889 --> 00:09:06.793
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Great, that passes.

79
00:09:06.971 --> 00:09:12.120
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And are there any other requests to reorder items or reschedule any items on the agenda?

80
00:09:15.417 --> 00:09:19.664
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, hearing none, that approves with unanimous consent.

81
00:09:20.626 --> 00:09:27.664
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We also, under our current rules, need to accept the president's recommendation of the items on the agenda.

82
00:09:28.081 --> 00:09:37.491
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>This is where, once committees are established, we would have the opportunity under these current rules to refer things to committee or to the council as a whole.

83
00:09:38.326 --> 00:09:46.408
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Because we don't have committees established yet, I am recommending that we refer everything to the council as a whole to consider tonight.

84
00:09:47.929 --> 00:09:52.926
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, are there any requests to amend the president's recommendations as listed on the agenda?

85
00:09:55.086 --> 00:09:59.302
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, hearing none, the president's recommendations pass by unanimous consent.

86
00:10:00.417 --> 00:10:07.688
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We are now moving on to the Regular agenda beginning with public comment.

87
00:10:08.011 --> 00:10:10.238
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Keelan, would you like to invite up our commenters?

88
00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:12.017
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, thank you.

89
00:10:12.311 --> 00:10:14.433
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, first up we have Yume Delgado.

90
00:10:21.202 --> 00:10:28.850
<v Sameer Kanal>Good evening, councilors, President Pirtle-Guiney, Mayor Wilson.

91
00:10:29.690 --> 00:10:37.908
<v Dan Ryan>For the record, my name is Yume Delgado, and I'm here in my personal capacity as the chair of the Citizen Review Committee, or CRC, which I've served on for the past 4 years.

92
00:10:38.885 --> 00:10:44.336
<v Sameer Kanal>I am also a former member of the Police Accountability Commission, which proposed our city's new system of police oversight.

93
00:10:45.394 --> 00:10:53.697
<v Dan Ryan>Last week, the Citizen Review Committee wrote to this council outlining our concerns about the transition process and asking for a voice in that process.

94
00:10:54.691 --> 00:10:59.581
<v Dan Ryan>I am here to reiterate this request and to emphasize the precarious nature of our current system.

95
00:10:59.629 --> 00:11:00.028
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you, Councilor Mitch Green.

96
00:11:01.264 --> 00:11:08.929
<v Dan Ryan>Recognizing that it is rare for a sitting chair to appear before this body, I will hope you— I hope you will understand the importance of my presence here.

97
00:11:10.341 --> 00:11:18.519
<v Sameer Kanal>For many years, much of the burden of compliance with USP City of Portland has rested squarely on the shoulders of volunteers.

98
00:11:19.769 --> 00:11:26.168
<v Sameer Kanal>Key amongst those duties is a review of officer-involved shootings, a term which I think belies the full weight of that task.

99
00:11:26.280 --> 00:11:26.408
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

100
00:11:27.496 --> 00:11:28.518
<v Sameer Kanal>So let me be less oblique.

101
00:11:29.441 --> 00:11:36.628
<v Dan Ryan>This city routinely asks us volunteers to watch police and community members interact in some of the most harrowing situations possible.

102
00:11:37.769 --> 00:11:47.794
<v Sameer Kanal>They ask us to watch people die in some of those encounters, frame by agonizing frame, and then to rewind and to watch again and again and again.

103
00:11:49.363 --> 00:11:51.188
<v Sameer Kanal>We are asked to make sense of these moments.

104
00:11:52.131 --> 00:11:56.514
<v Sameer Kanal>Knowing that we do so as part of a system that Portlanders voted to overturn in 2020.

105
00:11:57.955 --> 00:12:00.833
<v Sameer Kanal>We are asked to carry that moral dissonance case after case.

106
00:12:02.460 --> 00:12:12.438
<v Sameer Kanal>For 4 years, we have done this work with less than half of the volunteers proposed for the new system, a fraction of the budget, and none of the supports that were proposed for that new system.

107
00:12:13.443 --> 00:12:16.977
<v Dan Ryan>We have done this work to the best of our ability, but we cannot do so indefinitely.

108
00:12:18.623 --> 00:12:22.467
<v Sameer Kanal>It is perhaps worse for the dedicated employees of the Independent Police Review.

109
00:12:23.856 --> 00:12:26.328
<v Dan Ryan>We have asked them to place their careers in limbo indefinitely.

110
00:12:30.690 --> 00:12:38.739
<v Sameer Kanal>The task of seating our replacements has fallen to this council, so I am here to ask you, please set a clear timeline for concluding this process.

111
00:12:39.710 --> 00:12:43.888
<v Sameer Kanal>The CRC stands ready to assist you in any way we can and to the best of our ability.

112
00:12:45.471 --> 00:12:50.914
<v Sameer Kanal>You will likely hear from community members tonight who have concerns about bias and other provisions of the new system.

113
00:12:52.150 --> 00:12:57.017
<v Dan Ryan>I share some of those concerns, and I hope this council can address them in the way that it sees fit.

114
00:12:58.013 --> 00:13:08.467
<v Sameer Kanal>But I also know that we owe it to the public, to our volunteers, and to the officers that serve in the police bureau to provide clarity about what comes next and to finish the task we started.

115
00:13:09.495 --> 00:13:10.844
<v Sameer Kanal>I hope that you can strike that balance.

116
00:13:10.941 --> 00:13:11.037
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

117
00:13:11.182 --> 00:13:11.556
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you.

118
00:13:13.134 --> 00:13:17.104
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Kanal, you wanted to make a brief remark?

119
00:13:17.509 --> 00:13:27.134
<v Sameer Kanal>Yeah, thank you, Yume, for coming to speak with us today, and thank you for sharing your story and the impact it's had on you and your colleagues to watch something that traumatic and then have to watch it again and again.

120
00:13:28.302 --> 00:13:33.215
<v Sameer Kanal>I think everyone on this council is committed to ensuring that we have a Portland where there are no traumatic deaths at all.

121
00:13:34.062 --> 00:13:37.158
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, and also thank you for your service on the PAC and CRC.

122
00:13:37.239 --> 00:13:39.365
<v Sameer Kanal>It I've gotten a chance to work with you there.

123
00:13:39.927 --> 00:13:43.309
<v Sameer Kanal>It has been unusual for committee leadership to speak to council, but it shouldn't be.

124
00:13:43.615 --> 00:13:45.458
<v Sameer Kanal>You all deserve a voice in this process.

125
00:13:45.683 --> 00:13:46.083
<v Sameer Kanal>You've earned it.

126
00:13:47.143 --> 00:13:52.658
<v Sameer Kanal>We must move rapidly to set up the new accountability system and move rapidly in the right direction.

127
00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:59.761
<v Sameer Kanal>And I know I'll be discussing it further with colleagues to ensure we're not creating unnecessary delay and that this council ultimately determines that direction.

128
00:14:00.451 --> 00:14:08.966
<v Sameer Kanal>I share some of your concerns with both the timing and the provisions you mentioned, and I'm not willing to sacrifice getting it done right to get it done fast because we can do both.

129
00:14:09.030 --> 00:14:09.158
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

130
00:14:09.432 --> 00:14:10.969
<v Sameer Kanal>Get it done right and get it done fast.

131
00:14:11.373 --> 00:14:11.679
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

132
00:14:12.003 --> 00:14:12.568
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you, Councilor.

133
00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:15.258
<v Angelita Morillo>Thank you.

134
00:14:15.989 --> 00:14:21.395
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>You may— next up we have Wayne Wigness joining us online.

135
00:14:24.008 --> 00:14:24.995
<v Mitch Green>Hello, can you hear me?

136
00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:27.418
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, we can hear you.

137
00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:32.211
<v Mitch Green>Okay, um, well, 3 minutes isn't enough to say everything I wanted to say.

138
00:14:32.837 --> 00:14:40.479
<v Mitch Green>Uh, I tried emailing your representatives only to find that the email addresses of public representatives are now being withheld from the public.

139
00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:43.461
<v Mitch Green>Not a great first impression for this new government.

140
00:14:43.524 --> 00:14:48.461
<v Mitch Green>Makes me feel it's more bureaucratic, less of a representative democracy.

141
00:14:49.215 --> 00:14:54.342
<v Mitch Green>But for those who are interested, my full testimony, I posted on my website.

142
00:14:54.985 --> 00:14:55.304
<v Mitch Green>I don't know.

143
00:14:55.384 --> 00:14:56.250
<v Mitch Green>I think you can see that.

144
00:14:57.708 --> 00:15:04.008
<v Mitch Green>Anyway, my main concern is that, Keith, you aren't saying much in the way of quality standards or tenant rights in regards to building shelters.

145
00:15:04.135 --> 00:15:04.376
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

146
00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:11.296
<v Mitch Green>Instead, you seem to be operating on the principle that if we build it, they will come, dot dot dot, and they will do what they're told.

147
00:15:12.649 --> 00:15:16.044
<v Mitch Green>Now, I hope we're not allowing the Grants Pass decision to go to our heads.

148
00:15:16.707 --> 00:15:25.471
<v Mitch Green>There may be a big difference between a small town case like that and cases that will evolve if cities like Portland choose to really push the envelope here.

149
00:15:26.101 --> 00:15:31.452
<v Mitch Green>Personally, I, I think there's a reason why the Supreme Court has refused to review that case yet.

150
00:15:31.581 --> 00:15:31.825
<v Mitch Green>Yeah.

151
00:15:32.407 --> 00:15:34.350
<v Mitch Green>And other cases like it for a very long time.

152
00:15:34.527 --> 00:15:39.248
<v Mitch Green>It's because this issue goes straight to the heart of private property rights.

153
00:15:40.115 --> 00:15:45.671
<v Mitch Green>And let's face it, rights to private property are a thing that doesn't really make sense when you scrutinize it.

154
00:15:46.152 --> 00:15:47.774
<v Mitch Green>Take land ownership, for example.

155
00:15:47.837 --> 00:15:54.951
<v Mitch Green>Land is known as a fictitious commodity in the sense that nobody built land itself, so you can't really justify earning it.

156
00:15:56.413 --> 00:16:01.118
<v Mitch Green>I like what the Russian peasants, emancipated Russian serfs, used to say: it's God's land.

157
00:16:01.166 --> 00:16:02.386
<v Mitch Green>It belongs to those who use it.

158
00:16:02.434 --> 00:16:02.578
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

159
00:16:05.003 --> 00:16:12.208
<v Mitch Green>Um, but honestly, thank you, you, Keith, because what you're not telling us is housing first.

160
00:16:12.322 --> 00:16:13.927
<v Mitch Green>We know what works— housing first.

161
00:16:14.312 --> 00:16:31.004
<v Mitch Green>Personally, I think homelessness is a family issue much more than a private housing issue, and our focus needs to be on legitimizing alternative forms of family more than shoving people into small and overpriced boxes, which actually take them away from their street family.

162
00:16:31.052 --> 00:16:36.402
<v Mitch Green>Councilmember somewhat related to that, what about outdoor shelters?

163
00:16:36.596 --> 00:16:38.994
<v Mitch Green>And I'm not talking about pods like you, Dan Ryan.

164
00:16:39.091 --> 00:16:54.706
<v Mitch Green>You have unethically reduced our notion of a— our collective notion of an outdoor shelter down to— talking about just places where people can go to sleep, find safety in numbers more than tents, and God forbid, a sense of community and pride.

165
00:16:54.885 --> 00:17:00.735
<v Mitch Green>I think things like that are what used to make Portland cool way back before Charlie Hill's street sweeps.

166
00:17:02.419 --> 00:17:08.314
<v Mitch Green>As for the study of shelter systems, our quality standards are so poor, it's unethical.

167
00:17:08.460 --> 00:17:14.093
<v Mitch Green>PSU grad students, they make a few phone calls to shelter operators and they make a whole paper off of that.

168
00:17:14.222 --> 00:17:15.740
<v Mitch Green>It helps get them a thesis.

169
00:17:15.917 --> 00:17:17.238
<v Mitch Green>It doesn't really give us a clue.

170
00:17:18.317 --> 00:17:30.763
<v Mitch Green>I'll close saying too much change too fast is dangerous, and I, I explained why I think that this is— that is particularly true in this case in my full, uh, communication.

171
00:17:30.910 --> 00:17:31.671
<v Mitch Green>Thank you.

172
00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:36.653
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Mr. Wigness, for sharing those thoughts with us.

173
00:17:36.782 --> 00:17:37.990
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We appreciate hearing from you.

174
00:17:41.131 --> 00:17:43.674
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next up, we have Dan Handelman, Portland Cop Watch.

175
00:17:46.163 --> 00:17:46.787
<v Dan Handelman>Uh, good evening.

176
00:17:46.982 --> 00:17:47.721
<v Dan Handelman>Can you hear me okay?

177
00:17:48.770 --> 00:17:49.442
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, we can hear you.

178
00:17:50.250 --> 00:17:51.380
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

179
00:17:51.380 --> 00:17:53.559
<v Dan Handelman>Hello, members of City Council and city officials.

180
00:17:53.660 --> 00:17:54.750
<v Dan Handelman>My name is Dan Handelman.

181
00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:57.450
<v Dan Handelman>I use he/him pronouns, and I'm a member of Portland Copwatch.

182
00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:00.890
<v Dan Handelman>My colleague Mark Porras will continue our formal introduction.

183
00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:06.940
<v Dan Handelman>Portland Copwatch is a grassroots volunteer organization promoting police accountability through community member action.

184
00:18:06.940 --> 00:18:10.519
<v Dan Handelman>Our philosophy is that so long as there are police, we need to hold them accountable.

185
00:18:10.779 --> 00:18:14.759
<v Dan Handelman>We're working toward a police bureau free of brutality, corruption, and racism.

186
00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:20.220
<v Dan Handelman>We're a project of Peace and Justice Works, which promotes nonviolent conflict resolution on local, national, and international levels.

187
00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:20.259
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

188
00:18:21.079 --> 00:18:28.250
<v Dan Handelman>We have met every chief of police, nearly every city council member, and other officials, including auditors, since we began in 1992.

189
00:18:28.250 --> 00:18:29.930
<v Dan Handelman>Our newsletter is published 3 times a year.

190
00:18:29.930 --> 00:18:34.470
<v Dan Handelman>You should have received a print copy of the January 2025 issue, number 94.

191
00:18:34.470 --> 00:18:36.549
<v Dan Handelman>It's also available on our website at portlandcopwatch.org.

192
00:18:37.690 --> 00:18:45.990
<v Dan Handelman>We run an incident report line at 503-321-5120, which takes reports of incidents involving the PPB and Multnomah County Sheriff's deputies.

193
00:18:45.990 --> 00:18:49.890
<v Dan Handelman>In line with our goals, we respond to people with information about how to resolve their cases.

194
00:18:49.890 --> 00:18:49.930
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

195
00:18:50.037 --> 00:18:51.557
<v Dan Handelman>To help prevent future occurrences.

196
00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:57.075
<v Dan Handelman>We conduct trainings on your rights and the police in association with volunteer lawyers, and how to cop watch.

197
00:18:57.599 --> 00:19:02.275
<v Dan Handelman>Cop watching is a generic term for observing police behavior created by Berkeley Cop Watch in 1990.

198
00:19:02.710 --> 00:19:06.708
<v Dan Handelman>It's an international movement, not a franchise, though many other groups use the name cop watch.

199
00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:12.353
<v Dan Handelman>Much of our work surrounds our goal of promoting and monitoring an effective system for civilian oversight of police.

200
00:19:12.758 --> 00:19:16.055
<v Dan Handelman>I've been to nearly every meeting of the Civilian Oversight Community Board since 1992.

201
00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:22.519
<v Dan Handelman>First, the Portland Internal Affairs Auditing Committee, which was created in 1982, 10 years before we were formed.

202
00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:27.839
<v Dan Handelman>Then the Citizen Review Committee, which succeeded them when the independent police review was created in 2001.

203
00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:32.500
<v Dan Handelman>We sat on the mayor's workgroup that proposed the system, which eventually became IPR, albeit with parts missing.

204
00:19:32.819 --> 00:19:41.200
<v Dan Handelman>I was also on the Police Accountability Commission, which spent 20 months designing the new oversight system outlined in the 2020 ballot measure 26-217.

205
00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:51.319
<v Dan Handelman>Some key police accountability issues you'll be facing in the coming months are, first, you have until February 6th to appoint the nominating committee, which will in turn nominate 21 members of the new Community Board for Police Accountability.

206
00:19:51.509 --> 00:20:01.490
<v Dan Handelman>Each district has to agree on one person for the 10-person committee, which will include designees from the chief's office and the police association and the Police Commanding Officers Association.

207
00:20:01.690 --> 00:20:08.839
<v Dan Handelman>This month, the Portland Police are required by city policy to present a report on the substance and frequency of their work with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

208
00:20:08.930 --> 00:20:31.480
<v Dan Handelman>Given what a flashpoint this issue has been since the year 2000, we urge that the JTTF report Number 3, again, as you establish rules for council meetings, we urge you to place lawsuit settlements about police misconduct on the full council's regular agenda, even when they are less than the $50,000 limit that may be settled by the city administrator without— Issue of police misconduct comes and goes from public attention.

209
00:20:31.539 --> 00:20:35.640
<v Dan Handelman>We started shortly after the LA police beat Rodney King in 1991 and the subsequent uprising.

210
00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:39.009
<v Dan Handelman>The PPB shot and killed 12-year-old Nathan Thomas in early 1992.

211
00:20:39.676 --> 00:20:44.356
<v Dan Handelman>And the PPB has used heavy-handed tactics to repress protest actions when those actions become popular and widespread.

212
00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:49.259
<v Dan Handelman>After the death of George Floyd in 2020, the city seemed to embrace the concept of not the movement of Black Lives Matter.

213
00:20:49.661 --> 00:20:56.621
<v Dan Handelman>It's problematic that the police violence against that movement doesn't stick in people's minds the way that focusing on property damage done during the protest perpetuates the narrative.

214
00:21:01.297 --> 00:21:04.741
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm sorry, Mr. Handelman, the time was up there, but we appreciate your comments.

215
00:21:04.855 --> 00:21:09.223
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for speaking to us today, and I know that you've reached out to a number of council members as well.

216
00:21:11.587 --> 00:21:14.002
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next up we have Mark Porras, Portland Copwatch.

217
00:21:16.579 --> 00:21:17.644
<v Sameer Kanal>Uh, hello, Councilor, can you hear me?

218
00:21:18.791 --> 00:21:19.453
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We can hear you, Mark.

219
00:21:19.825 --> 00:21:20.826
<v Sameer Kanal>Fantastic.

220
00:21:20.971 --> 00:21:24.169
<v Sameer Kanal>Hi, my name is Mark Porras, I use he/him pronouns, and I'm a member of Portland Copwatch.

221
00:21:25.016 --> 00:21:31.939
<v Sameer Kanal>I learned about Portland Copwatch when they were working on a community campaign around collective bargaining with the Portland Police Association in 2019 and 2020.

222
00:21:32.744 --> 00:21:38.492
<v Sameer Kanal>I've learned that with one exception, there have been at least some public meetings for those important negotiations with PPA since at least 2010.

223
00:21:39.623 --> 00:21:43.840
<v Sameer Kanal>We've been clear that Copwatch supports the rights of workers to organize for fair wages and benefits.

224
00:21:44.354 --> 00:21:49.630
<v Sameer Kanal>Our concern comes when PPA reaches too far into dictating policies that lead to unchecked violence against the community.

225
00:21:50.448 --> 00:21:56.028
<v Sameer Kanal>The current PPA contract was set to expire in June of this year, so we asked the city attorney about the timeline for negotiations.

226
00:21:56.623 --> 00:22:01.065
<v Sameer Kanal>They revealed that an April 2024 memo extended the contract until June of 2026.

227
00:22:01.755 --> 00:22:05.988
<v Sameer Kanal>The extension gives this council more time to engage the community and ensure public meetings will happen.

228
00:22:06.068 --> 00:22:11.407
<v Sameer Kanal>However, it is troubling that problematic parts of the contract will remain in place for another full year.

229
00:22:12.402 --> 00:22:18.957
<v Sameer Kanal>The city's been under scrutiny of the U.S. Department of Justice since they conducted an investigation and entered into a settlement agreement with the city in 2012.

230
00:22:19.631 --> 00:22:24.006
<v Sameer Kanal>That agreement is meant to reduce the amount of force used when police encounter people in mental health crisis.

231
00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:32.340
<v Sameer Kanal>Data provided by consultants who review deadly force cases indicate that the use of deadly force in such cases has actually increased since the DOJ agreement went into effect.

232
00:22:32.933 --> 00:22:36.317
<v Sameer Kanal>And last week, the city's status report to the court did not even mention mental health.

233
00:22:36.365 --> 00:22:36.525
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

234
00:22:37.406 --> 00:22:39.798
<v Sameer Kanal>Copwatch has been testifying about the agreement from the beginning.

235
00:22:40.393 --> 00:22:51.307
<v Sameer Kanal>Mr. Handelman also has participated with the enhanced amicus, or friend of the court, the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform since 2003, and as a steering committee member since 2010.

236
00:22:52.093 --> 00:22:59.717
<v Sameer Kanal>The AMA coalition has asked DOJ to— had asked the DOJ to investigate patterns of the Portland police after the death of Aaron Campbell in 2010.

237
00:23:00.375 --> 00:23:08.528
<v Sameer Kanal>Sharing bureau data that showed disproportionate policing against Portland's relatively small Black community did not persuade the feds to investigate the obvious racial disparities.

238
00:23:09.522 --> 00:23:17.986
<v Sameer Kanal>Roughly 25% of deadly force cases, 25 to 30% of all force, and 20% of traffic stops are of Black people in Portland, which has a 6% Black population.

239
00:23:18.804 --> 00:23:20.663
<v Sameer Kanal>One of the city's core values is anti-racism.

240
00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:24.894
<v Sameer Kanal>A serious look into where these disparities come from is long overdue to fulfill that promise.

241
00:23:25.536 --> 00:23:30.760
<v Sameer Kanal>Regarding settlements, Portland Copwatch has tracked over $3 million in payouts just for the 2020 protests.

242
00:23:31.226 --> 00:23:36.067
<v Sameer Kanal>We also track other misconduct settlements, judgments, and jury awards and keep a running top 25 list on our website.

243
00:23:36.163 --> 00:23:36.355
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

244
00:23:37.413 --> 00:23:39.544
<v Sameer Kanal>Another core city value is transparency.

245
00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:47.987
<v Sameer Kanal>Putting lawsuits on the regular agenda is important, both so the public knows about them and so council can discuss underlying policy issues and legislate improvements.

246
00:23:48.708 --> 00:23:54.763
<v Sameer Kanal>The previous council often put smaller settlements on the consent agenda, which only leads us to pulling those items for public discussion.

247
00:23:55.613 --> 00:24:00.179
<v Sameer Kanal>The city's values around fiscal responsibility require you to keep in mind the most vulnerable populations.

248
00:24:00.626 --> 00:24:06.714
<v Sameer Kanal>This means more compassionate policies towards the houseless community, starting with not criminalizing those who have nowhere to sleep but outside.

249
00:24:11.465 --> 00:24:14.028
<v Sameer Kanal>We look forward to engaging with all of you collectively and each of you individually.

250
00:24:14.832 --> 00:24:19.944
<v Sameer Kanal>It's important to keep in mind that public safety means much more than using police to address every issue on Portlanders' minds.

251
00:24:20.349 --> 00:24:25.739
<v Sameer Kanal>It takes alternatives to police, creative nonviolence programs, and properly holding officers accountable to achieve public safety.

252
00:24:26.872 --> 00:24:27.243
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

253
00:24:28.912 --> 00:24:31.065
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for being here with us today, Mr. Porras.

254
00:24:31.162 --> 00:24:32.295
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We appreciate your remarks.

255
00:24:34.012 --> 00:24:36.134
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next up, we have Michelle Mila.

256
00:24:38.650 --> 00:24:40.477
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Hello, good evening, Council and Mayor.

257
00:24:40.605 --> 00:24:41.673
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>My name is Michelle Mila.

258
00:24:41.835 --> 00:24:58.884
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I am a resident in the Northwest Stadiumhood neighborhood, and today I bring 2 related and pressing issues that threaten the safety and livability of my community: the harmful operations of the Portland People's Outreach Project, or PPoP, and the importance of safeguarding our essential services budgets.

259
00:24:59.266 --> 00:25:05.116
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>PPoP is the volunteer group that distributes syringes and crack pipes in our school zone each Friday night.

260
00:25:05.517 --> 00:25:07.505
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>They are not a 1-for-1 needle exchange.

261
00:25:08.018 --> 00:25:14.478
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>On a daily basis, we pick up syringes that are used and discarded foil laced with drug residue all around, all in our school zone.

262
00:25:15.455 --> 00:25:19.751
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Today, it happened to be the needles we picked up were on the ground near Cathedral School.

263
00:25:20.520 --> 00:25:26.019
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have been documenting criminal activities spilling over into the community that radiate from the hub of PPoP activities.

264
00:25:26.758 --> 00:25:35.493
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And these problems are also impacting the lives of the unsheltered people who have to navigate the biohazards on the ground, and they're also feeling a decreased sense of safety.

265
00:25:36.328 --> 00:25:48.067
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Stadiumhood has security footage, photos, and eyewitness accounts, interviews that confirm that PPAP's operations have drawn organized groups, including Antifa-affiliated individuals, into our safe route to school.

266
00:25:48.855 --> 00:25:56.107
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The proposed cuts that are coming up that you're going to consider to our safety budgets will further strain an already overburdened neighborhood.

267
00:25:56.573 --> 00:26:00.611
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So today I offer 4 considerations to help alleviate some of these burdens.

268
00:26:01.044 --> 00:26:10.228
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Number 1, the immediate enforcement of permit and zoning city codes and a commitment to relocate PPAP out of a school zone where they can work without compromising community safety.

269
00:26:10.805 --> 00:26:14.153
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Number 2, collaboration with the county for harm reduction programs.

270
00:26:14.570 --> 00:26:17.199
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Let's ensure they address the needs of the entire community.

271
00:26:17.791 --> 00:26:23.080
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Number 3, I invite each of our new 12 councilors out to tour our neighborhood, a personal tour.

272
00:26:23.481 --> 00:26:26.982
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And witness the things that we have been bringing to your attention at these council meetings.

273
00:26:27.560 --> 00:26:33.517
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>When it comes to demographics, the East Portland people and stadium neighborhoods are actually more alike than they are different.

274
00:26:33.917 --> 00:26:36.454
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And that's according to the Northwest and Mosin research.

275
00:26:36.969 --> 00:26:41.834
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And we want to partner with you and help address the commonalities that we have in these problems.

276
00:26:42.347 --> 00:26:47.773
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We appreciate that Councilor Clark is going to be joining our stadium hood call this Saturday so we can talk about some of these things.

277
00:26:48.449 --> 00:26:51.066
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Number 4, please protect our safety budgets.

278
00:26:51.178 --> 00:26:52.076
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>This is critical.

279
00:26:52.365 --> 00:26:59.065
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Our police, fire, and emergency communications cover critical services, and they are the backbone of our public safety programs.

280
00:26:59.770 --> 00:27:01.088
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We're not asking for perfection.

281
00:27:01.136 --> 00:27:03.031
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We're just asking for some collaboration.

282
00:27:03.385 --> 00:27:05.328
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Right now, we're on the ground working really hard.

283
00:27:05.394 --> 00:27:12.059
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We're forging new relationships with our community members and stakeholders each and every day, and we want to share what we've accomplished with you.

284
00:27:12.701 --> 00:27:19.818
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The bottom line is that our— Our parents are afraid to let their children walk to school around here, and residents are leaving the city.

285
00:27:20.503 --> 00:27:24.173
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Cutting safety budgets might very well push us over a tipping point of no return.

286
00:27:25.012 --> 00:27:31.642
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Resources must be prioritized to ensure the safety and well-being of the community and not towards padding bureaucracy.

287
00:27:32.472 --> 00:27:35.242
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight and for your service.

288
00:27:38.076 --> 00:27:38.826
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Ms. Milla.

289
00:27:38.891 --> 00:27:43.634
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We appreciate you being here and sharing some information about what's happening in your community.

290
00:27:47.469 --> 00:27:49.010
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Oh, that completes communications.

291
00:27:49.251 --> 00:27:59.115
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, the next portion of our agenda, the next 3 items we have are all budget items, uh, 2 grants and 1 budget adjustment.

292
00:27:59.277 --> 00:28:06.473
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, councilors, you should have received a memo from our DCAs about items 4 and 5.

293
00:28:07.148 --> 00:28:10.410
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, clerk, could you read our next agenda item please?

294
00:28:11.646 --> 00:28:20.328
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Appropriate grants totaling $7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the development of Barber Apartments affordable housing project.

295
00:28:21.740 --> 00:28:26.298
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And I believe we have Helmi Hisarach from the Housing Bureau presenting this for us.

296
00:28:29.693 --> 00:28:31.065
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you both for being here today.

297
00:28:31.935 --> 00:28:34.982
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Go ahead and introduce yourself and you can launch in.

298
00:28:35.982 --> 00:28:36.951
<v Mitch Green>Thank you, Council President.

299
00:28:37.755 --> 00:28:39.045
<v Mitch Green>Good evening, City Council.

300
00:28:39.227 --> 00:28:40.301
<v Mitch Green>Donnie Oliveira, for the record.

301
00:28:40.352 --> 00:28:44.354
<v Mitch Green>I'm the Deputy City Administrator for Community and Economic Development.

302
00:28:44.467 --> 00:28:59.257
<v Mitch Green>So on behalf of the City of Portland's Housing Bureau, Congresswoman Susan Bonamici, with the support of Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, uh, we submitted a federal appropriations request for $2 million towards the construction of Barber Apartments.

303
00:28:59.931 --> 00:29:03.476
<v Mitch Green>The request was approved in the Consolidated Appropriations Act in March of 2024.

304
00:29:04.423 --> 00:29:11.480
<v Mitch Green>This economic development initiative community project funding was— is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

305
00:29:12.682 --> 00:29:24.694
<v Mitch Green>Tonight before you, along with this $2 million, the request also includes allocating the remaining $5 million in Community Development Block Grant funds from previous years to complete a land acquisition for the development of Barber Apartments.

306
00:29:25.593 --> 00:29:33.467
<v Mitch Green>Upon completion, the project will add 149 new units of permanently affordable rental housing targeting low-income families.

307
00:29:33.530 --> 00:29:33.674
<v Mitch Green>Thank you.

308
00:29:34.711 --> 00:29:40.847
<v Mitch Green>The project helps to meet the demand for affordable family-sized units, with 68% of the units having 2, 3, or 4 bedrooms.

309
00:29:41.833 --> 00:29:46.726
<v Mitch Green>I want to acknowledge that this is a really important moment as we keep the housing production pipeline going in our city.

310
00:29:47.616 --> 00:29:55.307
<v Mitch Green>All across the city, all types of housing is needed, and this is a great example of federal leadership working with the city to help us find the resources to complete this investment.

311
00:29:55.920 --> 00:30:01.097
<v Mitch Green>I'm now going to turn it over to my colleague, Director Helmi Hisarik, to talk about the project specifically and some details.

312
00:30:02.198 --> 00:30:02.813
<v Helmi Hisarik>Good evening.

313
00:30:02.910 --> 00:30:05.321
<v Helmi Hisarik>Helmi Hisarik, Director of Portland Housing Bureau.

314
00:30:05.419 --> 00:30:15.503
<v Helmi Hisarik>I use she/her pronouns, uh, and before you today is an increase in the fiscal year '24-'25 budget by $7 million from federal grants administered by HUD.

315
00:30:17.295 --> 00:30:25.952
<v Helmi Hisarik>The purpose of the ordinance, as I mentioned, is to increase— oh, let me go to the— I have a short presentation on the project really for your information, uh, and I'll go through it.

316
00:30:26.017 --> 00:30:36.035
<v Helmi Hisarik>We also are joined by, uh, by Joni Hartman, who's the director of real estate at Innovative Housing, who's the developer, if you have any more detailed or technical questions on the project.

317
00:30:37.730 --> 00:30:38.829
<v Helmi Hisarik>So let's go to the next slide, please.

318
00:30:41.650 --> 00:30:54.222
<v Helmi Hisarik>We request council to accept and appropriate $2 million of HUD community project funding awarded by Congress, and we thank Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Representative Suzanne Bonamici, for their advocacy to secure this yes.

319
00:30:54.979 --> 00:31:01.306
<v Helmi Hisarik>I'd also like to acknowledge the Office of Governmental Relations, who was a great assist in this project, in, in the funding.

320
00:31:02.997 --> 00:31:09.961
<v Helmi Hisarik>We appropriate $5 million of HUD Community Development Block Grant funding from our— the city's prior year balance.

321
00:31:10.692 --> 00:31:16.278
<v Helmi Hisarik>These resources will support the development of the Barber Apartments, which are located in Council District 4.

322
00:31:16.488 --> 00:31:20.030
<v Helmi Hisarik>It's a new multifamily affordable rental project in Southwest Portland.

323
00:31:21.576 --> 00:31:22.155
<v Angelita Morillo>Next slide.

324
00:31:23.344 --> 00:31:35.602
<v Helmi Hisarik>The Barber Apartments is a 100% affordable project providing 149 affordable housing units plus 1 manager's unit in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Southwest Portland, targeting immigrant and refugee families.

325
00:31:36.260 --> 00:31:52.377
<v Helmi Hisarik>The project will be developed and owned by Innovative Housing Inc. Barber Apartments was created to prevent future displacement of the diverse communities of color along the Southwest Portland corridor due to planned infrastructure investments and development, including the extension of light rail.

326
00:31:54.333 --> 00:32:06.647
<v Helmi Hisarik>This is also the 2nd PHB-supported project to receive congressionally designated funding via the Economic Development Initiative Community Project Funds administered by HUD.

327
00:32:07.440 --> 00:32:16.983
<v Helmi Hisarik>To ensure long-term affordability, the borrower will enter into regulatory agreement with Portland Housing Bureau to maintain the affordability of the project for 99 years.

328
00:32:17.032 --> 00:32:17.179
<v Helmi Hisarik>Thank you.

329
00:32:18.380 --> 00:32:18.846
<v Helmi Hisarik>Next slide.

330
00:32:22.002 --> 00:32:26.494
<v Helmi Hisarik>The Barber Apartments, as I mentioned, consists of 149 affordable units.

331
00:32:26.607 --> 00:32:31.834
<v Helmi Hisarik>These are at or below 60% of the area median income, plus a manager's unit.

332
00:32:32.288 --> 00:32:43.474
<v Helmi Hisarik>The majority of the units, 68% of them, are sized for families, with 82 2-bedroom units, 16 3-bedroom units, and 4 4-bedroom units.

333
00:32:44.083 --> 00:32:52.307
<v Helmi Hisarik>20%— 21% Of the units, or 32 of the units, will be affordable to households with incomes under 30% of the area median income.

334
00:32:53.414 --> 00:33:00.915
<v Helmi Hisarik>13% Of the units, or 19 of them, will be affordable for households with incomes up to 45% of the area median.

335
00:33:01.575 --> 00:33:09.444
<v Helmi Hisarik>38 Project-based vouchers from Home Forward, the housing authority, make these deeply affordable units possible.

336
00:33:10.648 --> 00:33:11.193
<v Angelita Morillo>Next slide.

337
00:33:12.685 --> 00:33:25.394
<v Helmi Hisarik>Site amenities in the project include a large central outdoor play area, laundry facilities, bike and vehicle parking, resident services management offices, and 2 large community rooms.

338
00:33:26.053 --> 00:33:29.680
<v Helmi Hisarik>All 3 and 4-bedroom units will have in-unit washer and dryer.

339
00:33:30.643 --> 00:33:33.900
<v Helmi Hisarik>The project is pursuing an Earth Advantage Gold certification.

340
00:33:34.653 --> 00:33:44.212
<v Helmi Hisarik>Additionally, the project is applying for PSAP Uh, Portland Clean Energy Funds to pursue additional sustainable greenhouse gas reducing options in the building's construction.

341
00:33:45.823 --> 00:34:02.128
<v Helmi Hisarik>The project team will strive to meet the PHB, or Portland Housing Bureau, and Metro— it's Metro bond-funded project— uh, equity and contracting goals, including 30% hard cost and 20% professional services participation by COBID-certified firms.

342
00:34:03.056 --> 00:34:17.161
<v Helmi Hisarik>The development team will also make a good faith effort to meet and exceed the 14% hard cost participation subgoals of the, um, DMWBE, or disadvantaged minority women and emerging small business firms.

343
00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:27.414
<v Helmi Hisarik>Due to federal financing included in the project, Section 3 hiring and the Build America Buy America Act requirements apply.

344
00:34:27.784 --> 00:34:36.273
<v Helmi Hisarik>The project team must prioritize efforts to hire and train Section 3 workers with a goal of at least 25% of all labor hours worked.

345
00:34:36.934 --> 00:34:44.465
<v Helmi Hisarik>Buy America preference under BABA applies to all iron and steel products used in the construction of the project.

346
00:34:45.012 --> 00:34:51.494
<v Helmi Hisarik>Construction is projected to start in March 2025 and be completed in the first quarter of 2027.

347
00:34:52.266 --> 00:34:52.717
<v Helmi Hisarik>Next slide.

348
00:34:55.927 --> 00:34:58.666
<v Helmi Hisarik>This is a little bit about resident services.

349
00:34:58.878 --> 00:35:06.090
<v Helmi Hisarik>The Innovative Housing Inc. will provide resident services in the Barber in partnership with the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, IRCCO.

350
00:35:06.650 --> 00:35:14.489
<v Helmi Hisarik>IRCCO will provide culturally specific programming to residents of the community rooms and meeting spaces and have priority referral for housing opportunities.

351
00:35:15.467 --> 00:35:39.485
<v Helmi Hisarik>IHI also plans— that's Innovative Housing Inc.— also plans to work closely with nearby community centers, mosques, and organizations including Community Services Network, Neighborhood House, Islamic Social Services of Oregon, Somali American Council of Oregon, and Black Parent Initiative to provide an array of culturally specific and culturally responsible support services for residents.

352
00:35:40.487 --> 00:35:40.940
<v Helmi Hisarik>Next slide.

353
00:35:42.507 --> 00:36:04.362
<v Helmi Hisarik>The federal grants that we are— that are before you today will leverage over $70 million, or 10 times of other public and private financing for the project contributed by Metro, the Oregon Housing Community Services Department, The Energy Trust of Oregon, Portland Clean Energy Fund, and the limited equity investor Raymond James.

354
00:36:05.769 --> 00:36:06.092
<v Helmi Hisarik>Last slide.

355
00:36:09.528 --> 00:36:20.721
<v Helmi Hisarik>So appropriate federal grants— so what's before you is to appropriate federal grant— federal grants totaling $7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the development of the Barber Apartments.

356
00:36:21.077 --> 00:36:21.336
<v Helmi Hisarik>Thank you.

357
00:36:21.434 --> 00:36:21.563
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

358
00:36:26.552 --> 00:36:27.280
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you very much.

359
00:36:27.362 --> 00:36:29.532
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I think we have 2 questions from councilors.

360
00:36:29.630 --> 00:36:30.422
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Smith.

361
00:36:32.885 --> 00:36:34.179
<v Loretta Smith>Thank you, Madam President.

362
00:36:34.422 --> 00:36:40.710
<v Loretta Smith>I noted that you said that the 3 and 4 bedrooms would have their own, um, washer and dryer.

363
00:36:41.193 --> 00:36:46.978
<v Loretta Smith>Do you have on-site laundry for the other, uh, residents?

364
00:36:48.150 --> 00:36:50.949
<v Helmi Hisarik>I will have to ask the Uh, developer.

365
00:36:52.452 --> 00:36:52.969
<v Helmi Hisarik>Thank you.

366
00:36:53.097 --> 00:36:59.431
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And the answer to that is yes, there are multiple laundry rooms on the various floors in the multifamily.

367
00:36:59.481 --> 00:36:59.739
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

368
00:37:00.063 --> 00:37:01.827
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Can we have you introduce yourself for us?

369
00:37:01.925 --> 00:37:02.378
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm sorry.

370
00:37:03.543 --> 00:37:05.048
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm Joni Hartman.

371
00:37:05.226 --> 00:37:07.878
<v Angelita Morillo>I'm the Director of Housing at Innovative Housing.

372
00:37:08.943 --> 00:37:09.733
<v Loretta Smith>Thank you so much.

373
00:37:10.653 --> 00:37:11.186
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Joni.

374
00:37:11.300 --> 00:37:11.994
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Dunphy.

375
00:37:13.155 --> 00:37:14.172
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you, President Pirtle-Guiney.

376
00:37:14.510 --> 00:37:18.215
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, I noticed that, uh, on there you'd mentioned there's a 99-year affordability.

377
00:37:19.288 --> 00:37:20.860
<v Jamie Dunphy>Uh, 3 questions about that.

378
00:37:20.972 --> 00:37:22.804
<v Jamie Dunphy>One, why 99 instead of 100?

379
00:37:24.184 --> 00:37:26.625
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, 2, when does that begin?

380
00:37:26.690 --> 00:37:34.733
<v Jamie Dunphy>Does that begin when construction begins, or does that begin when the first tenant is given a lease, or is it when the last tenant is fully, you know, when they're fully booked?

381
00:37:35.103 --> 00:37:37.367
<v Jamie Dunphy>How does that 99-year timeline start?

382
00:37:37.753 --> 00:37:40.224
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That was 2 questions.

383
00:37:40.402 --> 00:37:41.911
<v Jamie Dunphy>Yeah, right.

384
00:37:42.007 --> 00:37:43.918
<v Jamie Dunphy>And the third was, what happens after 99 years?

385
00:37:44.853 --> 00:37:45.884
<v Helmi Hisarik>Those are all really good questions.

386
00:37:45.965 --> 00:37:49.331
<v Helmi Hisarik>The first question, I can answer the question regarding why 99 years.

387
00:37:49.443 --> 00:37:57.150
<v Helmi Hisarik>99 Years is by legal definition of the longest term that we can have for essentially an in perpetuity lease in, in the United States.

388
00:37:57.873 --> 00:38:04.043
<v Helmi Hisarik>Um, uh, the, um, when it starts is a, is a question I, I'm not sure I can answer.

389
00:38:04.318 --> 00:38:17.945
<v Helmi Hisarik>Do you happen to know if it starts upon, uh— generally, the regulatory agreements are signed at closing and they're dated as of okay, so it would be as the date of the closing of finance, which precedes any occupant getting in.

390
00:38:18.777 --> 00:38:26.056
<v Helmi Hisarik>At the end of 99 years, uh, what typically happens is the useful life of a real estate asset is 30 years.

391
00:38:26.329 --> 00:38:30.864
<v Helmi Hisarik>At that time, the developer has the opportunity to consider refinancing.

392
00:38:31.523 --> 00:38:39.443
<v Helmi Hisarik>Often during a refinancing, we will look to extend out the term of the affordability beyond the 99 years for an additional period of say 30 or 40 years.

393
00:38:40.599 --> 00:38:42.286
<v Helmi Hisarik>And we keep doing that every time we refi.

394
00:38:42.688 --> 00:38:42.784
<v Loretta Smith>Sure.

395
00:38:43.072 --> 00:38:56.114
<v Jamie Dunphy>And just to follow up, um, does the financing happen— does the final transfer of financing complete prior to the first shovel in the ground, or is that a process that, uh, it can occur simultaneously?

396
00:38:56.193 --> 00:38:57.478
<v Helmi Hisarik>It's a 2-step process.

397
00:38:57.543 --> 00:38:59.838
<v Helmi Hisarik>The first step is construction financing closes.

398
00:38:59.952 --> 00:39:04.657
<v Helmi Hisarik>Once the construction is completed, it'll convert using the tax credits into a permanent financing.

399
00:39:05.010 --> 00:39:07.932
<v Helmi Hisarik>So there's a, there's a 2-step process in the financing closings.

400
00:39:08.719 --> 00:39:09.425
<v Mitch Green>Okay, thank you.

401
00:39:13.407 --> 00:39:17.972
<v Mitch Green>I appreciate the presentation and the proposal.

402
00:39:18.135 --> 00:39:24.943
<v Mitch Green>Um, so this is just mostly federal money, and this is essentially authorizing us to make use of that federal money, is that correct?

403
00:39:26.030 --> 00:39:32.010
<v Helmi Hisarik>The appropriation before you today is 100% federal dollars from HUD, Housing and Urban Development.

404
00:39:32.869 --> 00:39:33.128
<v Mitch Green>Thank you.

405
00:39:33.420 --> 00:39:42.766
<v Mitch Green>Um, and I just want to put a comment That, um, the Southwest Corridor, this specific area, is my neighborhood, and it is currently underserved by affordable housing.

406
00:39:43.509 --> 00:39:52.228
<v Mitch Green>So I support generally attempts to go after federal money and move quickly in affordable housing production in a high-opportunity transit corridor.

407
00:39:52.648 --> 00:39:52.889
<v Mitch Green>Thanks.

408
00:39:53.518 --> 00:39:59.019
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you, Madam President.

409
00:39:59.585 --> 00:40:04.969
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you for the presentation, and thank you to our congressional delegation and our government affairs folks upstairs years.

410
00:40:05.706 --> 00:40:15.742
<v Robert Taylor>Um, I also, um, live not far from this district, and this summer when I was at the Multicultural Fair, uh, in one of the parks, I heard a lot about the need for housing along the corridor.

411
00:40:16.063 --> 00:40:20.967
<v Robert Taylor>I actually worked on the Southwest Corridor light rail project, or a one-time light rail project.

412
00:40:21.577 --> 00:40:30.105
<v Robert Taylor>Um, so I'm really happy to hear about this, and I hate— and I'm thinking that we also need a greater effort to preserve the affordable housing that is in the Barber Corridor as well.

413
00:40:30.168 --> 00:40:37.606
<v Robert Taylor>I heard a lot about that and Councilor Kanal.

414
00:40:38.963 --> 00:40:39.384
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

415
00:40:39.512 --> 00:40:45.219
<v Sameer Kanal>I have a series of process questions around the emergency ordinance aspect of this.

416
00:40:45.576 --> 00:40:52.773
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, my, I, I, my understanding is that under our new form of government, accepting a grant no longer requires a council vote.

417
00:40:52.869 --> 00:40:59.195
<v Sameer Kanal>And the only thing that I've seen in the emergency clause is that there would be a concern around delay of accepting the funds.

418
00:40:59.869 --> 00:41:03.998
<v Sameer Kanal>And if that's correct, my question is, why is this proposed as an emergency ordinance specifically?

419
00:41:07.070 --> 00:41:07.586
<v Candace Avalos>I can take it.

420
00:41:07.990 --> 00:41:09.219
<v Mitch Green>Thank you for the question, Councilor.

421
00:41:09.364 --> 00:41:14.231
<v Mitch Green>So in this particular moment, um, we're, we're looking to activate all federal dollars as quickly as possible.

422
00:41:14.521 --> 00:41:15.103
<v Mitch Green>That's one step.

423
00:41:15.507 --> 00:41:21.121
<v Mitch Green>And because we're appropriating new dollars that this council or prior council hadn't contemplated, we need your action to get—.

424
00:41:21.235 --> 00:41:23.047
<v Sameer Kanal>To give us the green light to complete the capital stack.

425
00:41:23.094 --> 00:41:29.105
<v Mitch Green>So this is almost a keeping up with the development, you know, timeline that's already been in process for for many years.

426
00:41:29.992 --> 00:41:33.684
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>2019 Is when we took out the purchase offer on the land.

427
00:41:34.070 --> 00:41:34.507
<v Loretta Smith>There you go.

428
00:41:35.989 --> 00:41:36.751
<v Sameer Kanal>Okay, thank you.

429
00:41:40.269 --> 00:41:40.880
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Zimmerman.

430
00:41:41.105 --> 00:41:41.554
<v Loretta Smith>Thanks.

431
00:41:41.827 --> 00:41:46.007
<v Eric Zimmerman>Uh, this is a great area for this, so I appreciate that.

432
00:41:46.311 --> 00:41:49.221
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, and maybe you said it and, and I've missed it.

433
00:41:49.284 --> 00:41:59.900
<v Eric Zimmerman>I was looking— one of these areas is, um, A fairly, I'll say, old school but important business in the area.

434
00:42:00.061 --> 00:42:04.246
<v Eric Zimmerman>Do you know if they have any— are they closing down or do they have transition plans?

435
00:42:04.295 --> 00:42:13.155
<v Eric Zimmerman>I'm talking about the rental group there that provides a lot of, I'll just say, the things that we all need but we can't afford to own ourselves, right?

436
00:42:13.349 --> 00:42:17.771
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, do you have any idea about the future of them in terms of how they've been involved in this thus far?

437
00:42:18.000 --> 00:42:23.259
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Well, we have been working with Barber Rentals for— since 2019.

438
00:42:23.516 --> 00:42:43.969
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, my understanding is that they are wrapping up their business after the end of the holiday season, and between now and— we're supposed to take control of the site on the 26th of February— they will be disposing of all of the very interesting articles and useful things that they have on site.

439
00:42:44.809 --> 00:42:45.666
<v Eric Zimmerman>Used them many times.

440
00:42:47.295 --> 00:42:52.775
<v Eric Zimmerman>Turns out it's, uh, It's great to have somebody in town who owns all the things that, uh, you need for a good party, right?

441
00:42:52.920 --> 00:42:58.081
<v Eric Zimmerman>But, um, but, but they're fully involved in this, and, and they've been, they've been supportive.

442
00:42:58.873 --> 00:43:00.875
<v Eric Zimmerman>And to that, would you describe it that way?

443
00:43:01.197 --> 00:43:02.231
<v Robert Taylor>They've been very good partners.

444
00:43:02.425 --> 00:43:02.586
<v Robert Taylor>Great.

445
00:43:02.893 --> 00:43:03.943
<v Eric Zimmerman>Thanks for touching on that point.

446
00:43:08.527 --> 00:43:13.163
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe we have one person signed up for public testimony.

447
00:43:13.309 --> 00:43:14.152
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is that the case?

448
00:43:16.422 --> 00:43:18.117
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, we have one person signed up.

449
00:43:18.829 --> 00:43:22.043
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, we don't have any more questions from council then.

450
00:43:22.302 --> 00:43:27.128
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I will thank our guests and, um, move on to public testimony, please.

451
00:43:28.128 --> 00:43:29.661
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Bridge Crane Simca Junta.

452
00:43:30.467 --> 00:43:31.485
<v Dan Ryan>Good evening, councilors.

453
00:43:31.597 --> 00:43:36.855
<v Jamie Dunphy>The way the procedure works is you don't reserve seats for testifiers, so if you would allow me to come downstairs, I'll be with you shortly.

454
00:44:51.257 --> 00:44:52.398
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you for joining us.

455
00:44:54.583 --> 00:44:56.052
<v Jamie Dunphy>Hello, old friends and new.

456
00:44:57.313 --> 00:45:07.532
<v Jamie Dunphy>I am Bridge Crane Simcoe Charles Johnson, and, uh, apropos on Commissioner Kanal's mention of the word emergency.

457
00:45:10.309 --> 00:45:18.527
<v Jamie Dunphy>Long ago, when the Honorable Ms. Smith was on the County Commission, mayor sitting here passed a housing emergency.

458
00:45:20.375 --> 00:45:22.780
<v Jamie Dunphy>This is still the best we can do.

459
00:45:24.661 --> 00:45:29.768
<v Jamie Dunphy>Go to the electronic agenda and scroll through how long this is.

460
00:45:31.958 --> 00:45:56.260
<v Jamie Dunphy>Observe that nowhere in this presentation, which I cannot find linked on the public agenda listing, so I could not preview these slides and discuss and prepare for this, uh, but I, I knew, I knew that it's just a glory show, that there's no concern about the timing of life-saving deliverables.

461
00:45:56.307 --> 00:45:56.585
<v Jamie Dunphy>Councilmember Herbold.

462
00:45:58.777 --> 00:46:12.353
<v Jamie Dunphy>People are dying on our streets, and we're investing this much time on 140 units that are going to prioritize people who came here after many of these people got on their first waiting list.

