Today the mayor of Portland released his proposed budget. Absent from his proposal were the cuts to homeless program under consideration. Area religious leaders had written the Council demanding the protection of these programs. Over 700 individuals later wrote the council - – in a campaign launched by Street Roots – with the same message. Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish said today that:
“With the proposed allocation of new General Fund dollars, augmented by federal stimulus funds, we can fully fund our safety net and add more capacity to our housing and homeless delivery system. This funding will support a continuum of housing strategies, from permanent supportive housing for people with disabilities who have been living on our streets, to educational programs that prepare families to become homeowners, to stepped-up enforcement of housing health and safety codes in blighted neighborhoods. It will pay for foreclosure prevention, school stabilization, and public safety.”
Commissioner Fish is to be commended for his leadership on these issues. I know that I speak for all the religious leaders who initially wrote the Council about protecting these programs when I urge them now to vote for a budget that includes the mayor’s recommendations in this area.
I remain concerned, however, that the city of Portland is still moving forward with plans to use public funds for building a new soccer stadium and convention center hotel when programs for the poorest Portlanders remain under-funded (even under this budget) and while Portland has no coherent strategy for reducing poverty.
