Street roots
7
May 11 2012
Safety net fares well (ish) in city, county budget proposals
STAFF repo rts
ortland and Multnomah County each
release their draft budgets for the
coming, continuing support for most
safety net programs for housing and
homeless.
However, the proposals aren’t without
some cutbacks, reflecting tough financial
pressures from local, state and federal
srouces.
Multnomah County’s $1.5 billion
proposed budget includes some trimmings
to manage a $3.5 million funding gap, but
for the most part retains support for vital
social services.
Managing budget gaps is nothing new for
the county, now in its 12th straight year of
cuts and adjustments to accommodate
declining revenues. But even with the cuts,
that include laying off 70 full-time positions,
safety net services for the county’s poor and
homeless families remain largely intact.
Here’s what’s being proposed:
■ Short-term rent assistance helps
individuals at risk of becoming homeless to
maintain their housing. The budget
preserves the current funding level at about
$500,000 in one-time money for the
program.
■ The Rapid Re-Housing Initiative and
Action for Prosperity programs provide
assistance to individuals and families who
have become homeless. These programs,
funded at a combined $520,000, helped 130
P
families in need of housing this fiscal year.
■ SUN Schools wrap services and
support program around schools to help
homeless and impoverished families. The
proposed budget includes $144,000 in
expanded funding for the SUN Schools
model, which includes after-school
homework support, parenting classes, and
enrichment programs to help struggling
students. The additional funding will help
bring health and social services for at-risk,
school-aged children to Wilkes, Prescott and
Highland Elementary schools in the
Reynolds, Parkrose and Barlow school
districts.
Also included in the budget is shelter and
support services to victims of commercial
sexual exploitation of children, downtown
dental services for low-income Portland
residents, and the opening of the southeast
health clinic at the Southeast Health Center
in Portland to provide comprehensive
primary care services that include acute and
chronic illness treatment, family planning
and prenatal services.
(The proposed county budget includes
$30,000 to pay for the publication and
distribution of the Rose City Resource, a
separate project from Street Roots’
newspaper.)
To offset the funding gap, the county
proposes cutting 70 full time jobs: 1.5
percent of its work force. The library is
taking the biggest hit in those cuts, losing
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47 full time positions. Also, all management
employees and most union-represented
employees have taken cost-of-living freezes,
or complete pay freezes in either 2012 or
2013. In this year’s budget, this represents
about $6.4 million in salary savings that is
invested directly in services.
The current $3.5 million funding gap
traces back to the usual suspects: the
housing market bust, the lagging economy
and unemployment. However, even with
some stabilization in the marketplace,
Multnomah County Budget Director Karyne
Kieta says the gap is projected to grow
between $1 million and $3.9 million per year
for the next five years.
The city’s safety net for low-income and
homeless individuals takes a $700,000 hit in
the mayor’s proposed budget, with an
additional 6 percent cut in overall program
funding for the Portland Housing Bureau.
The bureaus total budget request was $91.5
million.
Mayor Sam Adams is proposing allocating
$4.1 million out of the requested $4.8
million in one-time money for housing and
homeless programs. The biggest cut was the
$500,000 proposed for homeownership
programs. Fish, who oversees the Portland
Housing Bureau, has said he will work with
partners to secure the full funding.
The one-time allocation was the subject of
a campaign by Street Roots, JOIN, Oregon
Opportunity Network, the Community
Alliance of Tenants and others.
Safety net survivors in the city’s budget
include:
■ $1.7 million for Short Term Rent
Assistance to keep families in their homes,
and help people who have fallen into
homelessness quickly find a home.
■ $1.7 million for shelter and emergency
services that offer a safe, warm escape from
the street, including winter shelter.
■ $456,300 for information and referral
services such as the 211info hotline and
Street Roots’ Rose City Resource guide, as
well as services for low-income families
facing discrimination or unsafe housing
conditions, or struggling to find a home.
■ $185,000 to fund operations at Bud
Clark Commons, which houses a day center,
overnight shelter and permanent supportive
housing for people getting off the streets.
The 6 percent reduction from ongoing
General Fund support totals about $385,000
in program cuts.
Both the city and county are experiencing
cuts in state and federal funding streams,
and the city’s leading funding source for
affordable housing — tax increment financing
— declines rapidly in the coming years.
Both budgets will have public hearings
through the month of May, with votes
scheduled for the end of the month.
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