463
00:46:13.701 --> 00:46:23.715
<v Jamie Dunphy>Now, I'm very in favor of us pushing very hard to wrestle from the federal government money to give adequate and proper living conditions to all.

464
00:46:25.115 --> 00:46:27.121
<v Jamie Dunphy>Refugees and asylum seekers.

465
00:46:28.688 --> 00:46:36.945
<v Jamie Dunphy>We can't throw them in a pot with neighbors that have been on housing waiting lists for over 12 years.

466
00:46:38.940 --> 00:46:51.172
<v Jamie Dunphy>And regardless of whether I'm right or wrong about how we're doing that, you need to, I believe, in your fiduciary duties, look at the fact that we've just said that this project is probably going to take.

467
00:46:51.869 --> 00:46:52.498
<v Jamie Dunphy>2 Years.

468
00:46:55.338 --> 00:46:57.840
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm not an expert in commercial real estate.

469
00:46:58.769 --> 00:47:04.228
<v Jamie Dunphy>The Housing Bureau is, and the things that they don't talk about are the things that need to be talked about.

470
00:47:05.664 --> 00:47:16.864
<v Jamie Dunphy>What is the per square foot cost of these units, and how does it compare to what we're giving normal, ordinary working families that can't get into any assistance program?

471
00:47:18.032 --> 00:47:29.619
<v Jamie Dunphy>The reason that's ultra critical is because y'all, in partnership with the Joint Office of Homeless Services, create castes, a caste system and striation among poor and homeless people.

472
00:47:30.387 --> 00:47:42.567
<v Jamie Dunphy>So some homeless people sleep in a situation where our taxpayers spend $2,100 plus per month just on housing, and then throw the cost of wraparound services on top of that.

473
00:47:42.630 --> 00:47:42.759
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

474
00:47:43.257 --> 00:47:48.574
<v Jamie Dunphy>And then another caste, discriminated class of homeless people get told, no, you can't have that.

475
00:47:48.896 --> 00:47:53.976
<v Jamie Dunphy>You have to go to congregate shelter, and we're never going to talk about how much that costs per person either.

476
00:47:55.088 --> 00:48:05.695
<v Jamie Dunphy>That is why hordes of people like myself are spending years sleeping on the streets around you, is because you don't address the problem in a systemic scope.

477
00:48:06.097 --> 00:48:23.112
<v Jamie Dunphy>I realize that this is just one agenda item that's an emergency so we can get the contextualize every publicly funded housing program as a piece in the puzzle with specific numbers that line up with the point-in-time count.

478
00:48:23.355 --> 00:48:24.052
<v Candace Avalos>And we also—.

479
00:48:24.472 --> 00:48:27.713
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Sir, I'm sorry, I'm sorry to cut you off, but we have a—.

480
00:48:27.713 --> 00:48:29.204
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you, thank you, Madam President.

481
00:48:29.820 --> 00:48:35.925
<v Jamie Dunphy>Uh, so obviously this is a yes vote, but contextualized and built into the system for real thank you.

482
00:48:36.315 --> 00:48:41.289
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for, for drawing our attention to the bigger picture that we need to make sure we're paying attention to.

483
00:48:46.110 --> 00:48:51.206
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is there any other final discussion before we take a vote?

484
00:48:51.431 --> 00:48:59.099
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, and this is an emergency ordinance, so it does mean— need 9 affirmative votes to pass.

485
00:48:59.744 --> 00:49:00.778
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Clerk, can you call the roll, please?

486
00:49:04.112 --> 00:49:16.072
<v Candace Avalos>I just want to appreciate the efforts to, um, seek PSF dollars and make the building climate resilient, and also to work with community partners to ensure we're not displacing the very people this project is meant to help.

487
00:49:16.659 --> 00:49:17.068
<v Candace Avalos>I vote aye.

488
00:49:18.875 --> 00:49:19.019
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

489
00:49:21.992 --> 00:49:22.039
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

490
00:49:24.159 --> 00:49:29.728
<v Sameer Kanal>So I, I asked the question about emergency ordinances because I have concerns about the overuse of those in previous councils.

491
00:49:29.858 --> 00:49:40.237
<v Sameer Kanal>I, I do think that in this particular case, with an incoming change to federal oversight of, of some of these dollars and how those will be done, that makes sense to, to go through this process.

492
00:49:41.407 --> 00:49:44.869
<v Sameer Kanal>I want to appreciate Senators Merkley and Wyden, Congresswoman Bonamici.

493
00:49:45.559 --> 00:49:48.333
<v Sameer Kanal>I also just wanted to shout out this is near a grocery store.

494
00:49:48.621 --> 00:49:54.184
<v Sameer Kanal>There's cultural programming with ERCO, which is great, and it's a Portland-based developer, which is always nice to see as well.

495
00:49:54.472 --> 00:49:57.967
<v Sameer Kanal>And those are really great attributes of this particular program.

496
00:49:58.304 --> 00:49:58.864
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

497
00:49:59.010 --> 00:50:00.659
<v Sameer Kanal>Broadly speaking, affordable housing is good.

498
00:50:00.820 --> 00:50:05.478
<v Sameer Kanal>One of the renters on this council, I'm excited to support something that helps renters be able to stay in their homes.

499
00:50:06.309 --> 00:50:13.748
<v Sameer Kanal>I'll just note that I do support the idea that if we're going to get a presentation, it should be posted in advance in the future so that everybody in the public can see it too.

500
00:50:14.358 --> 00:50:17.302
<v Sameer Kanal>And, uh, but yeah, on the whole, this seems like a good project, and I vote yes.

501
00:50:20.329 --> 00:50:24.969
<v Dan Ryan>Yes, this checks all the necessary boxes of success— federal, state, local governments coming together.

502
00:50:25.525 --> 00:50:35.525
<v Dan Ryan>COVID goals have been met and thrilled with the workforce development targets, namely the 20% or more hours worked by trades and job site hours will be done by state-registered apprentices.

503
00:50:36.342 --> 00:50:43.842
<v Dan Ryan>And I got to also add that it's great to see 3 and 4 bedroom units, and I can't believe I finally heard about the 45%, um, AMI target.

504
00:50:44.371 --> 00:50:47.559
<v Dan Ryan>So, um, that's wonderful because there's such a big gap between 30 and 60.

505
00:50:47.735 --> 00:50:49.498
<v Dan Ryan>You've heard me say this many times, a few of you.

506
00:50:49.900 --> 00:50:50.460
<v Dan Ryan>Anyway, bravo.

507
00:50:50.684 --> 00:50:50.717
<v Dan Ryan>Aye.

508
00:50:53.166 --> 00:50:53.213
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

509
00:50:53.969 --> 00:50:53.985
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

510
00:50:55.896 --> 00:50:55.945
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

511
00:50:57.503 --> 00:50:57.552
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

512
00:50:58.789 --> 00:51:10.164
<v Mitch Green>I just want to acknowledge that this is going to benefit the immigrant and refugee community, uh, community which has longstanding presence in West Portland Park and along this corridor.

513
00:51:10.878 --> 00:51:18.423
<v Mitch Green>And I object to sort of this idea of distinguishing normal working-class people from Immigrants.

514
00:51:18.601 --> 00:51:24.864
<v Mitch Green>They are also normal working-class people as well, um, displaced in no small part by our federal government's actions.

515
00:51:24.961 --> 00:51:25.416
<v Mitch Green>So I vote aye.

516
00:51:27.621 --> 00:51:27.735
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

517
00:51:28.331 --> 00:51:28.413
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

518
00:51:28.978 --> 00:51:36.385
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Ordinance passes.

519
00:51:37.126 --> 00:51:39.693
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We will move on to our next agenda item.

520
00:51:41.161 --> 00:51:50.864
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Appropriate grant for $125,000 from Oregon Health Authority for the thank you.

521
00:51:51.512 --> 00:51:54.139
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And we have our same guests back up.

522
00:51:54.349 --> 00:51:56.425
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And is John Trinh joining you as well?

523
00:52:01.777 --> 00:52:04.945
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>If you can all introduce yourselves as you begin speaking, that would be great.

524
00:52:05.010 --> 00:52:05.623
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you so much.

525
00:52:06.061 --> 00:52:06.949
<v Mitch Green>Thank you, Madam President.

526
00:52:07.192 --> 00:52:10.793
<v Mitch Green>Donnie Oliveira, for the record, Deputy City Administrator for Community Economic Development.

527
00:52:11.204 --> 00:52:12.072
<v Mitch Green>I'm going to keep this brief.

528
00:52:12.335 --> 00:52:13.496
<v Mitch Green>You have a long night ahead of you.

529
00:52:14.108 --> 00:52:19.358
<v Mitch Green>Uh, Councilor, this is a great opportunity for this council to see a service area at work together.

530
00:52:19.840 --> 00:52:36.503
<v Mitch Green>So, um, the state of Oregon, um, has provided these Healthy Homes grants for many years, and this is an opportunity for the Housing Bureau, the Permitting Development Bureau, uh, Prosper, and BPS to work together to deliver, um, services to our communities, um, through a grant program providing funding from the state.

531
00:52:37.034 --> 00:52:40.954
<v Mitch Green>I'm going to immediately turn it over to my colleagues to walk through the specifics so we can move on with the city's agenda.

532
00:52:42.353 --> 00:52:42.675
<v Helmi Hisarik>Great.

533
00:52:42.755 --> 00:52:45.449
<v Helmi Hisarik>Once again, Helmi Hisarik, Director, Portland Housing Bureau.

534
00:52:45.545 --> 00:52:46.652
<v Helmi Hisarik>I use she/her pronouns.

535
00:52:47.311 --> 00:52:54.833
<v Helmi Hisarik>Um, I'm joined today by John Trinh, who manages our Neighborhood Preservation Program, and I'm going to actually let him do most of the presentation.

536
00:52:54.963 --> 00:53:00.914
<v Helmi Hisarik>Uh, I just wanted to mention that this is a state grant from the, uh, Oregon Health Authority.

537
00:53:01.106 --> 00:53:12.271
<v Helmi Hisarik>It is leveraged by federal dollars that we run called the Healthy Homes Program, and I'll let John explain what the purpose of the program is and who we serve and how many people we anticipate serving with the state grant.

538
00:53:14.969 --> 00:53:20.005
<v Mitch Green>Good evening, John Trinh, Neighborhood Housing Preservation Manager for the Housing Bureau.

539
00:53:21.597 --> 00:53:28.050
<v Eric Zimmerman>It's exciting to be able to present to you and ask for an appropriation of $125,000 to be utilized this fiscal year.

540
00:53:28.664 --> 00:53:38.041
<v Sameer Kanal>We apply for $750,000 with the Oregon Health Authority Um, for the 2024 State Healthy Home Grant on April 5th.

541
00:53:39.998 --> 00:53:46.422
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, the State Healthy Home Grant will leverage our federal Healthy Home Grant that we received back on May 15th, 2023.

542
00:53:47.018 --> 00:53:47.436
<v Jamie Dunphy>The grant—.

543
00:53:47.501 --> 00:53:53.849
<v Eric Zimmerman>The program serves as a critical anti-displacement resource for low- to moderate-income families citywide.

544
00:53:54.769 --> 00:54:07.268
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The Oregon Health Authority has notified the City of Portland that it will award the grant for the 2024 State Healthy Home Grant to the Portland Housing Bureau, um, and Portland Permitting and Development in the amount of $750,000.

545
00:54:09.483 --> 00:54:14.326
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The grant, um, hopes to serve 21 to 30 households within the 3-year grant period.

546
00:54:16.373 --> 00:54:19.195
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

547
00:54:20.170 --> 00:54:21.289
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you very much.

548
00:54:23.108 --> 00:54:26.376
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, Council, does anybody have any questions?

549
00:54:28.556 --> 00:54:31.385
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, do we have anybody who signed up for public testimony?

550
00:54:31.844 --> 00:54:32.644
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>No one signed up.

551
00:54:34.409 --> 00:54:35.539
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Oh, there are now questions.

552
00:54:35.717 --> 00:54:37.025
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Perfect, thank you.

553
00:54:37.413 --> 00:54:38.237
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Kanal.

554
00:54:39.463 --> 00:54:42.516
<v Sameer Kanal>So this is a similar question to the preceding one.

555
00:54:43.501 --> 00:54:51.206
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, other than the fact that housing broadly is an emergency, as was pointed out to us, uh, why is this an emergency ordinance?

556
00:54:53.152 --> 00:54:54.483
<v Mitch Green>Yeah, I'll take it.

557
00:54:55.541 --> 00:54:56.567
<v Mitch Green>Thank you, Councilor, for the question.

558
00:54:56.759 --> 00:54:57.849
<v Mitch Green>Donnie Oliveira, for the record.

559
00:54:58.266 --> 00:55:02.626
<v Mitch Green>In this particular case, it's because we were trying to expend the resources as soon as possible.

560
00:55:03.572 --> 00:55:10.802
<v Mitch Green>Just given the transition, we may have taken this to council a bit earlier, but we had a little bit of delay with new form of government taking shape.

561
00:55:10.849 --> 00:55:12.356
<v Mitch Green>So we're a little bit behind the work planning.

562
00:55:12.710 --> 00:55:17.085
<v Mitch Green>So that $125,000 that you're approving tonight would almost go immediately into action.

563
00:55:18.177 --> 00:55:24.983
<v Sameer Kanal>Is that Is that not always the case, that it would always be good to spend the money we receive in a grant as quickly as possible?

564
00:55:26.092 --> 00:55:26.556
<v Mitch Green>Absolutely.

565
00:55:26.893 --> 00:55:39.081
<v Mitch Green>And in this particular case, just given the situation of our government, if, if we were here 4 months ago, it probably would have been on regular agenda, but we're a little bit behind the, the project timeline.

566
00:55:39.739 --> 00:55:39.884
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you.

567
00:55:39.931 --> 00:55:40.943
<v Sameer Kanal>DC Oliveira.

568
00:55:46.097 --> 00:55:47.300
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

569
00:55:47.606 --> 00:55:51.552
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, sorry, I'm doing a little bit of quick math because I'm not good at that.

570
00:55:52.179 --> 00:55:58.373
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, this works out to be— you're saying about 20— what does it say, 25 to— or 21 to 30 people over a 3-year period.

571
00:55:58.438 --> 00:56:04.952
<v Jamie Dunphy>Can you give me an example of, uh, who we're helping in this situation, uh, homeowners versus renters, what we're doing with that money?

572
00:56:05.001 --> 00:56:09.768
<v Jamie Dunphy>It works out to be about $25,000 per person if that's the, the goal.

573
00:56:09.911 --> 00:56:11.018
<v Jamie Dunphy>Uh, where— what are we getting for that?

574
00:56:11.922 --> 00:56:16.945
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So this is going to be leveraging our federal Healthy Home Grant that we received back in 2023.

575
00:56:17.983 --> 00:56:24.637
<v Eric Zimmerman>We're hoping to assess homeowners who are 80%, uh, less AMI, area median income.

576
00:56:25.556 --> 00:56:34.773
<v Eric Zimmerman>We're looking at in terms of working with Portland Permitting and Development under their program called Empowered Neighborhood.

577
00:56:35.114 --> 00:56:42.365
<v Mitch Green>And so they have homes household homeowners that they're working with that have code violation.

578
00:56:43.365 --> 00:56:47.764
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And so we're working with them to, to resolve those code violations.

579
00:56:48.264 --> 00:56:56.139
<v Eric Zimmerman>Some of our grant programs that we have right now are smaller amount, and so using a bigger dollar amount, we're able to successfully take care of some of those violations.

580
00:56:56.869 --> 00:57:02.376
<v Sameer Kanal>For example, fixing a roof, fixing, fixing a plumbing, broken pipes, and so forth.

581
00:57:02.960 --> 00:57:15.048
<v Jamie Dunphy>Will those I mean, um, that sounds fantastic, and I know that there are especially a lot of older adults who are aging in place who are having a hard time keeping up with repairs, low-income families who simply cannot afford to replace their roofs.

582
00:57:15.418 --> 00:57:21.980
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm worried though, will any of these dollars be used to resolve fines that have been leveraged by the permitting bureaus?

583
00:57:23.456 --> 00:57:28.318
<v Eric Zimmerman>These dollars are particularly for bricks and, uh, bricks, um, for construction, not fines.

584
00:57:28.670 --> 00:57:28.815
<v Jamie Dunphy>Okay.

585
00:57:29.400 --> 00:57:46.987
<v Jamie Dunphy>But, uh, if I'm a homeowner, I'm getting my new roof out of this, I assume that if I'm on the list for this program, then it's been a while and bureaucrats have been involved and know me on a first-name basis, and probably there have been some fines or fees leveraged against that homeowner.

586
00:57:47.536 --> 00:57:51.204
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, do we resolve those in some way with this program?

587
00:57:53.221 --> 00:58:08.503
<v Mitch Green>Yeah, I can Yeah, Councilor Donnie Oliveira, for the record, I think in the case where you're describing where someone may have a fine because of a non-compliance or an ordinance issue, if we were working with the Housing Bureau to rectify that, we have, um, you know, forgiveness programs.

588
00:58:09.273 --> 00:58:10.572
<v Mitch Green>I would want to speak absolutely on that.

589
00:58:10.637 --> 00:58:11.905
<v Mitch Green>Of course, it's going to be case by case.

590
00:58:12.177 --> 00:58:24.353
<v Mitch Green>In some instances, there's code violations that span a range of issues, but I do think the Permitting and Development Bureau is definitely a kinder Permitting Development Bureau, and we're trying to be more supportive of our communities.

591
00:58:24.932 --> 00:58:25.481
<v Sameer Kanal>Great, thank you.

592
00:58:29.958 --> 00:58:33.952
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, any other discussion from council?

593
00:58:36.900 --> 00:58:40.903
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, again, this is an emergency ordinance and requires 9 votes.

594
00:58:41.523 --> 00:58:42.840
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Keelan, could you please call the roll?

595
00:58:43.525 --> 00:58:43.914
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Avalos.

596
00:58:46.128 --> 00:58:51.315
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you again, um, and I am very grateful to see the partnership with the state on the Healthy Homes Bill.

597
00:58:51.364 --> 00:59:01.775
<v Candace Avalos>Um, Obviously biased because I was part of that coalition, and I think that work to create more clean energy opportunities is critical, and I appreciate your partnership.

598
00:59:02.362 --> 00:59:03.849
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I vote aye.

599
00:59:04.690 --> 00:59:04.771
<v Jamie Dunphy>Aye.

600
00:59:06.306 --> 00:59:06.355
<v Eric Zimmerman>Aye.

601
00:59:08.360 --> 00:59:12.838
<v Sameer Kanal>Uh, yeah, thank you to you, to the Oregon Legislature for making the funding available, to the Oregon Health Authority.

602
00:59:13.257 --> 00:59:26.655
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, because this doesn't change our bottom line as a city and we're just taking the money we've already received in a grant and appropriating it, I think your argument makes sense on the emergency ordinance side, so I'm happy Ryan?

603
00:59:27.152 --> 00:59:27.313
<v Dan Ryan>Aye.

604
00:59:28.760 --> 00:59:28.809
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

605
00:59:29.563 --> 00:59:29.579
<v Loretta Smith>Aye.

606
00:59:30.528 --> 00:59:30.577
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

607
00:59:32.778 --> 00:59:32.827
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

608
00:59:34.306 --> 00:59:34.434
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

609
00:59:36.958 --> 00:59:37.007
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

610
00:59:38.967 --> 00:59:39.096
<v Loretta Smith>Aye.

611
00:59:39.788 --> 00:59:40.559
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Motion passes.

612
00:59:43.494 --> 00:59:46.322
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, thank you to our guests.

613
00:59:46.467 --> 00:59:56.085
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And Keelan, could you please read the next item for us, adopt a supplemental budget for city council and mayor staffing.

614
01:00:00.101 --> 01:00:16.099
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>As we sit here tonight, uh, we are about to enter into a discussion about a budget adjustment, and I want to remind everybody that our council was not set up for success.

615
01:00:17.579 --> 01:00:28.224
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And in fact, the former mayor brought forward a proposal for our council staffing that went against the recommendations of his own transition team and the public.

616
01:00:29.349 --> 01:00:37.293
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We were not set up to serve Portlanders in the way that you all, the voters, asked for in charter reform.

617
01:00:39.284 --> 01:00:44.753
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We are not trying to solve the entirety of the budget problem that we have inherited.

618
01:00:45.701 --> 01:00:57.836
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And we've heard the response from Portlanders and the fear from our frontline workers that this budget adjustment adds to an already very, very difficult budget conversation that we'll be facing over the next few months.

619
01:00:59.887 --> 01:01:08.452
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I want to be clear that every single one of my colleagues that I've talked to about this proposal is committed to engaging in that broader budget process yes.

620
01:01:09.003 --> 01:01:13.034
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>In a way that ensures the outcomes that best serve Portlanders.

621
01:01:14.420 --> 01:01:26.351
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We will prioritize protecting services that Portlanders rely on and right-size the administrative management, the piece of city leadership that received the most additional funding under Mayor Wheeler's implementation of the charter.

622
01:01:28.112 --> 01:01:37.519
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Tonight, though, we are focused on right-sizing our ability to do the work that Portlanders are expecting from us under charter reform.

623
01:01:39.193 --> 01:01:42.606
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I am looking forward to a robust conversation about this measure.

624
01:01:43.246 --> 01:01:52.289
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, I will point out as I say that, that this is the start of 3 hours and 40 minutes of agenda items that we have left on our agenda at 7 o'clock.

625
01:01:53.592 --> 01:02:02.224
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So I hope that we can have that robust conversation and also make sure to be as efficient with our time as possible.

626
01:02:04.119 --> 01:02:12.186
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, as we move forward, are there any questions?

627
01:02:13.300 --> 01:02:19.934
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, we'll get to comments and debate, but are there any questions about where we're starting from, from councilors?

628
01:02:23.686 --> 01:02:25.119
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, go ahead, Councilor Avalos.

629
01:02:25.456 --> 01:02:26.728
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you, Madam President.

630
01:02:27.309 --> 01:02:45.445
<v Candace Avalos>Um, so As the— my fellow councilors know, because I alerted them a few days ago, I was prepared to offer an amendment today that would reduce the overall ask to just 1 FTE per council office and change the funding source to contingency for a total of $1.2 million.

631
01:02:45.958 --> 01:03:06.202
<v Candace Avalos>Partially, I was introducing— planning to introduce this amendment due to my personal feelings and feelings that I've heard from other councilors and members about the trade-offs in the way that the proposal was originally written, and it was unclear at the time why we would need a lot of one-time funds in order— and spend them within 5 months.

632
01:03:06.250 --> 01:03:09.695
<v Candace Avalos>So those were some of the original reasons why I was considering this amendment.

633
01:03:11.123 --> 01:03:15.563
<v Candace Avalos>But however, it's come to my attention that we are planning to have a larger discussion.

634
01:03:15.771 --> 01:03:31.621
<v Candace Avalos>There are many various proposals on the table, so I just wanted to inform the body that I'm not going to put the amendment forward at this moment, but I am prepared to offer that if that is what folks are desiring, again, bringing it down to one staffer per office.

635
01:03:32.295 --> 01:03:37.588
<v Candace Avalos>So I just wanted to put that at the forefront as well so that the community can respond to that as we begin this discussion.

636
01:03:37.846 --> 01:03:38.250
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you.

637
01:03:39.927 --> 01:03:41.039
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Councilor Avalos.

638
01:03:41.152 --> 01:03:41.766
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Smith.

639
01:03:44.943 --> 01:03:59.023
<v Loretta Smith>Madam President, I just want to say thank you for your courageous leadership at this time early in the, in the process, that you're willing to build an infrastructure to make sure that we're effective and that we can do the work of the people.

640
01:03:59.650 --> 01:04:17.445
<v Loretta Smith>I noted in your, um, amendment that this would be coming from the, uh, city administrator's budget, but is this the time that we can add to, to take that from the contingency budget instead of the, the city administrator's budget?

641
01:04:18.775 --> 01:04:21.581
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We can absolutely consider an amendment to do that.

642
01:04:21.710 --> 01:04:32.458
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe we have a fair amount of public testimony signed up And I think, as folks have heard hinted at, we have a number of councilors who have ideas about amendments to this proposal.

643
01:04:33.070 --> 01:04:47.608
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So what I'd like to do, if it's okay with you, Councilor Smith, is hear from the public, um, if there's any other clarifying questions from councilors, then hear from the public, and then have a broader conversation about level of funding and space that we could get funding from.

644
01:04:47.963 --> 01:04:48.364
<v Loretta Smith>Perfect.

645
01:04:48.461 --> 01:04:49.235
<v Loretta Smith>Thank you so much.

646
01:04:49.427 --> 01:04:49.958
<v Candace Avalos>Absolutely.

647
01:04:52.126 --> 01:04:56.920
<v Eric Zimmerman>Madam President, I think a few of us have hands up before we make that move.

648
01:04:57.737 --> 01:05:00.302
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Before we hear from the public?

649
01:05:00.463 --> 01:05:00.590
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes.

650
01:05:01.088 --> 01:05:02.835
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, uh, Councilor Green.

651
01:05:04.295 --> 01:05:06.170
<v Mitch Green>Uh, thank you, Madam President.

652
01:05:06.378 --> 01:05:27.724
<v Mitch Green>Um, as we get into this discussion, I would encourage my colleagues, um, not to think about this in terms of FTEs, although that's a proxy, that's a good yardstick for measurement of dollars, but really this is about dollars that we can— that we have the authority and really the obligation to manage that best fits our districts and our constituencies.

653
01:05:27.771 --> 01:05:30.394
<v Mitch Green>So as we get into that, I would like to sort of offer that framing.

654
01:05:30.813 --> 01:05:31.039
<v Dan Handelman>Thanks.

655
01:05:32.601 --> 01:05:33.423
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Councilor Green.

656
01:05:33.487 --> 01:05:34.262
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Zimmerman.

657
01:05:35.018 --> 01:05:44.000
<v Eric Zimmerman>I'm hoping that perhaps you can describe where this funding package sits currently.

658
01:05:44.434 --> 01:05:54.489
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that we have been in an unfortunate few days where some bad misinformation was put out into the public sphere by an employee outside of their scope.

659
01:05:54.554 --> 01:05:54.731
<v Eric Zimmerman>Right.

660
01:05:55.050 --> 01:06:00.387
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I think it's led to a lot of misunderstanding about what would be given up.

661
01:06:01.284 --> 01:06:05.001
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I have a feeling that a significant amount of testimony today will address that.

662
01:06:05.449 --> 01:06:13.108
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I think that if we can get in front of that, it will help alleviate some concerns that exist probably within this room and online.

663
01:06:14.050 --> 01:06:18.679
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, to shore up some time, because I'd like to do that.

664
01:06:18.887 --> 01:06:22.956
<v Eric Zimmerman>I'm certainly not happy with how some stuff came about, and I think that we're going to hear from that.

665
01:06:23.913 --> 01:06:26.735
<v Eric Zimmerman>So perhaps we spend a little bit more time before we just open it up.

666
01:06:28.648 --> 01:06:53.184
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Why don't we take comments from Councilor Dunphy, and I believe I see Councilor Smith back in the queue, and then Councilor Zimmerman, I would be happy to run through what we have thank you, Madam President.

667
01:06:53.652 --> 01:07:04.192
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, I just want to, before we begin this conversation, recognize that, um, you know, many of us in this body have had many years working in public service and recognize the specific demands that this job has.

668
01:07:04.869 --> 01:07:11.704
<v Jamie Dunphy>I spent 5 years working for a late City Commissioner Nick Fish has a team of 7, and the job was the hardest job I've ever had until now.

669
01:07:12.251 --> 01:07:19.646
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, today I am working as hard as I can with one staff member, and he's an amazing human being who's doing great work.

670
01:07:20.047 --> 01:07:27.088
<v Jamie Dunphy>But the work to act— adequately represent District 1 cannot be done by 2 people.

671
01:07:27.586 --> 01:07:29.077
<v Jamie Dunphy>It cannot be done from City Hall.

672
01:07:29.494 --> 01:07:35.543
<v Jamie Dunphy>And the work that is currently, uh, before us is simply not— is simply more than 2 people can ever handle.

673
01:07:35.672 --> 01:07:44.164
<v Jamie Dunphy>And it can— and we must meet the needs of what the, uh, the voters actually put into place when we move towards a district representation.

674
01:07:44.739 --> 01:07:51.969
<v Jamie Dunphy>This current staffing arrangement does nothing to help deepen, or nothing but deepen the inequities that have happened east of I-205.

675
01:07:52.032 --> 01:07:58.380
<v Jamie Dunphy>And so I am bullish in making sure that we can adequately meet the needs of the community and meet community where they are.

676
01:07:58.914 --> 01:08:01.557
<v Jamie Dunphy>And I'm looking forward to a more robust conversation with my colleagues.

677
01:08:02.981 --> 01:08:03.255
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

678
01:08:03.367 --> 01:08:07.135
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And I can just say ditto, ditto, ditto.

679
01:08:07.231 --> 01:08:12.588
<v Loretta Smith>We were at an East Portland Action Plan, um, meeting the other night, and I had to get there a little late.

680
01:08:13.389 --> 01:08:15.972
<v Loretta Smith>And me and my staffer, my one staffer, went.

681
01:08:16.292 --> 01:08:23.911
<v Loretta Smith>But as we were leaving, um, Councilor Dunphy's staffer was still here in the office at 6:30.

682
01:08:23.990 --> 01:08:27.648
<v Loretta Smith>He could not come over to the meeting, but I had my staffer.

683
01:08:27.695 --> 01:08:32.185
<v Loretta Smith>So it's, it's a trade-off, and we're, we're trying to figure out how to do more with less.

684
01:08:32.314 --> 01:08:32.555
<v Loretta Smith>Thank you.

685
01:08:33.359 --> 01:08:44.363
<v Loretta Smith>And I think what you were talking about, um, Councilor Zimmerman, that there was some talk about us taking money from the homeless, uh, Portland Solutions.

686
01:08:44.913 --> 01:08:47.586
<v Loretta Smith>That is not where we're planning to take this money from.

687
01:08:47.667 --> 01:08:58.438
<v Loretta Smith>And we, we're going to have this conversation later, but the original request was out of the city administrator's budget, and this new money is going to be taken from the contingency, uh, pot of money.

688
01:08:58.844 --> 01:09:01.484
<v Loretta Smith>So that's where we can shore this up at.

689
01:09:04.121 --> 01:09:04.813
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Councilor Smith.

690
01:09:04.926 --> 01:09:24.395
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So building off of Councilor Smith's remarks and in response to Councilor Zimmerman, what we have before us is a budget adjustment which would increase the appropriations to council offices by $4,318,424 amongst the 12 of us.

691
01:09:24.520 --> 01:09:24.713
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes.

692
01:09:25.104 --> 01:09:39.699
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And increase funding to the mayor's office by $269,810, offsetting that by a decrease in operating expenses from the city administrator's budget.

693
01:09:40.587 --> 01:09:51.331
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>There has been conversation, not started by this council, that one of the places that that cut could come from in the city administrator's office is a specific program.

694
01:09:52.230 --> 01:09:59.167
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And I do want to clarify that I don't believe anybody on this council directed the city administrator to that program.

695
01:09:59.858 --> 01:10:08.528
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>In fact, we have been very specific that we trusted the city administrator to find the best cost savings available within his budget.

696
01:10:09.170 --> 01:10:15.704
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, we have since heard a number of suggestions on other places we could look for.

697
01:10:15.850 --> 01:10:15.978
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

698
01:10:16.653 --> 01:10:29.145
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>To pull those funds if we wanted to ensure that we avoided taking money from specific programs rather than leaving that choice up to the city administrator, one of which you heard Councilor Smith refer to, which is the contingency.

699
01:10:29.802 --> 01:10:33.511
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And part of the debate that I expect we'll be having is where those funds come from.

700
01:10:34.314 --> 01:10:41.347
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>There also has been some conversation about whether we are looking at a lump sum amount, and if so, what the— What's the number?

701
01:10:42.006 --> 01:10:43.033
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Smith.

702
01:10:43.130 --> 01:11:00.774
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>General amount is that a councilor might need for their office budget to be spent in probably different ways in different offices because we all have different needs and priorities, or whether we should be talking about building up as to a specific amount of staff and specific line items.

703
01:11:01.287 --> 01:11:04.177
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So that is also part of the debate that I expect we'll hear today.

704
01:11:04.804 --> 01:11:12.708
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>As we invite up the public to comment, I do want to just I just put a bit of a finer point on that by saying there is a lot of debate to be had.

705
01:11:13.096 --> 01:11:23.292
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We'd like to hear from you first to hear your concerns, but please know that there is much conversation still to be had before we hone in on a specific solution this evening.

706
01:11:27.485 --> 01:11:29.283
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So, Councilor Smith, is that a legacy hand?

707
01:11:31.364 --> 01:11:33.341
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, great.

708
01:11:34.198 --> 01:11:38.494
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe we have a number of folks signed up for public testimony.

709
01:11:39.073 --> 01:11:41.948
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Keelan, could you please call up our first testifiers?

710
01:11:42.060 --> 01:11:47.743
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And if you are in the balcony and have signed up to testify, is this an okay time to have people start to make their way down?

711
01:11:48.167 --> 01:11:48.396
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>It is.

712
01:11:48.903 --> 01:11:49.327
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Great.

713
01:11:49.752 --> 01:11:52.478
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So please do that if you're here to testify on this agenda item.

714
01:11:54.149 --> 01:11:55.604
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>First up, we have Fred Neal.

715
01:12:03.014 --> 01:12:04.000
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Oh, sure.

716
01:12:05.292 --> 01:12:06.988
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

717
01:12:07.134 --> 01:12:07.472
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Welcome.

718
01:12:07.926 --> 01:12:12.323
<v Jamie Dunphy>Good evening, Madam President and councilors, Mayor.

719
01:12:13.197 --> 01:12:19.034
<v Eric Zimmerman>My name is Fred Neal, and I am the co-chair of the Government Transition Advisory Committee, or the GTAC.

720
01:12:19.568 --> 01:12:22.618
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm here with my co-chair, José Gamero Jorgensen.

721
01:12:23.360 --> 01:12:27.088
<v Jamie Dunphy>The GTAC serves as the primary advisory committee for the city's transition.

722
01:12:27.886 --> 01:12:32.037
<v Jamie Dunphy>The GTAC agrees that the current staffing levels for City Council are inadequate.

723
01:12:32.733 --> 01:12:41.957
<v Jamie Dunphy>And recommends sufficient staffing of both individual councillors and shared council operations to support effective legislative development and community engagement.

724
01:12:42.582 --> 01:12:48.422
<v Jamie Dunphy>The GTAC has not considered staffing for the mayor and is not commenting on that portion of today's proposed ordinance.

725
01:12:49.481 --> 01:12:58.368
<v Jamie Dunphy>Early last year, the GTAC sent a letter to the previous council arguing that the allocation of one staff per councillor, one shared administrative staff per council district.

726
01:12:58.802 --> 01:13:04.707
<v Jamie Dunphy>And 5 shared council operations staff was insufficient to staff an effective legislative body.

727
01:13:05.284 --> 01:13:07.274
<v Jamie Dunphy>We've submitted that letter as written testimony.

728
01:13:08.286 --> 01:13:19.005
<v Jamie Dunphy>Our recommendation for increased council staffing is based on research of 15 peer cities, as well as our collective personal and professional expertise and that of city staff.

729
01:13:19.662 --> 01:13:25.648
<v Jamie Dunphy>Our research shows that Portland's current staffing is one of the lowest per-councilor staffing levels among peer cities.

730
01:13:25.935 --> 01:13:26.208
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

731
01:13:26.289 --> 01:13:26.402
<v Dan Handelman>Yes.

732
01:13:27.108 --> 01:13:30.304
<v Jamie Dunphy>Comparable cities average 2 to 4 staffers per councilor.

733
01:13:30.962 --> 01:13:38.926
<v Jamie Dunphy>Furthermore, 1 staff per councilor is only half of what the previous council adopted in its organizational structural resolution over a year ago.

734
01:13:39.872 --> 01:13:54.166
<v Jamie Dunphy>Research also shows that Portland's total combined staffing levels for a presiding officer, shared legislative, and operations staff is otherwise likewise among the lowest thank you.

735
01:13:56.416 --> 01:14:03.560
<v Mitch Green>Staffing must accommodate the basic functions of both individual councilors and the city council as a whole.

736
01:14:04.155 --> 01:14:15.296
<v Mitch Green>In the new form of government, councilors need support for both legislative policymaking and budgetary analysis and adoption, now solely the council's responsibility.

737
01:14:15.765 --> 01:14:24.572
<v Mitch Green>Furthermore, the new district-based council must have the staff to support constituent service and community engagement within their districts.

738
01:14:25.840 --> 01:14:31.957
<v Mitch Green>The GTAC debated but ultimately decided against recommending a specific number of increased staff.

739
01:14:32.422 --> 01:14:41.157
<v Mitch Green>Our primary point is that based on research, no other city has this low of a level of staffing as Portland does.

740
01:14:42.216 --> 01:14:47.418
<v Mitch Green>The GTAC declined to weigh in on where the funding for additional staffing should be found.

741
01:14:48.548 --> 01:15:01.224
<v Mitch Green>The City Budget Office outlined several strategies to the previous City Council at a budget work session about how to fund these expenses, and we defer to the City Budget Office's expertise on that.

742
01:15:02.076 --> 01:15:13.618
<v Mitch Green>The new government strives for more efficient and targeted service delivery, and constituents expect participatory, accountable government through their city's councilors.

743
01:15:14.868 --> 01:15:15.126
<v Mitch Green>We—.

744
01:15:16.474 --> 01:15:24.931
<v Mitch Green>Okay, we believe that to optimize your new roles, you need adequate support and funding, of course.

745
01:15:25.301 --> 01:15:30.564
<v Mitch Green>And we strongly recommend that you do pass increased funding for the council.

746
01:15:31.158 --> 01:15:48.600
<v Mitch Green>And, uh, since I do have a little bit of extra time, I will say, not on this agenda, but I want to appreciate you all for this early in the process making council meetings more accessible to everyone by having some meetings at night, that was also a GTEC recommendation.

747
01:15:48.649 --> 01:15:51.552
<v Mitch Green>We appreciate you acting on that so early in the process.

748
01:15:51.810 --> 01:15:52.612
<v Mitch Green>So thank you so much.

749
01:15:52.900 --> 01:15:54.537
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

750
01:15:55.404 --> 01:16:01.228
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you both for your comments, and thank you both for all the work you put into your recommendations.

751
01:16:01.420 --> 01:16:03.747
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We appreciate that guidance as we move forward.

752
01:16:05.929 --> 01:16:07.323
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next up we have Terry Harris.

753
01:16:14.621 --> 01:16:16.094
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Welcome, thank you for being here with us.

754
01:16:16.676 --> 01:16:19.604
<v Sameer Kanal>Hi, um, I'm Terry Harris from Hillsdale.

755
01:16:20.301 --> 01:16:21.970
<v Sameer Kanal>I am also a member of GTAC.

756
01:16:22.734 --> 01:16:31.537
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, those guys that just were up here did a great job, so I'm going to be super brief, um, and let you get on with the business of the day.

757
01:16:32.164 --> 01:16:41.916
<v Sameer Kanal>I did want to just emphasize that you have different categories of staffing, and you're only addressing one of those categories in what you're doing tonight.

758
01:16:42.740 --> 01:16:58.814
<v Sameer Kanal>You have big problems in your other categories as well, for your operations staff, your legislative, um, uh, staff, shared staff, and, um, staff for the presiding officer of this body.

759
01:16:58.886 --> 01:16:58.939
<v Sameer Kanal>Yes.

760
01:16:59.467 --> 01:17:02.994
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, just sort of to keep the legislative engine running.

761
01:17:03.735 --> 01:17:11.300
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, we just going to make that point that that's going to be still out there until you address it.

762
01:17:12.206 --> 01:17:16.247
<v Sameer Kanal>And, um, you have committees coming up later here too.

763
01:17:16.649 --> 01:17:19.586
<v Sameer Kanal>I'm sorry, I do that every time.

764
01:17:20.521 --> 01:17:24.216
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, you're going to talk about committees.

765
01:17:24.409 --> 01:17:25.587
<v Sameer Kanal>The committees are going to need staffing.

766
01:17:25.667 --> 01:17:25.748
<v Sameer Kanal>Yes.

767
01:17:26.510 --> 01:17:27.993
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, in all of those areas.

768
01:17:28.057 --> 01:17:30.768
<v Sameer Kanal>So I just emphasize that you're not done.

769
01:17:31.809 --> 01:17:36.434
<v Sameer Kanal>This is a difficult thing you have to do that was just landed on your plate.

770
01:17:37.224 --> 01:17:41.622
<v Sameer Kanal>It's not your fault, but governance is not an option.

771
01:17:42.440 --> 01:17:44.626
<v Sameer Kanal>You need, you need the mechanisms to make it work.

772
01:17:45.028 --> 01:17:45.269
<v Sameer Kanal>Thanks.

773
01:17:47.599 --> 01:17:51.777
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for being here and for your work on GTAC, and thank you for that closing and that reminder.

774
01:17:53.564 --> 01:17:58.662
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next up we have Irvin Siversen, followed by Alan Combs.

775
01:18:03.288 --> 01:18:08.921
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Let's see, Alan Combs.

776
01:18:09.983 --> 01:18:16.106
<v Jamie Dunphy>It's okay.

777
01:18:16.670 --> 01:18:16.782
<v Candace Avalos>Yeah.

778
01:18:21.904 --> 01:18:28.585
<v Sameer Kanal>Uh, thank you, President Pirtle-Guiney and councilors.

779
01:18:28.875 --> 01:18:29.814
<v Jamie Dunphy>My name is Alan Combs.

780
01:18:29.992 --> 01:18:31.417
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm pronounced he/him.

781
01:18:32.162 --> 01:18:54.944
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm a resident of District 3, and I will start off by thanking, um, uh, the councilors or the leadership for making it clear that at least as of tonight, um, the Portland Environmental Management Organization, PMO, and I guess, uh, some of the, uh, houseless, uh, services are not on the chopping block.

782
01:18:55.264 --> 01:19:05.856
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, that said, uh, I'm coming to you today to recommend that you not move forward with the proposal to add 15 full-time equivalents or FTEs.

783
01:19:06.802 --> 01:19:08.596
<v Jamie Dunphy>And I'd just like to point out a couple of things.

784
01:19:10.309 --> 01:19:22.817
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, um, so the— when the Charter Reform Council, uh, Commission put out their recommendations, they did not signal that the— your city council would cost this much.

785
01:19:22.962 --> 01:19:28.725
<v Jamie Dunphy>They didn't really signal the need for 3 to 4 staff per councilor.

786
01:19:28.952 --> 01:19:48.970
<v Jamie Dunphy>So when you say you need to do the work that the city wants, I, I agree, you're all now seated and you need to do your work, but it's not really what Portlanders expected when they approved charter reform because the true cost of a 12-member council that's full-time wasn't really ever communicated.

787
01:19:49.738 --> 01:20:10.150
<v Jamie Dunphy>And although I very much appreciate the work at GTAC and I've supported their work as a citizen, and I, I think their recommendations on benchmarking were important and accurate, I don't think they really explore whether the comparable city councilors are all full-time staff, like full-time paid councilors like you all are.

788
01:20:11.021 --> 01:20:18.734
<v Jamie Dunphy>And so what I would just suggest for today is that maybe you propose some incremental funding to improve shared services.

789
01:20:20.515 --> 01:20:26.979
<v Jamie Dunphy>I heard Councilor Avalos propose maybe one additional staff per office.

790
01:20:27.837 --> 01:20:51.453
<v Jamie Dunphy>I think Portlanders need to see you operate, uh, in a coordinated fashion in your districts, because right now the idea that you have 3 councilors just simply running their little fiefdoms now with 2 staff at, you know, basically a budgetary cost of almost, um, you know, the round number is $1 million a person FTE, right?

791
01:20:51.533 --> 01:21:04.203
<v Jamie Dunphy>So at that level this is a very high coverage cost for a decision-making organization for a city of 640,000, and I don't think GTAC would dispute that, actually.

792
01:21:04.890 --> 01:21:05.409
<v Helmi Hisarik>So thank you.

793
01:21:07.724 --> 01:21:09.773
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for your comments and for being here today.

794
01:21:10.788 --> 01:21:12.774
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Zimmerman, we do have more public testimony.

795
01:21:12.869 --> 01:21:13.322
<v Eric Zimmerman>I'm aware.

796
01:21:14.484 --> 01:21:16.371
<v Eric Zimmerman>I would request just a moment to clarify.

797
01:21:16.435 --> 01:21:17.613
<v Eric Zimmerman>We clarified the PMO piece.

798
01:21:18.194 --> 01:21:18.435
<v Eric Zimmerman>Okay.

799
01:21:18.935 --> 01:21:31.175
<v Eric Zimmerman>I would say additional erroneous information that was in that terrible memo was the indication that all this money was just for a singular FTE, and I think it has led a lot of us astray.

800
01:21:31.414 --> 01:21:33.594
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so I would apologize that that occurred.

801
01:21:34.380 --> 01:21:47.743
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so, um, thinking of this in terms of overall numbers versus— certainly I would not want out there that a million-dollar FTE exists anywhere in the globe, uh, in this proposal.

802
01:21:47.904 --> 01:21:50.750
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I think that It's again misinformation.

803
01:21:50.750 --> 01:21:53.079
<v Jamie Dunphy>All right, it's at $500,000 then, right?

804
01:21:53.189 --> 01:22:00.649
<v Jamie Dunphy>It's, it's, it's, it's a lot of money, and it's not what was originally advertised when the Charter Reform Commission—.

805
01:22:00.649 --> 01:22:01.979
<v Eric Zimmerman>I'm not trying to debate.

806
01:22:02.050 --> 01:22:03.270
<v Eric Zimmerman>I'm just trying to clarify a piece of information.

807
01:22:03.270 --> 01:22:06.350
<v Jamie Dunphy>You're clarifying what I just said, so I'm, I'm responding.

808
01:22:06.350 --> 01:22:07.079
<v Jamie Dunphy>But thank you.

809
01:22:07.800 --> 01:22:23.032
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yeah, I believe what Councilor Zimmerman is referring to is that there were a few things in a memo that went out, one of which was the total cost here and one of which was a staffing number.

810
01:22:23.113 --> 01:22:25.422
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And those 2 things didn't actually go together.

811
01:22:25.536 --> 01:22:37.157
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The, the total number in this proposal was a round number for councilors to work within on potentially district offices, potentially constituent outreach, potentially staff, some combination thereof.

812
01:22:39.069 --> 01:22:45.591
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe we have a number of additional testifiers tonight, um, we'll try Irvin Siversen.

813
01:22:47.889 --> 01:22:48.082
<v Dan Ryan>Irvin?

814
01:22:48.293 --> 01:22:48.554
<v Dan Ryan>Okay.

815
01:22:48.779 --> 01:22:50.175
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, Taylor Boudreau.

816
01:22:54.676 --> 01:22:55.127
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Taylor?

817
01:22:59.262 --> 01:23:00.007
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>David Gray?

818
01:23:02.989 --> 01:23:03.686
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, I'm here.

819
01:23:03.815 --> 01:23:04.384
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Can you hear me?

820
01:23:04.951 --> 01:23:05.502
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We can hear you.

821
01:23:07.572 --> 01:23:10.108
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this evening.

822
01:23:10.557 --> 01:23:11.617
<v Jamie Dunphy>My name is David Gray.

823
01:23:11.890 --> 01:23:13.784
<v Jamie Dunphy>I live in the Stadium neighborhood in District 4.

824
01:23:15.180 --> 01:23:18.439
<v Jamie Dunphy>We all know that the city is projecting a shortfall of $27 million.

825
01:23:19.515 --> 01:23:26.306
<v Jamie Dunphy>We are now 2 weeks into your administration, and you're proposing to add $4.5 million to increase your staff for 6 months.

826
01:23:27.333 --> 01:23:32.359
<v Jamie Dunphy>According to the city's chief financial officer, to make these changes permanent would actually cost $12 million per year.

827
01:23:32.454 --> 01:23:34.029
<v Jamie Dunphy>That is almost half the shortfall.

828
01:23:34.077 --> 01:23:34.204
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you.

829
01:23:34.381 --> 01:23:34.703
<v Dan Ryan>Right there.

830
01:23:35.905 --> 01:23:45.600
<v Jamie Dunphy>We hear you talking about government accountability, fiscal responsibility, shared sacrifice, and we are comparing that— those words with the actions that you take.

831
01:23:46.402 --> 01:23:47.478
<v Jamie Dunphy>You've been in office 2 weeks.

832
01:23:48.970 --> 01:23:56.545
<v Jamie Dunphy>How could you possibly know that your staffing needs are a higher priority than the million other things that need to be prioritized?

833
01:23:56.770 --> 01:24:00.541
<v Jamie Dunphy>For example, our police force is one of the most understaffed in the country.

834
01:24:01.567 --> 01:24:05.315
<v Jamie Dunphy>$4.5 million would pay the salaries of 50 police officers.

835
01:24:06.212 --> 01:24:10.042
<v Jamie Dunphy>$12 million would fund 150 police salaries.

836
01:24:11.212 --> 01:24:14.929
<v Mitch Green>Is increasing the city council staff more important than hiring police officers?

837
01:24:16.162 --> 01:24:18.791
<v Jamie Dunphy>Is it more important than cleaning the trash off our city streets?

838
01:24:20.007 --> 01:24:24.863
<v Mitch Green>Is it more important than funding shelters, deflection centers, and neighborhood programs?

839
01:24:26.176 --> 01:24:27.265
<v Jamie Dunphy>In hard times, you make do.

840
01:24:27.362 --> 01:24:29.269
<v Jamie Dunphy>You do more with less, more with less.

841
01:24:30.247 --> 01:24:33.667
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm not saying that you don't need this money or that you wouldn't use it well.

842
01:24:34.823 --> 01:24:37.488
<v Jamie Dunphy>What I am saying is that you should not make this decision today.

843
01:24:38.694 --> 01:24:49.338
<v Jamie Dunphy>Please take the time to understand your own staffing needs within the broader context and make your case for this alongside all of the city's many competing priorities.

844
01:24:50.720 --> 01:24:54.476
<v Mitch Green>You made a lot of promises, and we look forward to actions on those things.

845
01:24:55.779 --> 01:25:03.185
<v Jamie Dunphy>But none of you made promises about increasing city council staff or spending more money on administration, bureaucracy, and bloat.

846
01:25:04.795 --> 01:25:05.618
<v Jamie Dunphy>We voted for you.

847
01:25:07.055 --> 01:25:08.056
<v Jamie Dunphy>We are rooting for you.

848
01:25:08.751 --> 01:25:09.591
<v Jamie Dunphy>We appreciate you.

849
01:25:11.020 --> 01:25:17.877
<v Jamie Dunphy>Give us a reason to trust you when you say that you believe in fiscal responsibility and shared sacrifice.

850
01:25:18.716 --> 01:25:20.103
<v Jamie Dunphy>Give us a reason to believe in you.

851
01:25:20.152 --> 01:25:20.409
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

852
01:25:21.483 --> 01:25:27.350
<v Jamie Dunphy>Take the time to figure out what the most pressing issues are and where the money is most needed.

853
01:25:27.478 --> 01:25:31.293
<v Jamie Dunphy>I urge you to vote no on this supplemental budget ordinance.

854
01:25:31.645 --> 01:25:36.583
<v Jamie Dunphy>And I do want to thank you for making this happen in the evening.

855
01:25:36.631 --> 01:25:43.091
<v Jamie Dunphy>I think that is— I agree with the person who said earlier that that's a very important thing and very much appreciated.

856
01:25:43.862 --> 01:25:44.278
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you.

857
01:25:45.609 --> 01:25:52.951
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Mr. Gray, for joining us this next up, we have Rob Martineau, followed by Robert Butler.

858
01:26:00.135 --> 01:26:02.865
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Good afternoon, councilors and mayor.

859
01:26:15.715 --> 01:26:16.645
<v Mitch Green>My name is Rob Martineau.

860
01:26:16.981 --> 01:26:18.119
<v Mitch Green>I am a city employee.

861
01:26:18.280 --> 01:26:19.564
<v Mitch Green>I work in the Portland Water Bureau.

862
01:26:19.819 --> 01:26:25.898
<v Mitch Green>I'm also the president of my union, AFSCME 189, and first vice president of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council.

863
01:26:26.618 --> 01:26:40.313
<v Mitch Green>I've provided the clerk with written copies of testimony that I believe Lori Wimmer has sent me to deliver, that she may have also submitted online, and that provides some analysis of comparative legislative bodies that I will let you read for yourself.

864
01:26:40.489 --> 01:26:44.733
<v Mitch Green>I don't need to read her words, you're entirely capable.

865
01:26:49.220 --> 01:26:54.213
<v Mitch Green>It's regrettable that the prior city council failed to adequately staff this legislative body.

866
01:26:55.212 --> 01:27:05.158
<v Mitch Green>As a unionist, I support the Portland City Councilors Union's demand for adequate staffing and resources to do the job our city has asked you to do.

867
01:27:06.176 --> 01:27:07.048
<v Mitch Green>This is not a negotiation.

868
01:27:07.712 --> 01:27:24.157
<v Mitch Green>Let's imagine for a minute in a main break repair I remove 30 yards of material, roughly 2 dump trucks, and as we make that main repair I say, get me 2 more, 2 trucks of rock, and my supervisor says, you got one, figure it out.

869
01:27:25.182 --> 01:27:30.359
<v Mitch Green>I'm sorry that that's the position that our formal council— that our former council put you in.

870
01:27:31.578 --> 01:27:32.412
<v Mitch Green>I support this.

871
01:27:32.796 --> 01:27:35.328
<v Mitch Green>I support workers having the tools to do their jobs.

872
01:27:35.393 --> 01:27:35.537
<v Mitch Green>Thank you.

873
01:27:37.914 --> 01:27:38.881
<v Mitch Green>I'm in a similar fight.

874
01:27:39.269 --> 01:27:50.192
<v Mitch Green>You all know that I represent 1,100 other city employees that are, are asking for a fair contract that will ensure 1,100 people continue to deliver city services.

875
01:27:55.951 --> 01:28:04.389
<v Mitch Green>I understand this is controversial and that you're asking for more money, money that would make our council A million dollars a month, and that's okay.

876
01:28:04.712 --> 01:28:06.590
<v Mitch Green>It's what it costs for good governance.

877
01:28:07.479 --> 01:28:08.215
<v Mitch Green>Let's find the money.

878
01:28:08.738 --> 01:28:12.154
<v Mitch Green>Let's deliver the council Portland asks for, and frankly, that we all deserve.

879
01:28:15.395 --> 01:28:28.797
<v Mitch Green>Last night, our mediation in our contract fight ended abruptly after a mediated supposal that was anti-union, divisive, short-sighted, and lazy.

880
01:28:30.108 --> 01:28:49.087
<v Mitch Green>Simple things like a jailside premium for hazards experienced in that space, back pay and pay parity where the city is not in alignment with the state's pay equity laws— these are things that we have had to deliver numerous tort claims notices in order to help the city be the employer it thinks it is.

881
01:28:51.858 --> 01:29:02.806
<v Mitch Green>I'm frankly a little surprised that your agents at the bargaining table have upstaged the motivation and the work and the organization and demonstration of my members last Thursday, but they have.

882
01:29:04.012 --> 01:29:11.588
<v Mitch Green>I'm left assuming that they must have already delivered their notice and have found gainful employment elsewhere at the offensive nature of what was delivered last night.

883
01:29:14.637 --> 01:29:20.509
<v Mitch Green>For you and I both to have what we need is about 3/16 of 1% of this city's budget.

884
01:29:21.716 --> 01:29:26.502
<v Mitch Green>We can find that money, and I encourage you to have us all have a safe workplace.

885
01:29:27.194 --> 01:29:27.565
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

886
01:29:29.193 --> 01:29:30.644
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you very much, Mr. Martineau.

887
01:29:30.740 --> 01:29:33.203
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for your support and for sharing with us that experience.

888
01:29:34.885 --> 01:29:38.462
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next up, we have Robert Butler, followed by Dr. Dennis Scollard.

889
01:29:39.822 --> 01:29:41.813
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm Robert Butler, Portland native.

890
01:29:43.742 --> 01:30:01.113
<v Jamie Dunphy>I, um, actually have I have the same feeling that we are jumping way ahead of ourselves with the analysis presented to us.

891
01:30:03.289 --> 01:30:25.688
<v Jamie Dunphy>And the analysis is that it's hard to even get straight what the numbers are listening to this group now, because I don't think we've had the communication or Internal communication to, to bring this forward in, in the manner that the public is hoping for.

892
01:30:27.251 --> 01:30:43.743
<v Jamie Dunphy>And I'll remind you that back when this was on the ballot that we approved, we were approving something very experimental and with the possibility that we are creating the best city council arrangement in the country.

893
01:30:43.810 --> 01:30:43.913
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

894
01:30:44.773 --> 01:30:49.100
<v Jamie Dunphy>And also the possibility of the worst in the country.

895
01:30:49.981 --> 01:30:55.752
<v Jamie Dunphy>And there's a lot of people who left the city knowing that they think it's the, the worst.

896
01:30:56.698 --> 01:31:16.350
<v Jamie Dunphy>But we were promised that for $900,000 or maybe $9 million, which in itself for the budget of the City of Portland budget officers to even put something on the ballot with a range of something well, this will cost you from $900,000 to $9 million.

897
01:31:16.934 --> 01:31:23.779
<v Jamie Dunphy>That we should even— that should even be on the ballot for, for people to judiciously vote on.

898
01:31:24.359 --> 01:31:31.203
<v Jamie Dunphy>And now we have these numbers floating around here which really scare me.

899
01:31:32.233 --> 01:31:36.796
<v Jamie Dunphy>And, and I can do the math that it's annualized.

900
01:31:36.891 --> 01:31:39.912
<v Jamie Dunphy>We're talking $12 million no matter how you cut it.

901
01:31:39.961 --> 01:31:40.104
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

902
01:31:40.640 --> 01:31:42.158
<v Jamie Dunphy>And you hope it's perpetual.

903
01:31:42.578 --> 01:31:45.568
<v Jamie Dunphy>And now we're being told this is the bare bones minimum.

904
01:31:45.649 --> 01:31:47.118
<v Jamie Dunphy>We have no idea how much we need.

905
01:31:47.199 --> 01:31:48.265
<v Jamie Dunphy>We just know we're buried.

906
01:31:49.768 --> 01:31:52.260
<v Jamie Dunphy>And what, what is— where do we end up?

907
01:31:53.052 --> 01:31:55.707
<v Jamie Dunphy>And I ask you, where do we start?

908
01:31:56.386 --> 01:31:58.685
<v Jamie Dunphy>How much have we spent so far on this?

909
01:31:59.716 --> 01:32:00.136
<v Jamie Dunphy>So far?

910
01:32:02.024 --> 01:32:04.265
<v Jamie Dunphy>We were promised $9 million tops.

911
01:32:04.524 --> 01:32:05.734
<v Jamie Dunphy>We're way over that already.

912
01:32:06.872 --> 01:32:08.632
<v Jamie Dunphy>And we're talking about another 12 million.

913
01:32:10.182 --> 01:32:12.993
<v Jamie Dunphy>And so we're not ready for this.

914
01:32:14.246 --> 01:32:22.645
<v Jamie Dunphy>And we were promised good governance, but we were promised good governance for a price.

915
01:32:23.842 --> 01:32:30.561
<v Jamie Dunphy>And the price is a sham because we're way, way, way, way over that.

916
01:32:31.932 --> 01:32:36.113
<v Jamie Dunphy>And so better communication to the public.

917
01:32:37.077 --> 01:32:38.137
<v Jamie Dunphy>Where are we now?

918
01:32:38.507 --> 01:32:39.344
<v Jamie Dunphy>What have we spent?

919
01:32:39.472 --> 01:32:40.454
<v Jamie Dunphy>What does this cost?

920
01:32:41.649 --> 01:32:49.764
<v Jamie Dunphy>And how can we be efficient in going forward before we make these rash decisions?

921
01:32:50.724 --> 01:32:51.212
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you.

922
01:32:52.497 --> 01:32:53.847
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for your comments and your time.

923
01:32:55.551 --> 01:32:59.445
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next up we have Dr. Dennis Scullard, followed by Janice Thompson.

924
01:33:00.728 --> 01:33:05.684
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm one of those Oregonians that read the article in the Oregonian about the budget shortfall.

925
01:33:06.277 --> 01:33:07.783
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm sorry you guys are going through that.

926
01:33:07.961 --> 01:33:11.007
<v Jamie Dunphy>I think you all are really dedicated to doing a good job.

927
01:33:11.393 --> 01:33:15.194
<v Jamie Dunphy>By the way, a shout out to District 3 councilors.

928
01:33:15.257 --> 01:33:16.140
<v Mitch Green>I hope I get to know you.

929
01:33:17.086 --> 01:33:23.195
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, we have in Woodstock really faced some dire consequences with some of the homeless camps.

930
01:33:23.372 --> 01:33:28.813
<v Jamie Dunphy>I've had people defecate in my In front of my property, a lot of needles around.

931
01:33:28.893 --> 01:33:29.904
<v Jamie Dunphy>Kids have been threatened.

932
01:33:30.033 --> 01:33:32.087
<v Jamie Dunphy>It's been really quite horrific.

933
01:33:32.987 --> 01:33:38.847
<v Jamie Dunphy>The one thing I'm going to end saying is that our people that do the cleanup are phenomenal.

934
01:33:39.394 --> 01:33:40.470
<v Jamie Dunphy>They do a great job.

935
01:33:40.533 --> 01:33:45.688
<v Jamie Dunphy>You have great employees, and I think sometimes we don't recognize the wonderful job they do.

936
01:33:46.073 --> 01:33:56.666
<v Jamie Dunphy>Corinne is one of the people that's the coordinators for the homeless camp, and I can't tell you how many times That I called her and she's taken and cleaned things up, and a week later Woodstock looks much better.

937
01:33:56.746 --> 01:33:57.917
<v Jamie Dunphy>Please recognize them.

938
01:33:58.734 --> 01:34:08.104
<v Jamie Dunphy>So I'm one of those that also came down and said, don't cut the program that's so important for keeping our wonderful Woodstock neighborhood clean.

939
01:34:08.778 --> 01:34:10.591
<v Mitch Green>And thanks for all the hard work you're all doing.

940
01:34:11.168 --> 01:34:12.564
<v Mitch Green>I'm, I'm really impressed with you.

941
01:34:12.868 --> 01:34:17.073
<v Jamie Dunphy>I've learned a lot tonight already from being here, and I'm under 3 minutes.

942
01:34:17.121 --> 01:34:17.265
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

943
01:34:18.564 --> 01:34:22.448
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for that time back, and thank you for being here.

944
01:34:22.962 --> 01:34:33.409
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And our apologies, my apologies, that you and others didn't have the, the full information about what we were doing tonight to be able to know that we weren't looking at cutting those programs.

945
01:34:33.475 --> 01:34:37.037
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>But it's always good to hear that city staff are doing a wonderful job out there.

946
01:34:37.181 --> 01:34:40.921
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We know that's the case, and we know that they also don't always get enough recognition.

947
01:34:41.515 --> 01:34:42.413
<v Mitch Green>That is really true.

948
01:34:42.944 --> 01:34:43.457
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you so much.

949
01:34:45.069 --> 01:34:45.395
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Absolutely.

950
01:34:45.671 --> 01:34:49.627
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next up we have Janice Thompson, followed by Bridge Crane Simka Johnson.

951
01:34:53.261 --> 01:35:01.738
<v Mitch Green>Uh, I'm Janice Thompson, testifying this evening as an individual who has been a close observer of the charter review and the implementation process.

952
01:35:02.649 --> 01:35:21.421
<v Mitch Green>Um, related to some of the comments about cost, um, I just think the challenges of estimating the kind of transformational change long needed for over 100 years was basically impossible.

953
01:35:21.712 --> 01:35:29.612
<v Mitch Green>So, you know, in terms of people saying, oh, it costs this much, or we were promised this, I would set that thought aside.

954
01:35:30.804 --> 01:35:37.326
<v Mitch Green>Specifically on what's before you, I support adding one person per councilor office.

955
01:35:37.408 --> 01:35:37.721
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you.

956
01:35:38.246 --> 01:35:38.838
<v Unidentified speaker>That's right.

957
01:35:39.127 --> 01:35:40.472
<v Mitch Green>Per councilor office.

958
01:35:40.761 --> 01:35:49.944
<v Mitch Green>I mean, that was not only what was originally proposed by the transition team, it was also consistently recommended, as you heard, by the GTAC and their research.

959
01:35:50.744 --> 01:35:54.992
<v Mitch Green>I don't support adding 3 positions to the mayor's budget.

960
01:35:55.969 --> 01:35:56.161
<v Mitch Green>That—.

961
01:35:56.434 --> 01:36:03.100
<v Mitch Green>The current staffing level in that office is exactly what was recommended by the transition team.

962
01:36:03.645 --> 01:36:04.158
<v Mitch Green>It was Yes.

963
01:36:04.221 --> 01:36:08.926
<v Mitch Green>What was funded by the previous council that included the former mayor.

964
01:36:09.585 --> 01:36:17.100
<v Mitch Green>So especially given budget constraints, this element of what's before you seems premature.

965
01:36:18.030 --> 01:36:25.224
<v Mitch Green>Under the commission form of government, the mayor and commissioners had 2 full-time jobs, legislative and administrative.

966
01:36:25.962 --> 01:36:31.331
<v Mitch Green>I think that contributed to the staff sizes in both of those offices.

967
01:36:32.006 --> 01:36:42.152
<v Mitch Green>I think we need to stop comparing previous staffing levels to what we need in the future, because now each elected official has one job.

968
01:36:42.796 --> 01:36:51.413
<v Mitch Green>You all have a huge, big, full-time job legislatively, but at least you're not also trying to run bureaus and needing staff to help with that.

969
01:36:52.364 --> 01:36:56.073
<v Mitch Green>The mayor has, you know, a whole new administrative branch.

970
01:36:56.137 --> 01:36:56.217
<v Mitch Green>Yes.

971
01:36:56.601 --> 01:37:10.872
<v Mitch Green>Which appropriately is now reached, you know, kind of moved into the modern era of municipal management with the city administrator and deputy over service areas.

972
01:37:11.627 --> 01:37:21.037
<v Mitch Green>And so the administrative branch has grown, but it's grown with professional public sector managers.

973
01:37:21.262 --> 01:37:22.136
<v Mitch Green>Thank you.

974
01:37:22.786 --> 01:37:29.708
<v Mitch Green>So that influence— I think that you just need to keep that in the back of your mind when you think about mayoral budget considerations.

975
01:37:31.590 --> 01:37:49.225
<v Mitch Green>So looking ahead, you know, either retain— I do think for the next budget year we should probably, you know, either get to or retain like the 2, uh, counselor— 2 staff per counselors, the current mayoral.

976
01:37:49.337 --> 01:37:50.826
<v Mitch Green>I mean, there's just these budget constraints.

977
01:37:50.913 --> 01:37:51.002
<v Mitch Green>Yeah.

978
01:37:51.197 --> 01:37:59.511
<v Mitch Green>Kind of moving into that, I do think that the emphasis, if anything, should be on adding staff capacity related to committees.

979
01:37:59.689 --> 01:38:10.311
<v Mitch Green>Those are the people who, with policy experience, who are going to have institutional continuity and expertise development over time, and that's a real major priority.

980
01:38:14.479 --> 01:38:16.244
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you so much for your testimony.

981
01:38:16.425 --> 01:38:17.797
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We appreciate your time this evening.

982
01:38:19.837 --> 01:38:21.180
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Bridge Crane Simka Johnson.

983
01:38:22.444 --> 01:38:23.011
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you.

984
01:38:26.865 --> 01:38:29.367
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, holy catch-22, bad person.

985
01:38:29.952 --> 01:38:35.418
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, you know, when I talked on the first item, there was no link to the slide presentation.

986
01:38:35.872 --> 01:38:39.317
<v Jamie Dunphy>On this agenda item, I think we get 2 exhibits and a thing.

987
01:38:40.721 --> 01:38:43.318
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, they're not persuasive.

988
01:38:46.881 --> 01:39:07.979
<v Jamie Dunphy>If y'all are feeling understaffed, which I think is a very legitimate feeling, um, and if you're understaffed, you wouldn't be able to present what we need to see to rally and cheerlead for you, which is, hey, instead of just these 2 little lists of FTE things, tell us what you do.

989
01:39:08.045 --> 01:39:08.367
<v Jamie Dunphy>Say, we're doing this.

990
01:39:08.479 --> 01:39:09.527
<v Jamie Dunphy>I think that's a good point.

991
01:39:10.037 --> 01:39:18.329
<v Jamie Dunphy>Our staff receives 27 emails per day, 270 emails per day, 34 phone calls, 340 phone calls.

992
01:39:19.307 --> 01:39:21.520
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, there's lots—.

993
01:39:21.729 --> 01:39:26.556
<v Dan Handelman>I don't know if you've heard of this thing, but it's called MBA, management.

994
01:39:26.925 --> 01:39:32.715
<v Jamie Dunphy>And so there are professionals who can prepare proposals that tell us about workloads and stuff like that.

995
01:39:33.820 --> 01:39:35.552
<v Jamie Dunphy>And maybe I missed it.

996
01:39:36.399 --> 01:39:52.685
<v Jamie Dunphy>But as you work to get the public to understand why you deserve more money than we paid the previous batch of city councilor commissioners, I think it's a reasonable expectation for us to be like, we need to know what this money does.

997
01:39:52.734 --> 01:39:58.302
<v Jamie Dunphy>Not just that it creates an FTE, as we had the little exchange here with Mr. Zimmerman in the prior testimony.

998
01:39:59.186 --> 01:39:59.465
<v Jamie Dunphy>FTE.

999
01:40:01.519 --> 01:40:05.545
<v Jamie Dunphy>Is sort of a meaningless thing when we don't talk about base salary.

1000
01:40:06.127 --> 01:40:17.997
<v Jamie Dunphy>The FTE for the young 18-year-old who works for the Parks Department is different than it is for a bureau director that gets like $300,000 a year, I think, for the Water Bureau, I think is the highest paid one.

1001
01:40:18.432 --> 01:40:26.614
<v Jamie Dunphy>So maybe we don't need the improved transparency and understanding, but since— I think it's important.

1002
01:40:26.805 --> 01:40:33.551
<v Jamie Dunphy>This whole budget item has been couched in the sense of public concern, maybe public outrage.

1003
01:40:34.128 --> 01:40:44.134
<v Jamie Dunphy>I hope that you'll be able to pass something today and tell us how much more staffing each councilor will have.

1004
01:40:44.551 --> 01:41:01.420
<v Jamie Dunphy>And, um, it seems like we have a process problem of if it passes today, do we really know where the money comes from, or does the city administrator have to report back later exactly what budget items have had to take the cut.

1005
01:41:02.529 --> 01:41:11.675
<v Jamie Dunphy>So, but generally, uh, put both that information in front of us so we can support the understanding that the one staffer that you have is going to be run into the ground very quickly.

1006
01:41:14.033 --> 01:41:15.262
<v Jamie Dunphy>Uh, good to see you back, Mr. Dunphy.

1007
01:41:15.311 --> 01:41:21.350
<v Jamie Dunphy>When I go to see my primary care physician, there's a portrait of Nick Fish with others on the wall inside Prism Care Access.

1008
01:41:21.545 --> 01:41:28.034
<v Jamie Dunphy>And when we talk more about permanent supportive housing I know as he left this world, he was working very hard to make sure that'd be a real thing, not a buzzword.

1009
01:41:30.329 --> 01:41:36.243
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for those comments and for being here, and I hope that we can make the case to you and to all Portlanders.

1010
01:41:36.796 --> 01:41:47.574
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, what we have up on the agenda are some technical budget documents, definitely not the, the persuasive case that we know that we need to make to Portlanders.

1011
01:41:48.765 --> 01:41:49.623
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That completes testimony.

1012
01:41:50.805 --> 01:42:04.166
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, with the completion of public testimony, Mr. Mayor, before we go into council comments and potential proposals of amendments here, did you want to just say a few words about the proposal that you have included?

1013
01:42:08.375 --> 01:42:11.056
<v Mitch Green>Um, Council President, it's going down.

1014
01:42:11.766 --> 01:42:14.074
<v Sameer Kanal>Some comments and testimony.

1015
01:42:14.122 --> 01:42:18.657
<v Sameer Kanal>Council President, Vice President, and council I appreciate this opportunity.

1016
01:42:19.733 --> 01:42:27.198
<v Sameer Kanal>The experts on what is needed to pass legislation, respond to constituents, and effectively lead the City of Portland are in this room.

1017
01:42:28.403 --> 01:42:29.927
<v Sameer Kanal>In fact, they are seated before me.

1018
01:42:31.229 --> 01:42:35.484
<v Sameer Kanal>City councilors are the experts on the staffing and resources you need to best serve our city.

1019
01:42:36.896 --> 01:42:39.658
<v Sameer Kanal>I don't have to tell you how consequential staffing decisions are.

1020
01:42:40.670 --> 01:42:44.988
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>You're not just thinking of yourselves, you're setting a path and a precedent that may well be followed for years.

1021
01:42:48.109 --> 01:42:50.057
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Everyone has had a chance to do their homework.

1022
01:42:50.868 --> 01:42:54.587
<v Mitch Green>You've researched how peer cities have higher staffing per councilor than Portland.

1023
01:42:56.096 --> 01:43:07.127
<v Sameer Kanal>You've read the Government Transition Advisory Committee memo to your predecessors, which stated that the current staffing level is, and I quote, not enough to run a city.

1024
01:43:08.707 --> 01:43:11.859
<v Mitch Green>You know the budget constraints we're up against and the sacrifices must be shared.

1025
01:43:11.908 --> 01:43:12.376
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you, Councilor Mitch Green.

1026
01:43:12.618 --> 01:43:14.462
<v Dan Ryan>We've talked about it for many weeks.

1027
01:43:14.592 --> 01:43:16.320
<v Sameer Kanal>We've talked about it for many months.

1028
01:43:18.520 --> 01:43:24.359
<v Mitch Green>But most of all, you know, responding to constituents and legislating on the critical issues requires good people by your side.

1029
01:43:25.520 --> 01:43:32.068
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Our staff, past, present, and future, are the unsung heroes making possible the hard work we all signed up to do.

1030
01:43:33.533 --> 01:43:39.037
<v Sameer Kanal>I've asked myself the same difficult questions, and I request that the mayoral staff be cut down.

1031
01:43:40.628 --> 01:43:44.606
<v Sameer Kanal>Not from 20 to 5, but from 20 to 8.

1032
01:43:47.070 --> 01:43:54.046
<v Sameer Kanal>My responsibilities remain largely the same as my predecessor, but my staffing does not yet reflect the realities of the job at hand.

1033
01:43:55.061 --> 01:44:03.527
<v Sameer Kanal>I want every Portlander who reaches out to me to be heard, and I want them to know that they are being heard, and I want the same as you want.

1034
01:44:05.176 --> 01:44:11.136
<v Sameer Kanal>You can't put people first if you don't hear their voices and if you don't have the resources to respond.

1035
01:44:11.523 --> 01:44:17.609
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And I want good people by my side to help me make the right decisions on issues that will impact the city I care so deeply about.

1036
01:44:18.850 --> 01:44:22.399
<v Sameer Kanal>City Administrator Jordan and I are here to assist you.

1037
01:44:23.938 --> 01:44:30.618
<v Mitch Green>We're here to work with you to the best of our ability and will support the decision that you make internally with our administration.

1038
01:44:31.310 --> 01:44:31.653
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

1039
01:44:31.751 --> 01:44:33.851
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you for this opportunity, Council President.

1040
01:44:35.725 --> 01:44:36.636
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

1041
01:44:37.681 --> 01:44:40.801
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, we have a proposal before us.

1042
01:44:42.208 --> 01:45:03.394
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We also, I know, have, um, each heard a lot from the community, and I know that some of you have had conversations with a few others and have mentioned to me that you might have changes that you'd like to make tonight, um, I think we have 3 categories of items that we're talking about.

1043
01:45:03.702 --> 01:45:17.351
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have our staffing needs, we have the conversation about our in-district footprint, and we have the, the many other things that are needed, such as constituent outreach and the funds to be able to do the rest of our work.

1044
01:45:18.341 --> 01:45:24.087
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And I've heard from a few colleagues that they want to make sure that what we're talking about isn't thank you.

1045
01:45:24.135 --> 01:45:35.404
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Specific FTE, but that whole bucket of what we need to do, knowing that in some parts of the city that footprint is more important than in some parts of the city that outreach or the staff to do so are more important.

1046
01:45:36.190 --> 01:45:40.488
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I would like to kind of open us up broadly now.

1047
01:45:41.738 --> 01:45:47.829
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I see a couple of folks with comment, and maybe we can start by just putting some ideas out there.

1048
01:45:48.855 --> 01:46:00.006
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I would like to invite up, because I think we will need them, um, our fiscal staff, DCA Biery, and our CFO Ruth Levine.

1049
01:46:01.527 --> 01:46:07.425
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And, um, Mike Jordan, I may put you on notice that we may have some questions for you as well as we move through this conversation.

1050
01:46:08.918 --> 01:46:11.939
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So we have staff here on hand who can help us as needed.

1051
01:46:12.860 --> 01:46:14.800
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Smith, would you like to kick us off?

1052
01:46:17.310 --> 01:46:18.271
<v Loretta Smith>Yes, Madam President.

1053
01:46:20.097 --> 01:46:47.715
<v Loretta Smith>As one of 2 councilors who have been an elected official before, like you all talked about earlier, Multnomah County is a legislative— a total legislative body, and they have 3 staffers, and they have some concerns about being understaffed, understanding that we do need to communicate with our district.

1054
01:46:48.500 --> 01:46:56.207
<v Loretta Smith>I'm a council person from District 1, which is the furthest from the city of Portland and City Hall.

1055
01:46:57.554 --> 01:47:08.801
<v Loretta Smith>Our communities expected us to have district offices and to be able to communicate with them in a way that we have never been able to communicate before.

1056
01:47:09.747 --> 01:47:19.925
<v Loretta Smith>Candace Avalos, Jamie Dunphy, Loretta Smith, They virtually have more representation today than they have ever had in the history of Portland.

1057
01:47:21.831 --> 01:47:24.985
<v Loretta Smith>Good government, good governance, it costs.

1058
01:47:26.523 --> 01:47:36.454
<v Loretta Smith>You cannot create a city administrator's office with a bunch of infrastructure without putting infrastructure in your policy side.

1059
01:47:37.440 --> 01:47:43.546
<v Loretta Smith>You cannot expect us to communicate with other offices if we have no one to communicate with.

1060
01:47:44.349 --> 01:47:50.367
<v Loretta Smith>My staffer, my one staffer who lives in my district, and he travels to work every single day.

1061
01:47:51.475 --> 01:47:53.706
<v Loretta Smith>He is my communications press person.

1062
01:47:54.059 --> 01:47:55.807
<v Loretta Smith>He is my policy director.

1063
01:47:56.386 --> 01:48:00.333
<v Loretta Smith>He is my communications and constituent services director.

1064
01:48:00.863 --> 01:48:15.737
<v Loretta Smith>He is also the person that drafts the resolutions that come before you, understanding that we know One of the top issues in this community is public safety and housing and homeless.

1065
01:48:16.333 --> 01:48:39.023
<v Loretta Smith>We're not suggesting to take money from either one of those places, but what we are suggesting is we have a $13.8 million contingency that we can actually take those funds out of that contingency fund $4.6 million to be able to fund us at the level that we need to be.

1066
01:48:39.539 --> 01:48:48.269
<v Loretta Smith>That would also pay for some of those things like offices and being able to— like, we went to the meeting the other night, uh, the EPAP meeting.

1067
01:48:49.136 --> 01:48:50.519
<v Loretta Smith>They had food for people.

1068
01:48:50.567 --> 01:48:56.998
<v Loretta Smith>They had daycare to watch the children while they had a government conversation.

1069
01:48:58.564 --> 01:49:08.896
<v Loretta Smith>If we cannot communicate in a way that's meaningful That's effective, and we're overworking the one staffer that we— I'm afraid that my staffer is going to leave.

1070
01:49:10.487 --> 01:49:15.070
<v Loretta Smith>I'm afraid that he's going to be so burnt out in the next month that he's going to leave.

1071
01:49:15.733 --> 01:49:17.863
<v Loretta Smith>I can't afford for you to leave, Elijah.

1072
01:49:21.019 --> 01:49:21.615
<v Loretta Smith>I can't.

1073
01:49:22.471 --> 01:49:27.137
<v Loretta Smith>And so for me, I have, I have seen what it looks like when you can have good staff.

1074
01:49:27.947 --> 01:49:43.485
<v Loretta Smith>And I want to make sure that Eric Zimmerman, who I worked with over at the county, can give you an example of what the day in the life of a city commissioner or, or county commissioner is.

1075
01:49:43.823 --> 01:49:45.876
<v Loretta Smith>It is early in the morning and late into the night.

1076
01:49:46.324 --> 01:49:55.971
<v Loretta Smith>Me and Jamie Dunphy were over in East Portland until about 9 o'clock, and we talked to every last person until every person got their Yes.

1077
01:49:56.806 --> 01:50:09.934
<v Loretta Smith>So I implore you all to really think about good, effective, good governance and understand that we are not trying to take the people's money or to expand our operating budget.

1078
01:50:09.981 --> 01:50:19.623
<v Loretta Smith>This is money that's already in the queue, and we will not— and I will not personally take money from Portland Solutions or homeless or housing ever.

1079
01:50:21.394 --> 01:50:22.911
<v Loretta Smith>But we do need some assistance.

1080
01:50:26.840 --> 01:50:27.765
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Councilor Smith.

1081
01:50:29.792 --> 01:50:30.082
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Dunphy.

1082
01:50:31.002 --> 01:50:32.682
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you, Madam President.

1083
01:50:33.167 --> 01:50:38.770
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, first and foremost, I want to uplift absolutely everything that my fellow District 1 colleague Councilor Smith said.

1084
01:50:39.626 --> 01:50:46.399
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, I want to be directly responsive to some of the testimony we've heard, and I want to be a little bit more directly responsive to the testimony we have heard broadly.

1085
01:50:47.023 --> 01:50:58.141
<v Jamie Dunphy>I've heard tonight that the presentations were not made available online, that there were not clear memos explaining why what we are doing here tonight, and there was confusion around process.

1086
01:50:59.039 --> 01:51:06.100
<v Jamie Dunphy>This is partially an example of the fact that we do not have the capacity to be able to think through the details that we need to be able to think through.

1087
01:51:06.677 --> 01:51:07.511
<v Jamie Dunphy>And it's embarrassing.

1088
01:51:07.720 --> 01:51:11.650
<v Jamie Dunphy>It's embarrassing to know that the PowerPoint presentation wasn't available online for people to know.

1089
01:51:12.051 --> 01:51:22.537
<v Jamie Dunphy>It's embarrassing to know that I have been spending 40-plus hours a week here in City Hall when I have my constituents in District 1 who are not coming to District— coming to City Hall in order to seek grievance from their government.

1090
01:51:22.858 --> 01:51:26.224
<v Jamie Dunphy>They are not seeing themselves in these— this building, and so they do not show up.

1091
01:51:26.944 --> 01:51:32.730
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, in response to, uh, the testimony from Janice Thompson, um, who— it's lovely to see her.

1092
01:51:33.355 --> 01:51:35.439
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, we don't have just one job.

1093
01:51:35.615 --> 01:51:37.314
<v Jamie Dunphy>We did lose the executive function.

1094
01:51:37.395 --> 01:51:41.979
<v Jamie Dunphy>The, the previous commissioners did have to have an executive function over bureaus, but we, we don't have that.

1095
01:51:42.266 --> 01:51:43.805
<v Jamie Dunphy>But we do not have just one job.

1096
01:51:43.869 --> 01:51:46.162
<v Jamie Dunphy>We have legislative responsibilities in this building.

1097
01:51:46.515 --> 01:51:53.407
<v Jamie Dunphy>We have committee work, but we also have deep work that is necessary for our constituents to help try and make sure that government works for the people.

1098
01:51:53.807 --> 01:51:56.564
<v Jamie Dunphy>And that does not happen necessarily just from this seat.

1099
01:51:57.478 --> 01:52:06.871
<v Jamie Dunphy>Uh, we must bring government to District 1, and I must be allow— able to allow my one staffer to go to those communities where they are not seeing the results of government.

1100
01:52:06.951 --> 01:52:14.404
<v Jamie Dunphy>And if you look at this last election, the voters overwhelmingly voted for change, but the voters in District 1 overwhelmingly did not vote.

1101
01:52:14.965 --> 01:52:18.778
<v Jamie Dunphy>We have so much work to bring government to the people in my community.

1102
01:52:19.274 --> 01:52:23.456
<v Jamie Dunphy>I simply cannot do it if I am tied to this building for 40 hours plus per week.

1103
01:52:23.936 --> 01:52:37.523
<v Jamie Dunphy>We must do better on communicating what we are doing and why we are doing it and why the people who are in this audience and the people watching at home and the, the hundreds of thousands of people who are not watching this procedure right now should care about having good government.

1104
01:52:37.939 --> 01:52:43.694
<v Jamie Dunphy>The number of emails, phone calls, and actions that I must make in a day is not less because there are 12 of us.

1105
01:52:44.192 --> 01:52:49.810
<v Jamie Dunphy>I do not have 1/3 of the work to my, my neighbors because there are 3 of us representing my district.

1106
01:52:50.146 --> 01:52:57.018
<v Jamie Dunphy>And the number of decisions that I must make is not fewer simply because my salary is higher than the predecessors.

1107
01:52:57.771 --> 01:52:59.313
<v Jamie Dunphy>We have to make these decisions.

1108
01:52:59.440 --> 01:53:02.234
<v Jamie Dunphy>This is hard work, and our city is in a moment of crisis.

1109
01:53:02.652 --> 01:53:07.692
<v Jamie Dunphy>We are not choosing to sacrifice anything, uh, to address that crisis in order to try and do this.

1110
01:53:07.868 --> 01:53:18.697
<v Jamie Dunphy>This is about us moving numbers around on a piece of paper, and we will do the work that we were sent here to do only if we are adequately staffed and able to appropriately and timely respond to that.

1111
01:53:18.956 --> 01:53:23.097
<v Jamie Dunphy>So I'm, uh, eager to move this forward, and thank you all for your time.

1112
01:53:24.618 --> 01:53:25.590
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Councilor Dunphy.

1113
01:53:25.720 --> 01:53:26.381
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Murillo.

1114
01:53:28.574 --> 01:53:30.962
<v Angelita Morillo>Thank you, um, Councilor Dunphy.

1115
01:53:31.140 --> 01:53:32.155
<v Angelita Morillo>You're such a great speaker.

1116
01:53:32.204 --> 01:53:36.953
<v Angelita Morillo>I'm not going to say anything as beautiful or impassioned as you just said right now, and Councilor Smith as well.

1117
01:53:37.060 --> 01:53:38.054
<v Angelita Morillo>Thank you for your comments.

1118
01:53:38.198 --> 01:53:46.188
<v Angelita Morillo>Um, I, I want to uplift what you guys have said because it's true that District 1 has unique needs as we're having this budget conversation.

1119
01:53:46.461 --> 01:53:58.782
<v Angelita Morillo>And I want to highlight that we're here to support you guys as well in that, that those people in Outer East Portland deserve representation, deserve in-district offices more than I would say anyone else.

1120
01:53:59.376 --> 01:54:11.307
<v Angelita Morillo>Uh, you know, I think we all want district offices for every district, but If a choice has to be made tonight, I feel very strongly that District 1 needs to be prioritized because of where you are and the outreach that's needed to be done.

1121
01:54:11.436 --> 01:54:15.012
<v Angelita Morillo>So I just want to say thank you for, for saying that and for fighting for your folks over there.

1122
01:54:16.819 --> 01:54:23.810
<v Angelita Morillo>I want to give a real-life example about what our office work looks like because I don't think it's very tangible to people.

1123
01:54:25.010 --> 01:54:29.684
<v Angelita Morillo>Back when I worked in, in a council office, I did constituent services work.

1124
01:54:30.356 --> 01:54:42.403
<v Angelita Morillo>And there was a point where there were some big news stories coming out, and council offices received 75,000 emails in a month about one topic.

1125
01:54:43.525 --> 01:54:44.520
<v Angelita Morillo>75,000.

1126
01:54:44.569 --> 01:54:46.943
<v Angelita Morillo>And I was the lone person answering those emails.

1127
01:54:47.296 --> 01:54:52.076
<v Angelita Morillo>They did not all get answered, mind you, because it was physically not possible.

1128
01:54:52.332 --> 01:54:58.942
<v Angelita Morillo>But right now, we have really been reduced so severely that it is impossible for us to address constituent needs.

1129
01:54:59.006 --> 01:55:01.234
<v Angelita Morillo>And that's the thing that's going to impact everyone the most.

1130
01:55:01.894 --> 01:55:13.438
<v Angelita Morillo>We have a shared constituent services person who also does the work of an executive assistant via scheduling, who also answers constituent emails, who also does admin work.

1131
01:55:13.694 --> 01:55:17.533
<v Angelita Morillo>That staffer themselves is already severely overstaffed.

1132
01:55:18.175 --> 01:55:26.604
<v Angelita Morillo>Anyone who does executive assistant work and scheduling for one city councilor knows that that is a full-time job, let alone doing it for 3 separate people.

1133
01:55:27.167 --> 01:55:34.038
<v Angelita Morillo>That means that your emails and your calls are not getting answered as quickly or as diligently as they need to be.

1134
01:55:35.034 --> 01:55:42.405
<v Angelita Morillo>That also means that you are having your questions answered by one person that represents the district and not your individual council members.

1135
01:55:42.903 --> 01:55:49.519
<v Angelita Morillo>And we have very different perspectives across our council districts as far as the things that we want to push, the things we want to do.

1136
01:55:50.001 --> 01:55:58.475
<v Angelita Morillo>So you're not getting as refined information about what each of your city council members wants to do, and that prevents you from being an effective organizer.

1137
01:55:58.957 --> 01:56:03.706
<v Angelita Morillo>That prevents you from putting pressure on us as elected officials to get the outcomes that you want.

1138
01:56:04.268 --> 01:56:08.984
<v Angelita Morillo>That prevents us also from communicating to you what we're trying to push and getting your help.

1139
01:56:09.064 --> 01:56:18.675
<v Angelita Morillo>You know, maybe when, when I'm on a transportation committee, I'll want to call on the bike advocates to do something with me, but I need to be able to communicate that to you so that you can help us push those things.

1140
01:56:19.188 --> 01:56:30.131
<v Angelita Morillo>So I think that Um, it has been framed as this, this desire to just boost our budgets, and that is not at all true, and that's not at all what I've seen from our colleagues.

1141
01:56:30.180 --> 01:56:33.533
<v Angelita Morillo>This is really a plea so that we can serve you as best as possible.

1142
01:56:34.030 --> 01:56:38.733
<v Angelita Morillo>And I just wanted to leave you with that one tangible example so that you know what's happening behind the scenes.

1143
01:56:39.712 --> 01:56:47.686
<v Angelita Morillo>You're also always able to look at people's calendars, so they are publicly available online, so you can see what we're doing, who we're communicating with, how many meetings we have.

1144
01:56:48.216 --> 01:56:57.176
<v Angelita Morillo>And I would also note that anytime there's a blank spot on our calendars, I see everybody running around back and forth having negotiations, discussions.

1145
01:56:57.850 --> 01:56:58.844
<v Angelita Morillo>There is no free time.

1146
01:56:58.956 --> 01:57:00.190
<v Angelita Morillo>There's not a spare moment to breathe.

1147
01:57:00.255 --> 01:57:01.793
<v Angelita Morillo>You're lucky if you get a chance to eat.

1148
01:57:02.179 --> 01:57:11.122
<v Angelita Morillo>So we want to do the work for you, and I hope that, you know, we'll make a diligent budget decision, and I'll have some questions to ask on the budget as well.

1149
01:57:11.235 --> 01:57:13.671
<v Angelita Morillo>But that's the lens that I will be approaching this from.

1150
01:57:13.881 --> 01:57:14.185
<v Unidentified speaker>Thank you.

1151
01:57:14.233 --> 01:57:16.595
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor thank you, Councilor.

1152
01:57:16.675 --> 01:57:17.238
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Green.

1153
01:57:18.523 --> 01:57:20.210
<v Mitch Green>Thank you, Madam President.

1154
01:57:20.532 --> 01:57:34.494
<v Mitch Green>I'm not going to kind of reproduce the comments that my councilors have made about being available for constituency services or the kind of shared, you know, kind of the model of a shared staff and how burdensome that is.

1155
01:57:34.752 --> 01:57:40.038
<v Mitch Green>I'm going to speak to the economic question because I think that's why I was elected, because I have a certain expertise in that.

1156
01:57:40.617 --> 01:57:50.796
<v Mitch Green>I did hear a lot of concern from the public about fiscal responsibility and, uh, this, this idea that, you know, we are in a very tight budgetary year, and that's no question.

1157
01:57:50.844 --> 01:57:51.984
<v Mitch Green>I have no dispute with that.

1158
01:57:52.819 --> 01:58:00.750
<v Mitch Green>But just for context, we have something like an $8.2 billion adopted budget, maybe like $6.5, $6.3 net of intergovernmental transfers.

1159
01:58:00.878 --> 01:58:03.479
<v Mitch Green>It's a very large budget for a city the size of Portland.

1160
01:58:03.993 --> 01:58:23.938
<v Mitch Green>And so I enter this task with this idea that City Council needs to have the independent capacity to look at that budget ourselves proactively and then ask the very hard questions about what decisions do we make today that will have long-term fiscal impacts tomorrow.

1161
01:58:24.515 --> 01:58:29.644
<v Mitch Green>For example, last City Council approved 6 new TIF districts.

1162
01:58:30.140 --> 01:58:40.470
<v Mitch Green>Okay, that's 6 new tax increment financing districts which will have that may or may not have been a good idea.

1163
01:58:41.119 --> 01:58:42.880
<v Mitch Green>I'm not here to litigate that right now.

1164
01:58:42.880 --> 01:59:03.199
<v Mitch Green>But what I am saying is, if we are in a position where we don't have time to do our independent thinking with our staff to say, you know, what is the cost-benefit proposition here and what are the costs down the road that we haven't considered, then we're always going to be sort of in a reactive mode where we have to sort of say, well, I guess we have to choose between one or two options that the administration has presented with us, which is not a good way to do business.

1165
01:59:03.199 --> 01:59:08.240
<v Mitch Green>Councilor again, may or may be the right choices, but we'll never know if we don't have that capacity.

1166
01:59:08.963 --> 01:59:18.182
<v Mitch Green>And so I have that skill set, many of my colleagues have that skill set, so it's not really a good use of my time if I'm, you know, doing things that I can hire staff to do as well.

1167
01:59:18.985 --> 01:59:24.447
<v Mitch Green>And that's the first thing an economist will tell you is, you know, you know, why fix your toilet when you can hire someone to, to do it for you?

1168
01:59:24.496 --> 01:59:26.470
<v Mitch Green>Because, you know, your, your opportunity cost is so high.

1169
01:59:27.595 --> 01:59:28.574
<v Mitch Green>Anyway, I'll leave that there.

1170
01:59:28.912 --> 01:59:29.104
<v Mitch Green>Thank you.

1171
01:59:29.426 --> 01:59:36.668
<v Mitch Green>Well, I'll finish by saying that, um, we were elected, uh, to do robust constituent services and committee work.

1172
01:59:36.733 --> 01:59:54.664
<v Mitch Green>And specifically, if we want the budget ultimately to reflect the policy priorities of our community, we have to have the time and the resources to bring those folks into this— these chambers, into our meeting places where we do committee work to, to inform that, um, that, that work that will then ultimately, uh, determine a budget.

1173
01:59:54.988 --> 01:59:55.166
<v Mitch Green>Thank you.

1174
01:59:57.913 --> 01:59:58.658
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Councilor.

1175
01:59:58.884 --> 01:59:59.659
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Avalos.

1176
02:00:01.229 --> 02:00:01.713
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you.

1177
02:00:02.020 --> 02:00:07.175
<v Candace Avalos>Um, a couple of notes, and want to echo everything that my fellow councilors have said.

1178
02:00:07.610 --> 02:00:23.283
<v Candace Avalos>I think it's important to remember that in the old commissioner system, uh, the commissioners were really buried in bureaucracy and administration, which was actually what was leading to the extreme dissatisfaction of the people with their lack of accessibility their lack of constituent services.

1179
02:00:23.652 --> 02:00:29.744
<v Candace Avalos>So that means that even though our roles do not include those specific duties, it does not equal a vacuum of duties.

1180
02:00:29.889 --> 02:00:35.581
<v Candace Avalos>In fact, I would argue we have way expanded duties, um, in this new form of government.

1181
02:00:36.061 --> 02:00:40.101
<v Candace Avalos>Portlanders are asking for representation, engagement, and access.

1182
02:00:40.375 --> 02:00:43.565
<v Candace Avalos>And as Councilor Smith has said, good governance costs money.

1183
02:00:43.998 --> 02:00:51.149
<v Candace Avalos>And it's important that we make smart decisions about how to spend our money and understand that spending money for the people— this is us Spending money for the people.

1184
02:00:51.198 --> 02:00:52.079
<v Candace Avalos>It's not for us.

1185
02:00:52.801 --> 02:01:06.019
<v Candace Avalos>I'm prepared today, as we continue to discuss this, to support a package that could provide a stopgap for the rest of this fiscal year, understanding that we will need to continue this larger discussion during the budget process.

1186
02:01:07.414 --> 02:01:16.123
<v Candace Avalos>And hopefully that could inform, you know, over the next few months what really we are going to need in a future staffing model.

1187
02:01:16.317 --> 02:01:17.809
<v Candace Avalos>But I just wanted to signal—.

1188
02:01:17.809 --> 02:01:18.048
<v Candace Avalos>Councilor Smith.

1189
02:01:18.242 --> 02:01:22.056
<v Candace Avalos>That I would like us to move towards at a minimum adding another staffer.

1190
02:01:22.409 --> 02:01:32.157
<v Candace Avalos>I know, definitely agree with, um, commission— with councilors that, uh, my staffer is incredibly stretched, um, and it's, you know, I, and I'm stretched, frankly.

1191
02:01:32.493 --> 02:01:34.818
<v Candace Avalos>I'm overwhelmed by the inbox and all of the requests.

1192
02:01:34.978 --> 02:01:43.907
<v Candace Avalos>And so it's not just the staffer, it's also us as councilors that are feeling stretched by our responsibilities, and having more staff is going to help us reach the people.

1193
02:01:44.212 --> 02:01:44.564
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you.

1194
02:01:45.493 --> 02:01:47.945
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Zimmerman.

1195
02:01:49.260 --> 02:01:49.579
<v Eric Zimmerman>Thank you.

1196
02:01:51.006 --> 02:02:04.243
<v Eric Zimmerman>I have been a chief of staff in 2 political offices that were district representatives, one in as far east as Multnomah County can get and, uh, one directly across the river.

1197
02:02:04.963 --> 02:02:06.198
<v Eric Zimmerman>I've worked in this mayor's office.

1198
02:02:06.485 --> 02:02:09.899
<v Eric Zimmerman>I've been a deputy city manager sitting in that seat in 2 other cities.

1199
02:02:16.389 --> 02:02:33.990
<v Eric Zimmerman>And it is a question about the staffing that I posed to everybody who ran for council president, if they'd be willing to put what is a difficult measure forward, because I think it's part of the role of the president is that there's going to be some difficult things, and I think that the president sits in a role to be able to do it.

1200
02:02:34.739 --> 02:02:36.564
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I asked each of you that, and, and you all said yes.

1201
02:02:36.628 --> 02:02:39.430
<v Eric Zimmerman>Councilor were willing to engage in this, and I appreciate it.

1202
02:02:39.430 --> 02:02:43.640
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so to you, Madam President, I do appreciate that you've brought this forward.

1203
02:02:44.210 --> 02:02:45.050
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think it's been deliberate.

1204
02:02:45.409 --> 02:02:46.800
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think it's been well thought out.

1205
02:02:47.510 --> 02:02:50.270
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think the prorated factors are important.

1206
02:02:54.039 --> 02:02:54.909
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, I—.

1207
02:02:54.909 --> 02:03:00.720
<v Eric Zimmerman>So my concerns come overall for the, the staffing and the effectiveness of this council.

1208
02:03:00.810 --> 02:03:09.530
<v Eric Zimmerman>I have concerns about the president's role but I'm willing to address those later in the, in the budget form that, that Councilor Avalos speaks of.

1209
02:03:10.353 --> 02:03:22.717
<v Eric Zimmerman>Having been in the mayor's office in previous administrations, I have concern around the mayor's capacity in an organization that turns in $200 million a year at the end of the year of unspent dollars, has 800-plus vacancies right now.

1210
02:03:26.994 --> 02:03:44.853
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that in this consolidation and this movement to this new government that no consolidation occurred in any part of this city except in the 2 areas of oversight, the publicly elected areas, in the mayor's office and in— and on this council.

1211
02:03:45.046 --> 02:03:46.860
<v Eric Zimmerman>And we are the ones who represent the public.

1212
02:03:47.134 --> 02:03:48.675
<v Eric Zimmerman>The mayor represents the entire city.

1213
02:03:48.804 --> 02:03:49.831
<v Eric Zimmerman>I represent a district.

1214
02:03:50.970 --> 02:04:00.189
<v Eric Zimmerman>I don't know who oversights— who has oversight and who has enforcement to ever talk about $200 million of unspent funds every year and 800 vacancies every year.

1215
02:04:00.237 --> 02:04:00.349
<v Eric Zimmerman>Thank you.

1216
02:04:00.637 --> 02:04:03.639
<v Eric Zimmerman>If we were the ones who were consolidated.

1217
02:04:04.136 --> 02:04:05.195
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that was deliberate.

1218
02:04:05.774 --> 02:04:06.896
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think it was bad planning.

1219
02:04:07.122 --> 02:04:15.853
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think in December, the reason I asked all the council presidents about a staffing package is because, as an expert witness, I knew that we had been kneecapped.

1220
02:04:16.335 --> 02:04:17.747
<v Eric Zimmerman>I feel very strongly about that.

1221
02:04:18.356 --> 02:04:24.359
<v Eric Zimmerman>And it has been a history over this transition of small moves that have added to a major cut.

1222
02:04:24.777 --> 02:04:26.140
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I think that's the problem here.

1223
02:04:26.204 --> 02:04:36.707
<v Eric Zimmerman>Councilor and so in a body that took 9 votes to find a council president, I'm warmed by the fact that across the comments around this dais is that there's general support.

1224
02:04:36.868 --> 02:04:39.386
<v Eric Zimmerman>I don't know what the final number will be, but there is general support.

1225
02:04:40.332 --> 02:04:53.560
<v Eric Zimmerman>And we have a model at the— across the river, uh, with our Multnomah County Commissioners who are district representatives, who they're not told by, by the organization you can hire this many FTE or you can have this kind of office.

1226
02:04:53.881 --> 02:04:54.942
<v Eric Zimmerman>They are given a fund.

1227
02:04:55.327 --> 02:05:03.403
<v Eric Zimmerman>That fund is the responsibility of that chief of staff and that commissioner to not bust through it, to spend it wisely, to spend it legally.

1228
02:05:04.640 --> 02:05:10.645
<v Eric Zimmerman>And you're accountable then to your districts, to your voters, on how well you spent that money, if you did or if you didn't.

