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(she/they) councilor.morillo@portlandoregon.gov

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My thoughts on our City Budget

Tomorrow, Portland City Council will spend the entire day voting on amendments that will shape a final version of our city budget for the coming year. I believe we are at a critical juncture in our City between investing in upstream solutions or reactive ones. The Council must ask itself: do we continue down the path of pouring money into punitive systems, or do we build toward real public safety by funding prevention, care and connection?

As we head into budget discussions tomorrow, I want to share with you my top priorities for a budget that keeps the reliable services and community programs that we’ve always cherished and that make our city strong.

Reimagining Public Safety

The Mayor’s proposed budget increases funding for the Portland Police Bureau by $2 million. But Portlanders overwhelmingly have said that if given the choice between funding parks or police, they would choose parks. As your City Councilor, it is my responsibility to take that feedback and make budget decisions accordingly – to invest in systems that keep us safe and build whole communities, not systems that punish us for being poor.

I’m proposing that the additional $2 million that Mayor Wilson added to the Portland Police budget be redirected back to where Portlanders told us it should go: back to our parks system, safer streets like Cesar E Chavez Boulevard, and the Office of Violence Prevention.

Environmental design and maintenance of our services are bedrocks of public safety. When we invest in things like public restrooms, regular trash pickup, well-maintained green spaces, and youth programs that alleviate poverty, we invest in dignity and belonging. When our parks are busy, when our cyclists have peace of mind on our streets, when Portlanders are housed and fed, that is public safety.

I’m submitting budget amendments that protect our vital services not just because I believe it’s the right thing to do, but because you have asked for it. Over the past few months of being your City Councilor, I’ve heard District 3 residents echo the same sentiment time and time again: please reduce police funding in favor of parks, traffic safety improvements, housing, and violence prevention.

A Housed, Connected Portland

Safety and belonging also means having a stable and affordable place to call home – a place where you can put down roots and get to know your neighbors. It’s time for us to pivot towards models proven most effective: research shows that the most cost-effective and long-lasting approach to ending homelessness is to prevent evictions before they happen. That’s why my budget plan includes critical investments in Rapid Rehousing solutions, rental assistance to keep Portlanders in their homes, moving costs for folks transitioning into long-term housing, and legal defense for families facing eviction.

I’m thankful for the role that shelters play in moving clients toward a permanent housing solution. However, what we know from other cities, from peer reviewed research, and from the insights of people with lived experience is that transitional housing options should be just one piece of a broad housing strategy. And with federal funding for housing stability programs at risk, our City must step up.

It’s time to shift away from costly, ineffective sweeps that displace our unhoused neighbors from block to block without offering meaningful alternatives. Because the truth is, pouring money into sweeps isn’t just inhumane, it’s an inefficient use of our dollars.

I’ve talked before about my experience being homeless in college. I was sleeping in parks, in stairwells, and on couches. But when my former high school constitution team coaches opened their home to me, I was able to finish my studies and build the life I have today. Without my people showing up for me, I would never have been able to run for office and serve as your City Councilor.

I believe it is the job of our government to do for others what my community did for me. It is our job to connect people to the resources they desperately need – and to catch our most vulnerable when they fall.

Transparency and Accountability

If we’re going to be good stewards of our public dollars, we need transparency and data to guide our decisions. We need systems that keep us accountable to the people of Portland.

I’m introducing amendments to restore critical funding for the City Budget Office that the Mayor’s proposal cuts, so that we can make sound, evidence-based decisions about where our tax dollars go. Because when our Budget Office is operating at limited capacity, we are only able to make educated guesses at best about our City budget.

I’m also bringing a budget note that ensures the Mayor’s team corresponds with City Council at regular intervals for temperature checks, decision points, and data-driven presentations so that Councilors can see the full scope of budget impacts. When workers’ jobs are on the line, I don’t want to hear about theoretical impacts –  I want precise discussion of who is vulnerable, what the alternatives are, and how we can get creative to save City workers’ livelihoods.

I believe that accountability from the City is not optional – it is foundational to good governance.

A People Centered Budget

Every Portlander deserves to have a safe space to sleep, to know where their next meal is coming from, and to feel seen and valued by their city. When our budget aligns with those goals, we build a stronger Portland. When it doesn’t, we aren’t doing right by our neighbors.

I am so grateful for the countless advocates, community members, elders and fellow rabble rousers who have weighed in and offered their expertise this budget season. I could not do this work without your support and valuable insight. I see you in our community fighting every day for a stronger Portland that works for everyone – not just the wealthy few – and it gives me hope for our city.

We are a city of good and caring people, and I believe we can choose a path forward where everyone has a chance to belong.

In Solidarity,

Councilor Angelita Morillo