Portland City Council Work Session - Financial Stabilization Plan Report- 09/23/26
Portland's broke and will still be broke when they build next year's budget—CFO laid out 44 fixes but admitted the city stays in crisis mode through FY27-28. Green and Morillo also dropped a new CEO pay ratio tax proposal that'd raise $72M/year, heading to committee Oct 8. No votes taken today.
Agenda
- 2026-277: Appropriate grant award of $207,411 for speed racing street takeover
- 2026-278: Appropriate grant award of $103,069 for expanded traffic enforcement
- 2026-263: Consent to franchise transfer from Zenith Energy Terminals Holdings LLC to ISQ Springer Holdings, LLC (amend Ordinance 188554)
- 2026-339: *Pay settlement of Joseph Rios bodily injury lawsuit in the sum of $125,000 resulting from a bicycle crash involving Portland Bureau of Transportation
- 2026-212: Amend Advertising on Bus Benches Code to allow advertising on City streetcar benches and shelters (amend Code Chapter 17.45)
- 2026-301: *Amend Fire Regulations Code to adopt current Oregon Fire Code with City amendments (amend Code Title 31)
- 2026-300: Amend Fire Regulations Fee Schedule (amend Portland Policy Document FIR-12.01)
- 2026-186: Add Psychedelic Health and Safety Code and create the Portland Psychedelics Advisory Commission (add Code Chapter 14B.140)
Summary
Portland's chief financial officer laid out 44 possible actions to pull the city out of what he described as an ongoing financial crisis. He warned that the city will likely still be in crisis mode while building the FY 2027-28 budget.
The actions came from recommendations of a Financial Stabilization Work Group co-led by Councilors Zimmerman and Green. The group met seven times with volunteers from business, labor and community organizations, and it concluded that the city's instability is a systems problem, not just a math problem. Its recommendations include:
- A more stable and equitable revenue strategy that avoids regressive impacts
- Refreshed policies on reserves and one-time funding
- A study of biennial budgeting
- Defining core services
- More reliable financial data
- Better analytical support for council
- Regional coordination and advocacy for state tax reform, including Measures 5 and 50
- Reduced administrative burden
CFO Jonas Biery's top near-term priorities are updated financial policies by early 2027, a regional forum of government finance leaders, a plan for better financial impact statements on legislation, and a refreshed economic development strategy from Prosper Portland. No votes were taken.
Councilors largely welcomed the plan but asked for some items to move faster:
- Auditing city facilities and defining core services
- A fuller accounting of revenue sources, including opioid settlement money
- Reviewing programs that rely on one-time funds, with shelters cited as a major example
Several councilors want public discussions of management span of control and contracting. City Administrator Raymond Lee said his upcoming report will include staffing analysis and recommendations. Councilors Green and Morillo announced a proposed update to the CEO pay ratio tax that they estimate would raise about $72 million a year on average while easing the burden on small businesses.
The tax proposal goes to the Committee of the Whole on October 8. A budget process work session is expected in a couple of weeks, and a general fund forecast discussion is planned for December. Biery said he will move ahead with the priority actions unless council directs otherwise.
Key Points
- CFO Jonas Biery presented recommendations from the Financial Stabilization Work Group, convened with Councilors Zimmerman and Green, which met seven times on Friday afternoons with community, labor, business and nonprofit members. The recommendations are grouped under financial strategy and discipline, decision support and governance, regional coordination and advocacy, and reducing administrative burden.
- Biery translated the recommendations into 44 potential implementation actions. Each action is color-coded for how ready it is to implement and grouped into phases: work in progress, crisis response through summer 2027, stabilization actions starting in FY 2026-27, future actions for FY 2027-28, and outstanding questions.
- Biery named these as the highest-value immediate actions: phase one financial policy updates and high-priority new policies (target early 2027), a regional financial coordination forum (possibly quarterly), a plan to improve financial impact assessments on legislation, and a refreshed economic development strategy from Prosper Portland.
- Biery expects the city to remain in financial crisis mode for FY 2027-28 budget development. He expressed personal skepticism about biennial budgeting, which the work group recommended studying. Councilors Dunphy and Green agreed it should not be a top priority, while Zimmerman spoke positively of it from past experience.
- Councilors pushed for several items to move sooner: - Clark and Pirtle-Guiney: auditing city facility costs and usage. - Clark: defining core services. - Smith: a revenue source report before spring, including long-term funds such as opioid settlement money. - Novick and Kanal: reviewing programs funded with one-time money. - Novick: discussions of span of control and contracting. - Ryan: a citywide economic development strategy.