1229
02:05:11.127 --> 02:05:12.090
<v Eric Zimmerman>But you can't go over it.

1230
02:05:13.134 --> 02:05:14.096
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that's important.

1231
02:05:14.194 --> 02:05:15.605
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think we need to move that direction.

1232
02:05:16.681 --> 02:05:25.078
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that, uh, The way in which I have heard all 12 of us talk about how we're going to spend time in our district is amazing.

1233
02:05:25.993 --> 02:05:40.988
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that's what's going to make this transition of government survive, because protecting this form of government, protecting the districts, protecting the fact that the council has oversight and representative— we are the representatives of the public.

1234
02:05:41.229 --> 02:05:52.243
<v Eric Zimmerman>The city administrator is a great professional, but at the end of the day, he's an organizational professional and organizational representative, and we, the other 13 electeds up here, are the representatives of the public.

1235
02:05:53.029 --> 02:06:01.490
<v Eric Zimmerman>To do that well, I think each of you should have the ability to, to bring on staff that you think complements your skills.

1236
02:06:01.699 --> 02:06:20.445
<v Eric Zimmerman>I certainly need to bring on some staff that complement my skills to do this job at the highest peak that I can, to go from Sellwood to the Northwest Industrial Area to downtown I don't want to focus too much on what I think has happened previously, but this is the right action to move forward.

1237
02:06:21.140 --> 02:06:24.274
<v Eric Zimmerman>I'm ready for the rest of the discussion, but I will move for the vote as soon as possible.

1238
02:06:26.694 --> 02:06:29.875
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Councilor, and thank you for the note on time.

1239
02:06:30.956 --> 02:06:31.860
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Kanal.

1240
02:06:35.090 --> 02:06:36.189
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you, Madam President.

1241
02:06:36.368 --> 02:06:41.145
<v Sameer Kanal>Uh, first I want to say I agree with you, uh, Madam President, that we were not set up for success.

1242
02:06:41.257 --> 02:06:41.954
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I think your problem statement is accurate.

1243
02:06:43.511 --> 02:06:45.693
<v Sameer Kanal>I'm prepared to help find a solution collectively to it.

1244
02:06:45.757 --> 02:06:51.003
<v Sameer Kanal>I got a couple big picture notes, and I think when we get into more on this, I have some, some specific ideas as well.

1245
02:06:51.917 --> 02:06:54.421
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I disagree with some of the framing that's been presented here.

1246
02:06:54.645 --> 02:06:59.810
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, this proposal is not about me or my staff or about anybody else up here.

1247
02:06:59.876 --> 02:07:05.538
<v Sameer Kanal>This is about you, uh, Portlanders watching at home and watching in this room, and the government that you deserve.

1248
02:07:06.068 --> 02:07:07.591
<v Sameer Kanal>The testimony earlier was correct.

1249
02:07:07.655 --> 02:07:23.529
<v Sameer Kanal>None of us ran specifically on increasing I personally said that being a city that works— that's our city slogan— requires being a city that listens, and that you deserve a government that listens to you.

1250
02:07:23.550 --> 02:07:29.710
<v Sameer Kanal>You are entitled to be heard, and you have a right to see your policy priorities reflected in city policy.

1251
02:07:29.710 --> 02:07:35.739
<v Sameer Kanal>And we can't do that if we can't be in 5 places at once, if we can't respond to all the emails coming in, if we can't be in the field, if if we can't be in we the parks, if can't we can't be in the schools.

1252
02:07:35.943 --> 02:07:47.631
<v Sameer Kanal>Meet with you, uh, and listen to you and build solutions to your problems and have the time to check them with attorneys, to run them by our colleagues and, and get an idea of what that's going to look like before it gets here.

1253
02:07:48.112 --> 02:07:51.847
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, so that's, that's, I think, what this is about.

1254
02:07:51.975 --> 02:07:59.768
<v Sameer Kanal>And I want to keep that in the front of my mind, that the people that I'm here to worry about are not in this building, but there are 155-ish thousand people in District 2.

1255
02:08:00.537 --> 02:08:04.368
<v Sameer Kanal>Uh, I am going to support district offices, uh, in the long run, beginning with District 1.

1256
02:08:04.481 --> 02:08:05.764
<v Sameer Kanal>I think District 2 is just behind.

1257
02:08:06.389 --> 02:08:14.421
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I'd prefer to look at siting for those offices as the, as the goal for this fiscal year and seek funding for the ongoing expenses in the future.

1258
02:08:14.966 --> 02:08:18.189
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, but I'd be very happy to see District 1 go first on that.

1259
02:08:18.493 --> 02:08:19.423
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I think that makes sense.

1260
02:08:20.113 --> 02:08:27.087
<v Sameer Kanal>I support a small number of additional shared staff, solely the ones that provide staffing to committees and the legislative support there.

1261
02:08:27.408 --> 02:08:32.234
<v Sameer Kanal>And then just one other note, fiscal responsibility is a core value, and I, I believe in it strongly.

1262
02:08:32.297 --> 02:08:35.185
<v Sameer Kanal>It does not only mean less It does often mean that.

1263
02:08:35.666 --> 02:08:43.494
<v Sameer Kanal>It also means better spending, and that means spending on our highest priorities and not on lower priorities like out-of-state contractors that we pay to think for us.

1264
02:08:44.168 --> 02:08:50.681
<v Sameer Kanal>I have a specific contract in mind, just one, that would cover one-third of this if we were to terminate it.

1265
02:08:51.307 --> 02:08:53.681
<v Sameer Kanal>And there are hundreds of those contracts around the city.

1266
02:08:54.596 --> 02:08:56.489
<v Sameer Kanal>And this is not an either/or with labor either.

1267
02:08:56.681 --> 02:08:59.875
<v Sameer Kanal>And I really want to thank Rob Martineau and Lori Wimmer.

1268
02:08:59.922 --> 02:09:00.034
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

1269
02:09:00.228 --> 02:09:01.259
<v Sameer Kanal>For making that clear.

1270
02:09:01.823 --> 02:09:04.367
<v Sameer Kanal>And I'll stop here and get into the specifics as this progresses.

1271
02:09:05.430 --> 02:09:05.752
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

1272
02:09:07.127 --> 02:09:39.309
<v Loretta Smith>Madam President, I would like to suggest that you change the language on your current ordinance and change it from the city administrator's budget to the, uh, contingency budget to allow us to restore funding to the '23-'24 levels of the City Council, because we have certainly been defunded.

1273
02:09:40.823 --> 02:09:48.268
<v Loretta Smith>And in this marginalized position, it has put us in a space where we can't plan properly.

1274
02:09:49.920 --> 02:09:59.326
<v Loretta Smith>If we take a vote on this, And if we can get 9 votes to make this an emergency, we can act fairly quickly.

1275
02:10:00.103 --> 02:10:06.298
<v Loretta Smith>So I move that we add those changes and take a vote.

1276
02:10:09.121 --> 02:10:14.554
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>With permission, uh, Councilor Ryan is in the queue and has not had a chance to comment.

1277
02:10:15.065 --> 02:10:22.546
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Could I ask you to withdraw your motion to allow him to comment, and then we'll come back to you to repropose that motion.

1278
02:10:22.948 --> 02:10:23.301
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you.

1279
02:10:23.846 --> 02:10:24.248
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

1280
02:10:24.970 --> 02:10:25.983
<v Dan Ryan>Gee, this better be good.

1281
02:10:26.818 --> 02:10:30.962
<v Dan Ryan>Um, this is really awkward because I've been in this conversation now 3 times.

1282
02:10:31.154 --> 02:10:41.802
<v Dan Ryan>Last spring, um, when we had the big budget conversation, and all of you as my witness know I was speaking— um, I feel very supported right now, um, unlike last spring.

1283
02:10:42.703 --> 02:10:48.463
<v Dan Ryan>And there was one other commissioner that, um, had Um, empathy for, um, adding more staffing.

1284
02:10:49.442 --> 02:10:53.609
<v Dan Ryan>And but when you vote on the big budget, as we all know, you don't get everything you want.

1285
02:10:53.706 --> 02:10:56.319
<v Dan Ryan>And this was at the top of my indigestion.

1286
02:10:57.056 --> 02:11:04.015
<v Dan Ryan>Um, but it went on, and then all of you started running for office, and you must have thought, gee, this is going to be fun with one staffer.

1287
02:11:04.752 --> 02:11:07.765
<v Dan Ryan>And then, um, and then the bump came along.

1288
02:11:07.814 --> 02:11:08.792
<v Dan Ryan>That's the fall bump.

1289
02:11:09.079 --> 02:11:23.546
<v Dan Ryan>And as Jonas knows, I tried really hard to get the carryover money, the money that was not spent by commissioners' offices in '23-'24, and the money that was not spent in the first 6 months to carry over.

1290
02:11:23.627 --> 02:11:29.436
<v Dan Ryan>I felt really good about that one, but that also got blocked by 3 of my colleagues.

1291
02:11:30.296 --> 02:11:36.328
<v Dan Ryan>So here I am wanting to jump up and down on one hand, but also saying, whoa, this is a little much.

1292
02:11:37.608 --> 02:11:47.470
<v Dan Ryan>So I'm going to pause and say that I've always been aligned with the GTAC's minimum recommendation of 2 staffers per councilor at this time.

1293
02:11:48.497 --> 02:11:53.307
<v Dan Ryan>And I do think we need to take time to see how this overlapping staffing works out.

1294
02:11:53.932 --> 02:11:55.039
<v Dan Ryan>I don't know what I don't know yet.

1295
02:11:55.136 --> 02:11:57.685
<v Dan Ryan>The committee meetings haven't started.

1296
02:11:58.359 --> 02:12:03.506
<v Dan Ryan>I haven't experienced what it's like to share the staffing in that more tangible level.

1297
02:12:04.052 --> 02:12:14.822
<v Dan Ryan>I have noticed that all of the people who are doing our calendaring are working really hard, and their, their nonverbal over this past week really dramatically changed with all 4 of them.

1298
02:12:14.902 --> 02:12:19.908
<v Dan Ryan>So I can tell you that those jobs are, um, too much for one person.

1299
02:12:20.807 --> 02:12:27.275
<v Dan Ryan>And I do know that the constant complaint was, um, there was— there's not enough constituent services.

1300
02:12:27.886 --> 02:12:32.780
<v Dan Ryan>So I do think the combination of legislative work and constituent services is really big.

1301
02:12:32.845 --> 02:12:33.005
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you.

1302
02:12:33.728 --> 02:12:40.702
<v Dan Ryan>Uh, and I'm grateful that we're not doing the executive oversight, and that did require at least 2 or 3 more staff members.

1303
02:12:40.958 --> 02:12:50.969
<v Dan Ryan>So I do have a little bit of pushback, in all due respect, Councilor Smith, to restore to the exact same levels, because I do think the apple and the orange is, is there.

1304
02:12:51.805 --> 02:13:10.235
<v Dan Ryan>So if you could follow that, that's my way of saying that I'm supportive of stopgap to get through this year to, um, experience the next couple months so that we come into the new, um, year with, um, in the budget process with more clarity.

1305
02:13:10.908 --> 02:13:14.963
<v Dan Ryan>I also really appreciate Councilor Smith's, um, going to the contingency.

1306
02:13:15.395 --> 02:13:18.152
<v Dan Ryan>As Jonas knows, that's what we're trying to do in the fall bump process.

1307
02:13:19.065 --> 02:13:26.823
<v Dan Ryan>And, um, I got way off my notes, as you could probably tell, but I wanted to make sure that I covered as much as this possible.

1308
02:13:26.887 --> 02:13:28.506
<v Dan Ryan>And, um, that's all you get at 8:09.

1309
02:13:28.814 --> 02:13:31.338
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>All right, thanks.

1310
02:13:31.565 --> 02:13:36.363
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Novick is up in the queue for the first time, and then we're going to go back to Councilor Smith.

1311
02:13:38.072 --> 02:13:46.051
<v Sameer Kanal>So I'm not going to be a vote for this package because I don't feel I know enough to take an informed vote.

1312
02:13:46.779 --> 02:13:50.628
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I totally understand everything my colleagues have said.

1313
02:13:50.677 --> 02:14:00.457
<v Sameer Kanal>When I first saw that we were going to get one staff person I was shocked, and I quickly looked around and saw, well, in Denver they have 3, and in Seattle they have 3, and in San Francisco they have 3.

1314
02:14:01.135 --> 02:14:03.689
<v Sameer Kanal>And I didn't see how we could do this work with one staff person.

1315
02:14:05.323 --> 02:14:09.672
<v Sameer Kanal>But I asked my one staff guy yesterday, do you feel totally snowed under yet?

1316
02:14:09.770 --> 02:14:10.805
<v Sameer Kanal>And he said, not yet.

1317
02:14:11.250 --> 02:14:17.298
<v Sameer Kanal>Now, I suspect that's because people in our district aren't making too many demands on me because they figure, well, Novick's an old guy, what can we really expect?

1318
02:14:18.752 --> 02:14:20.384
<v Sameer Kanal>So I think other people have gotten more requests.

1319
02:14:20.753 --> 02:14:26.431
<v Sameer Kanal>But I mean, so I don't really know yet how much more help my office will need.

1320
02:14:26.497 --> 02:14:29.989
<v Sameer Kanal>I don't know how much the committee offices will need.

1321
02:14:30.762 --> 02:14:34.838
<v Sameer Kanal>And I also don't feel like I know enough about where the money would come from.

1322
02:14:35.210 --> 02:14:41.500
<v Sameer Kanal>If it were 10 years ago, I would say, well, we can get some of the money by cutting the mounted patrol, which I always thought was rather ornamental and could be cut.

1323
02:14:41.904 --> 02:14:43.765
<v Sameer Kanal>But now there is no mounted patrol, so I can't say that.

1324
02:14:44.802 --> 02:14:50.746
<v Sameer Kanal>It may be that there's fat in the administrator's budget, but I don't know yet what that fat is.

1325
02:14:51.404 --> 02:15:03.109
<v Sameer Kanal>And I also know that we are going to be facing millions and millions of dollars in cuts in the overall budget, which mostly goes to police, fire, parks, and housing homeless services.

1326
02:15:03.800 --> 02:15:14.391
<v Sameer Kanal>So I just feel like I can't support this package until I have a better sense of what our internal needs are and a better sense of the other budget issues we're facing.

1327
02:15:15.001 --> 02:15:28.557
<v Sameer Kanal>I would support immediately adding a couple of staff, and I would say more than one, to the council president's office, because I don't see how you can ask a council president to go toe-to-toe with the mayor with one person.

1328
02:15:29.262 --> 02:15:37.067
<v Sameer Kanal>And I would expect— I would support adding a couple of folks to the mayor's office, because I don't know how you can be mayor of a big city with just 5 people.

1329
02:15:37.131 --> 02:15:37.306
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

1330
02:15:37.917 --> 02:15:45.036
<v Sameer Kanal>And I would support, as a couple of other colleagues have said, adding a district office in District 1.

1331
02:15:46.225 --> 02:15:56.266
<v Sameer Kanal>So I don't think I'm going to get support for this, like, slimmed-down proposal, but I would— I could support that and having it come from contingency because I don't know at this point where else to take it from.

1332
02:15:57.215 --> 02:16:07.921
<v Sameer Kanal>But so I just wanted to— again, I don't expect to— I'm not offering a motion because I don't expect that's a huge amount of agreement, but I just wanted to let people know where I am.

1333
02:16:13.225 --> 02:16:15.014
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Have you had an opportunity to speak?

1334
02:16:16.045 --> 02:16:16.706
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I didn't think so.

1335
02:16:16.786 --> 02:16:17.494
<v Robert Taylor>No, I haven't.

1336
02:16:17.989 --> 02:16:18.118
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

1337
02:16:18.166 --> 02:16:19.033
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>All right, Madam President.

1338
02:16:19.146 --> 02:16:33.184
<v Robert Taylor>Well, I really hesitate to say anything, uh, because I think I'm going to start whining, um, and apologizing to all the people who are emailing asking for meetings that we can't keep up with.

1339
02:16:34.019 --> 02:16:35.592
<v Robert Taylor>And I didn't want to whine.

1340
02:16:35.639 --> 02:16:37.549
<v Robert Taylor>I think everybody's been very articulate.

1341
02:16:37.647 --> 02:16:42.316
<v Robert Taylor>I don't have a lot to add, but just to say that it's impossible.

1342
02:16:42.718 --> 02:16:48.384
<v Robert Taylor>It's absolutely impossible to do what we're expected to do as the people's branch of government.

1343
02:16:49.266 --> 02:16:50.679
<v Robert Taylor>Um, it—.

1344
02:16:51.513 --> 02:16:54.915
<v Robert Taylor>I'm very supportive and appreciative of what you put forward here.

1345
02:16:54.965 --> 02:16:55.076
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you.

1346
02:16:55.385 --> 02:16:58.367
<v Robert Taylor>And I will vote for it, to be clear.

1347
02:17:00.061 --> 02:17:05.334
<v Robert Taylor>I think I whined a little bit last week about the committees because I thought there were so many committees.

1348
02:17:05.448 --> 02:17:14.778
<v Robert Taylor>I could not see how we would ever be able to be effective and spread ourselves so thin, which is another argument for having additional staff.

1349
02:17:15.344 --> 02:17:18.657
<v Robert Taylor>I think I mentioned that we don't have legislative research.

1350
02:17:18.755 --> 02:17:20.386
<v Robert Taylor>We don't have a legislative fiscal.

1351
02:17:20.646 --> 02:17:22.358
<v Robert Taylor>There are lots of things— legislative counsel.

1352
02:17:22.423 --> 02:17:22.487
<v Robert Taylor>Yes.

1353
02:17:22.791 --> 02:17:30.622
<v Robert Taylor>There are a lot of things that we don't have, and we're about to make committee assignments tonight, and some of us are on 4 committees.

1354
02:17:31.200 --> 02:17:34.586
<v Robert Taylor>How is this going to be possible without additional help?

1355
02:17:34.811 --> 02:17:35.903
<v Robert Taylor>I, I, I don't know.

1356
02:17:36.352 --> 02:17:47.393
<v Robert Taylor>Constituent relations, uh, serving as a chair or vice chair or just a member of a committee, and then providing the kind of oversight that we're expected to provide over the city.

1357
02:17:47.986 --> 02:17:50.490
<v Robert Taylor>It's, it's impossible without it additional help.

1358
02:17:50.572 --> 02:18:00.993
<v Robert Taylor>So, um, I'm sorry I'm whining, but, uh, I— to all those people that are emailing that I haven't responded to, the phone calls, the requests for meetings, I'm really sorry.

1359
02:18:01.510 --> 02:18:02.769
<v Robert Taylor>We'll get to it eventually.

1360
02:18:04.641 --> 02:18:04.900
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

1361
02:18:04.965 --> 02:18:05.755
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Hopefully quite soon.

1362
02:18:07.389 --> 02:18:14.056
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I see a number of other people in the queue, but I did promise that once everybody had an opportunity to speak, we would get back to Councilor Smith.

1363
02:18:14.120 --> 02:18:21.088
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And Councilor Smith, you put forward, um, a motion.

1364
02:18:21.602 --> 02:18:21.730
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes.

1365
02:18:21.843 --> 02:18:36.522
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And your motion had 2 parts: amending the, uh, the current proposal to pull funds from the contingency fund as opposed to pulling funds from the city administrator's office.

1366
02:18:37.101 --> 02:18:43.588
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>You also talked about restoring to '23-'24 budgets, and I believe that's the number that we are working off of already.

1367
02:18:43.929 --> 02:18:45.255
<v Loretta Smith>Kind of, sort of.

1368
02:18:45.467 --> 02:18:53.189
<v Loretta Smith>Um, it's a little under that, but I just— in general, it is restoration back to those numbers.

1369
02:18:53.301 --> 02:18:58.572
<v Loretta Smith>But what you put forward, I would urge my colleagues to support.

1370
02:18:59.297 --> 02:19:17.605
<v Loretta Smith>And with the change of having the money come from contingency instead of the city administrator's office, I think that we, you know, I don't know if we could get 9 votes to do this as an emergency, but I think it is so important and it's critical that we get started.

1371
02:19:18.236 --> 02:19:32.711
<v Loretta Smith>People have an expectation that we're going to be up to speed right now, and I think it's very egregious to expect us not to expect the best from our own staffs and not to treat them as if they are expendable, because they're not.

1372
02:19:33.472 --> 02:19:40.947
<v Loretta Smith>And as we listen to folks, and I also want to thank Rob Martineau.

1373
02:19:41.734 --> 02:19:47.131
<v Loretta Smith>That was a big, huge step for the president of AFSCME.

1374
02:19:47.521 --> 02:19:49.174
<v Loretta Smith>I don't know if y'all know about this.

1375
02:19:49.891 --> 02:19:58.489
<v Loretta Smith>For him to come up here in budget negotiations to say that he supports what we're talking about, that's a big deal.

1376
02:19:58.554 --> 02:19:58.763
<v Loretta Smith>Yes.

1377
02:19:59.305 --> 02:20:08.554
<v Loretta Smith>And I see us moving closer together when we can see each other's, um, what we're trying to do.

1378
02:20:09.058 --> 02:20:12.193
<v Loretta Smith>And so I thank you, Rob, for your support.

1379
02:20:12.847 --> 02:20:34.273
<v Loretta Smith>And I would just like to say that if we could put something to a vote, um, we've, we've probably— we've, we've talked about this, and, and, and as Commissioner Clark said, uh, Councilor Clark, that we will seem like we're whining, um, but I just want us to take a vote.

1380
02:20:34.337 --> 02:20:35.228
<v Loretta Smith>Let's see where we're at.

1381
02:20:37.143 --> 02:20:38.808
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So I think there are 2 separate things.

1382
02:20:39.309 --> 02:20:47.898
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>There is the potential for you to make a motion to amend the ordinance, um, to, uh, Section 2.

1383
02:20:48.302 --> 02:20:48.529
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>No.

1384
02:20:48.852 --> 02:20:50.566
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, in A.

1385
02:20:51.638 --> 02:20:53.966
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm sorry, A1.

1386
02:20:54.495 --> 02:20:54.640
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>A1.

1387
02:20:55.074 --> 02:21:00.100
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>A1 to hold the funding from contingency.

1388
02:21:00.452 --> 02:21:02.347
<v Loretta Smith>Yes, the $13.8 million.

1389
02:21:02.523 --> 02:21:06.361
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So why don't you make that motion first and then we can speak to the broader proposal?

1390
02:21:06.474 --> 02:21:07.245
<v Loretta Smith>Okay, perfect.

1391
02:21:07.903 --> 02:21:21.229
<v Loretta Smith>Um, I propose that we change this from the city administrator's, uh, budget to the, um, contingency budget, and I think we all would have stomach for taking that from that, that pot of money.

1392
02:21:22.051 --> 02:21:24.165
<v Loretta Smith>And do we take that vote first?

1393
02:21:24.551 --> 02:21:25.262
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, we need a second.

1394
02:21:25.391 --> 02:21:25.781
<v Jamie Dunphy>Second.

1395
02:21:26.590 --> 02:21:28.906
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, is there any discussion?

1396
02:21:29.020 --> 02:21:32.340
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And we do have our CFO here if there are any technical questions.

1397
02:21:35.475 --> 02:21:36.165
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any discussion?

1398
02:21:39.074 --> 02:21:39.781
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Zimmerman.

1399
02:21:40.038 --> 02:21:41.018
<v Eric Zimmerman>I am— thank you.

1400
02:21:41.179 --> 02:21:43.266
<v Eric Zimmerman>I am a protector of the contingency.

1401
02:21:43.332 --> 02:21:44.102
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think they're important.

1402
02:21:44.150 --> 02:21:46.031
<v Eric Zimmerman>I've been at places where they've had to be used.

1403
02:21:47.027 --> 02:21:50.818
<v Eric Zimmerman>And when I look at it in the time left in this fiscal year, I think this is the right move.

1404
02:21:51.316 --> 02:21:52.906
<v Eric Zimmerman>So full support.

1405
02:21:56.184 --> 02:21:56.974
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any other discussion?

1406
02:21:57.650 --> 02:21:58.649
<v Angelita Morillo>Just clarification.

1407
02:21:59.101 --> 02:22:07.299
<v Angelita Morillo>So this is right now just to approve, uh, Councilor Smith's, uh, amendment to have it come from contingency?

1408
02:22:07.736 --> 02:22:08.060
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Correct.

1409
02:22:08.450 --> 02:22:13.458
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>A1 currently says decrease bureau operating expenses in the city administrator's office by $4,500,000.

1410
02:22:15.020 --> 02:22:16.350
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>$4,588,234 To balance.

1411
02:22:17.081 --> 02:22:26.914
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe that the technical language would be decrease the contingency fund by $4,588,234 to balance.

1412
02:22:26.978 --> 02:22:27.790
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is that correct?

1413
02:22:28.469 --> 02:22:28.808
<v Robert Taylor>Yes.

1414
02:22:28.858 --> 02:22:30.782
<v Robert Taylor>So, um, sorry, Ruth Levine, I'm the budget director.

1415
02:22:31.333 --> 02:22:35.054
<v Robert Taylor>Uh, Jonas Biery, the CFO, um, had another commitment that he had to leave for.

1416
02:22:35.134 --> 02:22:41.145
<v Robert Taylor>But, um, the, uh, I would say, so if you're keeping the amount the same.

1417
02:22:41.712 --> 02:22:48.028
<v Robert Taylor>All you need to change is that language that currently says city administrator to say general fund contingency.

1418
02:22:48.579 --> 02:22:56.245
<v Robert Taylor>So you could amend it to strike it and do decrease general fund contingency by the number.

1419
02:22:58.453 --> 02:22:59.768
<v Robert Taylor>Is that right?

1420
02:23:01.395 --> 02:23:04.700
<v Robert Taylor>Yes, I, I think it's clear and the clerk has it.

1421
02:23:04.941 --> 02:23:05.135
<v Robert Taylor>Yes.

1422
02:23:05.988 --> 02:23:06.150
<v Loretta Smith>Okay.

1423
02:23:07.876 --> 02:23:08.568
<v Dan Ryan>Yeah, question?

1424
02:23:09.310 --> 02:23:13.230
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, Councilor Zimmerman, are you— were you—.

1425
02:23:13.746 --> 02:23:14.796
<v Eric Zimmerman>Okay, larger comments.

1426
02:23:14.876 --> 02:23:15.472
<v Angelita Morillo>I got it.

1427
02:23:16.525 --> 02:23:16.994
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Ryan?

1428
02:23:17.091 --> 02:23:18.236
<v Dan Ryan>Yes, thank you, Madam President.

1429
02:23:18.623 --> 02:23:19.495
<v Dan Ryan>Ruth, good to see you.

1430
02:23:19.689 --> 02:23:37.272
<v Dan Ryan>I wanted to make sure that I just heard, um, because we had this conversation not long ago and it was a much smaller amount and it was voted down, um, because we couldn't justify taking it out of contingency Could you tell me, um, a little bit more about what that really means?

1431
02:23:38.587 --> 02:23:38.924
<v Candace Avalos>About what?

1432
02:23:39.134 --> 02:23:39.550
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Taking it out?

1433
02:23:39.599 --> 02:23:40.530
<v Dan Ryan>About what this really means.

1434
02:23:40.577 --> 02:23:42.888
<v Dan Ryan>Like, what, what will— what are the consequences?

1435
02:23:43.240 --> 02:23:43.770
<v Robert Taylor>Yeah, sure.

1436
02:23:43.898 --> 02:23:46.771
<v Dan Ryan>So, um, budget person, you have opinions on this?

1437
02:23:47.396 --> 02:23:48.310
<v Robert Taylor>Yeah, sure, happy to.

1438
02:23:48.470 --> 02:23:58.096
<v Robert Taylor>So, um, the general fund contingency is set by council every year, and typically it's been done in the fall bump, and so that's what we have.

1439
02:23:58.322 --> 02:23:58.417
<v Robert Taylor>Yes.

1440
02:23:58.483 --> 02:24:05.068
<v Robert Taylor>This year, um, and, um, it includes a couple of different accounts within it.

1441
02:24:05.534 --> 02:24:12.957
<v Robert Taylor>There is what's called a policy set-aside account, there's unrestricted contingency, and then there's capital set-aside.

1442
02:24:13.102 --> 02:24:15.543
<v Robert Taylor>At least that— those are the buckets we have allocated this year.

1443
02:24:16.299 --> 02:24:29.988
<v Robert Taylor>Um, the unrestricted contingency we generally set at $3 million per year, and, um, at this point in the fiscal year, I would avoid against using it given the, the things that, you know, we may, um, face in the rest of the fiscal year.

1444
02:24:30.038 --> 02:24:30.865
<v Robert Taylor>We just need that.

1445
02:24:30.915 --> 02:24:32.540
<v Robert Taylor>It's not, not a big buffer.

1446
02:24:33.218 --> 02:24:40.985
<v Robert Taylor>Um, and so the remainder of it is you're looking at policy set-aside and capital set-aside based on what's currently in there.

1447
02:24:41.744 --> 02:25:03.131
<v Robert Taylor>Um, and, um, so this year in the fall bump, the, um, there's, there's a number of line items which I don't Um, have a slide of right now, but, um, I could get you of what is in policy set-aside, um, and what is in capital set-aside.

1448
02:25:03.197 --> 02:25:13.059
<v Robert Taylor>The conversation, um, Councilor Ryan, in the fall bump was around sort of reducing some of the capital set-aside, um, amounts.

1449
02:25:13.283 --> 02:25:26.729
<v Robert Taylor>I would say the reason that was the conversation then is because I would say they are the most flexible in that there would be no current year impact to reducing those amounts.

1450
02:25:27.295 --> 02:25:34.077
<v Robert Taylor>It really is there to help the council with balancing the 25-26 budget.

1451
02:25:34.174 --> 02:25:38.161
<v Robert Taylor>So that is still kind of the most flexible pot of money.

1452
02:25:39.389 --> 02:25:43.658
<v Robert Taylor>And, you know, that's frankly anywhere in the general fund at this point in the fiscal year.

1453
02:25:43.750 --> 02:25:44.219
<v Robert Taylor>Fiscal year.

1454
02:25:44.738 --> 02:25:50.138
<v Robert Taylor>Um, so that is probably what you would be looking at again, is reducing that capital set-aside account.

1455
02:25:52.430 --> 02:25:52.879
<v Dan Ryan>Does that answer your question?

1456
02:25:52.943 --> 02:25:57.299
<v Dan Ryan>And I recall it was a number that was around $400K, or what was the—.

1457
02:25:57.748 --> 02:26:01.156
<v Robert Taylor>The, the number that I believe that you had put forward was in that ballpark.

1458
02:26:01.219 --> 02:26:03.861
<v Robert Taylor>I can't remember exactly what it was at that time.

1459
02:26:03.975 --> 02:26:04.899
<v Robert Taylor>That was, um—.

1460
02:26:05.046 --> 02:26:08.468
<v Dan Ryan>It was a $400K that was not spent by the commissioner's offices this year.

1461
02:26:08.762 --> 02:26:09.442
<v Dan Ryan>That's right, yes.

1462
02:26:09.557 --> 02:26:13.099
<v Dan Ryan>And we couldn't That went into the capital contingency.

1463
02:26:13.163 --> 02:26:14.127
<v Dan Ryan>Yes, that's correct.

1464
02:26:15.251 --> 02:26:17.725
<v Dan Ryan>And that— and we voted that down 3 to 2.

1465
02:26:18.061 --> 02:26:20.390
<v Robert Taylor>That's right.

1466
02:26:20.470 --> 02:26:21.675
<v Robert Taylor>President Pirtle-Guiney, may I—.

1467
02:26:21.675 --> 02:26:23.941
<v Dan Ryan>Just had to do a little bit of history for y'all.

1468
02:26:24.229 --> 02:26:27.426
<v Robert Taylor>I just want to make sure, because this is the budget, we're having to balance things.

1469
02:26:27.522 --> 02:26:38.320
<v Robert Taylor>I want to make sure, do we need to amend any of the exhibits or add additional exhibits in order to effectuate commission yes, thank you.

1470
02:26:38.497 --> 02:26:38.915
<v Robert Taylor>Thanks, Lindley.

1471
02:26:39.043 --> 02:26:40.137
<v Robert Taylor>Yes, um, we do.

1472
02:26:40.490 --> 02:26:45.102
<v Robert Taylor>Um, so the, the amendment that you're putting forward, just—.

1473
02:26:45.230 --> 02:26:45.310
<v Robert Taylor>I—.

1474
02:26:45.551 --> 02:26:48.761
<v Robert Taylor>You just need to add update Exhibit 1 to reflect this change.

1475
02:26:49.180 --> 02:26:52.796
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I suspect we will have conversation about additional amendments.

1476
02:26:55.280 --> 02:27:21.681
<v Robert Taylor>Legally, can we vote on this amendment without those exhibits being updated, so long as those exhibits are updated before yes, and, and I think, um, Ruth and I anticipate that once we have a sense of what all the amendments are, we're going to ask for a short recess in order to allow her to amend the exhibits, because those need to be complete for you to amend them and vote on the whole package.

1477
02:27:22.129 --> 02:27:32.779
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I suspect when we're done with this portion, we will all need a recess, and I recognize that we have a number of bureau staff here and guests for things later in the agenda, I apologize.

1478
02:27:32.970 --> 02:27:41.359
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, we are required to take up budget items first, which is why we are doing this this early in the agenda despite knowing that we have guests here.

1479
02:27:42.336 --> 02:27:45.368
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, Councilor Avalos, are you speaking to the motion?

1480
02:27:46.586 --> 02:27:47.212
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yeah, it's a question.

1481
02:27:47.726 --> 02:27:49.168
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

1482
02:27:50.114 --> 02:27:59.057
<v Candace Avalos>Um, a question, uh, is— my question is, can you project project how much will be added to the contingency pot for FY26?

1483
02:27:59.137 --> 02:28:06.478
<v Candace Avalos>In other words, um, do you expect that the dollars we potentially use for this resolution would be replenished in the next budget?

1484
02:28:07.972 --> 02:28:21.291
<v Robert Taylor>So I, I can't project today what will be in the contingency pot in, in the fall of— essentially, we, we allocate that in the fall, so it— that would be normally, um, Okay.

1485
02:28:21.356 --> 02:28:22.948
<v Robert Taylor>Let's say October of 2025.

1486
02:28:23.365 --> 02:28:25.004
<v Robert Taylor>So I can't project what that looks like today.

1487
02:28:25.068 --> 02:28:28.588
<v Robert Taylor>It's just too early in the fiscal year to really have any confidence in that.

1488
02:28:29.152 --> 02:28:44.769
<v Robert Taylor>That being said, I think, um, there are sort of leverage points to increase the amount of underspending in the current fiscal year, if that's what you're getting at.

1489
02:28:45.495 --> 02:28:48.349
<v Robert Taylor>Um, so I mean, I think that's more thank you.

1490
02:28:48.397 --> 02:29:02.424
<v Robert Taylor>I think that's a question for the city administrator than for me, but there— I mean, I think there's sort of— there are a number of reasons, there are a number of ways that we build contingency.

1491
02:29:03.340 --> 02:29:06.302
<v Robert Taylor>One is there's a certain amount of underspending that you want every year.

1492
02:29:06.367 --> 02:29:12.536
<v Robert Taylor>It's actually in the general fund, it's not that big, but you wouldn't want to be spending up to your limit because you'd be in trouble.

1493
02:29:14.170 --> 02:29:14.672
<v Candace Avalos>Okay.

1494
02:29:14.816 --> 02:29:25.028
<v Robert Taylor>Another is sort of, I guess, true underspending, vacancy savings, external materials and services underspending and the like.

1495
02:29:25.092 --> 02:29:38.074
<v Robert Taylor>So I think that is the place where there's room to sort of reduce those spending categories in the current fiscal year, and that would increase your contingency.

1496
02:29:38.283 --> 02:29:52.030
<v Robert Taylor>And by So by sort of April, May, we will— by the time you all are taking up the approved budget, we will have a better sense of what the, um, what we call the ending fund balance for the current fiscal year will look like.

1497
02:29:52.415 --> 02:29:55.771
<v Robert Taylor>So, you know, between now and then, we'll get a little bit of a lens on that.

1498
02:29:56.092 --> 02:29:56.926
<v Robert Taylor>Does that help?

1499
02:29:57.634 --> 02:29:58.019
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you.

1500
02:29:58.581 --> 02:30:02.097
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Smith, is this to the motion?

1501
02:30:02.434 --> 02:30:03.622
<v Loretta Smith>Yes, to the motion.

1502
02:30:03.718 --> 02:30:07.765
<v Loretta Smith>And, and, and, um, Madam President, thank you so much.

1503
02:30:08.152 --> 02:30:11.717
<v Loretta Smith>And I want to go back to what you— the question was asked about '25-'26.

1504
02:30:12.311 --> 02:30:23.699
<v Loretta Smith>And under Oregon budget law, we can't talk about budgeting for '25-'26 while we're in '24-'25, because the idea is that everything that we— our operating budget is supposed to be spent to the penny.

1505
02:30:24.358 --> 02:30:35.677
<v Loretta Smith>But the real reality is, like, uh, Councilor Zimmerman said, we've been bringing over $200 million for the last 4 years that I've seen of underspending.

1506
02:30:35.888 --> 02:30:47.798
<v Loretta Smith>So if history repeated itself, even in times of cutting, that it would suggest that we would have more money to bring over this '25-'26 year.

1507
02:30:47.846 --> 02:30:51.049
<v Loretta Smith>But we can't talk about '25-'26 while we're in '24-'25.

1508
02:30:53.577 --> 02:30:56.497
<v Robert Taylor>So a couple of things just to clarify.

1509
02:30:57.111 --> 02:31:01.852
<v Robert Taylor>The, the sort of true general fund underspending this year was like $24 million.

1510
02:31:02.445 --> 02:31:06.858
<v Robert Taylor>Um, so I'm not entirely sure where the $200 million number is coming from, but we happy to talk about it.

1511
02:31:07.083 --> 02:31:15.730
<v Loretta Smith>Yeah, the carryover from unused FTEs, the, the beginning, um, capital that we started with this year was $200 million.

1512
02:31:16.870 --> 02:31:24.234
<v Robert Taylor>Um, that probably includes like fund balance for things like PSF and the water and the sewer funds.

1513
02:31:24.442 --> 02:31:33.358
<v Robert Taylor>So happy to talk about that more offline, but the true general fund underspending is right.

1514
02:31:33.438 --> 02:31:36.879
<v Loretta Smith>And we're talking about restricted funds versus, um, general funding.

1515
02:31:37.298 --> 02:31:45.198
<v Loretta Smith>But I'd like to get to this point, and, um, let's take a vote on whether or not we want to take this from the, uh, contingency or not.

1516
02:31:46.745 --> 02:31:49.662
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe we have one more comment before we get to a vote.

1517
02:31:51.814 --> 02:31:54.605
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, oh, Councilor Green, do you want to—.

1518
02:31:54.702 --> 02:31:56.462
<v Mitch Green>I just want to make a comment for my colleagues.

1519
02:31:56.720 --> 02:32:02.298
<v Mitch Green>Um, So when you're at the beginning of a fiscal year and you are forecasting, you have a lot of uncertainty.

1520
02:32:03.004 --> 02:32:07.701
<v Mitch Green>And so it's really important to kind of keep your contingency balance unencumbered at the beginning.

1521
02:32:08.295 --> 02:32:15.511
<v Mitch Green>But as you move through time and you get closer to the end of your budgeting period, your uncertainty and the variation in risk gets narrower.

1522
02:32:16.056 --> 02:32:16.809
<v Mitch Green>We are very close.

1523
02:32:16.873 --> 02:32:18.460
<v Mitch Green>We're 5 months away from the end of the fiscal year.

1524
02:32:18.638 --> 02:32:24.746
<v Mitch Green>And so I feel very comfortable using that contingency set-aside because this is one-time money for this fiscal year.

1525
02:32:25.894 --> 02:32:25.990
<v Mitch Green>Right.

1526
02:32:26.039 --> 02:32:27.754
<v Mitch Green>Um, because that's the allowable use for that fund.

1527
02:32:28.224 --> 02:32:29.988
<v Mitch Green>So that's, that's what I would offer to my colleagues.

1528
02:32:34.314 --> 02:32:36.201
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is that a legacy hand, Councilor Avalos?

1529
02:32:36.540 --> 02:32:37.363
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, cool.

1530
02:32:37.833 --> 02:32:42.254
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any other comments before we have the clerk take roll on the motion?

1531
02:32:44.188 --> 02:32:44.494
<v Angelita Morillo>Okay.

1532
02:32:46.248 --> 02:32:47.890
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, Councilor Morillo?

1533
02:32:49.227 --> 02:32:50.338
<v Angelita Morillo>Oh no, I did the same thing.

1534
02:32:52.149 --> 02:32:54.465
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, hi, Keelan, could you please take a vote?

1535
02:32:55.192 --> 02:32:55.501
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Avalos?

1536
02:32:57.378 --> 02:32:57.426
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

1537
02:32:58.994 --> 02:32:59.156
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

1538
02:33:01.012 --> 02:33:01.060
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

1539
02:33:02.399 --> 02:33:02.577
<v Dan Ryan>Aye.

1540
02:33:03.272 --> 02:33:03.320
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

1541
02:33:03.836 --> 02:33:04.014
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

1542
02:33:05.935 --> 02:33:05.984
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

1543
02:33:28.215 --> 02:33:30.832
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I know that Councilor Smith has expressed interest in another motion.

1544
02:33:30.913 --> 02:33:35.677
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I also have heard from a number of colleagues pieces of proposals.

1545
02:33:36.479 --> 02:33:38.343
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, Councilor Zimmerman, you have your hand raised.

1546
02:33:39.979 --> 02:33:43.737
<v Eric Zimmerman>Yeah, uh, this is a plea to Councilor Novick.

1547
02:33:45.213 --> 02:33:47.159
<v Eric Zimmerman>So I hear you loud and clear, I really do.

1548
02:33:47.451 --> 02:33:55.593
<v Eric Zimmerman>And, um, I'm also hearing District 1 councilors loud and clear.

1549
02:33:56.513 --> 02:34:08.476
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that coming into office and throughout the last year, I heard a lot in the community at different times about having council or geographic-based offices.

1550
02:34:08.592 --> 02:34:14.156
<v Eric Zimmerman>And for me Being the person who represents this real estate, that was never really a big important thing to me.

1551
02:34:14.221 --> 02:34:17.434
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so I didn't spend more than 2 brain cells on that ever.

1552
02:34:18.141 --> 02:34:21.058
<v Eric Zimmerman>And then I heard from all 3 of you, and I heard loud and clear.

1553
02:34:21.202 --> 02:34:25.333
<v Eric Zimmerman>And then I heard, uh, from the other districts on that importance.

1554
02:34:25.414 --> 02:34:34.279
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I, and I, um, I am going to support that in that I think that y'all need some space.

1555
02:34:34.781 --> 02:34:34.976
<v Eric Zimmerman>Thank you.

1556
02:34:35.110 --> 02:34:37.240
<v Eric Zimmerman>Space to figure out what that looks like.

1557
02:34:39.728 --> 02:34:51.879
<v Eric Zimmerman>And what I would say, Councilor Novick, is that you might not be ready to make a staffing change yet, but I hope that we can support this.

1558
02:34:52.040 --> 02:34:59.977
<v Eric Zimmerman>Because if, if you're not ready, or any one of the 12 of us is not ready to execute that, then I think you can turn it back in, and I think that's fine.

1559
02:35:00.558 --> 02:35:10.655
<v Eric Zimmerman>But for those that are ready, and those that have a bigger ask, and for District 1 in East Portland, and I've, I've said I, I think a nod from District 4 occasionally is going to be an important part of this body.

1560
02:35:11.887 --> 02:35:12.772
<v Eric Zimmerman>That would be my ask.

1561
02:35:12.933 --> 02:35:24.574
<v Eric Zimmerman>And, uh, because I, I am trying to defer to what I think will be a better form of government for you all to hire up and staff up in that district differently maybe than I will.

1562
02:35:25.730 --> 02:35:30.924
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so for that reason, I, I hope that whatever ends up being the package that we can also support that.

1563
02:35:37.932 --> 02:35:39.777
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I have— oh, Councilor Avalos.

1564
02:35:43.422 --> 02:35:52.727
<v Candace Avalos>I guess I would, uh, pose to the group, maybe it would be helpful— it would be helpful for me to understand what are people's comfortability— is that a word?

1565
02:35:52.935 --> 02:35:53.453
<v Candace Avalos>I don't know if that is.

1566
02:35:54.042 --> 02:35:57.888
<v Candace Avalos>Um, uh, on what level we They would want to fund.

1567
02:35:58.111 --> 02:36:03.877
<v Candace Avalos>And I would argue— I mean, also want to appreciate what everybody has said about supporting District 1.

1568
02:36:03.924 --> 02:36:14.907
<v Candace Avalos>I think that really speaks to the important nature of having districts, but also understanding the shared impact on Portlanders and knowing that East Portland deserves more right now.

1569
02:36:15.629 --> 02:36:16.385
<v Candace Avalos>So I appreciate that.

1570
02:36:16.898 --> 02:36:30.871
<v Candace Avalos>I wonder if we could maybe separate those asks, because I'm hearing at least right now that other districts aren't eager to go into talking about getting funding for district offices, but we like that District 1 could have that.

1571
02:36:31.209 --> 02:36:33.469
<v Candace Avalos>So I would maybe ask that those be 2 separate things.

1572
02:36:33.518 --> 02:36:45.240
<v Candace Avalos>So this is a little bit of process question, but my original question would be helpful if we could maybe— if I could get a sense of what people's thresholds are also, because then I could maybe propose another amendment.

1573
02:36:46.667 --> 02:36:48.094
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>See a number of hands going up.

1574
02:36:48.255 --> 02:36:53.248
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I also want to recognize that we are coming up on the time we had set aside for this in the agenda.

1575
02:36:53.795 --> 02:37:02.065
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, we can blow through that, and that's okay, but if we all speak to every question, I think we're going to blow through that toward a long night.

1576
02:37:03.028 --> 02:37:33.076
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, Councilor Avalos, does it make sense for what you're asking to separate out a few of the things that we've heard, which is 1 or 2 more staff each, district offices in District 1 versus all districts, some additional shared staff either within council operations to do our policy analyst work, council president's office, any other proposals around shared staff that folks have, and think about all of those separately?

1577
02:37:33.157 --> 02:37:34.216
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is that what you're asking for?

1578
02:37:36.323 --> 02:37:38.924
<v Candace Avalos>Maybe not necessarily that they all be separate.

1579
02:37:38.974 --> 02:37:51.023
<v Candace Avalos>I guess I was just trying to get sense because it sounds like we want to move towards something and it maybe would need to be amended unless everybody is supportive of the current $4 million, etc., amount.

1580
02:37:51.087 --> 02:37:53.540
<v Candace Avalos>So, okay, I'm seeing some head nods.

1581
02:37:54.117 --> 02:37:59.740
<v Candace Avalos>Um, I just wanted to get a sense on if, uh, people were open to another proposal in cost.

1582
02:37:59.981 --> 02:38:05.126
<v Candace Avalos>So, but I do think that the district office maybe could be a separate item.

1583
02:38:05.270 --> 02:38:16.061
<v Candace Avalos>I don't think it needs to be separate I just want to answer directly, right?

1584
02:38:16.110 --> 02:38:16.884
<v Eric Zimmerman>I appreciate the question.

1585
02:38:16.933 --> 02:38:21.900
<v Eric Zimmerman>So I support the package as it stands, and I've said it very clearly.

1586
02:38:22.515 --> 02:38:23.406
<v Eric Zimmerman>I'll say it again clearly.

1587
02:38:23.956 --> 02:38:32.981
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that that number is important to go to each councilor, and then that those folks are the ones who make decisions on those individual things, Councilor Avalos.

1588
02:38:33.436 --> 02:38:39.418
<v Eric Zimmerman>So I wouldn't be in favor of breaking it out because I think that's on your responsibility and on my responsibility.

1589
02:38:39.468 --> 02:38:40.238
<v Eric Zimmerman>So that's where I'm at.

1590
02:38:40.384 --> 02:38:42.676
<v Eric Zimmerman>I'm at the full 4.3 or 5.

1591
02:38:43.663 --> 02:38:58.924
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, and I, I think that, um, the area that I feel like I'm giving up some compromise right now is on the— is on putting some council president assigned staff.

1592
02:38:58.971 --> 02:39:01.533
<v Eric Zimmerman>So it's not her personal staff, but it's the offices staff.

1593
02:39:01.599 --> 02:39:06.881
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that's incredibly important moving forward, but I recognize that maybe that would be a later action.

1594
02:39:06.978 --> 02:39:09.702
<v Eric Zimmerman>And in this one, it's just for these and for the mayor's.

1595
02:39:10.207 --> 02:39:10.905
<v Eric Zimmerman>So that's where I'm at.

1596
02:39:11.034 --> 02:39:12.465
<v Eric Zimmerman>I support the full package currently.

1597
02:39:15.736 --> 02:39:21.505
<v Sameer Kanal>Uh, I support the full package as it's written right now, um, as well.

1598
02:39:22.148 --> 02:39:29.636
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I, I do want to just note, I, I, I think District My comments about District 1 going first are—.

1599
02:39:29.844 --> 02:39:30.198
<v Sameer Kanal>They all—.

1600
02:39:30.550 --> 02:39:31.370
<v Sameer Kanal>I stick to all of them.

1601
02:39:32.076 --> 02:39:34.904
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, District 2 does need a district office.

1602
02:39:35.145 --> 02:39:44.750
<v Sameer Kanal>I think that we should take a little time to get that scaled up and find a site and get that ready to go so that in our '25-'26 budget we have the money for the ongoing expenses.

1603
02:39:44.846 --> 02:39:46.596
<v Sameer Kanal>And I think, I think it can wait that long.

1604
02:39:47.433 --> 02:39:49.632
<v Sameer Kanal>I, I don't know that I'd want to wait that long for D1.

1605
02:39:50.629 --> 02:40:04.002
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, but I think the people and, you know, this is maybe unique to District 2 and my interest here, and, and I've, I've said publicly, I, I hope we have a district office for District 2 in, in historic Albina, which is both the geographic and cultural heart of District 2.

1606
02:40:04.685 --> 02:40:16.474
<v Sameer Kanal>And I also know that a lot of the folks who come worship, come play, come go to school, come hang out and visit their, their grandparents and their aunties and uncles in, in District 2 in Albina currently live in D1.

1607
02:40:17.085 --> 02:40:19.197
<v Sameer Kanal>And so I think that there is a connection there.

1608
02:40:19.770 --> 02:40:21.393
<v Sameer Kanal>To, uh, to this work.

1609
02:40:21.504 --> 02:40:25.361
<v Sameer Kanal>So I, I don't want to have it be, uh, misunderstood that it's not a priority.

1610
02:40:25.425 --> 02:40:27.515
<v Sameer Kanal>I, I do prioritize it very highly.

1611
02:40:27.659 --> 02:40:31.905
<v Sameer Kanal>I think in terms of which budget cycle it ends up in is how I'm approaching D2.

1612
02:40:32.420 --> 02:40:35.926
<v Sameer Kanal>But, um, I just wanted to clarify that I do support, uh, the package as is.

1613
02:40:40.209 --> 02:40:43.516
<v Loretta Smith>Madam President, I do support your package as is.

1614
02:40:43.694 --> 02:40:51.715
<v Loretta Smith>And as probably the only grandmother here It is so hard for me to— I, I'm touched by you all's support for District 1.

1615
02:40:51.843 --> 02:40:52.504
<v Loretta Smith>I really am.

1616
02:40:53.200 --> 02:40:58.904
<v Loretta Smith>But it's so hard for me to accept something that— a different package than everybody else.

1617
02:40:59.674 --> 02:41:05.739
<v Loretta Smith>So I think that if we're going to take something, y'all, we need to take it together in what the president has put forward.

1618
02:41:06.399 --> 02:41:10.057
<v Loretta Smith>And everybody, they figure out what they want to do with their own budgets.

