| The City just completed its first budget process in our new mayor-council government. After a multi-month process, council put its final stamp of approval to implement a $8.6 billion budget for the fiscal year that began on July 1. Here is a look back of what that multi-month budget process looked like: It began with the City Administrator’s draft budget recommendations and a series of public meetings that started in February, That was followed by the release of the Mayor’s Proposed $8.54 billion budget in May; and It ended with the version that Council adopted on June 18 after deliberation and the inclusion of their amendments and budget notes. Council’s adopted budget now immediately requires the administration to make a variety of citywide adjustments. In Civic Life, funding for programs will be similar to the previous fiscal year’s ongoing funding levels. This means that the Neighborhoods program, including small grants, the Diversity Civic Leadership program, the Immigrant and Refugee Program work and our collaboration on the Multnomah Youth Commission will continue through this new fiscal year. However, the adopted budget also eliminated five Civic Life positions, including a manager, a communications coordinator, two neighborhood program liaisons, and an administrative assistant. Civic Life currently has 9.5 positions and is working to assess how the staffing changes will alter the level of service the Civic Life team can provide our partners. We plan to share updates with our partners in the coming months. Budget decisions that result in elimination of staffing positions are always difficult, and we would like to thank our outgoing staff for their important work and contributions. Their last day was on Aug. 1, 2025. |
The City’s New Fiscal Year and Civic Life
