Portland City Council finalizes $8.6B budget following major budget gap

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Portland City Council has officially adopted the city’s new $8.6 billion budget for the next fiscal year.

The budget authorized the spending for July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, in a final vote on Wednesday night.

This final stamp of approval comes after the county saw its largest budget gap in a decade of roughly $150 million.

“This was never going to be an easy budget,” Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney said. “A cuts budget necessarily leads to layoffs. This is a bit of a somber vote for me, because this vote finalizes job cuts for many of our city employees.”

It redirects $2 million from Portland police to support parks maintenance and adds 14 positions to the Portland Street Response.

It also budgets 10 more firefighters for Portland Fire & Rescue and authorizes Mayor Keith Wilson’s plan to open 1,500 overnight shelter beds and four day centers.

“I’m proud of we’ve achieved,” Wilson said after the vote. “We have a balanced, pragmatic budget that reflects our priorities and avoids the outcomes we were most concerned about.”

However, it will also eliminate roughly 50 full-time positions in what officials described as mostly “administrative reductions.” Those cuts include staff for the offices of Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, the Chief Operating Officer and positions in the county’s Complaints Investigation Unit.

Ride share fees are also going up in the city, from 65 cents to $2 per ride.