1619
02:41:10.120 --> 02:41:11.120
<v Loretta Smith>But I am so, um—.

1620
02:41:11.120 --> 02:41:11.378
<v Loretta Smith>Councilwoman?

1621
02:41:13.219 --> 02:41:17.462
<v Loretta Smith>I am so very touched by, by you all's understanding of what District 1 is.

1622
02:41:17.720 --> 02:41:20.727
<v Loretta Smith>And, um, let's see if we can take that vote.

1623
02:41:23.149 --> 02:41:25.903
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Smith, is that a motion, or should we continue taking comments?

1624
02:41:26.159 --> 02:41:26.691
<v Loretta Smith>No comments.

1625
02:41:26.804 --> 02:41:28.672
<v Loretta Smith>Oh, I'm sorry, can't say no comments.

1626
02:41:28.736 --> 02:41:31.730
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>But then, if, if that's the case, then I need you to make a motion.

1627
02:41:31.779 --> 02:41:35.362
<v Loretta Smith>I'd like to make a motion to support your ordinance as is.

1628
02:41:37.355 --> 02:41:37.870
<v Loretta Smith>As amended.

1629
02:41:37.950 --> 02:41:44.325
<v Robert Taylor>So I don't think we need— I, I don't want to interrupt, but we don't need a motion because that's the ordinance that you have on the table.

1630
02:41:44.372 --> 02:41:46.540
<v Robert Taylor>So I think we can just call the vote.

1631
02:41:46.604 --> 02:41:46.894
<v Robert Taylor>You can—.

1632
02:41:46.909 --> 02:41:55.388
<v Robert Taylor>You maybe, if you're wanting to get a, like, a sense of the council that that's the way they want to go and don't want to make other motions, that might be appropriate.

1633
02:41:55.435 --> 02:41:59.658
<v Loretta Smith>Well, I would want to make this motion, and let's see how this goes, and we may not need another motion.

1634
02:42:03.129 --> 02:42:04.175
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>If we don't need a motion—.

1635
02:42:04.385 --> 02:42:05.864
<v Mitch Green>There's a motion on the floor and I call the question.

1636
02:42:05.929 --> 02:42:06.862
<v Jamie Dunphy>Point of information.

1637
02:42:07.763 --> 02:42:08.118
<v Sameer Kanal>Can I ask a question?

1638
02:42:08.165 --> 02:42:14.102
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Hold on, you're calling the question on the resolution as amended?

1639
02:42:14.761 --> 02:42:14.889
<v Mitch Green>Yes.

1640
02:42:15.565 --> 02:42:22.381
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, let's take the point of information and then we will continue discussion in the queue.

1641
02:42:23.603 --> 02:42:26.867
<v Sameer Kanal>My understanding is that this is not currently an emergency ordinance.

1642
02:42:27.477 --> 02:42:30.995
<v Sameer Kanal>Do we need to Add an— can we vote on this without doing that?

1643
02:42:31.510 --> 02:42:38.756
<v Robert Taylor>So there, there are 2 things that— and again, step in if I'm, if I'm overstepping right now— 2 things that need to happen.

1644
02:42:39.207 --> 02:42:41.665
<v Robert Taylor>To answer your question first, there is not an emergency clause.

1645
02:42:41.777 --> 02:42:42.950
<v Robert Taylor>One would need to be added.

1646
02:42:43.465 --> 02:42:43.817
<v Robert Taylor>So yes.

1647
02:42:44.573 --> 02:42:54.278
<v Robert Taylor>2, Um, the budget officer needs to amend an exhibit before you can take a vote on the ordinance as it stands, and we would need a short break to do that.

1648
02:42:54.326 --> 02:43:05.460
<v Robert Taylor>So If the answer is there are no further amendments, we like the ordinance as it was amended to change to general contingency, we would go make those changes, we would show them on the screen, and then it would be appropriate.

1649
02:43:06.028 --> 02:43:09.445
<v Robert Taylor>Do you want to make— add an emergency clause, I think is the question.

1650
02:43:12.337 --> 02:43:12.950
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Let's do this.

1651
02:43:14.611 --> 02:43:17.961
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Retta wants to get to a vote on what we have.

1652
02:43:18.397 --> 02:43:21.915
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We may need— we may have interest In an emergency clause.

1653
02:43:22.108 --> 02:43:31.712
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'll point out that without that emergency clause, we come back and vote in 2 weeks, and then we have 30 days before implementation.

1654
02:43:32.484 --> 02:43:37.254
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So for anybody who is looking to hire staff before the next 6 weeks, we may want an emergency clause.

1655
02:43:37.448 --> 02:43:45.608
<v Robert Taylor>Sorry, um, sorry, just on that, I, I think it's a budget ordinance, so it takes effect immediately, even if it's not on emergency.

1656
02:43:45.799 --> 02:43:45.977
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

1657
02:43:46.468 --> 02:43:46.647
<v Loretta Smith>Okay.

1658
02:43:46.694 --> 02:43:46.906
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you.

1659
02:43:47.067 --> 02:43:49.384
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I see the attorneys, but it is, it is a delay there.

1660
02:43:49.561 --> 02:43:50.209
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>It is a delay there.

1661
02:43:52.322 --> 02:44:14.084
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, what I would like to do to get a sense of where we are at, since we need to take a break before we can actually vote, is to ask that if you are going to— if you were hoping to offer further amendment aside from an emergency clause yes.

1662
02:44:14.310 --> 02:44:18.926
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Can you put yourself in the queue so that we can hear what the other proposals are?

1663
02:44:19.251 --> 02:44:21.194
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Let's get all of the proposals on the table.

1664
02:44:22.572 --> 02:44:31.825
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Let's figure out what we want to vote on, if we want to add an emergency clause, and then take a break so that we can actually have things on the screen to look at.

1665
02:44:32.505 --> 02:44:33.566
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Does that work for folks?

1666
02:44:36.519 --> 02:44:37.619
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, Councilor Ryan.

1667
02:44:41.215 --> 02:44:46.941
<v Dan Ryan>I want to support this, and I am not there yet in terms of how much we're asking for.

1668
02:44:47.780 --> 02:44:53.726
<v Dan Ryan>So I was, um, I know I have to get to eventually putting out an amendment or a new proposal.

1669
02:44:54.917 --> 02:44:55.174
<v Dan Ryan>Okay.

1670
02:44:55.496 --> 02:44:57.924
<v Dan Ryan>I liked when we were having a conversation about breaking this apart.

1671
02:44:58.858 --> 02:45:00.771
<v Dan Ryan>I'm glad that we already voted on contingency.

1672
02:45:02.572 --> 02:45:20.268
<v Dan Ryan>I think that, um, An incremental step towards having more staffing to do constituent work out in the districts, to allow District 1 to be first in the queue to move towards having a footprint in District 1, the one that is the biggest need at this moment.

1673
02:45:21.070 --> 02:45:35.084
<v Dan Ryan>And then using the rest of this year to prepare us for the budget dialogue for '25-'26, where we actually talk about what we're experiencing and what kind of staffing we really do need.

1674
02:45:35.520 --> 02:45:45.288
<v Dan Ryan>I, I think we're getting ahead of our skis a bit by asking for this big of an amount, so I'm struggling to get to a yes on the big picture, uh, proposal at the moment.

1675
02:45:45.481 --> 02:45:46.565
<v Dan Ryan>I'm probably halfway there.

1676
02:45:47.506 --> 02:45:47.799
<v Dan Ryan>Thanks.

1677
02:45:49.229 --> 02:45:50.951
<v Dan Ryan>That wasn't, that wasn't a proposal.

1678
02:45:51.016 --> 02:45:51.845
<v Dan Ryan>That was not a proposal.

1679
02:45:53.689 --> 02:45:57.659
<v Dan Ryan>I feel I, I'm still, um, want to take up space to say that.

1680
02:45:59.770 --> 02:46:02.326
<v Dan Ryan>I, I need an— I need to, uh, put this—.

1681
02:46:02.424 --> 02:46:03.371
<v Dan Ryan>You need to see something.

1682
02:46:04.048 --> 02:46:17.397
<v Dan Ryan>I support adding one additional staff for each council office and moving forward on the District 1 footprint for a council office in the district.

1683
02:46:20.288 --> 02:46:34.802
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Do you have a position on the mayor's staff included in the current proposal, and do you have a I'm not in the mayor's office.

1684
02:46:34.963 --> 02:46:36.155
<v Dan Ryan>I don't have the perspective.

1685
02:46:36.268 --> 02:46:39.970
<v Dan Ryan>It sounds like I would say yes to that based on what you presented earlier.

1686
02:46:41.136 --> 02:46:50.888
<v Dan Ryan>I don't have anything to say yet about the shared staffing because I haven't experienced it yet, so I don't have enough knowledge on the crosswalk of that.

1687
02:46:51.912 --> 02:46:59.826
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I will tell you that our council operations has suggested that they could use one more policy analyst as we get started on our policy work.

1688
02:47:00.438 --> 02:47:07.438
<v Dan Ryan>For committee staffing and actually for council leadership, that would be you, the president, the vice president.

1689
02:47:07.759 --> 02:47:14.149
<v Dan Ryan>I also want some shared staffing that would be shared with the 2 of you so that you can do your extra duties.

1690
02:47:14.744 --> 02:47:16.301
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I know that our staff would appreciate that.

1691
02:47:16.606 --> 02:47:22.529
<v Dan Ryan>So Hi, Lindley and Keelan.

1692
02:47:22.834 --> 02:47:25.031
<v Dan Ryan>Do you want to translate what I tried to say?

1693
02:47:25.496 --> 02:47:30.920
<v Eric Zimmerman>I could use some translation because I've never seen a— where we asked for a bunch of amendments when we have a question called.

1694
02:47:31.049 --> 02:47:31.898
<v Sameer Kanal>So I'm quite—.

1695
02:47:31.898 --> 02:47:34.674
<v Dan Ryan>I've never experienced a lot of what we're experiencing right now.

1696
02:47:35.027 --> 02:47:46.291
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I was told that we do not need to call a question, but that we have to know exactly what we want before we can call the question so that we can take a recess and have it written up.

1697
02:47:46.371 --> 02:47:59.644
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So I am trying right now, Councilor Zimmerman, to respond to what staff say they need and respond to the fact that I think I'm hearing some dissension across council, especially if we want an emergency clause, which would then require 9 votes.

1698
02:48:00.720 --> 02:48:02.376
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And I am trying to feel out where we're at.

1699
02:48:03.404 --> 02:48:07.452
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So we could certainly recess right now, but I just—.

1700
02:48:07.790 --> 02:48:12.168
<v Eric Zimmerman>I just haven't heard anybody say I am moved to amend, so Correct.

1701
02:48:12.281 --> 02:48:13.012
<v Eric Zimmerman>That's out there.

1702
02:48:14.293 --> 02:48:18.384
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And that's what I've asked for, is if you are going to move to amend, but to put yourself in the queue.

1703
02:48:20.049 --> 02:48:46.422
<v Dan Ryan>I move to amend that we have an exhibit that gives us a dollar amount for adding 1 staff member per council office and to get District 1 foot— office footprint in motion and hopefully be established soon, and also the mayor's 3, and shared staffing for the council committees and one for the council leadership.

1704
02:48:47.630 --> 02:48:48.668
<v Dan Ryan>So that probably totaled 2.

1705
02:48:49.415 --> 02:48:52.447
<v Dan Ryan>Is that the same exact exhibit as you asked for?

1706
02:48:53.996 --> 02:48:54.287
<v Dan Ryan>It's not.

1707
02:48:54.338 --> 02:48:55.108
<v Dan Ryan>It's much less, right?

1708
02:48:55.193 --> 02:48:55.484
<v Dan Ryan>It's about half.

1709
02:48:56.700 --> 02:48:57.332
<v Dan Ryan>It's much less.

1710
02:48:57.704 --> 02:48:57.884
<v Dan Ryan>Good.

1711
02:48:57.948 --> 02:49:01.532
<v Robert Taylor>Sorry, can I just clarify the, the last part of what you just said?

1712
02:49:01.597 --> 02:49:05.911
<v Robert Taylor>You want it— it's Is it 2 staff in council operations or 3?

1713
02:49:06.072 --> 02:49:06.873
<v Robert Taylor>I didn't quite track.

1714
02:49:07.564 --> 02:49:08.462
<v Dan Ryan>Yeah, I said 2.

1715
02:49:08.799 --> 02:49:15.620
<v Dan Ryan>One, one additional for the leadership and one additional for policy work.

1716
02:49:15.845 --> 02:49:16.279
<v Candace Avalos>Okay, got it.

1717
02:49:16.390 --> 02:49:17.097
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yeah, yeah, we can do that.

1718
02:49:17.146 --> 02:49:19.601
<v Dan Ryan>For the committee's staffing, which is shared.

1719
02:49:20.420 --> 02:49:22.441
<v Dan Ryan>Yeah, yeah, got it.

1720
02:49:23.726 --> 02:49:28.620
<v Dan Ryan>I'd like to see that exhibit as we go forth after the break so I can compare.

1721
02:49:29.347 --> 02:49:34.817
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So this is not a motion, this is a request for information from our budget team.

1722
02:49:34.947 --> 02:49:35.739
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is that correct?

1723
02:49:37.221 --> 02:49:37.691
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Mhm.

1724
02:49:37.788 --> 02:49:39.923
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, Councilor Avalos.

1725
02:49:40.117 --> 02:49:42.753
<v Dan Ryan>You want to make an amendment, go for it, Councilor Avalos.

1726
02:49:43.351 --> 02:49:43.626
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Oh boy.

1727
02:49:44.063 --> 02:49:47.953
<v Candace Avalos>Um, okay, I'm trying to respond to all the stimuli here.

1728
02:49:48.438 --> 02:50:00.602
<v Candace Avalos>I, I, I guess what I'm feeling I agree that the 4-point-whatever feels like too much right now.

1729
02:50:00.779 --> 02:50:01.677
<v Candace Avalos>So I do agree with that.

1730
02:50:01.790 --> 02:50:03.540
<v Candace Avalos>I don't know what amount I want.

1731
02:50:03.653 --> 02:50:18.069
<v Candace Avalos>I think I'm looking at what the outcomes are, and the outcomes I want are definitely one other staff per person, definitely more staff for the council president operation, right, including the policy analyst.

1732
02:50:18.118 --> 02:50:32.039
<v Candace Avalos>It sounds like, uh, Councilor Ryan suggested 2, but was your original proposal the original proposal was based on a number that gave folks some flexibility.

1733
02:50:32.632 --> 02:50:37.336
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Likely it would have been 3 if you were looking at a district office immediately.

1734
02:50:37.450 --> 02:50:44.627
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>If you were looking at having a smaller district office footprint and focus more on constituent outreach, it may have been a little bit more.

1735
02:50:45.943 --> 02:50:48.465
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>This proposal came in at a restoration budget number.

1736
02:50:48.529 --> 02:50:49.027
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So it's not a proposal?

1737
02:50:50.004 --> 02:50:54.849
<v Candace Avalos>Hold on, I think what I'm asking is, uh, was 3 the number for president's staff in particular?

1738
02:50:55.559 --> 02:50:55.689
<v Candace Avalos>Is that—.

1739
02:50:55.689 --> 02:50:58.691
<v Candace Avalos>Yeah, because I feel like what you're describing is like for each of them.

1740
02:50:58.739 --> 02:50:59.191
<v Angelita Morillo>Got it, got it.

1741
02:50:59.288 --> 02:51:00.579
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>You were talking about president's staff.

1742
02:51:01.000 --> 02:51:13.564
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So I believe the conversation that, um, a few folks had was 1 additional staff for our council operations policy team and 2 staff for the president or the leadership.

1743
02:51:14.046 --> 02:51:14.190
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

1744
02:51:15.506 --> 02:51:27.811
<v Candace Avalos>Um, and then, you know, we don't— because the original proposal was flexible funding essentially for each district so that they could decide about the district office, so I'm not clear like what that number is.

1745
02:51:28.086 --> 02:51:42.310
<v Candace Avalos>And but I would like to— I'm hearing from Commissioner— Councilor Smith, $398,000 more for District 1, or per per councilor for district offices.

1746
02:51:42.586 --> 02:51:43.092
<v Candace Avalos>For everything.

1747
02:51:43.318 --> 02:51:43.855
<v Candace Avalos>For everything.

1748
02:51:44.034 --> 02:51:44.131
<v Candace Avalos>Yes.

1749
02:51:44.213 --> 02:51:45.027
<v Candace Avalos>Okay, okay, okay.

1750
02:51:51.520 --> 02:51:55.531
<v Candace Avalos>Um, if, if commission— if I keep doing that, why do I keep doing that?

1751
02:51:56.032 --> 02:52:00.888
<v Candace Avalos>Um, if Councilor Ryan, um, is— yours was technically not an amendment, right?

1752
02:52:00.986 --> 02:52:04.164
<v Candace Avalos>So it was a request for information, is that what I'm understanding?

1753
02:52:04.342 --> 02:52:04.745
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, correct.

1754
02:52:04.792 --> 02:52:05.939
<v Dan Ryan>We have another exhibit.

1755
02:52:06.755 --> 02:52:11.930
<v Candace Avalos>Okay, um, maybe I will put myself back in the queue.

1756
02:52:12.027 --> 02:52:16.314
<v Candace Avalos>I kind of want to hear what everyone else is thinking because I'm not quite sure yet, and I'm trying to gauge the room here.

1757
02:52:16.523 --> 02:52:22.238
<v Candace Avalos>But I think I'll tell you what my gut is telling me is that I would like to make that amount smaller.

1758
02:52:22.318 --> 02:52:26.691
<v Candace Avalos>So I'm trying to figure out what that smaller amount is, but that— those are my intentions right now.

1759
02:52:26.757 --> 02:52:29.367
<v Candace Avalos>So I'll, I'll hold off and just kind of hear what everyone else has to say.

1760
02:52:32.719 --> 02:52:33.058
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

1761
02:52:34.011 --> 02:52:47.977
<v Angelita Morillo>Um, so I, I have a proposal, I guess, um, but I want— I would like to see— I don't know if there's a numbers person out here, a numbers city staffer that can whip this out real quick, but, um—.

1762
02:52:47.977 --> 02:52:48.750
<v Angelita Morillo>We're looking at you.

1763
02:52:49.313 --> 02:52:50.101
<v Angelita Morillo>Okay, thank you.

1764
02:52:51.165 --> 02:52:56.443
<v Angelita Morillo>Um, I would like to see the proposal stay pretty much the same with one major change.

1765
02:52:56.493 --> 02:52:57.418
<v Angelita Morillo>So yes.

1766
02:52:57.467 --> 02:53:25.495
<v Angelita Morillo>One staff person, uh, one additional staff person per city council member, one staffer for the council president because you're doing insane levels of work and you deserve support, um, 2 policy analysts that are shared amongst the city council, the 3 staffers that the mayor requested because I know you're here on Saturdays and you also deserve some assistance, um, and that for now only District One, get the funding for a council office.

1767
02:53:26.299 --> 02:53:44.029
<v Angelita Morillo>And the reason I say that is because I feel like we haven't done a clear analysis, or I have not seen one, where we actually see the cost of in-district offices when that comes to rent, to, you know, internet, phone, setting up the tech, setting up security for our safety.

1768
02:53:44.927 --> 02:53:48.975
<v Angelita Morillo>I haven't seen a meaningful analysis on those in-district office conversations yet.

1769
02:53:49.072 --> 02:53:49.472
<v Angelita Morillo>Councilor Loretta Smith.

1770
02:53:49.986 --> 02:54:00.325
<v Angelita Morillo>And I think that District 1 needs to be prioritized right now, and I think that the other districts are able to hold off until a little bit longer.

1771
02:54:00.422 --> 02:54:02.104
<v Angelita Morillo>We can wait to get that analysis.

1772
02:54:02.248 --> 02:54:05.343
<v Angelita Morillo>We— most of our constituents are able to access City Hall by bus.

1773
02:54:06.674 --> 02:54:09.174
<v Angelita Morillo>District 1, you know, it takes an hour to get here.

1774
02:54:09.254 --> 02:54:20.493
<v Angelita Morillo>So I really want to prioritize that district for that need, but that's a suggestion that I have if I think it's really important that we get additional staffers as soon as possible.

1775
02:54:20.941 --> 02:54:29.729
<v Angelita Morillo>So if the district offices are a place where we can cut that for now in order to advance getting staff, that is what I would propose.

1776
02:54:30.483 --> 02:54:34.572
<v Angelita Morillo>And I typed this out, so if I can email that to you, just let me know.

1777
02:54:35.038 --> 02:54:38.372
<v Angelita Morillo>I don't know what your full email is, but I'm happy to.

1778
02:54:39.623 --> 02:54:46.865
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor, I will send you, or maybe the clerk I can send you in Teams Ruth's email so you can send it to her.

1779
02:54:47.173 --> 02:54:48.465
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, thank you.

1780
02:54:50.123 --> 02:54:50.707
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Green.

1781
02:54:52.665 --> 02:54:53.717
<v Mitch Green>Yeah, thanks, Madam President.

1782
02:54:53.814 --> 02:54:59.413
<v Mitch Green>I guess this is— I'm a little bit stuck with this process here, um, because I, you know, as am I.

1783
02:55:00.849 --> 02:55:03.593
<v Mitch Green>We, we had, we had a motion as presented in the agenda.

1784
02:55:04.399 --> 02:55:07.918
<v Mitch Green>We had an amendment to that motion which we, we voted to accept.

1785
02:55:10.204 --> 02:55:14.375
<v Mitch Green>And then you would go back to the original— you'd go back to the original question, right?

1786
02:55:14.695 --> 02:55:28.006
<v Mitch Green>And I understand that there's some process here about the exhibits, but what I— what we're stuck in now is now we're back in a world where we're, we're bandying about proposals that's very— it's difficult to quantify because we're going based upon FTEs.

1787
02:55:28.086 --> 02:55:28.952
<v Mitch Green>Well, what's an FTE?

1788
02:55:29.593 --> 02:55:30.941
<v Mitch Green>Is it a senior council aide?

1789
02:55:31.614 --> 02:55:34.228
<v Mitch Green>Is it a, you know, junior constituent services?

1790
02:55:34.744 --> 02:55:39.944
<v Mitch Green>I would urge us to step back from that space, colleagues, and, and just go back to the numbers.

1791
02:55:40.459 --> 02:55:43.990
<v Mitch Green>If you don't like $4.5 million, give me a different number.

1792
02:55:44.103 --> 02:55:44.846
<v Mitch Green>I can vote on that.

1793
02:55:44.896 --> 02:55:52.798
<v Mitch Green>But that's— I don't think we can move forward in this conversation unless we can go back to just the aggregate dollars, because then we can trust ourselves.

1794
02:55:52.896 --> 02:55:57.671
<v Mitch Green>I trust all of you to make good fiscal choices with your dollars for the rest of the 5 months.

1795
02:55:57.850 --> 02:55:58.565
<v Mitch Green>That's where I'm at.

1796
02:56:01.125 --> 02:56:08.828
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Ruth, are you able to show us some numbers around district office costs and staffing costs?

1797
02:56:09.102 --> 02:56:09.150
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>No.

1798
02:56:09.199 --> 02:56:09.504
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>No?

1799
02:56:09.649 --> 02:56:10.573
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, I'm seeing a no.

1800
02:56:13.059 --> 02:56:29.795
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So alternately, we can decide if we would like to put an emergency clause on this or not, take 5 minutes, vote on the original Or take the emergency clause off and just vote on the original.

1801
02:56:29.971 --> 02:56:33.899
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, though we can't vote on the— we can't vote on the original today.

1802
02:56:34.140 --> 02:56:34.846
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I mean, if—.

1803
02:56:34.846 --> 02:56:36.193
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Unless we put the emergency clause on.

1804
02:56:37.252 --> 02:56:37.588
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That's—.

1805
02:56:37.733 --> 02:56:38.359
<v Eric Zimmerman>Can't vote on—.

1806
02:56:39.031 --> 02:56:39.754
<v Eric Zimmerman>Is that what you said?

1807
02:56:40.074 --> 02:56:40.235
<v Eric Zimmerman>Is it?

1808
02:56:41.341 --> 02:56:43.009
<v Eric Zimmerman>I thought she said the budget one goes live.

1809
02:56:43.265 --> 02:56:49.183
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The budget one still needs the 2 weeks but then doesn't have the 30-day wait period.

1810
02:56:49.600 --> 02:56:50.352
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Correct.

1811
02:56:50.417 --> 02:56:51.908
<v Robert Taylor>You still need 2 readings.

1812
02:56:52.149 --> 02:56:52.486
<v Robert Taylor>That's correct.

1813
02:56:52.584 --> 02:56:53.129
<v Robert Taylor>But you don't—.

1814
02:56:53.129 --> 02:56:53.274
<v Robert Taylor>You—.

1815
02:56:53.387 --> 02:56:56.650
<v Robert Taylor>But it goes into effect immediately even without an emergency clause.

1816
02:56:57.021 --> 02:56:58.725
<v Robert Taylor>So what I—.

1817
02:56:58.997 --> 02:56:59.384
<v Robert Taylor>All I'm trying—.

1818
02:56:59.384 --> 02:57:03.504
<v Robert Taylor>I'm not trying to force a whole bunch of discussion.

1819
02:57:03.634 --> 02:57:13.227
<v Robert Taylor>I'm just saying that before council votes on the— or if before you vote on it, you would need to add an emergency clause, and to make it comply with budget law, you would need to amend an exhibit.

1820
02:57:13.341 --> 02:57:14.545
<v Robert Taylor>That's— that is all I'm saying.

1821
02:57:18.882 --> 02:57:22.647
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, Councilor Koyama Lane, you are in the queue and have not spoken.

1822
02:57:26.398 --> 02:57:47.617
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Maybe this is not possible information, but what would be helpful for me, and I'm guessing other members of the public, to see is a breakdown in everyday language of what these different scenarios are, what they look like, Um, it's, it's hard.

1823
02:57:47.745 --> 02:57:49.012
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I don't— we don't have a slideshow.

1824
02:57:49.156 --> 02:57:56.453
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I don't have clear information that explains, that is clear for me what $4.5 million looks like.

1825
02:57:56.773 --> 02:58:01.281
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I am wondering what Councilor Ryan's scenario, how much would that be?

1826
02:58:01.441 --> 02:58:02.403
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>What does that look like?

1827
02:58:02.788 --> 02:58:05.594
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, thank you.

1828
02:58:05.834 --> 02:58:19.479
<v Robert Taylor>Yeah, so if you give me a couple of minutes, I can make a few changes to the costing I have, and I can get you some numbers and show you, um, show you what that desired amendment looks like.

1829
02:58:19.559 --> 02:58:26.546
<v Robert Taylor>I think without having done the costing that what Councilor Murillo and what Councilor Ryan said are very probably very close in number.

1830
02:58:26.707 --> 02:58:31.379
<v Robert Taylor>And for the purposes of what you're doing today, you need a number.

1831
02:58:32.166 --> 02:58:40.647
<v Robert Taylor>We do need to split out in when we go budget it the difference between personnel and External materials and services, that's just for this fiscal year.

1832
02:58:40.760 --> 02:58:42.977
<v Robert Taylor>You can change that obviously for July 1st.

1833
02:58:43.104 --> 02:58:51.490
<v Robert Taylor>So I need to have some understanding of, you know, whether like you're looking at 2 staff or 1 staff per office, just because that affects the number for personnel.

1834
02:58:52.245 --> 02:59:00.343
<v Robert Taylor>Um, but other than that, I just— we need to get a rough number on the budget, and, you know, then you, you all can decide how to use that.

1835
02:59:00.681 --> 02:59:04.119
<v Robert Taylor>Um, and then you have more time to figure out what you need for 25-26.

1836
02:59:04.166 --> 02:59:04.295
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you.

1837
02:59:04.962 --> 02:59:07.018
<v Robert Taylor>So that's— if you give me a couple minutes, I can give you that.

1838
02:59:07.099 --> 02:59:07.470
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

1839
02:59:07.779 --> 02:59:19.185
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And just to clarify, I believe there definitely is a need here to have this conversation and talk about increasing our budget, and I just want to make sure we're proceeding really carefully and thoughtfully with this and not rushing into it.

1840
02:59:29.122 --> 02:59:30.631
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have a number of other folks in the queue.

1841
02:59:31.159 --> 02:59:32.977
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'd like you to be able to work on that.

1842
02:59:34.500 --> 02:59:45.510
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We are at almost 9 o'clock and we have a number of other things on the agenda, so I am going to propose that we take a 5-minute break, let folks stretch their legs, let Ruth get some numbers up for us.

1843
02:59:45.992 --> 02:59:48.402
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think we need to understand if we've passed an amendment yet.

1844
02:59:48.739 --> 02:59:49.832
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have passed an amendment.

1845
02:59:50.201 --> 02:59:52.899
<v Eric Zimmerman>Okay, what, what amendment did we pass, Madam President?

1846
02:59:53.158 --> 02:59:55.497
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We passed an amendment to A1.

1847
02:59:56.016 --> 02:59:56.227
<v Eric Zimmerman>Roger.

1848
02:59:56.605 --> 03:00:11.112
<v Eric Zimmerman>So my question with that is a point of order of why would we be now tasking ideas that have come from this dais without an amendment to them to bring forward several proposals?

1849
03:00:11.290 --> 03:00:18.495
<v Eric Zimmerman>As it stands, the last motion to call the question was from Councilor Green on, on the package as it sits.

1850
03:00:19.088 --> 03:00:25.653
<v Eric Zimmerman>We got direction from the budget office that they need to put together an exhibit But then no other action has occurred.

1851
03:00:26.311 --> 03:00:34.981
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We can't call the question today unless we put an emergency clause on, which is why I had originally opened it up to say, are there other amendments?

1852
03:00:35.061 --> 03:00:36.636
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Do folks need to talk through it?

1853
03:00:36.731 --> 03:00:37.744
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>What do we want to do here?

1854
03:00:38.674 --> 03:00:45.916
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So we're a little bit out of order at this point because there was a lot of discussion when I said if you have another amendment, put yourself in the queue.

1855
03:00:49.000 --> 03:00:57.755
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I think what I'm hearing you say is let's just come back, get this all ready, and move on with our business to vote on this in 2 weeks.

1856
03:00:57.885 --> 03:00:59.408
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is that what you're hoping for?

1857
03:01:05.238 --> 03:01:14.717
<v Eric Zimmerman>I'm uninterested in seeing packages developed on the fly from the staff that have not been voted as amendments by this body.

1858
03:01:15.467 --> 03:01:27.204
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that we should take votes on amendments so that we can give clear direction to staff, because I think we look like a shotgun blast right now to staff, and I don't think that's good, right?

1859
03:01:27.269 --> 03:01:28.119
<v Eric Zimmerman>Because we scattered.

1860
03:01:29.032 --> 03:01:37.659
<v Eric Zimmerman>So I would prefer that this body indicate what it is and isn't supporting, and that that is the clear direction that we owe to staff for this product development.

1861
03:01:38.414 --> 03:01:41.588
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So let's— I'm gonna suggest something to that end.

1862
03:01:42.407 --> 03:01:59.311
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Alternately, from what I suggested before, we could go back to the proposal from Councilor Murillo and say that we would be voting on an amendment which would be prepared by staff but which would be at the cost level of what she listed.

1863
03:01:59.521 --> 03:02:01.305
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Or would you prefer to put out a number?

1864
03:02:01.466 --> 03:02:04.855
<v Eric Zimmerman>Well, I would say that— I would say that this number was rooted in fact, right?

1865
03:02:04.920 --> 03:02:13.439
<v Eric Zimmerman>It was— it is a restoration number to the Council offices previously prorated with the remaining 5 months given what has already been assigned.

1866
03:02:13.888 --> 03:02:15.586
<v Eric Zimmerman>So these numbers didn't come out of nowhere.

1867
03:02:15.666 --> 03:02:17.093
<v Eric Zimmerman>This is not a magic wand number.

1868
03:02:17.174 --> 03:02:18.888
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that those numbers already exist.

1869
03:02:19.097 --> 03:02:20.637
<v Eric Zimmerman>They're rooted in that prorated data.

1870
03:02:21.823 --> 03:02:28.459
<v Eric Zimmerman>And, um, Councilor Morillo, I, I agree with you, and some of us are like ready to go on, on certain spaces and others.

1871
03:02:28.572 --> 03:02:35.034
<v Eric Zimmerman>And, and, and, and I think that, you know, I'm not one of them, but I agree with Commissioner Smith.

1872
03:02:35.371 --> 03:02:45.228
<v Eric Zimmerman>If this council takes an action, I think we take it together so that each office has the same budget that doesn't place any other districts out of the ordinary with everyone else.

1873
03:02:45.342 --> 03:02:52.131
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think it would be bad for us to be able to point to different districts, um, in a way that makes them— I'm just not there yet.

1874
03:02:52.181 --> 03:02:54.700
<v Eric Zimmerman>So that's why I'm going to support equal numbers across the board.

1875
03:02:54.845 --> 03:02:55.456
<v Eric Zimmerman>Thank you.

1876
03:02:55.520 --> 03:02:58.441
<v Eric Zimmerman>That 4.3 that's out there is the equal number across the board.

1877
03:02:58.746 --> 03:03:01.378
<v Eric Zimmerman>That's the one that was amended for for out of contingency.

1878
03:03:01.556 --> 03:03:05.000
<v Eric Zimmerman>And as far as I can tell, that's the only direction right now that staff has.

1879
03:03:05.877 --> 03:03:08.068
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I think that's important, right?

1880
03:03:08.636 --> 03:03:15.920
<v Eric Zimmerman>We should amend if we have amendments, but if we don't, the only one that should be given any product development is the one as it stands, I think.

1881
03:03:20.843 --> 03:03:24.069
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have a number of folks who would like to speak right now.

1882
03:03:26.764 --> 03:03:31.663
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Zimmerman, you are asking us not to speak, but it's— nope.

1883
03:03:32.547 --> 03:03:33.236
<v Loretta Smith>Madam President.

1884
03:03:34.023 --> 03:03:34.763
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Smith.

1885
03:03:35.677 --> 03:03:38.119
<v Loretta Smith>I agree with, um, Councilor Zimmerman.

1886
03:03:39.435 --> 03:03:43.755
<v Loretta Smith>I, I cannot accept taking a higher budget than everyone else.

1887
03:03:43.884 --> 03:03:44.510
<v Loretta Smith>I just can't.

1888
03:03:44.735 --> 03:03:48.188
<v Loretta Smith>We, we, we're 12 and we get the same budget.

1889
03:03:49.070 --> 03:04:15.210
<v Loretta Smith>I disagree with, uh, Councilor, uh, Dan Ryan about giving the mayor 3 staffers and understanding that he needs 3 staffers, but not understanding that we need additional staffers to do all the committee work, and then giving the, the president more staffers because she needs to do additional work.

1890
03:04:15.274 --> 03:04:19.575
<v Loretta Smith>Well, that work also has to come from us in order for her to do the work.

1891
03:04:19.640 --> 03:04:19.689
<v Loretta Smith>Yes.

1892
03:04:20.134 --> 03:04:25.834
<v Loretta Smith>So the simpler thing to do would be to take the $398,000.

1893
03:04:26.269 --> 03:04:28.990
<v Loretta Smith>If you can't use it all, give it back to the general fund.

1894
03:04:29.055 --> 03:04:29.789
<v Loretta Smith>We could use it.

1895
03:04:29.870 --> 03:04:31.567
<v Loretta Smith>We have a budget deficit.

1896
03:04:33.117 --> 03:04:41.988
<v Loretta Smith>And let everyone get the same amount of money, because if we don't, I won't even be able to accept my own amendment.

1897
03:04:42.609 --> 03:04:43.693
<v Loretta Smith>It's just not going to be fair.

1898
03:04:44.400 --> 03:04:53.308
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Do we have anybody who would like to make a motion for an emergency clause so we know if we're looking at a vote today or a vote in 2 weeks?

1899
03:05:01.462 --> 03:05:02.853
<v Jamie Dunphy>Yeah, uh, I would like to make a motion.

1900
03:05:03.307 --> 03:05:15.049
<v Jamie Dunphy>I would like to add an emergency clause recognizing that the city is facing multiple crises and an inadequately staffed, uh, legislative branch is unable to meet those and, uh, a 2-week delay is unacceptable.

1901
03:05:15.209 --> 03:05:17.864
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Second.

1902
03:05:18.507 --> 03:05:19.344
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Our attorney has a comment.

1903
03:05:19.408 --> 03:05:21.952
<v Robert Taylor>Councilor Dunphy, may I suggest some emergency clause language?

1904
03:05:22.147 --> 03:05:22.745
<v Robert Taylor>Please do.

1905
03:05:23.506 --> 03:05:30.904
<v Robert Taylor>Um, council declares that an emergency exists in order to have exhibits 1 and 2 of this ordinance as amended be enacted upon passage of this ordinance.

1906
03:05:31.049 --> 03:05:35.167
<v Robert Taylor>Therefore, this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the council.

1907
03:05:35.672 --> 03:05:36.063
<v Candace Avalos>So moved.

1908
03:05:36.502 --> 03:05:36.877
<v Candace Avalos>Second.

1909
03:05:38.270 --> 03:05:40.485
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Clerk, can you please call the roll for us?

1910
03:05:45.601 --> 03:05:48.514
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm sorry, Councilor Ryan would like discussion.

1911
03:05:48.564 --> 03:05:49.113
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I apologize.

1912
03:05:49.372 --> 03:05:50.846
<v Dan Ryan>Yeah, so this is our 2nd amendment.

1913
03:05:51.088 --> 03:05:53.745
<v Dan Ryan>For the 1st amendment was we moved it to contingency.

1914
03:05:54.496 --> 03:05:57.780
<v Dan Ryan>I voted yes on that because no matter what, I thought that was a good idea.

1915
03:05:58.233 --> 03:06:06.573
<v Dan Ryan>So now this one is that whatever we vote on tonight is going to be— have an emergency clause on We don't know exactly what we're going to vote on yet.

1916
03:06:07.763 --> 03:06:12.009
<v Dan Ryan>I don't, because I would like to see the information from the exhibits.

1917
03:06:14.020 --> 03:06:18.335
<v Jamie Dunphy>I would just add that we are moving money from one side of a ledger to another, from a contingency fund.

1918
03:06:18.433 --> 03:06:19.645
<v Jamie Dunphy>We have 5 months to spend it.

1919
03:06:19.709 --> 03:06:22.408
<v Jamie Dunphy>If we're unable to spend it in 5 months, we return it to the general fund.

1920
03:06:22.458 --> 03:06:24.542
<v Jamie Dunphy>We're unable to carry it over into the next fiscal year.

1921
03:06:25.189 --> 03:06:29.778
<v Jamie Dunphy>Each councilor is duly elected and has the authority to make their decisions on what they spend that money on.

1922
03:06:30.262 --> 03:06:37.176
<v Jamie Dunphy>Whether or not we start construction or I hire folks immediately, this is a matter of simply increasing my office budget.

1923
03:06:37.787 --> 03:06:40.337
<v Jamie Dunphy>And I think that there is an urgency to this.

1924
03:06:40.610 --> 03:06:41.509
<v Dan Ryan>I understand the case.

1925
03:06:41.653 --> 03:06:44.429
<v Dan Ryan>I was trying to get at the nuts and bolts of the actual amendments.

1926
03:06:44.524 --> 03:06:44.701
<v Dan Ryan>Yeah.

1927
03:06:44.781 --> 03:06:51.968
<v Dan Ryan>And so I understand the first amendment that I voted on, and this one is just to put an emergency clause no matter what it is.

1928
03:06:52.177 --> 03:06:52.322
<v Robert Taylor>Okay.

1929
03:06:52.547 --> 03:06:52.658
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Right.

1930
03:06:52.722 --> 03:06:53.075
<v Dan Ryan>Thanks.

1931
03:06:53.670 --> 03:06:55.563
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Well, just tell us if we can vote on it.

1932
03:06:57.243 --> 03:07:04.631
<v Candace Avalos>Further clarification, so this, uh, emergency ordinance applies to whatever we pass?

1933
03:07:05.100 --> 03:07:08.114
<v Candace Avalos>So where right now we don't know what that is, is that what I'm understanding?

1934
03:07:08.372 --> 03:07:14.998
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That's correct, because we don't know if we're passing something today or not unless we know if we have an emergency clause on it or not.

1935
03:07:16.065 --> 03:07:16.484
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

1936
03:07:17.097 --> 03:07:19.614
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Smith, are you in the queue or is that a legacy hand?

1937
03:07:19.761 --> 03:07:19.969
<v Unidentified speaker>Legacy.

1938
03:07:20.647 --> 03:07:20.889
<v Loretta Smith>Okay.

1939
03:07:22.361 --> 03:07:23.468
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I see no more discussion.

1940
03:07:24.825 --> 03:07:35.095
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I vote aye.

1941
03:07:37.362 --> 03:07:37.540
<v Jamie Dunphy>Aye.

1942
03:07:39.530 --> 03:07:39.577
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

1943
03:07:41.706 --> 03:07:41.754
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

1944
03:07:42.367 --> 03:07:43.254
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>No.

1945
03:07:44.689 --> 03:07:44.704
<v Jamie Dunphy>Aye.

1946
03:07:45.495 --> 03:07:45.623
<v Loretta Smith>Aye.

1947
03:07:46.461 --> 03:07:46.477
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

1948
03:07:48.709 --> 03:07:54.856
<v Sameer Kanal>Although I'm still a no vote on the underlying issue, as a courtesy, I'll vote aye on the emergency clause.

1949
03:07:57.398 --> 03:07:57.432
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

1950
03:07:58.527 --> 03:07:58.575
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

1951
03:07:59.251 --> 03:07:59.332
<v Helmi Hisarik>Aye.

1952
03:07:59.896 --> 03:07:59.943
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

1953
03:08:00.475 --> 03:08:06.808
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The amendment is approved.

1954
03:08:07.908 --> 03:08:12.959
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>All right, all right, so we now have a little more clarity on our process.

1955
03:08:15.844 --> 03:08:17.022
<v Sameer Kanal>More staff would help us with this.

1956
03:08:17.523 --> 03:08:17.862
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>What?

1957
03:08:18.426 --> 03:08:19.170
<v Sameer Kanal>More staff would help us.

1958
03:08:19.218 --> 03:08:21.847
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>More staff would help us with this.

1959
03:08:24.891 --> 03:08:35.628
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, are the folks in the queue in the queue to discuss the resolution or in the queue to offer an amendment?

1960
03:08:38.861 --> 03:08:39.524
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Green.

1961
03:08:44.927 --> 03:08:50.422
<v Mitch Green>I move to recess so a budget and exhibit can be prepared, so that way we can call the question, take a vote.

1962
03:08:50.809 --> 03:08:51.148
<v Sameer Kanal>Second.

1963
03:08:52.198 --> 03:08:57.986
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Do we need a vote on this, or can we just call a recess?

1964
03:09:00.297 --> 03:09:02.700
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I think I can just call a recess, right?

1965
03:09:03.365 --> 03:09:04.079
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Without objection.

1966
03:09:04.176 --> 03:09:04.615
<v Sameer Kanal>Yeah.

1967
03:09:04.938 --> 03:09:06.993
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is there any objection to a recess?

1968
03:09:07.090 --> 03:09:07.379
<v Candace Avalos>How long?

1969
03:09:08.358 --> 03:09:10.269
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We are going to take a 5-minute recess.

1970
03:09:10.605 --> 03:09:18.970
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>If our budget folks are not ready at that time, I am going to request permission to reorder the agenda so that we can hear from some of our other guests and let them go home.

1971
03:09:19.292 --> 03:09:21.829
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>But let's take 5 minutes for everybody to stretch their legs.

1972
03:09:22.647 --> 03:09:23.514
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

1973
03:18:40.063 --> 03:18:42.654
<v Sameer Kanal>Okay, just good for that explanation everybody's asking for.

1974
03:18:42.718 --> 03:18:53.977
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I am going to call us back in, and I believe we have amendment language shared on our screens.

1975
03:18:54.075 --> 03:18:57.849
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm hoping we can get it up on the screen so that everybody else can see it too.

1976
03:19:01.850 --> 03:19:06.861
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So this is what we are currently— this is what we have currently voted into our proposal.

1977
03:19:08.172 --> 03:19:17.082
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>As I understand it, we need to vote on amendments to the exhibits to match the language of the resolution.

1978
03:19:17.194 --> 03:19:19.156
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Now, this is what the attorney has told me.

1979
03:19:21.636 --> 03:19:24.184
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>But I see a disagreement here between—.

1980
03:19:24.184 --> 03:19:30.148
<v Robert Taylor>I don't believe the initial amendment included the language and conform Exhibit 1, and that's the problem with it.

1981
03:19:30.197 --> 03:19:35.054
<v Robert Taylor>So we just have a conformed Exhibit 1, a quick motion, second, vote on Exhibit 1.

1982
03:19:35.486 --> 03:19:38.468
<v Robert Taylor>But I think Keelan can show that as well so that people can see it.

1983
03:19:39.270 --> 03:19:42.653
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, let's get reformed Exhibit 1 up.

1984
03:19:43.599 --> 03:19:44.415
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Do we have a motion?

1985
03:19:44.479 --> 03:19:44.880
<v Sameer Kanal>So moved.

1986
03:19:45.525 --> 03:19:46.140
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have a second.

1987
03:19:46.495 --> 03:19:46.835
<v Jamie Dunphy>Second.

1988
03:19:47.386 --> 03:19:48.146
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any discussion?

1989
03:19:50.781 --> 03:20:00.038
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, we're going to get that up so you can actually see it, and as soon as it's up, we will take a vote on this.

1990
03:20:01.171 --> 03:20:03.791
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>If I talk really slowly, I might stall for long enough.

1991
03:20:04.504 --> 03:20:05.927
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>There we go, it's up for councilors.

1992
03:20:08.983 --> 03:20:10.184
<v Robert Taylor>Scroll down, Keelan.

1993
03:20:11.278 --> 03:20:25.774
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So this is an amended Exhibit 1, which we now have a motion and a second to adopt, which would ensure that our Exhibit 1, uh, lines up with what is in the language of the resolution.

1994
03:20:27.744 --> 03:20:28.453
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any discussion?

1995
03:20:30.034 --> 03:20:33.584
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, Keelan, do we need to do a roll call on this?

1996
03:20:34.761 --> 03:20:34.889
<v Dan Ryan>Yes.

1997
03:20:39.355 --> 03:20:39.532
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

1998
03:20:39.918 --> 03:20:39.967
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

1999
03:20:40.481 --> 03:20:40.497
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

2000
03:20:41.126 --> 03:20:41.174
<v Jamie Dunphy>Aye.

2001
03:20:42.171 --> 03:20:48.672
<v Dan Ryan>I'm not used to this.

2002
03:20:49.027 --> 03:20:51.870
<v Dan Ryan>Um, sorry, I'm just not used to this.

2003
03:20:51.935 --> 03:20:59.789
<v Dan Ryan>This feels very, um— so this is the original that was proposed and it was just moved to contingency?

2004
03:21:00.290 --> 03:21:01.260
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, correct.

2005
03:21:01.502 --> 03:21:01.680
<v Sameer Kanal>All right.

2006
03:21:02.275 --> 03:21:09.300
<v Dan Ryan>And the Exhibit 2 that I was trying to get to, is that going— yeah, do you have data on that?

2007
03:21:09.380 --> 03:21:10.570
<v Dan Ryan>Do you have the information on that?

2008
03:21:13.257 --> 03:21:14.496
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Right now we are—.

2009
03:21:14.867 --> 03:21:15.977
<v Dan Ryan>But we're just voting on this one?

2010
03:21:16.171 --> 03:21:16.540
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Correct.

2011
03:21:16.654 --> 03:21:17.506
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We're in the middle of it.

2012
03:21:17.683 --> 03:21:19.325
<v Dan Ryan>I wanted to see what the difference was.

2013
03:21:20.746 --> 03:21:23.272
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I don't have enough information to vote aye, so no.

2014
03:21:25.063 --> 03:21:25.242
<v Dan Ryan>Aye.

2015
03:21:25.959 --> 03:21:26.007
<v Dan Ryan>Aye.

2016
03:21:29.385 --> 03:21:29.641
<v Dan Ryan>Novick.

2017
03:21:29.690 --> 03:21:30.895
<v Sameer Kanal>I apologize, I think I'm a little confused.

2018
03:21:30.943 --> 03:21:32.582
<v Sameer Kanal>Are we just voting on whether to change the exhibit?

2019
03:21:32.888 --> 03:21:42.104
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Correct, to match the language of our— of our— yes, we are voting to accept the exhibit that will then conform with the language of the amended resolution.

2020
03:21:42.218 --> 03:21:43.184
<v Dan Ryan>Voting to accept.

2021
03:21:43.281 --> 03:21:43.298
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

2022
03:21:44.218 --> 03:21:44.379
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

2023
03:21:45.289 --> 03:21:46.539
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Green.

2024
03:21:46.897 --> 03:21:50.191
<v Dan Ryan>I would like to revote.

2025
03:21:55.486 --> 03:22:00.433
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye, and I would like to offer Councilor Ryan the opportunity to change his vote if that is—.

2026
03:22:00.433 --> 03:22:04.049
<v Dan Ryan>Yeah, now that I know we're just accepting the exhibit, aye.

2027
03:22:05.904 --> 03:22:06.921
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Motion passes.

2028
03:22:07.599 --> 03:22:13.855
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Do we now have a fully conforming resolution on which we could take motions or amendments?

2029
03:22:14.917 --> 03:22:27.782
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have a complete ordinance which is eligible for vote today because it contains an emergency okay, and because it has an emergency clause, I believe that means that the question before us right now is the resolution itself.

2030
03:22:28.090 --> 03:22:28.864
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is that correct?

2031
03:22:30.100 --> 03:22:32.073
<v Robert Taylor>Correct, as amended.

2032
03:22:32.558 --> 03:22:33.593
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is there any discussion?

2033
03:22:39.393 --> 03:22:40.881
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I don't see anybody in the queue.

2034
03:22:42.540 --> 03:22:46.024
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Do we need a motion, or because this is before us, can we just take the vote?

2035
03:22:47.143 --> 03:22:48.875
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Keelan, could you please call roll?

2036
03:22:49.531 --> 03:23:17.588
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We are now voting on the amended resolution, which is now fully, um, conforming, which has the original dollar amount increase per office, the original dollar amount increase for the mayor, no additional shared staff, and we have moved the A1 where the funds are coming from to the contingency and added an emergency clause.

2037
03:23:18.183 --> 03:23:19.309
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That is what this vote is on.

2038
03:23:24.254 --> 03:23:27.619
<v Candace Avalos>Um, I just want to say thank you, uh, to the— my colleagues.

2039
03:23:27.796 --> 03:23:27.843
<v Candace Avalos>I—.

2040
03:23:28.279 --> 03:23:32.531
<v Candace Avalos>The thing that had— that I had the most pause about was where the money was coming from.

2041
03:23:32.579 --> 03:23:43.837
<v Candace Avalos>So moving it to contingency really helped change my views on this, in addition to feeling compelled by the arguments and agreeing that also we can have this money, everyone can spend it as they need.

2042
03:23:44.176 --> 03:23:46.146
<v Candace Avalos>If you don't spend it, it'll go back into the pot.

2043
03:23:46.532 --> 03:23:52.509
<v Candace Avalos>There isn't that much left in the budget cycle, so it's not really impacting too many of the areas that I was originally worried about.

2044
03:23:52.849 --> 03:23:54.287
<v Candace Avalos>So with that, I vote aye.

2045
03:23:59.282 --> 03:23:59.332
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2046
03:24:00.816 --> 03:24:21.227
<v Dan Ryan>I want to acknowledge first of all that the arguments made for additional staffing, I'm all in agreement for, and I am— continue to have some indigestion with how big of a leap we're taking here, and I, I feel too rushed to vote yes on this, and so I respectfully vote no.

2047
03:24:24.368 --> 03:24:24.415
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2048
03:24:27.025 --> 03:24:48.479
<v Angelita Morillo>I also was a little bit stressed out about the size of the budget and I really appreciate the quality of the discussion we've had tonight.