- Councilors Green and Morillo announced they had filed an update to the CEO pay ratio tax, projected to raise about $72 million on average in new revenue while giving relief to small businesses. It is headed to the Committee of the Whole on October 8. Green acknowledged it would increase business license tax (BLT) volatility and would need to be backed by a reserves policy.
Action Items
- CFO to bring the phase one financial policy update package and high-priority new policies in early 2027, before FY 2027-28 budget discussions
- CFO to convene a regional financial coordination forum with partners (county, Metro, Port, PPS, TriMet), possibly meeting quarterly
- Convene a small work group within about six months to plan improved financial impact assessments for council legislation, with implementation during calendar 2027
- Prosper Portland to refresh the citywide economic development strategy
- Prepare a formal report on current city revenue sources, including long-term funds such as opioid settlement money
- Perform a comprehensive evaluation of programs and pilots funded with one-time money
- Hold a general fund forecast work session before the end of the year (December forecast)
- Hold a budget process improvement work session in a couple of weeks
- Committee of the Whole to consider the Green/Morillo CEO pay ratio tax update on October 8
- City Administrator Lee to include span of control and staffing analysis and recommendations in his report ahead of budget deliberations
- Councilor Kanal to bring the span of control discussion to Committee of the Whole, likely in December
- Council input needed on the primary access point for financial information, dedicated analytical support for council, and budget advisory committee direction
- Several councilors requested moving the audit of city facility costs and usage and the definition of core services earlier than proposed
Issues Discussed (13)
CFO Jonas Biery presented 44 potential actions from the Financial Stabilization Work Group (co-led by Councilors Zimmerman and Green) to address the city's ongoing financial crisis, phasing them from immediate crisis response through FY 2027-28, with no votes taken. Councilors pushed for faster action on auditing facilities, defining core services, and reviewing one-time-funded programs like shelters, while Biery said he would proceed with priority actions—including updated financial policies by early 2027—absent council objection.
Councilors Green and Morillo announced a proposed update to the CEO pay ratio tax, estimated to raise about $72 million a year on average while easing the burden on small businesses. The proposal is scheduled to go before the Committee of the Whole on October 8.
Several councilors called for public discussions of management span of control and contracting practices as part of the financial stabilization plan. City Administrator Raymond Lee indicated his upcoming report would include staffing analysis and related recommendations, though no votes were taken.
During a Financial Stabilization Plan work session, councilors pushed CFO Jonas Biery to accelerate an audit of city facility costs and usage as part of defining core services, though this was not among his top near-term priorities and no vote was taken.
Not directly addressed in this meeting; the session focused on the citywide Financial Stabilization Work Group's recommendations, with only general references to governance reforms like defining core services and improving decision support for council rather than parks-specific partnership frameworks.
Referenced only in passing as part of broader financial stabilization discussions; no specific details or actions regarding the Moda Arena franchise agreement were presented in this meeting.
Not mentioned in this meeting; the session focused on the city's broader Financial Stabilization Plan and CFO recommendations, with no reference to the PSU performing arts venue or Keller Auditorium.
Referenced only tangentially: City Administrator Raymond Lee noted his upcoming report would include staffing analysis and recommendations, but no specific discussion of Police Bureau staffing expansion or costs occurred in this session.
This issue was referenced indirectly as part of the Financial Stabilization Work Group's broader recommendations, which included studying biennial budgeting and defining core services, with a dedicated budget process work session planned for a few weeks later. No specific discussion of reestablishing community budget advisory committees occurred in this meeting.
CFO Jonas Biery presented 44 potential implementation actions derived from the Financial Stabilization Work Group's recommendations, phased from immediate crisis response through FY 2027-28, with top near-term priorities including updated financial policies, a regional finance forum, and improved fiscal impact statements. No votes were taken, but councilors pushed for faster action on core service audits, one-time fund reliance, and staffing/contracting reviews.
Councilors Green and Morillo announced a proposed update to the CEO pay ratio tax during the financial stabilization work session, estimating it would raise about $72 million a year on average while easing the burden on small businesses. The proposal is scheduled to go before the Committee of the Whole on October 8.
Referenced indirectly through councilor calls for auditing city facilities and defining core services as part of the broader Financial Stabilization Plan, but no dedicated asset management strategy or vote was presented.
A study of biennial budgeting was included among the Financial Stabilization Work Group's recommendations presented by CFO Jonas Biery as part of a broader package of 44 potential actions to address the city's financial instability. No specific timeline or vote was attached to this particular item, as council discussion focused primarily on other priorities like core service definition and revenue accounting.