Police oversight
Portland voted for independent police oversight. Why is there still nobody running it?
Portland's Office of Community Based Police Accountability exists on a charter formula: it must receive 5% of the total police operating budget, so every change to police funding forces a fight over where OCPA's share comes from. The record shows a September 15, 2026 executive session for the CPBA to discuss finalist candidates, followed by a public vote to hire a director, but the narrative does not show that hire arriving. The city put OCPA's charter share at $16 million, and city staff later said the police budget's growth required a further $38,055 addition to OCPA. Separately, a councilor proposed borrowing $10 million from the Community Board for Police Accountability, leaving $6 million available to it, a plan rejected in favor of funding restorations through administrative cuts instead. A resident testified that diverting OCPA funding gets tied to cuts elsewhere, including parks services promised under a voter-approved parks levy. Another resident argued that taking money from OCPA without the board's support would violate the charter's protection of its independent judgment.
The clock: 15 September 2026 — this date has passed
An executive session is held for CPBA to discuss top OCPA director candidates, followed by a public meeting to vote on which candidate to hire
AND ON SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2026, A SCHEDULE AND ADDITIONAL EXECUTIVE SESSION MEETING WILL BE HELD. UH EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR CPBA TO DISCUSS TOP CANDIDATES THAT WILL BE ADVANCED AND THEN THERE WILL BE A PUBLIC MEETING TO VOTE ON CANDIDATE TO HIRE.
City staffCommunity Board for Police Accountability Meeting12 Aug 2026
What else was on the table
- unresolved Remove OCPA and PCEF from the list of funds that can be used to backfill the General Fund Contingency and Business License Tax Reserve, and instead let the Budget Office identify options across all bureaus To avoid prioritizing OCPA or PCEF specifically as backfill sources and instead rely on a professional assessment across bureaus Councilor · DunphyPM Session15 Jul 2026
- rejected Borrow $10 million from the Community Board for Police Accountability to cover public safety budget shortfalls, leaving $6 million available to CBPA Proposed as a way to avoid cutting programs or dipping into reserves, but criticized as having no identified repayment source CouncilorProsper Budget Committee Meeting FY2026-27 Approved Hearing Day 219 May 2026
- chosen Fund public safety restorations through management/administrative reductions ('chop from the top') with ongoing dollars instead of drawing on OCPA funds Offers ongoing funding rather than a loan with no repayment plan, and avoids using OCPA money CouncilorProsper Budget Committee Meeting FY2026-27 Approved Hearing Day 219 May 2026
Why this exists
The Office of Community Based Police Accountability's budget is fixed by city charter at 5% of the total Portland Police Bureau operating budget, so any change to the police budget forces a corresponding change to OCPA funding and creates repeated fights over where that money comes from.
THE OFFICE OF THE COMMUNITY BASED POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY IS REQUIRED BY CHARTER TO HAVE 5% OF THE TOTAL POLICE BUDGET BY ADDING MONEY BACK TO THE POLICE BUDGET IN THE FORM OF THESE NEW POSITIONS. AUTHORITIES, THAT MEANS THAT THE TOTAL POLICE BUDGET HAS GROWN AND THEREFORE THE 5% AMOUNT MUST GROW.
City staffBudget Committee Meeting: FY2026-27 Approved Hearing Day 3 Extended20 May 2026
- 2026-05-19 budget hearing $16 million
- 2026-05-19 budget hearing $10 million
- 2026-08-05 budget session $38,055
What it costs you
Diverting or contesting OCPA's charter-mandated funding gets tied to cuts elsewhere, including parks services that residents were promised under a voter-approved parks levy funded by higher taxes.
THE RIGHT WING OF COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR ARE THREATENING PARKS, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY EGREGIOUS AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE VOTER APPROVED PARKS LEVY, WHICH PROMISED THAT IF WE PAY HIGHER TAXES, THAT OUR PARKS WOULD BE MAINTAINED AT CURRENT SERVICE LEVELS
Public testimonyPM Session15 Jul 2026
How council voted
6 recorded votes on this subject — 4 drew a dissenting vote, 0 failed.
-
10–2
carried
12 Feb 2026
Appoint members to the Community Board for Police Accountability
-
10–1
carried
1 absent
10 Dec 2025
*Ratify a successor collective bargaining agreement with American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees, Local 189, for represented employees within the Office of Independent Police Review for the terms and conditions of employment of represented employees in the Independent Police Review bargaining unit
-
11–1
carried
18 Jun 2025
Appointment of members to Community Board for Police Accountability
-
2–1
carried
11 Sep 2024
Add Community Police Oversight Board pursuant to Portland City Charter Chapter 2, Article 10 (add Code Title 35)
-
12–0
carried
11 Feb 2026
Accept removals from Community Board for Police Accountability recommended by administration due to ineligibility and cause and appoint alternates to vacant seats
-
5–0
carried
22 May 2024
*Add Community Police Oversight System Code to reflect Charter reform (add Code Chapter 3.19)
Recorded roll-call votes only. Items passed without a roll call, and anything settled in committee without one, are not counted here.
What is actually in dispute
- Taking money from OCPA to backfill other budget shortfalls without the board's support would violate the city charter's protection of the board's independent judgment. Public testimonyPM Session15 Jul 2026
- The proposed loan from CBPA creates an incentive not to fully staff the accountability office over the course of the year. CouncilorProsper Budget Committee Meeting FY2026-27 Approved Hearing Day 219 May 2026
- Arguments for increasing police funding are undermined because police hiring has actually decreased even as funding increased every year since 2020. Public testimonyBudget Committee Meeting: FY2026-27 Approved Hearing Day 118 May 2026
- It is extremely difficult to build genuine police accountability within a governmental structure that is itself rooted in white supremacy and constrained by restrictive collective bargaining requirements. Public testimonyCommunity Board for Police Accountability Meeting13 May 2026
These are positions taken in the room, not conclusions of ours. A claim appearing here is not a finding that it is true.
What the record counts
Promises whose deadline passed with no delivery found
Each was said on the record. We searched later meetings for the thing arriving and did not find it — which is not proof it never did.
-
Due 2025-02-06 City Council
Appoint the nominating committee for the new Community Board for Police Accountability
Promised at Portland City Council Regular Meeting PM 01/15/25, 2025-01-15
-
Due 2026-04-27 Motus (Dreshaun Vance)
Post the OCPA Director job posting publicly
Promised at Community Board for Police Accountability Meeting 04/08/26, 2026-04-08
-
Due 2026-05-13 Community Board for Police Accountability
Discuss and hold a finalized vote on the OCPA Director job description
Promised at Community Board for Police Accountability Meeting 04/08/26, 2026-04-08
-
Due 2026-08-01 Motus
Complete final selection and hire for the Police Accountability Director
Promised at Community Board for Police Accountability Meeting 05/13/26, 2026-05-13
-
Due 2026-09-15 Nobody named
Hold executive session and public meeting to vote on top OCPA director candidate
Promised at Community Board for Police Accountability Meeting 08/27/26, 2026-08-27
-
Due 2026-09-23 Nobody named
Follow up with CBO/CFO on whether appropriating the street racing grant funds keeps the police accountability funding ratio in compliance with the City Charter 5% requirement
Promised at Portland City Council PM Session 09/16/26, 2026-09-16
-
Due 2026-09-23 Nobody named
Provide the administration's plan for meeting the 5% police accountability set-aside requirement before council votes on the expanded traffic enforcement grant
Promised at Portland City Council PM Session 09/16/26, 2026-09-16
Votes are every recorded roll call on file. Promises are read from 433 of 433 meeting transcripts. Meetings counted are those linked to this subject's issue threads. Sums are quoted verbatim from item titles and promises, and are not a total of what the city spent.