2049
03:24:48.479 --> 03:24:54.159
<v Sameer Kanal>I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate President Pirtle-Guiney on inventing the phrase legacy hand.

2050
03:24:54.920 --> 03:24:56.200
<v Mitch Green>Nay.

2051
03:24:56.200 --> 03:24:57.200
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Clerk?

2052
03:24:57.200 --> 03:24:57.559
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

2053
03:24:57.559 --> 03:24:57.600
<v Unidentified speaker>I second.

2054
03:25:02.727 --> 03:25:02.808
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

2055
03:25:04.093 --> 03:25:06.554
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is that 10 votes?

2056
03:25:07.325 --> 03:25:07.503
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes.

2057
03:25:08.597 --> 03:25:10.710
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Motion passes.

2058
03:25:13.020 --> 03:25:17.302
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe that moves us to item 7.

2059
03:25:17.480 --> 03:25:19.355
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Item 7 is an internal item.

2060
03:25:19.436 --> 03:25:23.310
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilors, items 8 and 9 have guests who have been with us for a long time.

2061
03:25:24.168 --> 03:25:31.352
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, without objection, could we move item 7 down the agenda, please, to let our guests speak?

2062
03:25:31.754 --> 03:25:32.125
<v Sameer Kanal>So moved.

2063
03:25:32.881 --> 03:25:33.367
<v Dan Ryan>Yes, second.

2064
03:25:33.834 --> 03:25:34.545
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any objections?

2065
03:25:34.899 --> 03:25:39.500
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Keelan, could we please move on to item 8 on the agenda?

2066
03:25:40.804 --> 03:25:53.248
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Acknowledge the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Councilors Avalos and Smith.

2067
03:25:54.168 --> 03:25:56.426
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, Councilor Avalos, I believe you're kicking us off.

2068
03:25:56.490 --> 03:25:57.120
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Smith.

2069
03:25:57.798 --> 03:25:59.056
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, Councilor Smith.

2070
03:25:59.540 --> 03:26:03.667
<v Loretta Smith>Yes, I'm, I'm trying to get up to speed to where you are.

2071
03:26:10.431 --> 03:26:51.298
<v Loretta Smith>It is a, um, a great pleasure to be able to bring this resolution forward today and to be able to talk about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Um, the purpose of this resolution is to articulate the significance of acknowledging Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and the multifaceted effects this recognition has on the city of Portland, particularly for its Black residents and the broader community.

2072
03:26:52.989 --> 03:27:06.612
<v Loretta Smith>Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a seminal figure in American history whose advocacy for civil rights, social justice, and equality has inspired countless individuals and movements across the globe.

2073
03:27:07.531 --> 03:27:16.828
<v Loretta Smith>Dr. King's legacy is particularly resonant in Portland, Oregon, where the Black community continues to face systemic challenges that he sought to address through his work.

2074
03:27:18.032 --> 03:27:23.347
<v Loretta Smith>And the anticipated outcomes from this resolution is community engagement.

2075
03:27:24.615 --> 03:27:36.130
<v Loretta Smith>By recognizing Dr. King's birthday, the City of Portland fosters great community engagement, encouraging residents to participate in discussions events, and activities that celebrate his legacy.

2076
03:27:37.239 --> 03:27:45.353
<v Loretta Smith>This engagement serves as a catalyst for building relationships and fostering a sense of community among diverse groups.

2077
03:27:46.622 --> 03:27:48.536
<v Loretta Smith>Education and awareness.

2078
03:27:49.209 --> 03:27:58.834
<v Loretta Smith>The resolution will promote educational efforts that inform residents about the history of the civil rights movement and Dr. King's role within it.

2079
03:27:59.558 --> 03:28:06.283
<v Loretta Smith>Increased awareness will enhance understanding of the ongoing issues of racial inequality.

2080
03:28:07.664 --> 03:28:19.447
<v Loretta Smith>And in terms of advocacy and racial equity, acknowledging Dr. King's contributions, it highlights the city's commitment to confronting systemic racism and inequity.

2081
03:28:20.459 --> 03:28:39.387
<v Loretta Smith>It also encourages local leaders, organizations, and community members to advocate for policies and initiatives that aim to dismantle barriers faced by marginalized communities, aligning with Dr. King's vision of just— of a just society.

2082
03:28:40.867 --> 03:28:56.898
<v Loretta Smith>And the acknowledgment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is not merely ceremonial, but a vital step towards fostering a more inclusive equitable, and just city.

2083
03:28:57.894 --> 03:29:03.686
<v Loretta Smith>By honoring his legacy, Portland affirms its dedication to social justice.

2084
03:29:04.634 --> 03:29:12.945
<v Loretta Smith>It engages its community in meaningful discussions and inspires collective action to address ongoing challenges.

2085
03:29:13.941 --> 03:29:23.495
<v Loretta Smith>This resolution aims to empower residents, especially the Black community, and reaffirm their rightful place in city governance and civic life.

2086
03:29:24.400 --> 03:29:36.936
<v Loretta Smith>It has been such a great honor to sponsor this resolution with my, uh, District 1 City Councilor Candace Avalos, and now she will give her comments about Dr. King.

2087
03:29:37.858 --> 03:29:39.440
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you so much.

2088
03:29:39.780 --> 03:29:45.397
<v Candace Avalos>Um, also an honor to not only be here on this resolution but to serve with you, Commissioner.

2089
03:29:46.040 --> 03:29:46.666
<v Candace Avalos>I keep doing that.

2090
03:29:47.115 --> 03:29:48.495
<v Candace Avalos>Councilor Smith.

2091
03:29:48.559 --> 03:29:51.751
<v Candace Avalos>I'm literally the one who on charter was like, it should be called councilors, and I keep doing that.

2092
03:29:52.247 --> 03:29:55.085
<v Candace Avalos>Um, all right, so, uh, good evening everybody.

2093
03:29:55.149 --> 03:29:56.817
<v Candace Avalos>Thanks for hanging tight with us.

2094
03:29:56.978 --> 03:30:03.698
<v Candace Avalos>And I also have a few remarks because this is an important, um, uh, moment to recognize Dr. King's, uh, legacy.

2095
03:30:03.825 --> 03:30:20.542
<v Candace Avalos>So, uh, we're coming together to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a leader whose courage and vision forever changed the course of but here in Portland, as we celebrate his birthday, we must also confront the ways that his dream remains unfinished in our own city.

2096
03:30:21.394 --> 03:30:31.233
<v Candace Avalos>Dr. King challenged us to envision a beloved community, a society where justice prevails, poverty is eradicated, and people of all backgrounds can thrive together.

2097
03:30:32.036 --> 03:30:36.145
<v Candace Avalos>Yet as we look around Portland, we see stark reminders of how far we still have to go.

2098
03:30:36.948 --> 03:30:47.581
<v Candace Avalos>From the ongoing housing crisis that disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities to the systemic racial disparities in education, healthcare, and public safety, we know there is urgent work to be done.

2099
03:30:48.673 --> 03:30:53.316
<v Candace Avalos>This resolution, as Councilor Smith has mentioned, is not just a symbolic act.

2100
03:30:53.799 --> 03:30:54.810
<v Candace Avalos>It is a call to action.

2101
03:30:55.647 --> 03:31:03.376
<v Candace Avalos>Honoring Dr. King means addressing the legacy of redlining that has displaced generations of Portlanders of color, particularly in Districts 1 and 2.

2102
03:31:04.500 --> 03:31:12.564
<v Candace Avalos>It means confronting racial inequities in our criminal justice system and investing in alternatives to policing that center community safety and restorative justice.

2103
03:31:13.254 --> 03:31:20.417
<v Candace Avalos>It means ensuring that every child in our city has access to quality education and no family has to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table.

2104
03:31:20.563 --> 03:31:28.915
<v Candace Avalos>These are the principles that Dr. King, uh, passionately advocated for, that many of us on our council also advocate for.

2105
03:31:29.574 --> 03:31:33.829
<v Candace Avalos>Dr. King reminded us that progress is neither automatic nor inevitable.

2106
03:31:34.472 --> 03:31:41.173
<v Candace Avalos>It requires sustained effort, accountability, and the courage to make difficult choices in the pursuit of justice.

2107
03:31:41.702 --> 03:32:02.674
<v Candace Avalos>So as we pass this resolution today, I invite us to think about what it means to build a beloved community here in Portland, committing to lifting up the voices of those most impacted by injustice, centering equity in every decision that we make as leaders here on this dais, and committing to the long and very unglamorous work of systemic change, not just today but every day.

2108
03:32:03.888 --> 03:32:08.027
<v Candace Avalos>Let this also serve as a reminder that Dr. King's dream is not a distant ideal.

2109
03:32:08.334 --> 03:32:17.189
<v Candace Avalos>It is actually a roadmap for the future of our city, a future where Portland lives up to its promise as a place of opportunity, inclusion, and hope for all who call it home.

2110
03:32:18.301 --> 03:32:22.825
<v Candace Avalos>With that, um, I know we have some guests here to offer some other remarks.

2111
03:32:22.969 --> 03:32:24.488
<v Candace Avalos>Um, were you going to invite your guests first?

2112
03:32:25.681 --> 03:32:30.262
<v Loretta Smith>I think— yes, I think Dr. Haynes is on, is on the line.

2113
03:32:31.568 --> 03:32:31.745
<v Loretta Smith>Great.

2114
03:32:33.117 --> 03:32:34.423
<v Loretta Smith>Dr. Leroy Haynes.

2115
03:32:42.658 --> 03:32:43.825
<v Jamie Dunphy>Yeah, can you hear me?

2116
03:32:44.522 --> 03:32:44.895
<v Angelita Morillo>Yes, sir.

2117
03:32:46.320 --> 03:32:46.823
<v Loretta Smith>Okay.

2118
03:32:50.920 --> 03:32:52.540
<v Loretta Smith>Dr. Haynes, you have a few minutes.

2119
03:32:58.229 --> 03:33:16.971
<v Jamie Dunphy>Yes, um, um, my name is the Reverend Dr. Leroy Haynes Jr., president of the Abundant Ministry Alliance, uh, chairperson of the MA Coalition for Justice and Police Reform.

2120
03:33:18.051 --> 03:33:38.183
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm deeply thankful for the Madam President, the Councilor, for bringing this item up on the actual, the natural birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King.

2121
03:33:39.268 --> 03:33:41.713
<v Jamie Dunphy>And this is very personal to me.

2122
03:33:41.843 --> 03:33:42.216
<v Loretta Smith>Thank you.

2123
03:33:43.245 --> 03:34:05.675
<v Jamie Dunphy>As having served as a youth organizer in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under Dr. King at the age of 13, and then later under Congressman John Lewis in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

2124
03:34:06.735 --> 03:34:35.808
<v Jamie Dunphy>I just want to thank a slight— in these couple of minutes, the historical context, and I think sometimes we forget that, as the Colonel report said following the Watts riots, that we had two societies here in America—one Black and one white—that was growing further and further apart.

2125
03:34:36.514 --> 03:34:38.584
<v Jamie Dunphy>It was out of this context.

2126
03:34:39.468 --> 03:35:08.189
<v Jamie Dunphy>And that the modern-day civil rights movement that some historians call the Second American Nonviolent Revolution took place with the '55 Montgomery Bus Boycott, in '63 the March on Washington, 1964 the public accommodation '65, the Voting Rights Bill.

2127
03:35:08.766 --> 03:35:14.177
<v Jamie Dunphy>1968, the Fair Housing Bill and the Poor People's March.

2128
03:35:15.029 --> 03:35:29.013
<v Jamie Dunphy>It is out of this struggle for freedom, justice, and equality that we have made progress in our society today.

2129
03:35:29.960 --> 03:35:50.304
<v Jamie Dunphy>One of the greatest contribution of Dr. King was the nonviolent social revolution in the 20th century that broke down the walls of American apartheid, segregation, what we called in the South Jim Crow.

2130
03:35:51.155 --> 03:36:20.763
<v Jamie Dunphy>He was the moral conscience of the nation when it came into guiding and directing the nation, he was a catalyst for the contemporary movement, the contemporary women movement, the contemporary LGBTQ movement, the contemporary indigenous Native Indian movement, and on and on throughout the nation.

2131
03:36:21.743 --> 03:36:39.682
<v Jamie Dunphy>And and thirdly, I want to say he gave us the vision of the beloved community, a community that is inclusive of all people working together as equal to create a just society.

2132
03:36:40.514 --> 03:36:48.851
<v Jamie Dunphy>And lastly, I wanted to say that one of the last books that Dr. King wrote is Where Do We Go From Here?

2133
03:36:49.894 --> 03:36:51.594
<v Jamie Dunphy>Chaos or community?

2134
03:36:52.525 --> 03:37:04.001
<v Jamie Dunphy>It is ironic that we still grapple with that question, and I believe we in Portland must choose community over chaos.

2135
03:37:04.578 --> 03:37:25.672
<v Jamie Dunphy>And then this is one of the reasons why we have the police reform effort that's taking place, the independent oversight and so many other issues that have evolved out of this movement towards— to create a more perfect union.

2136
03:37:25.966 --> 03:37:27.158
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you very much.

2137
03:37:30.061 --> 03:37:31.621
<v Loretta Smith>Thank you, Dr. Leroy Haynes.

2138
03:37:34.316 --> 03:37:36.170
<v Candace Avalos>Yes, thank you so much, Dr. Haynes.

2139
03:37:36.347 --> 03:37:45.752
<v Candace Avalos>And now I would like to invite Jeff Selby, Interim Director of the Office of Equity and Human Rights to give some remarks about how the city upholds civil rights within the organization.

2140
03:37:45.960 --> 03:37:48.608
<v Candace Avalos>So Director Selby, thanks for hanging in and for being here.

2141
03:37:51.329 --> 03:37:51.968
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you, Councilor.

2142
03:37:55.688 --> 03:38:03.302
<v Jamie Dunphy>Good evening, community members, Madam President, Madam Vice President, city councilors, Mr. Mayor, city administrator, and colleagues.

2143
03:38:03.897 --> 03:38:05.692
<v Jamie Dunphy>For the record, my name is Jeff Selby.

2144
03:38:05.775 --> 03:38:06.825
<v Jamie Dunphy>My pronouns are he/him.

2145
03:38:07.688 --> 03:38:10.915
<v Jamie Dunphy>And I am the interim director of your Office of Equity and Human Rights.

2146
03:38:11.862 --> 03:38:18.815
<v Jamie Dunphy>It is an honor to be here on this day, the 96th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2147
03:38:19.424 --> 03:38:20.532
<v Jamie Dunphy>I think it's still the 15th.

2148
03:38:20.853 --> 03:38:20.998
<v Jamie Dunphy>Yes.

2149
03:38:21.432 --> 03:38:22.459
<v Jamie Dunphy>Okay.

2150
03:38:23.118 --> 03:38:29.106
<v Jamie Dunphy>We stand on the shoulders of Dr. King and so many others who led the civil rights movement.

2151
03:38:29.861 --> 03:38:41.452
<v Jamie Dunphy>We cannot let all that blood and sweat and all those tears to be shed in vain as we continue our fight for justice as a city government on behalf of the people we serve.

2152
03:38:42.927 --> 03:38:57.511
<v Jamie Dunphy>The Office of Equity and Human Rights sets the equity vision and goals for the City of Portland, and programs in our office were created to specifically reinforce and uphold the civil rights of all Portlanders and to ensure the city complies with our obligations under the Civil Rights Act.

2153
03:38:58.679 --> 03:39:10.480
<v Jamie Dunphy>My team's approach and framework have allowed the city to make great strides in racial equity, civil rights, language access, and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, which is woven throughout major citywide planning efforts.

2154
03:39:11.677 --> 03:39:25.326
<v Jamie Dunphy>And our equity team has provided guidance and counseling and developed myriad tools intended to guide and support equitable and non-discriminatory planning, decision-making, investment, programming, and service delivery.

2155
03:39:27.120 --> 03:39:42.379
<v Jamie Dunphy>With civil rights, language access, and accessibility in mind, we continue to implement standards and build robust civil rights data tools, equity analysis, and other resources to strengthen our community engagement practices and support community-centered decision-making.

2156
03:39:43.466 --> 03:39:54.440
<v Jamie Dunphy>The Office of Equity has institutionalized much of this work in everyday policy work, and equity practitioners and equity managers throughout the city have helped move much of this work forward in their bureaus and service areas.

2157
03:39:55.498 --> 03:40:06.129
<v Jamie Dunphy>From the Portland Plan to a cohesive equity approach to the city's COVID-19 response, to equitable strategic planning, we have made a lot of progress, but we still have so much work to do.

2158
03:40:07.059 --> 03:40:16.228
<v Jamie Dunphy>Our new government structure allows for a more unified equity approach across the enterprise, and we are excited to guide the work in a more collaborative and organized structure.

2159
03:40:16.372 --> 03:40:16.757
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

2160
03:40:19.825 --> 03:40:28.734
<v Jamie Dunphy>From a national standpoint, the next 4 years will undoubtedly test our city's resolve for civil rights, equity, and accessibility.

2161
03:40:29.953 --> 03:40:32.506
<v Jamie Dunphy>We as a government must set the example.

2162
03:40:33.486 --> 03:40:36.936
<v Jamie Dunphy>Equity and civil rights are not just about laws and compliance.

2163
03:40:37.724 --> 03:40:43.760
<v Jamie Dunphy>They are tenets of good ethical and moral governance, remembering that we serve all Portlanders.

2164
03:40:43.824 --> 03:40:44.209
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you, Mayor Wilson.

2165
03:40:45.284 --> 03:40:50.229
<v Jamie Dunphy>While centering systemically excluded and institutionally oppressed community members.

2166
03:40:51.691 --> 03:40:56.363
<v Jamie Dunphy>Above all, tonight is a celebration of community and their resilience.

2167
03:40:57.230 --> 03:41:08.935
<v Jamie Dunphy>This resolution not only honors the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and those who fought for civil rights over the past 60 years, but also of the ongoing work of people all across the country, our region, and our city.

2168
03:41:09.081 --> 03:41:09.707
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you, Mayor Wilson.

2169
03:41:10.655 --> 03:41:15.877
<v Jamie Dunphy>Including the tenacious work of Dr. Hayes and the Albina Ministerial Alliance.

2170
03:41:16.922 --> 03:41:30.049
<v Jamie Dunphy>On behalf of my incredible, passionate team at the Office of Equity and Human Rights, and also on behalf of community, I thank Councilors Smith and Avalos for bringing this resolution to council, and to all of you for honoring Dr. King this evening.

2171
03:41:31.127 --> 03:41:35.272
<v Jamie Dunphy>We must continue to lead with racial equity and combat anti-Blackness.

2172
03:41:35.320 --> 03:41:35.449
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

2173
03:41:36.209 --> 03:41:42.756
<v Jamie Dunphy>We appreciate your continuing support of civil rights, equity, and anti-racism work at the City of Portland.

2174
03:41:43.388 --> 03:41:43.663
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

2175
03:41:46.889 --> 03:41:48.833
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you to both of our guests.

2176
03:41:49.496 --> 03:41:52.235
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe we have public testimony signed up.

2177
03:41:53.610 --> 03:41:57.449
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have one person signed up, Madam President, Chris Copeland.

2178
03:42:04.850 --> 03:42:11.688
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Chris Copeland.

2179
03:42:13.040 --> 03:42:14.296
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Oh, I, I see you now.

2180
03:42:14.476 --> 03:42:15.324
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Sorry, Bridge Crane.

2181
03:42:15.683 --> 03:42:18.130
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We also have Bridge Crane Simka Johnson signed up.

2182
03:42:19.956 --> 03:42:20.342
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Right ahead.

2183
03:42:22.691 --> 03:42:26.329
<v Jamie Dunphy>Hopefully, uh, next year will be different.

2184
03:42:27.584 --> 03:42:36.210
<v Jamie Dunphy>When I come here and I think about the people who've testified with me and before me and around me, it will have been a more diverse collection of faces.

2185
03:42:37.445 --> 03:42:52.712
<v Jamie Dunphy>People in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, people out in the East County, even though they hopefully have local office, uh, we'll see people have more faith in government and believe that it's worth their time to engage with you because real change is going to come.

2186
03:42:52.777 --> 03:42:52.968
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

2187
03:42:54.447 --> 03:43:11.038
<v Jamie Dunphy>It's been a long time since I had the privilege of being in this room with the Reverend Dr. Leroy Haynes Jr., and to think back to 1929 when Dr. King was born, 96 years ago, as we were good enough to recall and mention.

2188
03:43:11.856 --> 03:43:19.228
<v Jamie Dunphy>And, you know, unfortunately, there's a lot of different activities that are going to happen through a whole spectrum of people.

2189
03:43:19.278 --> 03:43:29.662
<v Jamie Dunphy>I think that's one thing that Dr. King would want us to be mindful of, is that even though we have not ethnic blocks or racial blocks, but inside each of those communities is a huge range of diversity.

2190
03:43:29.838 --> 03:43:31.218
<v Jamie Dunphy>We've seen some of it in this council.

2191
03:43:31.700 --> 03:43:35.792
<v Jamie Dunphy>At one time, Joanne Hardesty and Loretta Smith were contending for a seat.

2192
03:43:36.498 --> 03:43:40.301
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, Theresa Rayford has been a candidate for mayor.

2193
03:43:40.766 --> 03:43:48.790
<v Jamie Dunphy>There will still be a community action plan event on the legal holiday, the Monday, where people can march from Peninsula Park down to the MLK statue.

2194
03:43:49.536 --> 03:43:58.057
<v Jamie Dunphy>And normally I don't wear a yarmulke, but I'm a little bit disappointed that this right here, right now, didn't have a better intersection with communities of faith.

2195
03:43:59.274 --> 03:44:11.378
<v Jamie Dunphy>We know that in the '60s, more so than in the '70s, other faith communities that weren't part of the historic Black church did a better job of partnering against anti-Blackness.

2196
03:44:12.275 --> 03:44:37.632
<v Jamie Dunphy>And hopefully under this current incoming presidential regime, we'll see a resurgence where whether people are secular or people of faith, uh, we will unite to once again— you know, I'm glad that, uh, Mr. Selby, who I've known from a time when this city used to have an active Human Rights Commission that met in the Commonwealth Building— I don't know exactly how that faded out.

2197
03:44:37.873 --> 03:45:01.115
<v Jamie Dunphy>Certainly when we think about the human rights situation At different times in the last 8 years, there's been a need for the city to have a better game, for lack of a better word, to make sure that marginalized and diverse communities are respected and protected, and that they get from this government the public safety and social safety net things they deserve.

2198
03:45:01.245 --> 03:45:05.663
<v Jamie Dunphy>Until we address one big problem that we don't talk about enough, and that is—.

2199
03:45:05.695 --> 03:45:05.906
<v Jamie Dunphy>Housing.

2200
03:45:06.504 --> 03:45:18.086
<v Jamie Dunphy>Income disparity that is a result of historic discrimination, uh, Black people being blocked from building wealth during times of redlining and other practices that maybe continue right up to this day.

2201
03:45:19.021 --> 03:45:24.165
<v Jamie Dunphy>So, um, as we talk about Black history— I don't know if I have 30 seconds more or not.

2202
03:45:24.263 --> 03:45:26.012
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>No, no, Bridge Green, you have 5 seconds.

2203
03:45:26.352 --> 03:45:27.146
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Our timer's not showing.

2204
03:45:27.518 --> 03:45:31.015
<v Jamie Dunphy>Of course, Black history goes back at least to 1803 when York was here.

2205
03:45:31.308 --> 03:45:37.665
<v Jamie Dunphy>I don't I think the highest of the person who donated for the 1803fund.com, but let's help that work proceed also.

2206
03:45:37.987 --> 03:45:38.182
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

2207
03:45:40.170 --> 03:45:40.961
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you very much.

2208
03:45:41.884 --> 03:45:42.820
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That completes testimony.

2209
03:45:43.484 --> 03:45:43.838
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

2210
03:45:45.013 --> 03:45:47.011
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, council discussion.

2211
03:45:47.702 --> 03:45:48.620
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Koyama Lane.

2212
03:45:49.860 --> 03:45:56.292
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I just wanted to thank Mr. Selby for being here and for the work that your team does in the city's Office of Equity and Human Rights.

2213
03:45:56.504 --> 03:46:08.353
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I know that you guys are working hard every day I also know that your team has prepared some equity trainings for us as councilors that have been bumped 2 times, and so I want to acknowledge how important this work is.

2214
03:46:08.468 --> 03:46:11.543
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We see that, and we will make sure to do those trainings soon.

2215
03:46:16.079 --> 03:46:16.763
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any other discussion?

2216
03:46:19.450 --> 03:46:21.640
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, Keelan, could you call the roll please?

2217
03:46:22.956 --> 03:46:23.264
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Avalos.

2218
03:46:24.586 --> 03:46:24.715
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

2219
03:46:25.468 --> 03:46:25.484
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

2220
03:46:26.109 --> 03:46:26.270
<v Jamie Dunphy>Aye.

2221
03:46:26.831 --> 03:46:32.858
<v Sameer Kanal>Uh, I'm gonna say something, but I'll keep it brief for time.

2222
03:46:33.162 --> 03:46:36.031
<v Sameer Kanal>I just wanted to say thank you for introducing this, Councilor Smith and Avalos.

2223
03:46:36.208 --> 03:46:42.683
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you to our testifiers and guests, especially Dr. Leroy Haynes, whose wisdom has been of great value to me personally in several spaces over the last few years.

2224
03:46:43.421 --> 03:46:52.045
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, briefly, District 2, which I have the privilege of representing, is the home of Vancouver Avenue Baptist Church, where Dr. King came and spoke when he visited Portland in November 1961.

2225
03:46:52.975 --> 03:47:02.565
<v Sameer Kanal>And while here, Dr. King spoke of the necessity of all of us to, quote, rise above the narrow confines of their individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

2226
03:47:03.158 --> 03:47:13.389
<v Sameer Kanal>And one thing I've always been inspired by how— about him is by how he fought for civil rights specifically for Black Americans but held the door open for everyone else who was being marginalized in society.

2227
03:47:13.743 --> 03:47:17.447
<v Sameer Kanal>We heard about the Fair Housing Bill, the Poor People's Campaign, and these helped everyone.

2228
03:47:17.688 --> 03:47:22.935
<v Sameer Kanal>To give a personal example, without Dr. King and without the civil rights movement, there's no Immigration Act of 1965.

2229
03:47:23.370 --> 03:47:26.274
<v Sameer Kanal>Without that act, families like mine would never have been Americans.

2230
03:47:27.045 --> 03:47:37.380
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, so we must all heed that example, uh, of Dr. King and his contemporaries and strive to not only open doors for ourselves and our communities but keep them open behind us so we're addressing the broader concerns of all humanity.

2231
03:47:37.831 --> 03:47:38.488
<v Sameer Kanal>I'm proud to vote yes.

2232
03:47:39.725 --> 03:47:40.301
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Ryan?

2233
03:47:40.863 --> 03:47:50.475
<v Dan Ryan>Yeah, I just want to start off by thanking Councilor Smith And Councilor Avalos, it means a lot that you brought this, but also you're, you're living the dream, and so you're here representing that dream.

2234
03:47:51.292 --> 03:47:55.944
<v Dan Ryan>I just wanted to say a couple things because some of my earliest memories are tied to the assassination of MLK.

2235
03:47:56.522 --> 03:48:01.736
<v Dan Ryan>It sparked protests here in Portland, and I was curious about such things even as a kindergarten kid.

2236
03:48:02.506 --> 03:48:07.384
<v Dan Ryan>My mom loved MLK, and she was also sad about it, so I'd always ask her questions.

2237
03:48:07.833 --> 03:48:16.626
<v Dan Ryan>It was at a time where there were other violent assassinations— JFK, Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X just a few years prior to MLK.

2238
03:48:16.722 --> 03:48:23.511
<v Dan Ryan>And she just tried to do the best she could to help me comprehend why there would be violence for those that were speaking to justice and from love.

2239
03:48:24.264 --> 03:48:32.690
<v Dan Ryan>These roots have made MLK Day a big deal for me as I track the day slowly evolving into a national holiday that actually had participation.

2240
03:48:33.396 --> 03:48:36.268
<v Dan Ryan>And it's a holiday of inclusion, inspiration, and action.

2241
03:48:36.333 --> 03:48:36.524
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you.

2242
03:48:36.862 --> 03:48:45.934
<v Dan Ryan>And I celebrate in churches like many people each year and experience this holiday as a spiritual holiday rooted in love to help each person live to their fullest potential.

2243
03:48:47.861 --> 03:48:49.441
<v Dan Ryan>Thanks.

2244
03:48:49.683 --> 03:48:50.797
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Your vote?

2245
03:48:51.700 --> 03:48:52.072
<v Dan Ryan>Oh, aye.

2246
03:48:53.072 --> 03:48:59.912
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Especially as we move toward this weekend this year and Monday— oh, I thought you said Elana.

2247
03:48:59.959 --> 03:49:10.879
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm sorry, I was like, this seems out of order, but okay, thank you, Councilors Avalos and Smith, for bringing this resolution, uh, forward together.

2248
03:49:11.586 --> 03:49:16.996
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I appreciate you both, and I am proud to say aye, and I'm proud to serve alongside you both.

2249
03:49:19.180 --> 03:49:21.459
<v Angelita Morillo>Thank you both for bringing this resolution forward.

2250
03:49:21.524 --> 03:49:51.590
<v Angelita Morillo>It's really a special thing, um, and I'll keep my comments brief, but I think something that I always think about when I think about Martin Luther King Jr. is how our history has really sanitized his legacy and the fact that there really was a mandate to address poverty as an anti-racism issue, and that we in the city of Portland are facing with historic levels of income inequality, and in this country as well, and that we have to do right by our residents and take bold steps to address that.

2251
03:49:52.150 --> 03:49:59.509
<v Angelita Morillo>And I hope that we won't just sanitize his legacy, but actually really lean into what it means to serve the people in the way that he would have wanted.

2252
03:50:00.299 --> 03:50:00.668
<v Angelita Morillo>I vote aye.

2253
03:50:00.958 --> 03:50:02.277
<v Angelita Morillo>Thank you very much for doing this.

2254
03:50:03.129 --> 03:50:03.467
<v Helmi Hisarik>Novick.

2255
03:50:05.605 --> 03:50:10.016
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you, Councilor Avalos, Councilor Smith, Dr. Haynes, Director Selby.

2256
03:50:11.506 --> 03:50:21.059
<v Sameer Kanal>I want to take this opportunity to recommend to everybody, if you haven't read it already, Taylor Branch's 3-part history of King and the civil rights movement.

2257
03:50:21.511 --> 03:50:23.512
<v Sameer Kanal>It's the— it's really engrossing.

2258
03:50:23.609 --> 03:50:32.538
<v Sameer Kanal>It lets you know what a great political leader Dr. King was and how he had to manage this discordant coalition of various organizations and voices.

2259
03:50:33.277 --> 03:50:37.101
<v Sameer Kanal>And it's the fastest 2,912-page read you've ever read.

2260
03:50:37.630 --> 03:50:46.420
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I also just want to say that I was delighted listening to the eulogies for Jimmy Carter to hear the voice of Andrew Young, one of Dr. King's close allies.

2261
03:50:46.870 --> 03:50:51.947
<v Sameer Kanal>I didn't know that he was still alive, and it was wonderful to hear him still alive and brilliant and wonderful.

2262
03:50:52.638 --> 03:50:53.123
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

2263
03:50:53.286 --> 03:50:53.447
<v Sameer Kanal>Aye.

2264
03:50:53.609 --> 03:50:54.691
<v Helmi Hisarik>Clark.

2265
03:50:56.195 --> 03:50:58.120
<v Robert Taylor>Uh, thank you, Councilors Avalos and Smith.

2266
03:50:58.314 --> 03:51:05.816
<v Robert Taylor>I really appreciate you bringing this forward, and I think I'm safe in saying that we're all here for the beloved community, and we have a lot of work to do.

2267
03:51:07.109 --> 03:51:07.157
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

2268
03:51:07.917 --> 03:51:08.144
<v Dan Handelman>Green.

2269
03:51:10.100 --> 03:51:12.969
<v Mitch Green>Uh, thank you to Councilors Avalos and Smith for bringing this forward.

2270
03:51:13.018 --> 03:51:13.620
<v Mitch Green>It's urgent.

2271
03:51:13.667 --> 03:51:14.920
<v Mitch Green>It's not just symbolic.

2272
03:51:14.968 --> 03:51:21.091
<v Mitch Green>We are about to select committees that is going to guide our work that's going to have long-lasting implications.

2273
03:51:21.138 --> 03:51:32.005
<v Mitch Green>And so I see this resolution as an invitation to remember that whether we're talking about arts and economy, whether we're talking about labor and workforce development, infrastructure, if it's not in the budget, it ain't happening.

2274
03:51:33.283 --> 03:51:34.039
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>All right.

2275
03:51:36.175 --> 03:51:36.867
<v Eric Zimmerman>Thanks to you both.

2276
03:51:37.541 --> 03:51:39.004
<v Eric Zimmerman>I appreciate it greatly.

2277
03:51:39.453 --> 03:51:43.744
<v Eric Zimmerman>Uh, 2 great colleagues who, one, I'm getting to learn, and I'm looking forward to it.

2278
03:51:44.417 --> 03:51:47.820
<v Eric Zimmerman>One who I've been with too— way too long, Councilor Smith.

2279
03:51:48.688 --> 03:52:02.559
<v Eric Zimmerman>But this is an important and, uh, meaningful aye vote for me because for 15 years I have sat out there and watched you bring these in different places, and this is the first time I get to vote aye with you, and I'm so proud to do it.

2280
03:52:02.736 --> 03:52:05.948
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So thanks for bringing this.

2281
03:52:06.364 --> 03:52:06.397
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2282
03:52:07.778 --> 03:52:09.769
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you both for bringing this forward.

2283
03:52:09.881 --> 03:52:19.708
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And thank you to our invited guests for being here with us tonight, especially this year as we move toward this weekend, toward Monday's inauguration.

2284
03:52:20.703 --> 03:52:32.504
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>It is so important that we not only honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with our words, but also with our decisions, with our actions, and that we lift each other up, that we lift our whole community up.

2285
03:52:33.147 --> 03:52:34.143
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I am honored to vote aye.

2286
03:52:34.352 --> 03:52:37.920
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor the resolution is adopted.

2287
03:52:38.421 --> 03:52:38.775
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

2288
03:52:41.894 --> 03:52:46.662
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe we are moving on to item 9 on our agenda.

2289
03:52:49.152 --> 03:52:56.345
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Accept the 2023-24 Parks Levy Annual Report and Parks Levy Oversight Committee Annual Report.

2290
03:52:57.200 --> 03:53:00.718
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And I believe our guests have offered us the great gift of time.

2291
03:53:01.459 --> 03:53:04.613
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And maybe cutting down the presentation slightly, is that correct?

2292
03:53:06.909 --> 03:53:18.432
<v Loretta Smith>Uh, if it pleases the council, uh, we, uh, we were going to do a presentation of the, uh, Parks Levy report as well as the Parks Levy Oversight Committee's report.

2293
03:53:19.110 --> 03:53:28.888
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, we can, if you would like, not do the staff portion and just let our community member and oversight committee member present her report.

2294
03:53:29.129 --> 03:53:42.456
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>You've all received hard copies and electronic copies of the report, so if you have any questions about the, the levy report, we're happy to answer anything, or we can just do a truncated version of the entire presentation.

2295
03:53:42.728 --> 03:53:46.148
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilors, any objection to moving forward with the Oversight Board report?

2296
03:53:46.373 --> 03:53:50.837
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And we have the hard copy of the annual report which we can ask questions about.

2297
03:53:52.953 --> 03:53:57.168
<v Sameer Kanal>Okay, Madam President, I would actually like to hear a truncated version of the staff report.

2298
03:53:59.180 --> 03:54:01.916
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, Director Long, you have your direction.

2299
03:54:02.013 --> 03:54:03.477
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We'll see how truncated we can be.

2300
03:54:04.105 --> 03:54:04.363
<v Candace Avalos>Great.

2301
03:54:05.072 --> 03:54:09.274
<v Candace Avalos>I, I believe Mayor had some opening remarks, or would you like me to just get to it?

2302
03:54:09.905 --> 03:54:14.735
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>All right, for the record, my name is Adina Long.

2303
03:54:14.944 --> 03:54:17.077
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm the Director of Portland Parks and Recreation.

2304
03:54:18.137 --> 03:54:20.456
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I want to thank the council for having us this evening.

2305
03:54:21.047 --> 03:54:30.659
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm excited to share that year 3 of the parks levy has been— has seen progress on all of the commitments made to Portland voters in the voter pamphlet.

2306
03:54:31.591 --> 03:54:41.156
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The report materials presented today cover key actions, finances, and performance measures from July 2023 through June 2024.

2307
03:54:41.927 --> 03:54:47.725
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm looking forward to our work session tomorrow morning to share additional information about Portland Parks and Recreation.

2308
03:54:49.121 --> 03:54:53.436
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I want to thank our staff who played a critical role in delivering programs and services.

2309
03:54:54.274 --> 03:55:06.174
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Their work cleaning and maintaining parks every day, operating summer camps and events, and working with community partners have been essential to the successful implementation of the parks levy.

2310
03:55:07.415 --> 03:55:19.844
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I want to thank the members of the Parks Levy Oversight Committee for your work this past year ensuring that parks levy resources are spent meeting voter commitments in a fiscally accountable and transparent way.

2311
03:55:21.289 --> 03:55:33.661
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you to the current members, Alicia Blakely, Zay Conant, Mary Ruble, Silas Sanderson, and Tim Williams, and to Casey Mills for serving as a Parks Board liaison to the committee.

2312
03:55:33.740 --> 03:55:35.538
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm so grateful for their service.

2313
03:55:36.918 --> 03:55:46.920
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm going to turn it over to Claire Flynn, our Parks Levy Coordinator, who will present an overview of the fiscal year '22-'23-'24 Parks Levy Annual Report.

2314
03:55:47.852 --> 03:55:54.835
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>After Claire's presentation, Mary Ruble, a member of the Parks Levy Oversight Committee, will present the Oversight Committee's annual report.

2315
03:55:55.879 --> 03:55:56.810
<v Unidentified speaker>Thank you, Director Long.

2316
03:55:57.004 --> 03:56:01.789
<v Unidentified speaker>Good evening, my name is Claire Flynn and I'm the Parks Levy Coordinator within Vibrant Communities.

2317
03:56:02.462 --> 03:56:02.913
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2318
03:56:05.529 --> 03:56:21.993
<v Unidentified speaker>Approved by Portland voters in November 2020, the Parks Local Option Levy, or Parks Levy, is a property tax of 80 cents per $1,000 of assessed value that will raise approximately $45 million per year for 5 years, having started in fall of 2021.

2319
03:56:22.906 --> 03:56:29.896
<v Unidentified speaker>We are currently in year 4 of 5 of the Parks Levy, and the current levy will go through fiscal year '25-'26 as the last year.

2320
03:56:30.281 --> 03:56:30.617
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2321
03:56:33.261 --> 03:56:41.519
<v Unidentified speaker>This report being presented today, as Director Long said, is for the prior full fiscal year, which is fiscal year '23-'24, year 3 of the Parks Levy.

2322
03:56:41.954 --> 03:56:42.325
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2323
03:56:44.132 --> 03:56:52.980
<v Unidentified speaker>The report shares key actions, financials, and performance measures for the 15 commitments included in the Parks Levy ballot title and explanatory statement.

2324
03:56:53.720 --> 03:57:01.765
<v Unidentified speaker>Each of the commitments is nested into one of 3 larger categories Recreation for All, Protect and Grow Nature, and Community Partnerships.

2325
03:57:02.953 --> 03:57:07.305
<v Unidentified speaker>Performance measures are also included to show impact of the parks levy year over year.

2326
03:57:08.590 --> 03:57:21.481
<v Unidentified speaker>As an operating levy, the parks levy is spent through a leveraged funding model in which general fund is blended with parks levy funding, so parks levy dollars support a portion of all eligible operational expenses.

2327
03:57:22.718 --> 03:57:30.486
<v Unidentified speaker>Throughout the report and on these slides, we include interviews and stories of staff, partners, and participants to show the impact of the parks levy.

2328
03:57:30.906 --> 03:57:31.277
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2329
03:57:33.096 --> 03:57:43.075
<v Unidentified speaker>Recreation for all means increasing access to recreation by reducing cost as a barrier, ensuring service continuity, and centering programming and outreach on underserved communities.

2330
03:57:43.559 --> 03:57:43.965
<v Angelita Morillo>Next slide.

2331
03:57:46.254 --> 03:57:51.917
<v Unidentified speaker>Thanks to the parks levy, we were successful in preventing cuts and closures to recreation programs and facilities.

2332
03:57:52.859 --> 03:58:00.996
<v Unidentified speaker>Examples include the return of the Matt Dishman Block Party and how the bureau adapted to continue providing programming during the closure of Mount Scott Community Center.

2333
03:58:01.593 --> 03:58:01.996
<v Helmi Hisarik>Next slide.

2334
03:58:04.076 --> 03:58:15.129
<v Unidentified speaker>We used parks levy funding to deliver a variety of recreational programs including swim lessons, camps and classes, fitness in the park, pop-up concerts, free lunch and play, and other popular programming.

2335
03:58:16.212 --> 03:58:27.336
<v Unidentified speaker>In year 3, the bureau piloted the Schools to Pools initiative partnering with public schools to offer swim lessons to 2nd grade students, as well as continued to refine and adjust swim lesson formats.

2336
03:58:28.396 --> 03:58:31.221
<v Unidentified speaker>With the parks levy, we've also enhanced Free Lunch and Play.

2337
03:58:31.929 --> 03:58:44.051
<v Unidentified speaker>In year 3, Free Lunch and Play served over 58,000 meals, up 37% from the previous year, and part of the total nearly 118,000 free meals served by PP&R in year 3.

2338
03:58:44.693 --> 03:58:45.047
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2339
03:58:47.021 --> 03:58:53.263
<v Unidentified speaker>2 Main elements of removing financial barriers to PP&R programming are the access discount and free programming.

2340
03:58:53.936 --> 03:59:03.197
<v Unidentified speaker>The access discount allowed the Bureau to provide over $4 million in financial assistance to nearly 18,000 users, which was 26% of all participants.

2341
03:59:04.127 --> 03:59:17.372
<v Unidentified speaker>Our team is also currently working with Portland State University on a community needs survey to help the Bureau understand if the efforts we've implemented like the access discount are affecting the perception of cost as a barrier and financial access.

2342
03:59:17.971 --> 03:59:20.041
<v Unidentified speaker>We anticipate those results back in February.

2343
03:59:21.448 --> 03:59:26.206
<v Unidentified speaker>We also showcase the success of free programming like the East Portland Summer Arts Festival.

2344
03:59:26.736 --> 03:59:27.041
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2345
03:59:29.243 --> 03:59:35.155
<v Unidentified speaker>Protect and grow nature means making parks and facilities cleaner, better maintained, safer, and more welcoming for all.

2346
03:59:35.606 --> 03:59:35.977
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2347
03:59:37.786 --> 03:59:42.581
<v Unidentified speaker>These 2 commitments are focused on natural features and natural areas and the benefits they provide.

2348
03:59:43.322 --> 03:59:53.459
<v Unidentified speaker>In this section, we highlighted the work of the Protect the Best team and how the urban forestry team creatively worked to provide downed trees for use in salmon habitat and environmental restoration.

2349
03:59:54.135 --> 03:59:54.505
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2350
03:59:56.953 --> 04:00:02.817
<v Unidentified speaker>In fiscal year '23-'24, over 6,600 people participated in environmental education programming.

2351
04:00:03.558 --> 04:00:09.355
<v Unidentified speaker>These program— these programs are critical to connecting youth to nature and fostering a sense of of stewardship in Portland communities.

2352
04:00:10.352 --> 04:00:18.355
<v Unidentified speaker>The environmental education team has expanded transportation options with the parks levy to ensure that all participants can access programming and site locations.

2353
04:00:19.260 --> 04:00:23.292
<v Unidentified speaker>Forest Park has partnered with local organizations to connect people to nature.

2354
04:00:23.953 --> 04:00:24.292
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2355
04:00:26.358 --> 04:00:30.216
<v Unidentified speaker>A large portion of the parks levy spending this year was on park maintenance and cleaning.

2356
04:00:31.075 --> 04:00:37.941
<v Unidentified speaker>Aside from continued general park maintenance, including emptying trash cans, cleaning and checking restrooms, preventative maintenance and repair, and more.

2357
04:00:38.700 --> 04:00:45.599
<v Unidentified speaker>Parks levy support and added positions were critical in maintaining safe facilities and parks following the January 2024 storm.

2358
04:00:46.290 --> 04:00:46.677
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2359
04:00:48.965 --> 04:00:57.058
<v Unidentified speaker>The newly published Park Tree Maintenance Plan and the engagement for the Portland Urban Forest Plan are helping create stronger protection of Portland trees.

2360
04:00:57.814 --> 04:01:02.814
<v Unidentified speaker>In year 3, we planted more trees than the year prior with a higher percentage in priority service areas.

2361
04:01:03.729 --> 04:01:06.912
<v Unidentified speaker>Protections for Portland's park trees have also improved.

2362
04:01:07.409 --> 04:01:12.423
<v Unidentified speaker>Proactive park and natural area tree maintenance is a service that would not be possible without the parks levy.

2363
04:01:13.049 --> 04:01:13.498
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2364
04:01:16.005 --> 04:01:23.838
<v Unidentified speaker>For modernizing data systems, we detailed how we are now using Microsoft Access as a data— database to track performance measure data.

2365
04:01:24.631 --> 04:01:35.683
<v Unidentified speaker>Urban forestry also now has the first-ever software to manage and track trees as assets, and we have a new developed parks peer review process to better evaluate and track park condition.

2366
04:01:36.840 --> 04:01:38.047
<v Loretta Smith>Next slide.

2367
04:01:39.512 --> 04:01:48.194
<v Unidentified speaker>Community partnerships are critical to centering the community in decision-making and oversight and to deliver an equitable parks and recreation system for all Portlanders.

2368
04:01:48.953 --> 04:01:49.356
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2369
04:01:52.084 --> 04:01:59.179
<v Unidentified speaker>The Parks Levy Oversight Committee continued to review and advise on fiscal accountability, adherence to ballot language, and transparency.

2370
04:01:59.855 --> 04:02:03.415
<v Unidentified speaker>In a moment, we'll hear from Mary Ruble to present the committee's annual report.

2371
04:02:04.139 --> 04:02:04.429
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2372
04:02:06.247 --> 04:02:09.645
<v Unidentified speaker>This commitment also includes completing an independent performance audit.

2373
04:02:10.289 --> 04:02:24.270
<v Unidentified speaker>In year 3, PP&R contracted with Schoberg Efficient Consulting to complete a performance audit, and the final report states that parks levy funds were used in compliance with voter-approved commitments and dollars were clearly tracked using strong financial systems.

2374
04:02:24.863 --> 04:02:25.475
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next slide.

2375
04:02:27.916 --> 04:02:37.823
<v Unidentified speaker>In year 3, the Community Partnership Program continued to support delivering services through partnership, granting funds to additional partner agencies, and serving over 6,600 youth.

2376
04:02:38.675 --> 04:02:46.552
<v Unidentified speaker>The Parks Levy is also supporting the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center feasibility study to help create a vibrant Black arts and culture ecosystem.

2377
04:02:47.213 --> 04:02:47.359
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2378
04:02:50.293 --> 04:03:03.409
<v Unidentified speaker>In year 3, the Bureau successfully delivered parks and recreation services to a wide variety of users and implemented initiatives such as English as a Learning Language, Teen Force, partnerships with organizations serving communities of color, and more.

2379
04:03:04.440 --> 04:03:12.968
<v Unidentified speaker>With the parks levy, the access discount is helping more people, including older adults in lifelong recreation programs, participate in programming with reduced-cost options.

2380
04:03:13.727 --> 04:03:13.922
<v Unidentified speaker>Options.

2381
04:03:14.583 --> 04:03:19.971
<v Unidentified speaker>Recreation also continues to adapt and expand culturally specific and language-specific programming.

2382
04:03:21.350 --> 04:03:21.623
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2383
04:03:23.563 --> 04:03:27.376
<v Unidentified speaker>This is a high-level summary of parks levy spending in fiscal year '23-'24.

2384
04:03:28.546 --> 04:03:39.467
<v Unidentified speaker>The bureau uses service area codes to charge expenses, and each of those service areas have been evaluated and sorted based on whether they were directly contributing towards meeting one or more parks levy commitments.

2385
04:03:40.237 --> 04:03:51.886
<v Unidentified speaker>The total net expense is the total expenditures minus any program revenue, and the parks levy portion of expense is the amount of that total expense that was funded by the parks levy using the leveraged funding model.

2386
04:03:53.252 --> 04:04:00.932
<v Unidentified speaker>Per City Council direction in the ballot referral, the parks levy was required to reimburse the Portland Children's Levy for compression impact.

2387
04:04:01.445 --> 04:04:07.577
<v Unidentified speaker>And so with that, the total amount of parks funding spent in year 3 was $51.22 million.

2388
04:04:08.988 --> 04:04:15.851
<v Unidentified speaker>This parks levy spending in fiscal year '23-'24 is pretty close to the exact amount that came in from tax revenues.

2389
04:04:17.309 --> 04:04:28.996
<v Unidentified speaker>After the year-end spending and balancing of a year-end buffer, the parks levy fund balance will increase by $2.66 million, and this is added to the remaining balance from years 1 and 2 to be spent in future years.

2390
04:04:30.150 --> 04:04:39.709
<v Unidentified speaker>We do expect that in years 4 and 5, our parks levy expenditures will outweigh the revenue that comes in from taxes, so that remaining balance will be needed to fill the gap.

2391
04:04:40.658 --> 04:04:49.032
<v Unidentified speaker>At this time, we anticipate ending the 5-year levy with the revenues from that 5-year period being fully expended to deliver services to Portlanders.

2392
04:04:49.630 --> 04:04:50.050
<v Unidentified speaker>Next slide.

2393
04:04:50.439 --> 04:04:57.156
<v Unidentified speaker>I'm going to turn over to Mary Ruble now to present the Parks Levy Oversight Committee annual report.

2394
04:04:58.750 --> 04:05:00.621
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you, Claire, and thank you, Adina.

2395
04:05:01.195 --> 04:05:04.856
<v Robert Taylor>And thank you to the City Council and the mayor for having us.

2396
04:05:05.611 --> 04:05:06.783
<v Robert Taylor>Uh, I'm Mary Ruble.

2397
04:05:06.929 --> 04:05:09.450
<v Robert Taylor>I'm a member of the Parks Levy Oversight Committee.

2398
04:05:10.123 --> 04:05:21.218
<v Robert Taylor>I'm here today to share the committee's 3rd report with you, a response to fiscal year '23-'24 annual report and the parks and recreation actions in this fiscal year.

2399
04:05:22.230 --> 04:05:32.745
<v Robert Taylor>While we celebrate the success of year 3, which has been very successful, We are well aware that the Parks Bureau is heavily reliant on the current levy for basic operating funds.

2400
04:05:33.807 --> 04:05:40.763
<v Robert Taylor>In years 3 and 4, it is funding approximately 40% of the bureau's operating budget.

2401
04:05:41.684 --> 04:05:46.694
<v Robert Taylor>I'd like to underline that because in year 5, it could be as high as 50%.

2402
04:05:48.630 --> 04:05:55.894
<v Robert Taylor>We are well aware of the enormous backlog of maintenance to parks and recreation facilities, trails, and parklands.

2403
04:05:56.713 --> 04:06:06.594
<v Robert Taylor>The $600 million backlog must be addressed in order to maintain a parks and recreation system that is welcoming, safe, and sustainable.

2404
04:06:07.799 --> 04:06:15.529
<v Robert Taylor>Parks and recreation services are critical to the fabric of our community and to the livability and resurgence of the City of Portland.

