PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson unveiled her proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Thursday, drawing strong reactions from community members as she outlined cuts to nearly every department.
"I am completely against the budget in terms of protection of middle managers, the bloat of managers and the chair's decision to cut direct services," said Rachel O'Rourke, an acute care coordinator with the county's crisis line.
The $3.9 billion budget would help close a major funding gap, Vega Pederson said. The county says its general fund is short about $11 million. The homeless services department faces an even bigger hole -- $67 million -- largely because of the expiration of one-time funding.
"At a time of growing need, we are facing our second consecutive year of cuts at Multnomah County," Vega Pederson said. "That includes reductions in our general fund ... the expiration of one-time funding and state and federal cuts that we have relied on. These compounding challenges means I had to make very difficult decisions in order to produce a balanced budget."
Under her proposal, 166 positions would be eliminated. The county would also lose more than 600 shelter beds.
To make up for the loss, Vega Pederson said the county would allocate $1.3 million to help people at those shelters move to permanent housing or another shelter. The county would also put $10 million toward housing placement services and case management.
O'Rourke does not think that is good enough.
In addition to her work with the crisis line, she represents thousands of direct service workers as the vice president of AFSCME. She worries the proposal will still leave the community's most vulnerable without the help they need.
"I think it's critical to take care of our most vulnerable community members," she said. "That is really the mission of Multnomah County, and I think it's a betrayal of the mission to cut direct services."
District Attorney Nathan Vasquez is also against the proposal. His office could see more than $2.2 million in cuts.
"This will mean fewer prosecutors to help with cases effectively and efficiently," Vasquez said. "It will mean longer delays to help victims get justice. It means more pressure on an already strained system."
The board is set adopt its official budget on June 4. Over the next seven weeks, commissioners will review and deliberate budget priorities in a series of work sessions. Community members can weigh in at three public hearings: