FY 2024 Adopted Budget

June 8, 2023

The Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 today to approve a new budget to maintain current Multnomah County services and staff for the next year beginning July 1. The Fiscal Year 2024 budget increases funding for housing and homeless services, behavioral health, community safety, early learning opportunities, elections and more.

The Board primarily decided where to spend $872 million in General Fund dollars, up 9% over 2023. The Board also voted on where to direct $22.74 million in the County’s last allocation of federal American Rescue Plan dollars.

Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, Commissioners Lori Stegmann, Diane Rosenbaum and Susheela Jayapal voted to approve the budget. Commissioner Sharon Meieran voted no. You can watch the Board’s vote here.

The budget was developed during a leadership transition to Chair Vega Pederson, who took office in January. It takes on the profound challenges she has faced across several critical areas, including spending of the Metro Supportive Housing Services Measure (SHS) dollars, increased investments in, and accountability for, the Joint Office of Homeless Services and Multnomah County Animal Services, and support for operating the Behavioral Health Resource Center in downtown Portland.

“This is a challenging, pivotal moment for our county. We’re facing difficult, troubling times and my focus has been to make sure this budget effectively addresses the issues we face head on,” Chair Vega Pederson said. “Our services are a lifeline for people, especially as the American Rescue Plan funds end. Throughout this process, I have been resolved to making the tough decisions we need to to protect our safety net while also continuing to make the upstream investments that make our safety net most effective in helping people in Multnomah County thrive.”

The County’s total budget, including state and federal funding that passes through the County, is $3.6 billion. But because the total budget also includes internal charges, transfers, loans, and accounting, that figure overstates what the County will actually spend. The net budget of $2.8 billion most accurately reflects what the County needs to operate.

Highlights of this year’s budget decisions include:

$280 million in a system-wide response to homelessness. This includes $74 million in shelter operations and street outreach; $61.5 million in rental assistance and housing case management); $60 million on permanent supportive housing and recovery-oriented transitional housing; and $32 million in work that includes data quality support, outcomes reporting, services coordination and navigation, and community engagement.
$117 million in the Behavioral Health Division, including $2.5 million to continue operations at the Behavioral Health Resource Center, $1.2 million in continued funding for culturally specific, peer-led counseling for youth and families affected by gun violence and $1.1 million in continued funding for the Old Town In-reach Program, providing behavioral health services to support day spaces and programs serving people experiencing homelessness.
$51 million to fund the first 30% of the design phase for the Earthquake Ready Burnside Bridge Project, which will replace the Burnside Bridge with one that can withstand a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, $9 million to strengthen some of the concrete columns and beams that support the Morrison Bridge as as well as replace the four 66-year-old motors that open and close the bridge and $22 million to replace the Broadway Bridge deck.
$13.6 million for Animal Services, including adding nine full-time employees to help meet staffing levels that ensure the shelter will regularly meet all national standards for the care of animals.
$914,000 to the Elections Division, a 22% increase to support Elections operations, provide voter registration services year-round; support Multnomah County’s campaign finance and disclosure program; provide voter education and outreach, with a focus on removing barriers for people in underrepresented communities and implement voter-approved Ranked Choice Voting.
$87.3 million for the operating budget for Preschool for All, which in its second year, doubles the numbers of slots to 1,400 and includes $17 million dollars of capital for the Preschool for All facilities fund to help build infrastructure to reach access for all families who want preschool by 2030...