2405
04:06:16.573 --> 04:06:25.974
<v Robert Taylor>We want to encourage City Council to keep the reality of how the bureau is funded and has been funded over many years in mind.

2406
04:06:26.760 --> 04:06:45.168
<v Robert Taylor>The bureau relies heavily upon both general fund dollars and special levies and bonds, but special levies and bonds will not fund the whole Parks Bureau, and we need to ensure that you have the Parks Bureau remain viable, uh, as we go forward.

2407
04:06:46.003 --> 04:06:49.274
<v Robert Taylor>General fund dollars are critical to the future of the bureau.

2408
04:06:50.734 --> 04:06:55.272
<v Robert Taylor>We are a committee of 5 members, as Adina said, and we meet quarterly.

2409
04:06:55.931 --> 04:07:05.457
<v Robert Taylor>Our role is to review information and verify general compliance with and progress toward the parks levy, both the purpose of the parks levy.

2410
04:07:06.130 --> 04:07:14.647
<v Robert Taylor>We also advise on transparency and communication strategies, and it is our responsibility to report to you in this annual report.

2411
04:07:14.710 --> 04:07:14.807
<v Angelita Morillo>Thank you.

2412
04:07:15.931 --> 04:07:25.140
<v Robert Taylor>And the members of our committee represent a broad swath of Portland, so we feel very good about the, the focus of the committee across the city.

2413
04:07:27.466 --> 04:07:30.614
<v Robert Taylor>Fiscal accountability is one of the key areas of our focus.

2414
04:07:30.808 --> 04:07:31.584
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next slide.

2415
04:07:31.970 --> 04:07:32.683
<v Robert Taylor>Oh, next slide.

2416
04:07:32.879 --> 04:07:33.334
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you.

2417
04:07:34.764 --> 04:07:39.108
<v Robert Taylor>Our report is structured in 3 main sections, the first being fiscal accountability.

2418
04:07:40.172 --> 04:07:47.820
<v Robert Taylor>Through the annual report and oversight committee meetings, Parks was transparent and accountable in tracking and communicating Thank you.

2419
04:07:49.355 --> 04:07:59.452
<v Robert Taylor>We particularly value the, the bureau's proactive communication with the committee about revenue forecast changes and how underspending will be balanced across the 5-year levy timeframe.

2420
04:08:01.030 --> 04:08:06.253
<v Robert Taylor>After the publishing of this report, the committee was also pleased to receive the parks levy independent audit.

2421
04:08:06.927 --> 04:08:14.813
<v Robert Taylor>This review validates the auditability of the parks levy expenses and provides additional transparency Transparency about fiscal accountability.

2422
04:08:15.743 --> 04:08:25.829
<v Robert Taylor>We recommend continuing to proactively share financial status with the committee as projections change and that the bureau continue to disseminate the independent audit findings.

2423
04:08:26.423 --> 04:08:29.597
<v Robert Taylor>We are pleased that the audit in full is posted online.

2424
04:08:30.833 --> 04:08:31.522
<v Robert Taylor>Next slide.

2425
04:08:32.917 --> 04:08:39.814
<v Robert Taylor>The committee found that Park's actions in year 3 are based on and build upon the promises contained in the language of the voters' pamphlet.

2426
04:08:40.519 --> 04:08:56.093
<v Robert Taylor>We encourage Parks to continue to expand and refine performance measures related to the 15 commitments and include comparisons to past performance to establish and provide quantification on what progress in each commitment looks like for the bureau.

2427
04:08:56.896 --> 04:09:06.888
<v Robert Taylor>We also look forward to receiving, receiving the community needs survey results this year to understand how programs and initiatives are serving Portlanders and can be further refined.

2428
04:09:08.350 --> 04:09:16.442
<v Robert Taylor>Finally, the key element of adhering to the budget language is delivering programming and fostering partnerships in PP&R spaces.

2429
04:09:17.037 --> 04:09:17.808
<v Robert Taylor>This is happening.

2430
04:09:18.561 --> 04:09:21.902
<v Robert Taylor>The quality and condition of PP&R facilities are critical.

2431
04:09:22.656 --> 04:09:29.801
<v Robert Taylor>The Oversight Committee urges the city to prioritize funding to address the nearly $600 million maintenance backlog.

2432
04:09:31.086 --> 04:09:31.777
<v Loretta Smith>Next slide.

2433
04:09:32.755 --> 04:09:43.640
<v Robert Taylor>In terms of transparency, Parks has been responsive to the interests of our group, creating time in meeting agendas for topical presentations that we have selected and has shared information publicly.

2434
04:09:44.395 --> 04:09:49.588
<v Robert Taylor>We also appreciate the Parks levy information is shared in translated and accessible formats.

2435
04:09:50.389 --> 04:09:57.219
<v Robert Taylor>We encourage the bureau to share short-form, visually focused materials to demonstrate the Parks levy impact.

2436
04:09:58.325 --> 04:10:14.688
<v Robert Taylor>To maximize public trust in the stewardship of the parks levy, as well as communicate the critical nature of this funding source, we encourage city leaders to collaborate with parks in understanding and planning the financial picture of Portland's parks and recreation system.

2437
04:10:15.763 --> 04:10:21.769
<v Robert Taylor>I want to thank City Council for your continued support of the parks levy and look forward to future years of success.

2438
04:10:22.185 --> 04:10:23.278
<v Robert Taylor>With that, I'll turn it back to Claire.

2439
04:10:23.373 --> 04:10:23.566
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you, Mayor.

2440
04:10:23.680 --> 04:10:24.050
<v Loretta Smith>Thank you.

2441
04:10:24.583 --> 04:10:25.211
<v Unidentified speaker>Thank you, Mary.

2442
04:10:25.792 --> 04:10:31.989
<v Unidentified speaker>We're excited about the progress made in year 3 of the parks levy and are grateful to the support of the Oversight Committee.

2443
04:10:32.747 --> 04:10:36.046
<v Unidentified speaker>That concludes our presentation, so we will open it up to questions and discussion.

2444
04:10:37.156 --> 04:10:40.773
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, and thank you especially, Mr. Ruble, for staying so late with us.

2445
04:10:41.416 --> 04:10:43.024
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, this is time for questions.

2446
04:10:44.820 --> 04:10:45.570
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Dunphy.

2447
04:10:47.040 --> 04:10:47.431
<v Jamie Dunphy>Thank you.

2448
04:10:48.002 --> 04:10:49.584
<v Jamie Dunphy>I had a couple questions about the access discount.

2449
04:10:49.981 --> 04:10:50.271
<v Jamie Dunphy>Program.

2450
04:10:50.769 --> 04:10:56.983
<v Jamie Dunphy>And I may not be, uh, I might be too tired to ask it appropriately, and I may not be smart enough to know the answer.

2451
04:10:57.673 --> 04:11:07.708
<v Jamie Dunphy>Um, but my understanding is through Parks, we don't operate at a cost recovery model right now for the cost of a swim lesson, a dance class, a cooking class.

2452
04:11:07.789 --> 04:11:09.539
<v Jamie Dunphy>We don't operate at a cost recovery model.

2453
04:11:09.811 --> 04:11:10.469
<v Jamie Dunphy>Is that correct?

2454
04:11:10.759 --> 04:11:11.095
<v Jamie Dunphy>First—.

2455
04:11:11.497 --> 04:11:11.947
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That is correct.

2456
04:11:11.995 --> 04:11:16.941
<v Jamie Dunphy>Okay, so when we're using these dollars to supplement and to provide discount.

2457
04:11:17.198 --> 04:11:25.001
<v Jamie Dunphy>First, um, do we have a, a clear sense of where in the city those dollars are being used, or where that access is being used?

2458
04:11:25.949 --> 04:11:39.981
<v Jamie Dunphy>And then my second question is sort of the kind of confusing part for me is if we're already not operating at a cost recovery model for those costs and we then further reduce that, how do we account for that in the, in the accounting of the bureau?

2459
04:11:40.078 --> 04:11:51.193
<v Jamie Dunphy>Meaning that you know, if we gave a $5 discount for a class that costs $7 out of actual pocket, are we using that simply to just transfer it over to supplement general fund for staffing?

2460
04:11:51.709 --> 04:11:55.095
<v Jamie Dunphy>Are we using those dollars to— I mean, is it funny accounting?

2461
04:11:55.175 --> 04:11:58.385
<v Jamie Dunphy>I'm just— I'm— I don't know how to, to ask the question accurately.

2462
04:12:02.042 --> 04:12:03.395
<v Helmi Hisarik>Good evening, councilors.

2463
04:12:03.492 --> 04:12:04.583
<v Angelita Morillo>Thank you very much for having me.

2464
04:12:04.647 --> 04:12:05.511
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm Sarah Huggins.

2465
04:12:05.609 --> 04:12:07.055
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm with Vibrant Communities As well.

2466
04:12:08.083 --> 04:12:13.126
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So I will take a crack at these, and we're also happy to follow up with sort of more specificity.

2467
04:12:13.222 --> 04:12:16.772
<v Angelita Morillo>So we have been analyzing the utilization of the Access Discount Pass.

2468
04:12:16.885 --> 04:12:28.095
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have a sense both of where it's being utilized, and we are asking people to voluntarily share some demographic information so we can also have an understanding of who it's being used by as well.

2469
04:12:29.123 --> 04:12:33.870
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So we're happy to follow up with sort of more detail around sort of the utilization that we've seen so far.

2470
04:12:34.404 --> 04:12:39.406
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>In terms of how it's budgeted, each year we've put a forecasted amount for what we think it will be.

2471
04:12:39.681 --> 04:12:48.472
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>It is certainly not operating on a cost recovery model, and so far we've been able to grow into that and absorb that within our planned budget.

2472
04:12:52.483 --> 04:12:55.183
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you.

2473
04:12:55.601 --> 04:13:02.166
<v Robert Taylor>Um, I have a lot of questions, but I'm thinking tomorrow we have a work session with Parks, is that right?

2474
04:13:02.314 --> 04:13:05.004
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We will be back with Parks in 11 and a half hours.

2475
04:13:07.342 --> 04:13:10.126
<v Robert Taylor>So I, I can hold my questions until then.

2476
04:13:10.563 --> 04:13:12.117
<v Robert Taylor>Um, to—.

2477
04:13:13.168 --> 04:13:16.764
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>If you have anything specific that we need Ms. Ribble for, let's ask that tonight.

2478
04:13:17.202 --> 04:13:21.781
<v Robert Taylor>Um, well, you did mention, uh, the $600 million backlog.

2479
04:13:21.829 --> 04:13:23.371
<v Robert Taylor>Was that major maintenance?

2480
04:13:24.879 --> 04:13:26.283
<v Robert Taylor>I'll, I'll let Adina answer that.

2481
04:13:26.397 --> 04:13:26.574
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

2482
04:13:26.783 --> 04:13:31.199
<v Helmi Hisarik>Yes, the $600 million in deferred Maintenance is for— is capital to major maintenance.

2483
04:13:31.246 --> 04:13:32.531
<v Robert Taylor>That's the major maintenance.

2484
04:13:32.611 --> 04:13:36.511
<v Robert Taylor>Okay, uh, I'll just leave it at that because that's not a levy issue necessarily.

2485
04:13:36.559 --> 04:13:38.485
<v Robert Taylor>It's a bigger issue, or different issue.

2486
04:13:38.533 --> 04:13:38.967
<v Robert Taylor>Different issue.

2487
04:13:39.143 --> 04:13:39.897
<v Robert Taylor>Different issue.

2488
04:13:40.074 --> 04:13:40.731
<v Robert Taylor>Yeah, but thank you.

2489
04:13:40.780 --> 04:13:41.951
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you for being here tonight.

2490
04:13:42.095 --> 04:13:42.657
<v Robert Taylor>Appreciate it.

2491
04:13:42.706 --> 04:13:43.027
<v Loretta Smith>Thank you.

2492
04:13:43.748 --> 04:13:45.177
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Green.

2493
04:13:45.868 --> 04:13:48.468
<v Mitch Green>I'll keep my comments brief.

2494
04:13:48.805 --> 04:13:52.960
<v Mitch Green>Um, I just wanted to say thank you so much for serving, uh, on this committee.

2495
04:13:53.475 --> 04:13:54.823
<v Mitch Green>It's extremely important work.

2496
04:13:54.983 --> 04:14:00.836
<v Mitch Green>Um, I do have question though, uh, in Appendix B of the report, uh, you described the leveraged funding model.

2497
04:14:01.799 --> 04:14:09.977
<v Mitch Green>Um, I'd like to know a little bit more about the successes and maybe opportunities where that could be tweaked.

2498
04:14:10.218 --> 04:14:19.262
<v Mitch Green>Um, like specifically, I understand that it sort of preserves capacity of the levy to kind of spread that out over a larger array of services.

2499
04:14:20.095 --> 04:14:23.332
<v Mitch Green>Does that preservation also involve like sort of interest earnings?

2500
04:14:23.460 --> 04:14:24.817
<v Mitch Green>Like, I'd like to know more.

2501
04:14:25.206 --> 04:14:25.399
<v Mitch Green>Thanks.

2502
04:14:26.352 --> 04:14:30.325
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So the Parks Levy Fund is a separate fund, and it does earn interest.

2503
04:14:31.229 --> 04:14:38.862
<v Angelita Morillo>So levy resources are also not required to be spent in that 5-year window, although we are projecting that we will spend them in that 5-year window.

2504
04:14:41.250 --> 04:14:43.147
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Were there more specifics about the leveraged funding model?

2505
04:14:43.597 --> 04:14:44.789
<v Mitch Green>Nope, that's, that's very helpful.

2506
04:14:44.997 --> 04:14:53.481
<v Mitch Green>I was specifically curious about the interest piece, and I just want to encourage us to think about that more broadly in all of our, our, our work in the city.

2507
04:14:53.643 --> 04:14:55.558
<v Mitch Green>It's, it's good to be fiscal stewards that way.

2508
04:15:00.765 --> 04:15:01.070
<v Eric Zimmerman>Thank you.

2509
04:15:01.875 --> 04:15:07.520
<v Eric Zimmerman>Uh, my comment is really, I want to use this as an example for the colleagues for the city.

2510
04:15:07.601 --> 04:15:12.038
<v Eric Zimmerman>Is, um, you know, I've been in a lot of municipalities where we have nighttime meetings.

2511
04:15:12.622 --> 04:15:13.613
<v Eric Zimmerman>This is a big report.

2512
04:15:13.695 --> 04:15:14.654
<v Eric Zimmerman>It was an important report.

2513
04:15:15.557 --> 04:15:16.950
<v Eric Zimmerman>And this is the trend.

2514
04:15:17.816 --> 04:15:32.734
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so I would encourage us to monitor how we use our nighttime meetings because this is the trend that happens all over Oregon where we go late and we cut off or we reduce the information that we receive because we get up against human needs, right?

2515
04:15:32.798 --> 04:15:36.130
<v Eric Zimmerman>That's not a bad reason, it's just the nature of what a nighttime meeting does.

2516
04:15:37.189 --> 04:15:48.539
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so I know that we got some praise earlier for thanking us to have this meeting tonight, but I would also say we gave up some stuff, and you guys were some of them that we gave up, um, because we got a very abridged version of what you had to share tonight.

2517
04:15:49.327 --> 04:15:53.762
<v Eric Zimmerman>That will happen the rest of this year in some form or fashion.

2518
04:15:54.022 --> 04:16:06.708
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so I just wanted to highlight that, um, to use these as incredibly sparingly as possible, because—.

2519
04:16:06.841 --> 04:16:08.197
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any other questions from council?

2520
04:16:11.190 --> 04:16:12.530
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you all for being here.

2521
04:16:12.658 --> 04:16:18.325
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for your patience, and thank you for the information and for your work on this and the services that you provide for our community.

2522
04:16:19.551 --> 04:16:22.430
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe that we have public comment.

2523
04:16:24.079 --> 04:16:25.340
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have one person signed up.

2524
04:16:25.422 --> 04:16:27.680
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Virginia Ellaby is joining us online.

2525
04:16:30.000 --> 04:16:31.049
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Virginia, are you still with us?

2526
04:16:32.967 --> 04:16:34.280
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Virginia, you're muted.

2527
04:16:47.648 --> 04:16:48.200
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Can you hear us?

2528
04:16:49.435 --> 04:16:50.930
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, I think I've got it now.

2529
04:16:51.940 --> 04:16:52.631
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, thank you.

2530
04:16:53.163 --> 04:17:01.326
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>My name is Virginia Ellaby, and I'm testifying on behalf of the Concerned Citizens, an informal group engaged in park-related issues.

2531
04:17:01.887 --> 04:17:02.793
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We already used it.

2532
04:17:03.490 --> 04:17:19.190
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>My testimony, uh, tonight focuses on the potential that the 2020 Parks Levy could end up harming the financial sustainability of our city's beloved park system.

2533
04:17:19.688 --> 04:17:30.693
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Given that risk, our group urges the council to get more frequent updates on Park Finance Bureau finances and to carefully vet renewal proposals.

2534
04:17:31.674 --> 04:17:47.646
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>For those unfamiliar with the concept, financial sustainability refers to an organization's ability to pay for its operations, major capital maintenance, and capital growth projects without imposing undue burdens on future generations.

2535
04:17:48.385 --> 04:17:53.029
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Using that definition, parks has had a financial sustainability problem.

2536
04:17:53.301 --> 04:18:01.262
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>For over a decade, as evidenced by the massive deferred maintenance backlog that parks testified about.

2537
04:18:02.610 --> 04:18:10.923
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Bureau leaders have warned this maintenance backlog could necessitate the closure of 1 in 5 park assets by 2035.

2538
04:18:12.061 --> 04:18:19.588
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I admit it seems odd to flag the potential that the 2020 levy itself could erode the bureau's financial sustainability.

2539
04:18:19.925 --> 04:18:28.014
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>When the reports before you show that levy revenues have exceeded levy expenditures for 3 straight years.

2540
04:18:29.396 --> 04:18:34.274
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>But the trajectory and the composition of levy spending are indeed causes for worry.

2541
04:18:34.772 --> 04:18:47.034
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>In a budget review a year ago, the City Budget Office characterized parks expenditures as untenable and noted the bureau's full personnel costs were greater than its general fund allocation.

2542
04:18:48.014 --> 04:18:57.487
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>These operations-related financial sustainability risks merit high-level attention given the value Portlanders attach to parks.

2543
04:18:57.841 --> 04:19:03.316
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'll close by elaborating on our 2 earlier suggestions for council action.

2544
04:19:03.829 --> 04:19:13.763
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>First, we recommend the council request quarterly updates on levy expenditures and the rate at which accumulated levy funds are being drawn down.

2545
04:19:14.997 --> 04:19:21.680
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Second, the council should allow sufficient time to rigorously examine future levy referral requests.

2546
04:19:22.369 --> 04:19:34.515
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>One key issue is whether a levy measure hiking the current mill rate in order to maintain existing operational service levels would be compatible with the core value of fiscal responsibility.

2547
04:19:35.270 --> 04:19:36.326
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for your time.

2548
04:19:39.068 --> 04:19:40.290
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you very much, Ms. Ellaby.

2549
04:19:40.371 --> 04:19:46.934
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for bearing with us this late and for your very, um, action-oriented testimony.

2550
04:19:47.739 --> 04:19:48.790
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That completes testimony.

2551
04:19:49.468 --> 04:19:49.791
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Great.

2552
04:19:51.149 --> 04:19:57.599
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any further council discussion on a report?

2553
04:19:57.680 --> 04:20:00.584
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We are actually looking for a motion and a second before we can vote.

2554
04:20:01.379 --> 04:20:01.897
<v Dan Ryan>So moved.

2555
04:20:05.626 --> 04:20:05.917
<v Dan Ryan>Second.

2556
04:20:06.210 --> 04:20:06.941
<v Dan Ryan>Accept the report.

2557
04:20:06.990 --> 04:20:07.299
<v Dan Ryan>So moved.

2558
04:20:07.804 --> 04:20:10.664
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yeah, I believe we have a motion and a second to accept the report.

2559
04:20:13.640 --> 04:20:13.949
<v Dan Ryan>Avalos?

2560
04:20:15.664 --> 04:20:15.711
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

2561
04:20:17.056 --> 04:20:18.042
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Dunphy?

2562
04:20:18.657 --> 04:20:18.706
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

2563
04:20:19.370 --> 04:20:19.531
<v Loretta Smith>Smith?

2564
04:20:20.191 --> 04:20:20.238
<v Loretta Smith>Aye.

2565
04:20:20.995 --> 04:20:23.909
<v Sameer Kanal>I just want to congratulate you on the clean audit.

2566
04:20:24.296 --> 04:20:27.468
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I had the opportunity to hear that in advance as a member of the Parks Board.

2567
04:20:27.531 --> 04:20:36.581
<v Sameer Kanal>I appreciate it, and I also want to thank, uh, Mayor Ruble and the whole Parks Uh, Levy Oversight Committee for your service, uh, as well as the Parks Board, which I was privileged to be a member of very recently.

2568
04:20:36.790 --> 04:20:38.157
<v Sameer Kanal>I'll keep it short and just stop it there.

2569
04:20:38.221 --> 04:20:38.722
<v Sameer Kanal>I would— hi.

2570
04:20:40.707 --> 04:20:40.933
<v Dan Ryan>Ryan?

2571
04:20:41.352 --> 04:20:43.836
<v Dan Ryan>Yeah, I quickly want to say thank you, Director Long.

2572
04:20:44.175 --> 04:20:46.579
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you for staying up past your bedtime.

2573
04:20:47.161 --> 04:20:51.254
<v Dan Ryan>Um, and Claire Flynn and Mary Ruble, you're such an extraordinary volunteer.

2574
04:20:51.626 --> 04:21:04.298
<v Dan Ryan>I just have to say that in the ramp-up, while in the public health's recommended COVID distancing, there was some expected struggle at the beginning of the levy, and that was, I think, unfairly amplified out there in the media, like we were behind or something.

2575
04:21:04.925 --> 04:21:15.202
<v Dan Ryan>And today you probably won't receive the corresponding positive press on how things caught up, and we're definitely providing the services as it was outlined in the levy.

2576
04:21:15.477 --> 04:21:18.100
<v Dan Ryan>So I wanted to make sure I took a moment to congratulate you for that.

2577
04:21:18.391 --> 04:21:18.813
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you.

2578
04:21:23.509 --> 04:21:23.524
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

2579
04:21:24.557 --> 04:21:29.539
<v Angelita Morillo>Thank you guys so much for being here late at night to give us this presentation, and I look forward to going through the rest of the materials.

2580
04:21:30.770 --> 04:21:30.786
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

2581
04:21:31.480 --> 04:21:31.529
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

2582
04:21:33.500 --> 04:21:33.549
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

2583
04:21:36.183 --> 04:21:36.199
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

2584
04:21:36.815 --> 04:21:36.862
<v Dan Ryan>Aye.

2585
04:21:39.568 --> 04:21:39.618
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2586
04:21:40.072 --> 04:21:40.477
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

2587
04:21:41.206 --> 04:21:42.226
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The report is accepted.

2588
04:21:44.549 --> 04:21:49.385
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We are moving back in our agenda.

2589
04:21:51.601 --> 04:21:53.818
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>To item 7, I believe.

2590
04:21:53.965 --> 04:22:06.217
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, Madam President, can I suggest we do 11 prior to that, or request it, just because I know we have guests here?

2591
04:22:06.394 --> 04:22:09.197
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Do we have any issues with 11 under the current rules?

2592
04:22:09.534 --> 04:22:14.326
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Do we need to adopt the new rules before we do item 11, Lindley?

2593
04:22:15.558 --> 04:22:16.872
<v Robert Taylor>Oh, that's a good question.

2594
04:22:17.016 --> 04:22:20.369
<v Robert Taylor>So the question is if any of the committee assignments include—.

2595
04:22:20.369 --> 04:22:20.961
<v Robert Taylor>That's 12.

2596
04:22:21.138 --> 04:22:21.602
<v Robert Taylor>Oh, that's 12.

2597
04:22:21.650 --> 04:22:22.228
<v Robert Taylor>No, no.

2598
04:22:22.421 --> 04:22:23.495
<v Robert Taylor>Okay, 11 is fine.

2599
04:22:23.543 --> 04:22:24.264
<v Robert Taylor>Sorry, thank you.

2600
04:22:24.602 --> 04:22:29.894
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, any objection to moving to number— item number 11 on the agenda?

2601
04:22:31.015 --> 04:22:32.827
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, without objection.

2602
04:22:33.486 --> 04:22:33.693
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Keelan?

2603
04:22:34.623 --> 04:22:55.417
<v Mitch Green>Withdraw authorization for the city attorney to file an unfair labor practice complaint for a collective bargaining agreement violation thank you, Madam President, as well as my colleagues who consented to bring this urgent item, uh, with the 9/5 procedure.

2604
04:22:55.997 --> 04:22:59.769
<v Mitch Green>Um, it is urgent, and, and so I want to thank you for that.

2605
04:23:00.326 --> 04:23:13.261
<v Mitch Green>I also want to thank— uh, special thanks to Councilor Zimmerman for co-sponsoring this resolution with me, and also Councilor Ryan for your vote last December, which was, I think, the sole no vote on this, which gives cause for the reason to rescind it today.

2606
04:23:14.078 --> 04:23:15.683
<v Mitch Green>So thank you for that leadership at that time.

2607
04:23:16.870 --> 04:23:27.549
<v Mitch Green>I see the inauguration of this new form of government as an opportunity to not only change how Portlanders engage with municipal government and influence policy development, but also how council engages with the labor movement.

2608
04:23:28.415 --> 04:23:40.041
<v Mitch Green>My hope is that this council stands with AFSCME and seeks every opportunity to provide assurances to its rank-and-file members that we have their backs, and that includes respecting their right to organize for a better contract.

2609
04:23:41.004 --> 04:23:52.439
<v Mitch Green>Therefore, I'm introducing this with Councilor Zimmerman, a resolution that withdraws the authorization specifically granted on December 4th, 2024, by the previous council for the city attorney to file an unfair labor practice.

2610
04:23:53.255 --> 04:24:01.450
<v Mitch Green>It is my contention— I think it is our contention— that this was unnecessarily antagonistic to AFSCME members who are facing a challenging contract fight.

2611
04:24:01.498 --> 04:24:01.594
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you.

2612
04:24:02.976 --> 04:24:16.592
<v Mitch Green>So the city attorney has yet to file this EOP, so I think this is a fairly straightforward resolution, uh, and we have an opportunity to hit the reset switch on this relationship with AFSCME and turn down the temperature during, uh, this cooling-off period.

2613
04:24:17.010 --> 04:24:18.004
<v Mitch Green>Uh, we're trying to cool off, right?

2614
04:24:18.614 --> 04:24:22.131
<v Mitch Green>Uh, so with, you know, with the city as part of this contract negotiation.

2615
04:24:22.180 --> 04:24:26.434
<v Mitch Green>So at this point, I'd just like to offer, uh, to Councilor Zimmerman an opportunity to say some remarks as well.

2616
04:24:26.498 --> 04:24:26.659
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you, Mayor.

2617
04:24:29.284 --> 04:24:31.413
<v Eric Zimmerman>Thank you, Councilor Green, and your leadership on this.

2618
04:24:31.686 --> 04:24:33.185
<v Eric Zimmerman>I appreciate being a part of it as well.

2619
04:24:34.023 --> 04:24:47.378
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, you know, I'm supporting this and I brought it forward because I think that, um, with this new government, that there have been a few times where I think us signaling who we are, what positions we have, is an important thing.

2620
04:24:47.827 --> 04:24:56.519
<v Eric Zimmerman>I recognize the last council and the, and the issues at the time, and my, my assessment after talking with folks is that this was an unnecessary boil point.

2621
04:24:57.082 --> 04:25:09.069
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so, um, while it— I don't think will change the overall economics of negotiations, I do think it can change how we go about those negotiations on both sides.

2622
04:25:09.135 --> 04:25:12.631
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so that's why I'll support it, and I will ask for others' support as well.

2623
04:25:18.084 --> 04:25:25.903
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any questions to to our presenters and fellow councilors about their, their item.

2624
04:25:31.147 --> 04:25:34.040
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Green, was there a question?

2625
04:25:34.315 --> 04:25:35.106
<v Mitch Green>There's no question.

2626
04:25:35.186 --> 04:25:38.888
<v Mitch Green>Just the question is, do I need to actually make a motion for this, or is it already in place?

2627
04:25:39.405 --> 04:25:40.730
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>It is already in place.

2628
04:25:42.056 --> 04:25:43.655
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And it looks like Councilor Smith.

2629
04:25:45.222 --> 04:25:46.014
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you, Madam President.

2630
04:25:46.986 --> 04:25:52.020
<v Loretta Smith>I just wanted to say thank you all for your leadership, your courageous leadership on bringing this forward.

2631
04:25:52.757 --> 04:26:12.202
<v Loretta Smith>And as we are talking about making sure that we treat others as we want to be treated, I just want to make a note that with AFSCME, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Memphis, Tennessee in '68, and he went to Tennessee to go support AFSCME.

2632
04:26:13.606 --> 04:26:16.731
<v Loretta Smith>The AFSCME folks who were the sanitation workers.

2633
04:26:17.799 --> 04:26:25.069
<v Loretta Smith>And those sanitation workers were working in unsafe working conditions that they faced at the time.

2634
04:26:26.316 --> 04:26:37.308
<v Loretta Smith>And during that visit in 1968 in Memphis on April 4th, Dr. King was assassinated coming to help the workers of AFSCME.

2635
04:26:39.129 --> 04:26:48.738
<v Loretta Smith>Had they had a council like ours that believed in labor and in supporting folks not having unsafe working conditions.

2636
04:26:49.637 --> 04:26:53.631
<v Loretta Smith>But it proved again the heart of Dr. King.

2637
04:26:54.722 --> 04:27:01.654
<v Loretta Smith>So in the spirit of Dr. King, I will be supporting your resolution.

2638
04:27:03.113 --> 04:27:03.450
<v Loretta Smith>Thank you.

2639
04:27:08.701 --> 04:27:10.385
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any other questions from councilors?

2640
04:27:11.452 --> 04:27:13.832
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Did we have any last-minute public testimony sign up?

2641
04:27:14.138 --> 04:27:14.786
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>No one signed up.

2642
04:27:16.889 --> 04:27:19.152
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, uh, clerk, could you call the roll then for us?

2643
04:27:20.540 --> 04:27:20.782
<v Robert Taylor>Avalos.

2644
04:27:22.763 --> 04:27:23.606
<v Candace Avalos>This is an easy yes.

2645
04:27:24.045 --> 04:27:24.060
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

2646
04:27:24.775 --> 04:27:25.034
<v Loretta Smith>Dunphy.

2647
04:27:25.667 --> 04:27:25.829
<v Jamie Dunphy>Aye.

2648
04:27:26.316 --> 04:27:26.707
<v Candace Avalos>Smith.

2649
04:27:27.209 --> 04:27:27.259
<v Unidentified speaker>Aye.

2650
04:27:29.860 --> 04:27:32.093
<v Sameer Kanal>Uh, yeah, thank you for introducing this.

2651
04:27:32.319 --> 04:27:33.048
<v Sameer Kanal>Elections matter.

2652
04:27:33.095 --> 04:27:34.309
<v Sameer Kanal>This is a pro-labor council.

2653
04:27:34.390 --> 04:27:39.147
<v Sameer Kanal>We want to lower the temperature during the cooling down period, uh, with AFSCME and also with our labor partners generally.

2654
04:27:39.277 --> 04:27:39.664
<v Sameer Kanal>I vote yes.

2655
04:27:41.100 --> 04:27:46.440
<v Dan Ryan>Yeah, my vote remains the same, although then it was important to say no, and then this one I can just say aye.

2656
04:27:50.731 --> 04:27:54.317
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Councilors Zimmerman and Green, for bringing this forward.

2657
04:27:54.381 --> 04:27:55.649
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I think this is really important.

2658
04:27:56.194 --> 04:27:57.510
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>It's an important symbol.

2659
04:27:58.102 --> 04:27:59.337
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>It's an important thing to do.

2660
04:27:59.787 --> 04:28:05.415
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And I believe it's true that we do have a pretty labor-friendly, pro-labor council.

2661
04:28:05.495 --> 04:28:09.889
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And I just want to add there that I'm not only pro-labor, I am labor.

2662
04:28:09.986 --> 04:28:13.995
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I fully understand deep in my bones what solidarity forever means.

2663
04:28:14.059 --> 04:28:16.159
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I've taken out a group on strike.

2664
04:28:16.865 --> 04:28:22.918
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I am a rank-and-file union member still, and I will be continuing to pay my dues while I serve on City Council.

2665
04:28:23.306 --> 04:28:29.086
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And so just want you to know that I understand that which— what workers are fighting for.

2666
04:28:29.166 --> 04:28:34.958
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>When you're fighting for something, it's not just for yourself, it's not just for the members in your group, but it's for all workers.

2667
04:28:39.192 --> 04:28:39.855
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I vote.

2668
04:28:40.253 --> 04:28:40.850
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And I vote aye.

2669
04:28:42.659 --> 04:28:43.001
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Morillo.

2670
04:28:44.059 --> 04:28:46.013
<v Angelita Morillo>Um, I'm very proud to vote aye on this.

2671
04:28:46.340 --> 04:28:56.511
<v Angelita Morillo>I I hope that the city can take steps towards making material amends as well to our workers and making sure that they get, uh, everything that they deserve because they do so much for us.

2672
04:28:58.597 --> 04:29:00.755
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

2673
04:29:02.445 --> 04:29:03.218
<v Robert Taylor>Thanks, guys.

2674
04:29:04.442 --> 04:29:08.694
<v Robert Taylor>Uh, this is an easy yes, and I think it demonstrates that we all want to operate in good faith.

2675
04:29:10.200 --> 04:29:10.239
<v Loretta Smith>Aye.

2676
04:29:15.640 --> 04:29:16.299
<v Eric Zimmerman>Thank you to everybody.

2677
04:29:16.668 --> 04:29:16.798
<v Eric Zimmerman>Aye.

2678
04:29:17.728 --> 04:29:24.216
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Negotiations are hard, and these negotiations will still be hard and will likely still be contentious.

2679
04:29:24.939 --> 04:29:40.483
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>But I hope that the city's employees, our employees who are at the bargaining table with the city, see this vote as a sign that this council wants us to have a relationship embedded in respect for the work that they do, for the processes that we engage in.

2680
04:29:41.078 --> 04:29:41.675
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I'm a yes.

2681
04:29:43.500 --> 04:29:44.727
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The resolution is adopted.

2682
04:29:53.299 --> 04:30:00.403
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I think that now— I think that now leaves us with 2 items left on our agenda.

2683
04:30:01.045 --> 04:30:17.613
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I would like us to move back to the second reading of our rules, agenda item 7, amend Council Organization and Procedure Code related to the council agenda, council rules, and council committees.

2684
04:30:19.984 --> 04:30:37.346
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, this is currently a non-emergency ordinance, and if we would like it to go into effect tonight to allow us to adopt our committee structure in the way in which we've intended to We do need to add an emergency clause to this ordinance.

2685
04:30:40.609 --> 04:30:41.075
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So moved.

2686
04:30:41.397 --> 04:30:41.849
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Second.

2687
04:30:42.122 --> 04:30:44.700
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, just a question.

2688
04:30:45.570 --> 04:30:48.148
<v Sameer Kanal>I did submit a proposed amendment.

2689
04:30:48.567 --> 04:30:48.745
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

2690
04:30:49.131 --> 04:30:49.406
<v Dan Ryan>Does that—.

2691
04:30:49.921 --> 04:30:52.691
<v Sameer Kanal>Do we have to verbally say so moved for that, or—.

2692
04:30:52.691 --> 04:31:03.700
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, we do need to state the purpose for the emergency, and I can read that language if it would be thank you.

2693
04:31:04.103 --> 04:31:04.345
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

2694
04:31:07.632 --> 04:31:25.417
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>All right, so, um, the motion would be the council declares that an emergency exists because a delay in the city's implementation of these rules would cause meetings in the intervening 30 days to have different procedures, creating confusion for the public and city staff.

2695
04:31:25.904 --> 04:31:33.763
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Therefore, this ordinance shall be in full force and effect So I am going to move that.

2696
04:31:36.441 --> 04:31:38.259
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And then— I'm sorry, who was the second?

2697
04:31:39.014 --> 04:31:39.159
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Second.

2698
04:31:39.225 --> 04:31:39.788
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Smith.

2699
04:31:39.899 --> 04:31:42.167
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you.

2700
04:31:47.590 --> 04:31:48.560
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Linley, are we out of order?

2701
04:31:49.323 --> 04:31:50.279
<v Robert Taylor>Absolutely not.

2702
04:31:50.376 --> 04:31:58.625
<v Robert Taylor>I did want to clarify with the councilor— did you— had submitted an amendment that had additional language, but at this I'm sorry, we have another amendment we need to consider first.

2703
04:31:58.674 --> 04:32:00.497
<v Sameer Kanal>I submitted them at 2 different amendments.

2704
04:32:00.981 --> 04:32:05.495
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, okay, and I'm sorry, should we withdraw that and consider the other amendment first?

2705
04:32:07.559 --> 04:32:12.405
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>No, it does— it sounds like there's only one amendment that is on the table.

2706
04:32:12.824 --> 04:32:14.530
<v Sameer Kanal>Presently it's just that emergency clause.

2707
04:32:14.594 --> 04:32:15.368
<v Robert Taylor>The emergency clause.

2708
04:32:15.479 --> 04:32:23.420
<v Robert Taylor>Okay, sorry, Councilor, it was just— it was posted on the auditor's webpage as one amendment and we just We're trying to make sure we understood what it was.

2709
04:32:24.300 --> 04:32:24.561
<v Robert Taylor>I see.

2710
04:32:24.692 --> 04:32:25.509
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you for clarifying.

2711
04:32:25.606 --> 04:32:26.798
<v Sameer Kanal>I think there was a miscommunication earlier.

2712
04:32:28.295 --> 04:32:29.161
<v Sameer Kanal>Yeah.

2713
04:32:29.847 --> 04:32:31.433
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Are we okay to call roll on this vote?

2714
04:32:32.750 --> 04:32:33.879
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, go ahead, Keelan.

2715
04:32:35.106 --> 04:32:38.967
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, okay, so just to clarify, this is the vote on the amendment.

2716
04:32:39.629 --> 04:32:40.354
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, Avalos.

2717
04:32:44.340 --> 04:32:46.985
<v Sameer Kanal>This is— can— this is— we didn't have a discussion either, by the way.

2718
04:32:47.984 --> 04:32:54.212
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>This, this is the vote on the emergency clause, on the amendment to add an emergency clause, right?

2719
04:32:54.342 --> 04:32:57.359
<v Candace Avalos>Okay, so we're just doing the amendments separately, is that what's happening?

2720
04:32:57.439 --> 04:32:58.371
<v Candace Avalos>Okay.

2721
04:33:00.638 --> 04:33:01.586
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, aye.

2722
04:33:02.712 --> 04:33:02.761
<v Loretta Smith>Aye.

2723
04:33:05.044 --> 04:33:05.092
<v Loretta Smith>Aye.

2724
04:33:05.784 --> 04:33:05.832
<v Loretta Smith>Aye.

2725
04:33:05.930 --> 04:33:06.108
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2726
04:33:06.415 --> 04:33:06.544
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2727
04:33:06.995 --> 04:33:07.011
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2728
04:33:07.787 --> 04:33:07.835
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2729
04:33:08.433 --> 04:33:08.449
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2730
04:33:09.159 --> 04:33:09.207
<v Jamie Dunphy>Aye.

2731
04:33:09.675 --> 04:33:09.708
<v Dan Ryan>Aye.

2732
04:33:15.415 --> 04:33:15.448
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

2733
04:33:18.913 --> 04:33:22.134
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And Councilor Kanal, I apologize, I thought these 2 were submitted together.

2734
04:33:23.240 --> 04:33:23.628
<v Sameer Kanal>So I sent—.

2735
04:33:23.628 --> 04:33:25.230
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Go ahead with your additional—.

2736
04:33:25.684 --> 04:33:34.116
<v Sameer Kanal>Yeah, the, the other amendment that I put forward was on the, uh, it's to add, uh, the item C in there.

2737
04:33:35.058 --> 04:33:37.637
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, do you have— can you read that for us, Keelan?

2738
04:33:38.954 --> 04:33:53.394
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, um, so the amendment was to add Directive C: the council president will ensure a proposal to replace or extend Chapter 3.02 is placed on the council agenda by October 31st, 2025.

2739
04:33:56.879 --> 04:33:57.104
<v Dan Ryan>Go ahead.

2740
04:33:57.202 --> 04:34:06.046
<v Sameer Kanal>I'd like to move that, but just to give a little context to this, this, um, particular proposal, um, based on the feedback and public testimony thank you.

2741
04:34:06.095 --> 04:34:06.319
<v Sameer Kanal>I appreciate that.

2742
04:34:06.416 --> 04:34:22.842
<v Sameer Kanal>And with the comments that we received at the last meeting on January 2nd, including from some GTAC members, there was, I think, an acknowledgment up here on the dais that there— that the code regarding council operation needs a holistic review that is broader than the scope of this document and revision.

2743
04:34:23.276 --> 04:34:36.539
<v Sameer Kanal>And with the understanding that council will undertake this code review and revision this year, I was intending to put forward a an amendment that would repeal the entire title on December 31st.

2744
04:34:37.245 --> 04:34:56.850
<v Sameer Kanal>After talking to, um, our council president and getting her insight on this, I have adjusted to the amendment I'm putting forward, which is asking the council president to either, uh, bring that proposal forward through whatever processes we choose to do, um, or to, uh, simply say we're going to extend that date out.

2745
04:34:57.316 --> 04:34:59.259
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, by October 31st.

2746
04:34:59.598 --> 04:35:22.101
<v Sameer Kanal>So the, the amendment, the, this revised version of it is designed to ensure that the same reevaluation of our overall rules is done to be responsive to public comment and insight around the, the reason why people were asking for a sunset clause, but to reduce the risk, actually to eliminate the risk of us having no rules whatsoever should we get to that point and not have, uh, finished our holistic review.

2747
04:35:22.711 --> 04:35:25.621
<v Sameer Kanal>And I did discuss this matter with the, with the president prior to that.

2748
04:35:25.848 --> 04:35:34.114
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I also just wanted to say that the reason for the October 31st date versus the December 31st date is that's the time it would be beginning to be discussed.

2749
04:35:34.580 --> 04:35:39.190
<v Sameer Kanal>And so it would still be able to take effect by December 31st for the, um, the new thing.

2750
04:35:39.239 --> 04:35:41.599
<v Sameer Kanal>And again, that was for the, uh, beginning of next year.

2751
04:35:41.728 --> 04:35:44.528
<v Sameer Kanal>And again, that was after discussion with the, with the president.

2752
04:35:44.741 --> 04:35:45.361
<v Sameer Kanal>So thank you.

2753
04:35:50.060 --> 04:35:51.013
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any discussion?

2754
04:35:52.809 --> 04:35:54.490
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Do we— second.

2755
04:35:54.830 --> 04:35:55.169
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>There we go.

2756
04:35:56.689 --> 04:35:58.332
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any discussion on the proposed amendment?

2757
04:36:00.970 --> 04:36:03.439
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I have my hand— you do have your hand up.

2758
04:36:03.926 --> 04:36:05.063
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Go right ahead, Councilor Clark.

2759
04:36:05.795 --> 04:36:07.275
<v Robert Taylor>So there was a second, I didn't hear it.

2760
04:36:07.849 --> 04:36:08.223
<v Robert Taylor>Oh, sorry.

2761
04:36:08.370 --> 04:36:13.304
<v Robert Taylor>Okay, so can you just explain to me a little bit more why this is really necessary?

2762
04:36:13.418 --> 04:36:17.352
<v Robert Taylor>Because it it seems like this is something that would happen in the Operations Committee.

2763
04:36:17.465 --> 04:36:20.531
<v Robert Taylor>I, I don't really understand why this is necessary.

2764
04:36:21.720 --> 04:36:21.976
<v Robert Taylor>Thank you.

2765
04:36:22.586 --> 04:36:23.437
<v Robert Taylor>Councilor Connell, go ahead.

2766
04:36:24.031 --> 04:36:43.733
<v Sameer Kanal>Yeah, I, I think, um, we got, uh, both written and verbal testimony that effectively said that inserting a sunset clause would commit us as a council to revisiting not only whether these changes work but whether the broader set of rules adopted for us by the previous council work.

2767
04:36:44.101 --> 04:36:58.457
<v Sameer Kanal>I think it, it, it— we would still have the opportunity and the right to revise our rules or not under, uh, either circumstance, but this is a public commitment of that intent, and it was something that was asked for by a lot of the, the public testimony.

2768
04:36:58.554 --> 04:37:02.552
<v Sameer Kanal>And so I'm proposing this partially to be responsive to that testimony.

2769
04:37:03.387 --> 04:37:04.511
<v Robert Taylor>Can I just ask a follow-up?

2770
04:37:04.592 --> 04:37:11.011
<v Robert Taylor>I guess, um, I'm just having a hard time with it because It doesn't seem like we're going to be having much of a practice before then.

2771
04:37:11.302 --> 04:37:12.887
<v Robert Taylor>I mean, how many months is that?

2772
04:37:12.969 --> 04:37:16.591
<v Robert Taylor>I don't know, it just— I'm not sure I'm convinced of the necessity for this.

2773
04:37:17.348 --> 04:37:20.349
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That's fair.

2774
04:37:22.754 --> 04:37:26.272
<v Mitch Green>Yes, I'd like to speak in favor of the amendment, uh, for a couple of reasons.

2775
04:37:26.449 --> 04:37:46.738
<v Mitch Green>One, um, I think it's clean in that it does— in the software world you call it error trapping— it looks for the gap where you're like, oh, this is a major I appreciate the kind of conversation around, uh, ensuring that the council president, uh, has governance over that, um, and that there's no lapse.

2776
04:37:46.801 --> 04:37:51.385
<v Mitch Green>But, but also, uh, I was compelled by the testimony I heard 2 weeks ago.

2777
04:37:52.075 --> 04:38:03.873
<v Mitch Green>Um, there was a lot of folks who felt like this proposal that we would vote on tonight really doesn't do justice to the new charter system in terms of the rules that we need to used to operate.

2778
04:38:04.419 --> 04:38:07.934
<v Mitch Green>Uh, I have felt rushed at times as part of this.

2779
04:38:08.351 --> 04:38:18.205
<v Mitch Green>Um, and like, I think no matter which side of those discussions you were on, we can all agree that it was fast, it was not very robust, and we were all really tired.

2780
04:38:19.040 --> 04:38:25.426
<v Mitch Green>And so I think what this does is it allows us to sort of publicly affirm that, hey, we— there is an opportunity to reset this.

2781
04:38:25.540 --> 04:38:27.433
<v Mitch Green>And maybe that is just an extension of the rules.

2782
04:38:27.947 --> 04:38:29.375
<v Mitch Green>That's something that we always have.

2783
04:38:29.792 --> 04:38:39.800
<v Mitch Green>But I would really like to hear more from the community through the Governance Committee or whatever we think is the appropriate committee, um, to sort of like test some of these assumptions in here.

2784
04:38:39.850 --> 04:38:41.210
<v Mitch Green>So I'm, I'm going to vote in favor of this.

2785
04:38:43.993 --> 04:38:51.884
<v Eric Zimmerman>Now, as it stands without this amendment, um, these rules continue.

2786
04:38:52.513 --> 04:38:55.793
<v Eric Zimmerman>And as it stands without this amendment, these rules can be changed at any time.

2787
04:38:56.352 --> 04:39:02.378
<v Eric Zimmerman>That is what one of the committees that the president will be proposing here soon, uh, is tasked with in a large part.

2788
04:39:02.956 --> 04:39:15.907
<v Eric Zimmerman>So I am not in favor of this amendment because I think that this tactic of continuing to go back to this sunsetting is, um, unhelpful in terms of setting precedent.

2789
04:39:16.742 --> 04:39:20.743
<v Eric Zimmerman>It makes it feel like we are in a Band-Aid year, and I don't appreciate that.

2790
04:39:21.498 --> 04:39:30.784
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that the year in which we're doing this work, we've got to be hitting our stride, and where we find problems, we've got to address those problems in the right practice.

2791
04:39:30.961 --> 04:39:35.170
<v Eric Zimmerman>But we keep coming back to this idea, and it was a struggle to get where we were.

2792
04:39:35.364 --> 04:39:38.722
<v Eric Zimmerman>Now this amendment's coming in the second part of it, and I, I don't love that.

2793
04:39:38.994 --> 04:39:48.960
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, but I would just say that this council has the ability to bring new changes to these rules at any time we want, and that there was a process being set up to do that.

2794
04:39:50.093 --> 04:40:14.187
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, the— it— this is related to some other aspects, um, and it, and it doesn't, it doesn't give me confidence that folks are operating with expectation that these rules are, are something that they don't want to throw out entirely.

2795
04:40:14.515 --> 04:40:24.274
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I want a little bit of faith that we're going to be working through these rules and making this work and making these committees work and noting problems versus just knowing that there is a, there's a sunset coming and we can deal with it all then.

2796
04:40:24.323 --> 04:40:25.913
<v Eric Zimmerman>I think that's a weird kicking of the can.

2797
04:40:26.059 --> 04:40:28.348
<v Eric Zimmerman>So I'll be a strong no vote on this.

2798
04:40:30.008 --> 04:40:34.286
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, I hope others will consider that, that we can always make changes as we need to.

2799
04:40:34.350 --> 04:40:36.658
<v Eric Zimmerman>We do not need to write into this, this ordinance.

2800
04:40:40.094 --> 04:40:40.832
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Avalos.

2801
04:40:44.786 --> 04:40:47.549
<v Candace Avalos>I agree and understand that we can make changes whenever.

2802
04:40:47.935 --> 04:41:02.536
<v Candace Avalos>I think part of this amendment and why I plan to support it is one, because of, uh, what Councilor Green has mentioned of, uh, public accountability to us, um, revisiting this, making sure that we're hearing from community.

2803
04:41:02.650 --> 04:41:13.218
<v Candace Avalos>Because as I've said, I think at whatever other meeting Um, I strongly think that we need to find ways to increase, um, the people's voice, and I think the rules are a critical part of that.

2804
04:41:13.539 --> 04:41:40.681
<v Candace Avalos>But I also see it as an accountability that we are making to each other as well, that, um, I would worry by not putting something like this in here that we would have a really difficult time trying to bring some of these things to the, to the, um, table, especially given that I, I've also received lots of, um, outreach from constituents about ideas for how to make them better and how them better serve the people.

2805
04:41:41.113 --> 04:41:50.936
<v Candace Avalos>So I'm supporting it not just for the people but also to hold all of us accountable to doing that so that I don't have to worry that it's going to be a big fight if I want to come talk about it again.

2806
04:41:51.753 --> 04:41:53.210
<v Candace Avalos>We are in a new form of government.

2807
04:41:53.595 --> 04:41:59.587
<v Candace Avalos>I understand that we're trying to move with intention and not feel like this is a Band-Aid year.

2808
04:41:59.700 --> 04:42:01.610
<v Candace Avalos>I really do hear that and understand that.

2809
04:42:02.011 --> 04:42:05.112
<v Candace Avalos>Um, I think, and I agree that we shouldn't do that for everything.

2810
04:42:05.481 --> 04:42:12.534
<v Candace Avalos>I think this is one of the hills I will die on, doing a sunset clause for this particular issue, because it's just so foundational to how we work.

2811
04:42:12.937 --> 04:42:17.900
<v Candace Avalos>Um, but I understand that spirit and don't plan on making that a habit for other, uh, bills.

2812
04:42:18.189 --> 04:42:19.668
<v Candace Avalos>So I plan to vote for it.

2813
04:42:25.234 --> 04:42:38.569
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe that committing to reevaluating shows that we have the humility to reflect and a willingness to be responsive to the needs that come up for the council and our constituents.

2814
04:42:38.730 --> 04:42:46.502
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We heard from GTAC members and other community members that they are in support of this, and I plan to vote in favor of this amendment.

2815
04:42:49.009 --> 04:42:49.814
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Morillo.

2816
04:42:50.073 --> 04:42:52.055
<v Angelita Morillo>I'll keep my comments brief.

2817
04:42:52.295 --> 04:43:04.169
<v Angelita Morillo>Um, I think that the, the sunset clause allows us to have a set time to revisit this issue because I think we're going to be faced with an onslaught of issues and it's going to be really hard to carve out that time later.

2818
04:43:04.779 --> 04:43:08.375
<v Angelita Morillo>Um, so I think it's really important to have a set date just to revisit.

2819
04:43:08.953 --> 04:43:14.393
<v Angelita Morillo>Um, we are establishing a new form of government that is going to last us, God willing, the next few hundred years.

2820
04:43:14.889 --> 04:43:16.927
<v Angelita Morillo>And so that means that we really have to do it right.

2821
04:43:17.617 --> 04:43:24.985
<v Angelita Morillo>Um, so I think it's, it's really important that we do take community feedback into you know, how are our committees working?

2822
04:43:25.177 --> 04:43:26.975
<v Angelita Morillo>Did people feel like they could access them?

2823
04:43:27.104 --> 04:43:28.581
<v Angelita Morillo>Did they feel like they could come testify?

2824
04:43:29.433 --> 04:43:37.444
<v Angelita Morillo>That sort of stuff is really important to me, and I think with any good plan, you take a moment to look back on it and reflect on what, what worked and what didn't.

2825
04:43:37.926 --> 04:43:42.373
<v Angelita Morillo>And I agree with what Councilor Avalos said, this isn't going to be a regular thing that happens.

2826
04:43:42.438 --> 04:43:47.544
<v Angelita Morillo>This is kind of a one-time thing as far as the first year of establishing this new government.

2827
04:43:47.721 --> 04:43:48.042
<v Angelita Morillo>Thank you.

2828
04:43:48.572 --> 04:43:52.768
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor any other comments on the amendment?

2829
04:43:54.950 --> 04:44:00.756
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Keelan, could you call the roll for the— and we are voting not on the rules themselves but on the amendment to the rules.

2830
04:44:02.948 --> 04:44:03.237
<v Robert Taylor>Avalos?

2831
04:44:03.816 --> 04:44:03.897
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2832
04:44:05.103 --> 04:44:05.152
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

2833
04:44:06.473 --> 04:44:06.521
<v Loretta Smith>Aye.

2834
04:44:07.841 --> 04:44:07.888
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

2835
04:44:09.145 --> 04:44:09.290
<v Dan Ryan>No.

2836
04:44:11.140 --> 04:44:11.188
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2837
04:44:12.063 --> 04:44:12.101
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2838
04:44:12.255 --> 04:44:12.312
<v Loretta Smith>No.

2839
04:44:14.830 --> 04:44:19.948
<v Sameer Kanal>First of all, I just want to say, Councilor Avalos, I don't want to see you die in any hills at all, or on the flat either.

2840
04:44:22.592 --> 04:44:22.609
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2841
04:44:23.809 --> 04:44:24.051
<v Robert Taylor>No.

2842
04:44:24.619 --> 04:44:24.765
<v Angelita Morillo>Green.

2843
04:44:26.161 --> 04:44:26.340
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

2844
04:44:27.200 --> 04:44:27.440
<v Helmi Hisarik>Zimmerman.

2845
04:44:27.873 --> 04:44:28.034
<v Eric Zimmerman>No.

2846
04:44:29.240 --> 04:44:29.705
<v Helmi Hisarik>Pirtle-Guiney.

2847
04:44:31.231 --> 04:44:44.716
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Kanal, I'm grateful that you were willing to change this from a sunset clause that left us with no rules to something that just asks us to have a conversation, which I intend for us to have with or without this measure, I will vote aye.

2848
04:44:49.265 --> 04:44:50.231
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe that passed.

2849
04:44:50.473 --> 04:45:01.495
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, we have an ordinance before us, second reading on a set of rules which has been amended twice now tonight.

2850
04:45:02.400 --> 04:45:05.224
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any further discussion on the rules before we vote?

2851
04:45:09.401 --> 04:45:10.941
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, Keelan, could you call the roll?

2852
04:45:11.551 --> 04:45:11.841
<v Candace Avalos>Avalos?

2853
04:45:13.062 --> 04:45:13.110
<v Loretta Smith>Aye.

2854
04:45:13.720 --> 04:45:14.057
<v Loretta Smith>Dunphy?

2855
04:45:14.747 --> 04:45:14.795
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

2856
04:45:15.326 --> 04:45:15.518
<v Helmi Hisarik>Smith?

2857
04:45:16.112 --> 04:45:16.159
<v Dan Handelman>Aye.

2858
04:45:16.610 --> 04:45:19.179
<v Sameer Kanal>So I'm going to vote aye on this.

2859
04:45:19.258 --> 04:45:20.271
<v Sameer Kanal>I just want to note one thing.

2860
04:45:20.462 --> 04:45:24.397
<v Sameer Kanal>I remain in support of this because it is a compromise we made to put forward a short-term rules patch.

2861
04:45:24.557 --> 04:45:29.421
<v Sameer Kanal>I did want to highlight one thing in this compromise that still needs to be addressed around district representation on committees.

2862
04:45:30.161 --> 04:45:42.047
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I evaluated this originally through looking at a few specific committees like Labor and Workforce, uh, or Governance, where one's experience and expertise might be more relevant than geography in building a committee's membership.

2863
04:45:42.513 --> 04:45:45.866
<v Sameer Kanal>But there are other committees in which geography is particularly relevant to the work discussed.

2864
04:45:46.203 --> 04:45:56.613
<v Sameer Kanal>So I'm not going to stand in the way over that, but I do think that we should ensure that the longer-term conversation around our council procedures includes addressing this concern in a way that meets with our constituents' comments and GTAC's recommendations.

2865
04:45:56.725 --> 04:46:01.794
<v Sameer Kanal>And I intend to apply this standard to those most relevant committees on a case-by-case basis going forward.

2866
04:46:02.242 --> 04:46:18.345
<v Sameer Kanal>I also want to just observe that there were 3, uh, written testimonies submitted, um, that related to written, uh, to evening council meetings, and I want to, uh, support that as well as public input in the full city council meetings as well as committees, and for building a council where power is grown rather than diluted by being shared.

2867
04:46:18.521 --> 04:46:21.455
<v Sameer Kanal>I look forward to continuing that conversation after this vote, and I vote yes.

2868
04:46:22.064 --> 04:46:22.353
<v Candace Avalos>Ryan.

2869
04:46:23.492 --> 04:46:31.014
<v Dan Ryan>I want to acknowledge, um, Council leadership, Council President, Madam President, Madam Vice President, for all the work that you've done to move this forward.

2870
04:46:31.740 --> 04:46:34.044
<v Dan Ryan>You've been very thoughtful, and I appreciate that.

2871
04:46:34.287 --> 04:46:34.596
<v Loretta Smith>Aye, vote aye.

2872
04:46:36.461 --> 04:46:36.510
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2873
04:46:38.162 --> 04:46:38.210
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

2874
04:46:39.534 --> 04:46:39.582
<v Sameer Kanal>Aye.

2875
04:46:40.907 --> 04:46:41.068
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

2876
04:46:42.602 --> 04:46:42.780
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

2877
04:46:43.975 --> 04:46:43.991
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

2878
04:46:45.429 --> 04:46:45.476
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

2879
04:46:46.969 --> 04:46:47.848
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Motion passes.

2880
04:46:49.181 --> 04:46:52.648
<v Candace Avalos>Point of Information clarification, I don't know.

2881
04:46:53.274 --> 04:46:59.033
<v Candace Avalos>Um, could I ask that we have a practice after a vote that we just restate what the vote count is?

2882
04:46:59.612 --> 04:47:04.682
<v Candace Avalos>Um, I don't know if that's Keelan that should do that or if you, President Pirtle-Guiney, but I'd appreciate that.

2883
04:47:04.905 --> 04:47:05.403
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Absolutely.

2884
04:47:05.547 --> 04:47:10.425
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Keelan is taking the official, uh, tally, so I will let Keelan do that.

2885
04:47:10.875 --> 04:47:12.127
<v Angelita Morillo>Thank you.

2886
04:47:13.507 --> 04:47:14.614
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Passes with 12.

2887
04:47:15.030 --> 04:47:15.753
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

2888
04:47:16.153 --> 04:47:17.325
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Keelan.

2889
04:47:17.598 --> 04:47:18.688
<v Candace Avalos>But could you say the numbers?

2890
04:47:18.882 --> 04:47:19.459
<v Candace Avalos>That's what I'm saying.

2891
04:47:19.684 --> 04:47:21.419
<v Candace Avalos>Like, oh, did you say it passes?

2892
04:47:21.514 --> 04:47:22.703
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Oh, passes with 12.

2893
04:47:22.751 --> 04:47:22.927
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Sorry.

2894
04:47:22.975 --> 04:47:23.730
<v Candace Avalos>Oh, with 12 is what you said.

2895
04:47:23.843 --> 04:47:25.223
<v Candace Avalos>Okay, thank you, thank you.

2896
04:47:26.187 --> 04:47:33.092
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, we are moving on to our final agenda item, agenda item 12 on our 9/12 agenda.

2897
04:47:34.118 --> 04:47:42.693
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>This is the establishment of our committees and the population of the membership and leadership of our committees.

2898
04:47:45.776 --> 04:47:56.294
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Just as a reminder, we had a work session on potential committees last week so that we could have a public conversation about what this might look like.

2899
04:47:57.015 --> 04:48:30.018
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Based on some of the interests that all of you had expressed, I brought forward a proposal of 9 committees, and based on your feedback, we slimmed that down to 8, changed some of the descriptions, some of the jurisdictions of a few of those committees and filled it in with membership really from, um, things you all have said during and since your campaigns, conversations that many of us had early on about your general interests and what you were hoping to do with council.

2900
04:48:30.994 --> 04:48:33.383
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, this can change.

2901
04:48:34.200 --> 04:48:37.996
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I can bring forward a proposal to you all if we need to make changes at a later date.

2902
04:48:39.008 --> 04:48:47.991
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>In general, I hope that the precedent that we set is that committee membership lasts for a year so that we have stability, consistency to get the work done.

2903
04:48:48.649 --> 04:48:52.729
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>But in this first year, I know that we, we may need to reevaluate things.

2904
04:48:53.549 --> 04:49:12.648
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I also want to note that with 8 committees, we are asking a lot of the folks who support us— our Bureau of Technology Services, our security, the clerk's office within the auditor's office, our own council operations, our attorneys who are here today, as well as others.

2905
04:49:13.516 --> 04:49:20.849
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And we may need to work with them as we go through this process of getting our committees up and running to make sure that they have the supports that they need as well.

2906
04:49:23.990 --> 04:49:29.191
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, is there any— oh, are there any questions?

2907
04:49:29.322 --> 04:49:30.004
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Let's start with questions.

2908
04:49:30.052 --> 04:49:30.117
<v Robert Taylor>Yes.

2909
04:49:30.331 --> 04:49:32.076
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Are there any questions?

2910
04:49:32.672 --> 04:49:33.528
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Zimmerman?

2911
04:49:35.497 --> 04:49:36.352
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Avalos?

2912
04:49:39.340 --> 04:49:42.903
<v Candace Avalos>Okay, um, so yes, Madam President, I have a question.

2913
04:49:43.243 --> 04:49:51.070
<v Candace Avalos>Um, so some of the testimony that we received included some concern about separating land use and development from housing.

2914
04:49:51.729 --> 04:50:04.369
<v Candace Avalos>Um, this is a concern that I do share, and in fact, um, one of the policies I was hoping to address through the Housing Committee was identifying metrics for Portland permitting and development so we could identify and track measures of success for housing production.

2915
04:50:04.739 --> 04:50:17.763
<v Candace Avalos>So the way the descriptions are written, I'm not sure where something like that would reside and wanted to see if you could add some clarity on whether the Housing Committee could address development of housing, or were you planning on that being more in climate?

2916
04:50:19.063 --> 04:50:30.507
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, the intention here is that the Housing Committee would address the full continuum of housing through the, um, development of market-rate housing.

2917
04:50:32.425 --> 04:50:35.388
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Land use is within Climate Resilience and Land Use Committee.

2918
04:50:35.437 --> 04:50:46.458
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So the, the broader view of where are we putting different things within our city is in that committee where we're having a land use and climate conversation.

2919
04:50:48.572 --> 04:51:17.026
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I've received some feedback about the fact that permitting is in different places within our committee structure, and one of the things that we'll need to address as we look more broadly at rules and procedures is how we use the idea of potentially subsequent committees to make sure that permitting all comes back to one place at the end of the day, so that we are talking about permitting within the bounds of the policies that that permitting necessitate or that necessitate that permitting.

2920
04:51:17.412 --> 04:51:19.833
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And also a place where we look at permitting more holistically.

2921
04:51:19.898 --> 04:52:00.689
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So you're right, this is a place where there's some division, but I foresee and I hope that if this passes and you are chair of that committee, when we have our conversations about your goals for the committee, that we are talking about a committee where you're looking at the full spectrum of housing, from the supports for folks who are unhoused to our subsidized housing, up to how we are developing market-rate housing I appreciate that, and I'll just say, you know, I think as we're going to need to discuss in a few months, right, like you said at the beginning, um, if everything is in the right place, I'll just keep that as a flag, um, for us to keep checking.

2922
04:52:01.157 --> 04:52:02.111
<v Candace Avalos>But I appreciate your answer.

2923
04:52:02.273 --> 04:52:02.580
<v Candace Avalos>Thank you.

2924
04:52:05.756 --> 04:52:09.329
<v Loretta Smith>Yes, Madam President, will all the committee work be done in this council chambers?

2925
04:52:09.409 --> 04:52:09.817
<v Loretta Smith>Yes, Councilor Smith.

2926
04:52:11.131 --> 04:52:12.319
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have a few options.

2927
04:52:12.656 --> 04:52:20.756
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, it is much easier for the teams that support us if our committee work is all done in these council chambers.

2928
04:52:20.804 --> 04:52:20.851
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

2929
04:52:21.349 --> 04:52:28.164
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>There are other rooms, um, the 1900 building and at the Portland building, that we can use if we run into conflicts.

2930
04:52:28.806 --> 04:52:34.815
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, those come with additional work for our staff and additional cost to our council.

2931
04:52:35.474 --> 04:52:38.911
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, So we will need to work on our, our council schedule.

2932
04:52:39.525 --> 04:52:44.849
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Our council operations team has been looking at a potential schedule, and they can make it work all in this room.

2933
04:52:47.195 --> 04:52:50.669
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, we do have other options if there is an occasional need for something different.

2934
04:52:50.911 --> 04:52:52.100
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, perfect.

2935
04:52:54.353 --> 04:52:56.310
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Green.

2936
04:52:57.272 --> 04:52:58.493
<v Mitch Green>Uh, thank you, Madam President.

2937
04:53:00.170 --> 04:53:02.383
<v Mitch Green>Uh, firstly, I just You guys did a lot of work.

2938
04:53:03.169 --> 04:53:05.720
<v Mitch Green>This is quite the puzzle to solve.

2939
04:53:06.136 --> 04:53:09.119
<v Mitch Green>Um, I really, I really appreciate all that hard work.

2940
04:53:09.665 --> 04:53:11.253
<v Mitch Green>Uh, I just want to speak to a couple things.

2941
04:53:11.508 --> 04:53:16.977
<v Mitch Green>Um, firstly, I, I appreciate land use being brought up kind of right at the forefront.

2942
04:53:17.058 --> 04:53:19.655
<v Mitch Green>I also read those comments, and I've also been thinking about it.

2943
04:53:20.362 --> 04:53:30.661
<v Mitch Green>I agree that the right place for it is climate resilience and land use, and the reason why is because you can make the same argument from the other side that why is it in housing?

2944
04:53:31.014 --> 04:53:36.216
<v Mitch Green>Because land use is actually a major site of economic development.

2945
04:53:36.295 --> 04:53:39.137
<v Mitch Green>It is a major site of environmental policy.

2946
04:53:39.218 --> 04:53:44.242
<v Mitch Green>It is a— it's sort of a foundational policy area for us.

2947
04:53:44.661 --> 04:53:59.794
<v Mitch Green>And so I only say that just because no matter how we chose to slice and dice this, I think there was always going to be an implicit obligation and duty on the chairs of these committees to decide when it's appropriate to ask for a joint committee.

2948
04:54:00.548 --> 04:54:07.959
<v Mitch Green>But there may be issues that cut across this stuff in certain ways that it's not appropriate for a single committee to be, uh, considering.

2949
04:54:08.008 --> 04:54:09.820
<v Mitch Green>And so we would, we would spin up a joint committee.

2950
04:54:10.398 --> 04:54:16.719
<v Mitch Green>Uh, I think that's how you get around this complaint that these are not aligned with service areas.

2951
04:54:17.616 --> 04:54:21.708
<v Mitch Green>And I, and I like that they're not aligned with service areas because I don't necessarily agree with service area model.

2952
04:54:22.141 --> 04:54:25.980
<v Mitch Green>I'm not saying I don't like them right now, but this is our prerogative to change, right?

2953
04:54:26.447 --> 04:54:30.575
<v Mitch Green>These are policy areas that we want to, uh, do our work in.

2954
04:54:30.639 --> 04:54:35.860
<v Mitch Green>And I think these are, these are a good representative look at the policy areas of urgency.

2955
04:54:36.566 --> 04:54:50.118
<v Mitch Green>Um, the other thing I would like to say is that, uh, as we kind of go forward in time, and, you know, as you, as you mentioned, uh, we will have an opportunity to check in on this, and you can always propose a change.

2956
04:54:50.697 --> 04:54:54.290
<v Mitch Green>Uh, let's keep our eye on the district represent— uh, representation piece.

2957
04:54:54.627 --> 04:55:02.023
<v Mitch Green>If we find that there's, uh, like for instance, I look at transportation infrastructure, uh, I don't see any District 2 representation on there.

2958
04:55:02.649 --> 04:55:07.205
<v Mitch Green>And I think that's okay for now because I believe that the people on that committee are going to be thinking about District 2.

2959
04:55:07.718 --> 04:55:15.750
<v Mitch Green>But if, if we find that that's not okay, I hope that we can bring that discussion into play and we maybe would bring that to a rules, uh, a rules discussion as well.

2960
04:55:16.315 --> 04:55:23.199
<v Mitch Green>Um, and then finally, um, you know, I, I, I like, I like it.

2961
04:55:23.262 --> 04:55:31.106
<v Mitch Green>So I think, I think I'm, I'm generally in support of this, and I'm really, I'm really eager to hear what other, other colleagues are, are thinking on this.

2962
04:55:31.414 --> 04:55:31.687
<v Mitch Green>Thanks.

2963
04:55:33.206 --> 04:55:34.013
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Councilor.

2964
04:55:34.159 --> 04:55:34.983
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Kanal?

2965
04:55:35.468 --> 04:55:38.989
<v Sameer Kanal>Yeah, I'll start with, uh, my questions.

2966
04:55:40.429 --> 04:55:46.187
<v Sameer Kanal>I wanted to understand where a few things landed in terms of jurisdiction of committees.

2967
04:55:46.365 --> 04:55:55.076
<v Sameer Kanal>So I apologize if I'm putting our president and vice president on the spot here, but what— and I think it doesn't necessarily need to be amended in.

2968
04:55:55.123 --> 04:55:59.551
<v Sameer Kanal>I think the fact that it might be clarified here would be helpful for me to know going forward.

2969
04:55:59.599 --> 04:56:02.872
<v Sameer Kanal>I'm not proposing a change, but I just want to have it said out loud.

2970
04:56:03.290 --> 04:56:05.118
<v Sameer Kanal>Would renters' rights fit into the Housing and Homelessness Committee?

2971
04:56:05.200 --> 04:56:08.013
<v Sameer Kanal>Homelessness conversation, would that be something they're authorized to discuss?

2972
04:56:09.656 --> 04:56:11.900
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>My assumption would be that that would be the best place for it.

2973
04:56:12.173 --> 04:56:22.130
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And the way that our rules are that we adopted, councilors can, um, can move to send their bills to specific committees.

2974
04:56:22.258 --> 04:56:27.150
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>But my advice to committee chairs and my ask to all of you would be that renters' rights issues go to that committee.

2975
04:56:27.311 --> 04:56:27.391
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes.

2976
04:56:28.279 --> 04:56:28.544
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

2977
04:56:29.368 --> 04:56:36.758
<v Sameer Kanal>Will the public Public Safety— Community and Public Safety Committee handle issues related to police accountability and the parks rangers?

2978
04:56:38.619 --> 04:56:41.719
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, yes, comma, yes asterisk.

2979
04:56:42.526 --> 04:56:44.753
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Parks is a little bit split on this proposal.

2980
04:56:44.866 --> 04:56:47.658
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The Parks and Rec Bureau is a little bit split on this proposal.

2981
04:56:48.151 --> 04:57:01.192
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So parks rangers could fall, depending on the type of discussion, in the Climate Resilience and Land Use Committee if we're talking about how we use and work with our parks.

2982
04:57:01.772 --> 04:57:13.712
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>But if we are talking about them within the bounds of our broader, uh, law enforcement system and public safety system, then certainly they would be part of those conversations in community and public safety.

2983
04:57:15.206 --> 04:57:15.513
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

2984
04:57:15.836 --> 04:57:21.389
<v Sameer Kanal>And then, um, if you could clarify about where the recreation side of Parks and Recreation would live.

2985
04:57:21.905 --> 04:57:29.702
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, and that is a change from the conversation that we had last Wednesday based on feedback from many of you on council.

2986
04:57:29.992 --> 04:57:33.759
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Uh, Parks still lies within Climate Resilience and Land Use.

2987
04:57:34.438 --> 04:57:36.802
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Recreation now lies within Arts and Economy.

2988
04:57:38.746 --> 04:57:48.455
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And because, uh, bureau budget work will take place in a separate committee, we're able to split the policy like that to have those separate conversations.

2989
04:57:49.629 --> 04:58:00.240
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>As Councilor Green talked about, there may be times where we need to bring things together, but predominantly the work of recreation will be part of our conversation around arts and economy.

2990
04:58:01.110 --> 04:58:01.448
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

2991
04:58:01.593 --> 04:58:11.768
<v Sameer Kanal>And my last question is if you could speak to, uh, the 3 committees that don't have district representation, you're thinking around, uh, from all 4 districts, and if you could speak to the thought process there.

2992
04:58:13.705 --> 04:58:33.388
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>You know, one of our colleagues said this was a puzzle, and as we put this puzzle together, the different overlays of the the types of representation we needed to make sure we had, the interests and expertise we needed to make sure we had, were also something on, on my mind, and I think on Vice President Koyama Lane's mind as well.

2993
04:58:34.305 --> 04:58:49.256
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And to the extent possible, we tried to make sure we had district representation from each district on each committee, and we made sure that there were representatives from at least 3 of the 4 districts on each committee.

2994
04:58:50.617 --> 04:58:59.399
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Transportation and Infrastructure does, as one of our colleagues mentioned, lack a councilor from our district, from District 2.

2995
04:59:00.377 --> 04:59:04.399
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I believe I should have had my notes on this in front of me and I didn't.

2996
04:59:04.622 --> 04:59:08.021
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, I don't usually let myself get caught off guard like that.

2997
04:59:08.068 --> 04:59:09.239
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Let me see if I have it here.

2998
04:59:10.552 --> 04:59:11.578
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, climate.

2999
04:59:11.770 --> 04:59:17.274
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Climate Resilience and Land Use, I believe, does not have— oh, it does now, it does.

3000
04:59:17.466 --> 04:59:18.155
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We changed that one.

3001
04:59:19.294 --> 04:59:19.649
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Old news.

3002
04:59:20.658 --> 04:59:23.452
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, Labor and—.

3003
04:59:24.848 --> 04:59:27.831
<v Sameer Kanal>Unless something's changed, Climate Resilience and Land Use still doesn't have D4.

3004
04:59:28.041 --> 04:59:28.394
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Oh, 4.

3005
04:59:28.602 --> 04:59:31.458
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>I apologize, I apologize, I made my note wrong on that one.

3006
04:59:31.973 --> 04:59:35.455
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>You're right, Climate Resilience and Land Use is lacking somebody from D4.

3007
04:59:36.161 --> 04:59:37.460
<v Sameer Kanal>And then Arts and Economy for 3.

3008
04:59:37.588 --> 04:59:40.348
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Yes, and Arts and Economy was missing somebody from District 3.

3009
04:59:40.829 --> 04:59:48.744
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So those are the 3 places— I think it's good to state that on the record— where we have representatives from 3 of the 4 districts.

3010
04:59:48.969 --> 04:59:57.509
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>And we will be asking our colleagues— at least I know that I will as it relates to transportation— to make sure to pay attention to the concerns in our districts as well.

3011
04:59:58.262 --> 05:00:02.813
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any councilor can bring a policy to any committee, even if you don't sit on that committee.

3012
05:00:03.327 --> 05:00:09.792
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>So this doesn't preclude conversations about those topics as they relate to individual districts from coming forward.

3013
05:00:10.631 --> 05:00:20.473
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Um, and again, if we need to make changes because a district's issues are not being brought forward, we can certainly do that through an additional, uh, resolution at any time.

3014
05:00:23.264 --> 05:00:23.846
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Anything further?

3015
05:00:24.879 --> 05:00:24.991
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

3016
05:00:25.379 --> 05:00:26.153
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Zimmerman.

3017
05:00:27.880 --> 05:00:29.429
<v Eric Zimmerman>Yeah, uh, these questions have been helpful.

3018
05:00:29.477 --> 05:00:31.850
<v Eric Zimmerman>It's good to hear kind of where people's thoughts go.

3019
05:00:31.937 --> 05:00:41.138
<v Eric Zimmerman>I just when I think about these committees, I just reemphasize for myself and for others that we, we won't be doing the permitting, all right?

3020
05:00:41.203 --> 05:00:43.354
<v Eric Zimmerman>We won't be directing any day-to-day work.

3021
05:00:43.691 --> 05:00:57.115
<v Eric Zimmerman>We, we will be tackling the future initiatives, um, we may introduce, or we may discuss changes that the administration would like to see come forward as they relate to the policy area.

3022
05:00:58.556 --> 05:01:02.304
<v Eric Zimmerman>I, I think very few city services will only appear in front of one committee.

3023
05:01:03.366 --> 05:01:04.572
<v Eric Zimmerman>Probably none, actually.

3024
05:01:05.538 --> 05:01:11.790
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, and so that— I frame it that way for a couple reasons.

3025
05:01:12.449 --> 05:01:23.054
<v Eric Zimmerman>I will never use the term authorized to discuss because as a member and as a chair, I will go where I think the committee needs to go.

3026
05:01:23.117 --> 05:01:23.312
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

3027
05:01:23.635 --> 05:01:27.538
<v Eric Zimmerman>Is the way I would approach it, meaning I don't think it's possible to write everything down.

3028
05:01:29.783 --> 05:01:44.952
<v Eric Zimmerman>And, uh, if I think that a committee section, a committee's body of work has a relation to an area of a department, of a bureau, then I think it's fully within our, in our position to go there.

3029
05:01:45.081 --> 05:02:02.578
<v Eric Zimmerman>So I think I look at these as suggested topic areas in the, in the subtext, not as must-be-only So that's— I just want to frame that up, and I hope others will think of that, because I think we're asking some leadership, not only of the members of each of those committees, but in particular the chair and the vice chair.

3030
05:02:02.818 --> 05:02:03.686
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I'm looking forward to it.

3031
05:02:03.765 --> 05:02:24.137
<v Eric Zimmerman>Like, I, I don't have a problem with the non-district representation in every area, in large part because I am looking to some of the other 11 to be my expert on that topic, because that's either an area that is maybe of less interest to me or an area where I I'm not nearly as talented as some of you all are, and so I'm okay giving up that space.

3032
05:02:25.700 --> 05:02:30.848
<v Eric Zimmerman>But I recognize also why it was at least initially identified by some folks as being very important.

3033
05:02:30.897 --> 05:02:34.261
<v Eric Zimmerman>So, but for me, I, I do get it and I'm okay with it.

3034
05:02:34.932 --> 05:02:42.708
<v Eric Zimmerman>Um, but I think it's important that we communicate some of these changes in these committee roles to our stakeholders, right?

3035
05:02:42.789 --> 05:02:53.748
<v Eric Zimmerman>I, I do think that we run the risk of sending the wrong signal by having a few different committees who are somehow affecting housing production, which is related to permitting, which is related to land use.

3036
05:02:54.277 --> 05:02:58.610
<v Eric Zimmerman>We could send the wrong signal if we just do this in a vacuum and are not overly communicating.

3037
05:02:58.689 --> 05:03:11.933
<v Eric Zimmerman>What I will say is what is the rule of the, of the land today will be the rule of the land tomorrow after these are adopted in terms of the day-to-day operations, because it turns out the committee and this council haven't passed any new policies.

3038
05:03:12.045 --> 05:03:13.866
<v Eric Zimmerman>And that's pretty normal for a legislative body.

3039
05:03:15.025 --> 05:03:19.726
<v Eric Zimmerman>Our stakeholders, I think, are cautious right now.

3040
05:03:20.016 --> 05:03:34.900
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so as we do this, if— as we have those, let's communicate that broadly to say just because the, um, the Housing Committee is taking up a topic doesn't mean that it's going to change something tomorrow, right?

3041
05:03:35.256 --> 05:03:35.451
<v Eric Zimmerman>Right.

3042
05:03:36.237 --> 05:03:46.588
<v Eric Zimmerman>The day-to-day practice that was set up to get permitting in alignment remains, and that's where those 2 gentlemen over there— it's their job to implement it, to figure it out, to keep pushing things through the pipeline.

3043
05:03:47.246 --> 05:03:53.586
<v Eric Zimmerman>And when we pass complicated things, it will be their job to figure out how to do that in the future, not in the next moment.

3044
05:03:53.828 --> 05:03:56.443
<v Eric Zimmerman>And I think that's also important for all of us to recognize.

3045
05:03:57.038 --> 05:03:58.434
<v Eric Zimmerman>So I'm trying to keep some space there.

3046
05:03:58.787 --> 05:04:05.625
<v Eric Zimmerman>I would encourage all of us to take ownership of these areas instead of taking a subservient role in terms of how do we do it?

3047
05:04:05.673 --> 05:04:07.557
<v Eric Zimmerman>No, I would say please lean in.

3048
05:04:08.072 --> 05:04:09.955
<v Eric Zimmerman>Say this is what I should be talking about.

3049
05:04:10.084 --> 05:04:12.861
<v Eric Zimmerman>In fact, you have to make the case why I shouldn't be talking about it, right?

3050
05:04:12.908 --> 05:04:16.466
<v Eric Zimmerman>And that's what I'm hoping that some of these committees look very empowered to do.

3051
05:04:17.258 --> 05:04:18.728
<v Eric Zimmerman>And that's where I'm at, right?

3052
05:04:18.794 --> 05:04:25.417
<v Eric Zimmerman>And so, uh, I will support this, and it's going to be fun.

3053
05:04:27.045 --> 05:04:29.033
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, Councilor.

3054
05:04:29.450 --> 05:04:30.236
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Councilor Green.

3055
05:04:31.150 --> 05:04:34.563
<v Mitch Green>Uh, I apologize to my colleagues that I'm speaking again.

3056
05:04:34.901 --> 05:04:35.558
<v Mitch Green>We are tired.

3057
05:04:35.702 --> 05:04:39.212
<v Mitch Green>I am tired, but this is important, so we should put this on the record.

3058
05:04:39.951 --> 05:05:09.063
<v Mitch Green>Uh, I just want to say that the charter grants City Council the, um, the power to delegate, uh, duties, uh, and, and powers to, to committees, and I think I interpret that to mean that when we form these committees and we assign leadership roles there, those chairs or vice chairs or chair, co-chair, uh, you know, whatever, whatever the model is, um, that's their job now to figure out what that scope is.

3059
05:05:09.661 --> 05:05:09.791
<v Mitch Green>Okay?

3060
05:05:10.129 --> 05:05:14.019
<v Mitch Green>And if you can't figure it out, well, maybe you're not suited for leadership, right?

3061
05:05:14.487 --> 05:05:15.164
<v Mitch Green>That's up to us.

3062
05:05:15.712 --> 05:05:24.724
<v Mitch Green>And so I think, you know, in the spirit of what you're saying, um, There may be some areas where it's like, okay, this is an edge case, we're in a boundary issue.

3063
05:05:25.238 --> 05:05:27.197
<v Mitch Green>I'm going to bring this discussion to the full council.

3064
05:05:27.244 --> 05:05:30.038
<v Mitch Green>I want to talk to my colleagues, and then we'll iterate that way.

3065
05:05:30.133 --> 05:05:33.024
<v Mitch Green>So I just kind of think that that's how I expect this to go.

3066
05:05:33.794 --> 05:05:42.736
<v Mitch Green>Um, I, I, and I agree that we, we're going to need to like really be communicative of our, of the community at large.

3067
05:05:42.799 --> 05:05:44.132
<v Mitch Green>But I think that's the whole spirit of all this.

3068
05:05:44.244 --> 05:05:47.872
<v Mitch Green>That's why we have these committees in the first place, is so We're doing this in the daylight.

3069
05:05:48.098 --> 05:05:49.141
<v Mitch Green>We want them to show up.

3070
05:05:49.366 --> 05:05:53.204
<v Mitch Green>I want them to show up and, and say, I don't like this, the name of this committee.

3071
05:05:53.315 --> 05:05:55.933
<v Mitch Green>I think you're not spending enough time on permitting and housing production.

3072
05:05:56.205 --> 05:05:56.960
<v Mitch Green>Great, let me hear that.

3073
05:05:57.973 --> 05:05:58.968
<v Mitch Green>Let's, let's talk about that.

3074
05:05:59.080 --> 05:06:00.542
<v Mitch Green>Let's, let's do some policy development.

3075
05:06:00.766 --> 05:06:02.179
<v Mitch Green>So that's it.

3076
05:06:02.629 --> 05:06:04.459
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you.

3077
05:06:05.182 --> 05:06:08.296
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Any other questions before we move on to public testimony?

3078
05:06:09.067 --> 05:06:11.459
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay.

3079
05:06:12.437 --> 05:06:13.668
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>We have 2 people signed up.

3080
05:06:13.750 --> 05:06:15.097
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>First up is Terry Harris.

3081
05:06:22.569 --> 05:06:24.522
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Mr. Harris, thank you for being with us.

3082
05:06:25.263 --> 05:06:33.043
<v Sameer Kanal>Well, this time of day, I'll either be loud or, um, something to keep your attention.

3083
05:06:35.205 --> 05:06:42.159
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, I actually appreciate The conversation you had at the work session, and I appreciated the conversation you had here.

3084
05:06:43.092 --> 05:06:50.686
<v Sameer Kanal>I'm gonna go to my prepared stuff, but it, it changed a little bit.

3085
05:06:51.440 --> 05:07:02.616
<v Sameer Kanal>I'm on GTAC, but GTAC didn't have the opportunity to review this, um, and so I'm speaking again in my own personal capacity.

3086
05:07:02.665 --> 05:07:02.776
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

3087
05:07:03.387 --> 05:07:05.701
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, basically, we support committees.

3088
05:07:06.698 --> 05:07:14.231
<v Sameer Kanal>We support your resolution to establish these committees, um, and we support you putting them to work as soon as you can.

3089
05:07:15.867 --> 05:07:28.309
<v Sameer Kanal>However, I'd like to emphasize that you still need some committee rules and procedures, and developing them maybe in a committee needs to be an urgent priority.

3090
05:07:29.891 --> 05:07:40.567
<v Sameer Kanal>On capacity, we understand that this council was failed by the previous council to provide resources, but like it or not, on the capacity issue, it's yours now.

3091
05:07:42.355 --> 05:07:44.240
<v Sameer Kanal>It is this council's responsibility.

3092
05:07:44.980 --> 05:07:55.725
<v Sameer Kanal>The lack of capacity to do the work is not going to be an excuse you can use because you have the power to create that capacity if you need it.

3093
05:07:55.790 --> 05:07:55.886
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you.

3094
05:07:56.720 --> 05:08:02.350
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, and that will be important when committees start happening.

3095
05:08:04.463 --> 05:08:11.075
<v Sameer Kanal>Second, in the work session there was a comment that the work is the same regardless of the number of committees, all that.

3096
05:08:12.304 --> 05:08:26.437
<v Sameer Kanal>And that's kind of true, but the idea behind committees is you can start working in parallel, and you have to think that way, not everything has to be cycled through this broad body.

3097
05:08:27.181 --> 05:08:41.345
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, you need to start thinking in— and, and it goes to capacity because if you're going to have bottlenecks, you need to identify those bottlenecks and mitigate them as soon as you can.

3098
05:08:41.703 --> 05:08:52.908
<v Sameer Kanal>And that might be using other spaces and getting the staff for multiple committees at the same Um, I won't go into the district representation.

3099
05:08:53.406 --> 05:08:58.030
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, you've discussed it, you've heard GTAC's position on it.

3100
05:08:58.866 --> 05:09:04.421
<v Sameer Kanal>We still think you should do it, and I think you're going to hear from your constituents that they're going to want that.

3101
05:09:05.128 --> 05:09:06.958
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, but it's your decision.

3102
05:09:07.231 --> 05:09:09.013
<v Sameer Kanal>We understand the puzzle that you had.

3103
05:09:09.560 --> 05:09:10.812
<v Sameer Kanal>Oh, 30 seconds.

3104
05:09:11.550 --> 05:09:12.739
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, and it was pretty good.

3105
05:09:14.990 --> 05:09:16.276
<v Sameer Kanal>Jurisdictions.

3106
05:09:16.325 --> 05:09:23.950
<v Sameer Kanal>Um, just for example, on the land use and housing thing, having joint committee sessions will be useful, and you should use them.

3107
05:09:24.616 --> 05:09:28.367
<v Sameer Kanal>It's more eyes on the problem, more discussion, and I think that's great.

3108
05:09:29.044 --> 05:09:37.076
<v Sameer Kanal>We would recommend a rule that would establish explicitly that every policy matter has a committee that can review the matter.

3109
05:09:37.320 --> 05:09:38.105
<v Sameer Kanal>That should go in your rules.

3110
05:09:38.220 --> 05:09:38.562
<v Unidentified speaker>Okay.

3111
05:09:41.114 --> 05:09:45.722
<v Sameer Kanal>Or a committee with catch-all jurisdiction, and that should be the Governance Committee.

3112
05:09:46.588 --> 05:09:51.005
<v Sameer Kanal>And if you excuse me— 10 more seconds.

3113
05:09:51.005 --> 05:10:00.445
<v Sameer Kanal>You've got to embed community engagement and public input into these rules, to your procedures, from the very beginning.

3114
05:10:01.843 --> 05:10:12.826
<v Sameer Kanal>It shouldn't be that your first public comment on a resolution is after you've had a work session, after you've discussed it for half hour.

3115
05:10:13.950 --> 05:10:23.438
<v Sameer Kanal>You should be debating and deliberating after you hear from the public, and that's just basic Public Input 101.

3116
05:10:23.920 --> 05:10:26.296
<v Sameer Kanal>So, uh, thank you for the additional 47 seconds.

3117
05:10:27.195 --> 05:10:29.299
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you, we appreciate the comments.

3118
05:10:30.379 --> 05:10:32.224
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Next up, we have Dan Handelman online.

3119
05:10:36.009 --> 05:10:36.331
<v Dan Handelman>Good evening.

3120
05:10:36.509 --> 05:10:38.026
<v Dan Handelman>Uh, can you hear me, council members?

3121
05:10:39.009 --> 05:10:39.300
<v Dan Handelman>We can.

3122
05:10:41.284 --> 05:10:41.833
<v Dan Handelman>Great.

3123
05:10:42.155 --> 05:10:44.349
<v Dan Handelman>Well, my name is still Dan Handelman, 5 hours later.

3124
05:10:44.592 --> 05:10:45.544
<v Dan Handelman>I use he/him pronouns.

3125
05:10:45.609 --> 05:10:46.463
<v Dan Handelman>I'm with Portland Cop Watch.

3126
05:10:47.173 --> 05:10:50.046
<v Dan Handelman>It's a bit confusing that there are 6 service areas and 8 subcommittees.

3127
05:10:50.418 --> 05:10:57.691
<v Dan Handelman>It's not 100% clear whether they match up, and I wrote these comments before hearing your comments, so some of them you may have answered, but I I don't have time to change everything.

3128
05:10:58.525 --> 05:11:13.833
<v Dan Handelman>Members of the then decommissioned Police Accountability Commission testified about the city's version of the new oversight board, strongly suggesting that to ensure the new oversight system is as independent as spelled out in the charter, it should not be in the same service area as the police.

3129
05:11:14.330 --> 05:11:24.220
<v Dan Handelman>It's our understanding, though difficult to find evidence on the city's website, that as a result, the new oversight system was moved to the operations area, which is where the Bureau of Human Resources resides.

3130
05:11:24.220 --> 05:11:31.659
<v Dan Handelman>This makes sense because a lot of work of the Community Board for Police Accountability will be reviewing the job performance of city employees, specifically police officers.

3131
05:11:31.659 --> 05:11:43.299
<v Dan Handelman>So this raises the question of whether the oversight system will also be kept insulated from the police bureau by having one of the council's committees, which is not the Public Safety Committee, oversee the implementation and then ongoing operations of the board.

3132
05:11:43.299 --> 05:11:45.599
<v Dan Handelman>Pause for possible answer.

3133
05:11:45.639 --> 05:11:46.900
<v Dan Handelman>Okay, I'll take my answer later.

3134
05:11:48.119 --> 05:12:00.913
<v Dan Handelman>And we also echo Mr. Harris's testimony that there should be representatives from each district On every committee, which 2 council members addressed already, so I won't go through our list that we— we got the same numbers that we heard read into the record.

3135
05:12:02.180 --> 05:12:13.348
<v Dan Handelman>In a broader context, it's hard to know whether committee members— community members who are interested in many aspects of the city's functions will have to go to multiple subcommittees to address their concerns and then back to the full council.

3136
05:12:13.427 --> 05:12:16.957
<v Dan Handelman>It would seem that ideas brought to council are to be fully formed.

3137
05:12:17.086 --> 05:12:18.193
<v Dan Handelman>I would agree again with Mr. Harris.

3138
05:12:18.241 --> 05:12:20.070
<v Dan Handelman>It would be best to get community input all along the way.

3139
05:12:20.259 --> 05:12:25.250
<v Dan Handelman>That doesn't take away the full council's responsibility to hear public testimony and consider it before adopting proposals.

3140
05:12:27.380 --> 05:12:30.240
<v Dan Handelman>You are all aware of this too.

3141
05:12:30.240 --> 05:12:32.000
<v Dan Handelman>I think I heard some mention of it.

3142
05:12:32.000 --> 05:12:35.659
<v Dan Handelman>6 Councilors are each on 4 committees while 4 others are only on 3.

3143
05:12:35.659 --> 05:12:38.759
<v Dan Handelman>It makes sense that the president and vice president of the council are only on 2 each.

3144
05:12:39.360 --> 05:12:44.569
<v Dan Handelman>We read the attachment explaining the roles of the chair and vice chair for each committee, but we wonder how that differs from committees with co-chairs.

3145
05:12:45.119 --> 05:12:58.290
<v Dan Handelman>The Police Accountability Commission had a structure with 3 co-chairs so if there is a disagreement among them, It would be great to hope the whole co-chairs will always agree on everything, but they may not be— that may not be realistic.

3146
05:12:59.830 --> 05:13:05.619
<v Dan Handelman>Another question that needs to be resolved soon, I'm not sure how it will happen in a committee or a council, is the applications for the oversight board.

3147
05:13:05.950 --> 05:13:14.689
<v Dan Handelman>They should be run through council and the nominating committee, and in our opinion, the former Police Accountability Commission and the broader community, to be sure it matches the expectations of what the new board will do.

3148
05:13:14.689 --> 05:13:14.729
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

3149
05:13:14.889 --> 05:13:16.189
<v Dan Handelman>Where do we bring that concern?

3150
05:13:17.470 --> 05:13:27.580
<v Dan Handelman>Finally, it's of concern that this is only the council's second meeting and there are already 2 items on the 9/12 agenda, meaning they weren't ready for publication as of last Friday when the full agenda was posted.

3151
05:13:27.810 --> 05:13:33.279
<v Dan Handelman>As a result, this item being added yesterday, we had to scramble to get this testimony prepared.

3152
05:13:33.549 --> 05:13:35.880
<v Dan Handelman>We hope future uses of 9/12 should be few and far between.

3153
05:13:36.389 --> 05:13:40.869
<v Dan Handelman>And with 10 seconds left, I want to say we agree with reading the vote counts.

3154
05:13:40.869 --> 05:13:41.360
<v Dan Handelman>That's a good idea.

3155
05:13:41.389 --> 05:13:44.689
<v Dan Handelman>And you need bigger nameplates that sit on the backs of your computers so we know who you are.

3156
05:13:44.770 --> 05:13:46.942
<v Dan Handelman>Because the little ones underneath you aren't showing up on the screen.

3157
05:13:47.135 --> 05:13:47.490
<v Dan Handelman>Thank you.

3158
05:13:50.340 --> 05:13:51.498
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That completes testimony.

3159
05:13:51.868 --> 05:13:56.276
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Thank you for your testimony, Mr. Handelman, and for the note about how the nameplates show up online.

3160
05:13:58.069 --> 05:14:01.492
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Is there any final council discussion?

3161
05:14:07.225 --> 05:14:09.770
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Okay, Keelan.

3162
05:14:17.710 --> 05:14:17.758
<v Jamie Dunphy>Aye.

3163
05:14:18.372 --> 05:14:18.454
<v Dan Handelman>No.

3164
05:14:22.880 --> 05:14:32.369
<v Sameer Kanal>Thank you to the president and vice president for their efforts to balance so many competing interests, priorities, and backgrounds among the 12 of us and come up with a slate of committees, responsibilities, leaders, and memberships.

3165
05:14:32.435 --> 05:14:34.522
<v Sameer Kanal>It is a ton of work, as Councilor Green mentioned.

3166
05:14:34.763 --> 05:14:35.719
<v Sameer Kanal>It's a lot of time, and it's appreciated.

3167
05:14:36.006 --> 05:14:45.405
<v Sameer Kanal>I'm also grateful for the trust you placed in Councilor Novick and I to lead a committee focused on community and public safety, and to colleagues who also support a slate including that.

3168
05:14:45.824 --> 05:14:53.424
<v Sameer Kanal>Regardless of how this ends up going, I'm committed to leading that work with Councilor Novick openly, collaboratively, and with a clear focus on a safer Portland for everyone.

3169
05:14:54.180 --> 05:15:01.458
<v Sameer Kanal>When we discussed the rules patch a moment ago, I mentioned I remained interested in reaching a better outcome than that ordinance provided as it relates to district representation.

3170
05:15:01.731 --> 05:15:10.451
<v Sameer Kanal>And that I intended to apply a standard of whether geography is relevant to the subject matter, and then look and see if the membership of the committee reflects that on the most relevant committees.

3171
05:15:10.883 --> 05:15:15.894
<v Sameer Kanal>I think that you answered very adequately my questions about jurisdiction, and I, I'm very happy with that response.

3172
05:15:16.344 --> 05:15:28.434
<v Sameer Kanal>But on the subject of district representation, I'm concerned about the lack of D3 representation on Arts and Economy because of how many significant districts in both of those spaces exist in that district and how their needs are different than Downtown's or 82nd.

3173
05:15:28.804 --> 05:15:35.613
<v Sameer Kanal>I'm even more concerned that District 4, where the CEI hub is located, does not have representation on climate resilience and land use.

3174
05:15:36.174 --> 05:15:42.775
<v Sameer Kanal>And as a representative of District 2, I gotta most highly rank my concern that we're not represented on transportation and infrastructure.

3175
05:15:43.320 --> 05:15:54.528
<v Sameer Kanal>And when I talk to folks who live on Trenton or by McCoy Park, where the schools and the students are and the crosswalks aren't, or, uh, by, you know, the Montessori school on Lombard and Mississippi, I've been committed to ensuring that those voices are heard in it.

3176
05:15:55.026 --> 05:15:56.407
<v Sameer Kanal>I don't personally need to be on it.

3177
05:15:56.488 --> 05:16:07.422
<v Sameer Kanal>I am personally invested in it, um, and I, I trust that either of my district colleagues, uh, would have represented our districts very well in the transportation and infrastructure conversations had we been there.

3178
05:16:07.631 --> 05:16:09.332
<v Sameer Kanal>And I'm disappointed that none of the 3 of us are.

3179
05:16:09.895 --> 05:16:18.404
<v Sameer Kanal>And I think the resolution needs to do both things: ensure that the policy discussions are as rich as possible and ensure that representation exists in particular in the places where it's most relevant.

3180
05:16:18.807 --> 05:16:25.862
<v Sameer Kanal>And I think this document succeeds handily at the first of those, but because it does not, in my view, succeed as the second of these, I unfortunately must vote no.

3181
05:16:27.097 --> 05:16:27.273
<v Sameer Kanal>Thanks.

3182
05:16:27.434 --> 05:16:27.690
<v Angelita Morillo>Ryan.

3183
05:16:28.237 --> 05:16:33.540
<v Dan Ryan>Yeah, we're building, and you did a great job getting the scaffolding up and running, and now we're going to experience it.

3184
05:16:33.764 --> 05:16:37.938
<v Dan Ryan>And I just have a feeling we'll make some edits about a year from now, not earlier, but it's all good.

3185
05:16:38.377 --> 05:16:39.509
<v Dan Ryan>Anyway, aye for aye.

3186
05:16:39.978 --> 05:16:40.238
<v Dan Ryan>Thank you.

3187
05:16:41.113 --> 05:16:41.663
<v Helmi Hisarik>Koyama Lane.

3188
05:16:42.245 --> 05:16:42.294
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

3189
05:16:43.135 --> 05:16:43.783
<v Jamie Dunphy>Morillo.

3190
05:16:44.511 --> 05:16:44.641
<v Candace Avalos>Aye.

3191
05:16:45.241 --> 05:16:45.515
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Novick.

3192
05:16:47.440 --> 05:17:03.709
<v Sameer Kanal>Now that it appears that this will have the votes to pass, I do feel compelled to confess to Councilors Green, Clark, and Zimmerman that yes, Councilor Morillo and I have already discussed and we've agreed that we'll take advantage of your absence in the Land Use Committee to zone, to zone District 4 and only District 4 for all the bad stuff.

3193
05:17:04.034 --> 05:17:04.067
<v Sameer Kanal>Aye.

3194
05:17:05.836 --> 05:17:07.443
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Clark.

3195
05:17:08.741 --> 05:17:08.888
<v Robert Taylor>Aye.

3196
05:17:09.959 --> 05:17:10.187
<v Robert Taylor>Green.

3197
05:17:12.138 --> 05:17:16.444
<v Mitch Green>Uh, I just want to say thank you for having the courage to put a socialist on the Economics Committee.

3198
05:17:19.151 --> 05:17:19.281
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

3199
05:17:19.960 --> 05:17:26.890
<v Eric Zimmerman>Well, Steve, as the chair of Finance, remember that what goes around comes around.

3200
05:17:28.515 --> 05:17:29.916
<v Eric Zimmerman>I am happy to support this.

3201
05:17:30.044 --> 05:17:31.525
<v Eric Zimmerman>Thank you for your work, both of you.

3202
05:17:33.683 --> 05:17:33.763
<v Angelita Morillo>Aye.

3203
05:17:34.797 --> 05:17:34.847
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>Aye.

3204
05:17:36.092 --> 05:17:41.588
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>The resolution is adopted with a Vote of 11 yeses and 1 no.

3205
05:17:43.372 --> 05:17:51.614
<v Elana Pirtle-Guiney>That— I will close our council meeting at 11:13 and see you all back here at 9:30 tomorrow morning.