In the year before an election, most politicians use
their budgets to woo powerful voting blocks like senior
citizens. By contrast Mayor Vera Katz is currying favor
with the
Teletubbies set.
Katz's discretionary budget--the money not already
dedicated to payroll and existing projects--is heavily
weighted toward children. In fact, more than half
of the $13 million budget goes to schools, parks,
child care and programs aimed at getting kids off
streets and guns out of their reach.
Many of these programs, it should be noted, historically
were handled by other government agencies. But in
recent years the city has been asked for assistance,
and once a government starts handing out cash, it's
hard to stop. Here are the main planks of Katz's "family
friendly" budget--and examples of the city's growing
reach.
* Schools: $4.4 million
Prior to passage of Measure 5, the city didn't
give money to Portland schools, which have their own
taxing authority. But in the last five years, Katz
and the City Council have doled out $27 million to
cash-strapped schools. The handouts will continue
next year if Katz has her way, but with a big change:
The money has to be spent the way she wants.
Katz wants to stop the practice of promoting kids
for social, rather than academic, reasons. So she's
dedicating $1 million to summer school and another
$300,000 for new after-school programs. An additional
$95,000 is earmarked to hire a school security chief,
and the remaining $3 million must be spent on implementing
school improvements recommended by outside auditors.
Katz's school aid is not as popular and painless
as it might seem. After all, cash for schools means
less money for employee pay raises.
"It probably could cause some issues with all the
unions," says Katz. "But it's part of our responsibility
to make sure that the schools of this city are adequate
and well funded for children."
* Homeless Youth: $500,000
This marks the second year that the city has spent
money on what used to be a responsibility of Multnomah
County government. But it's hardly an example of government
run amok. The city's spending comes at the urging
of downtown business leaders who are desperate for
the city to get troubled and menacing youths off the
streets.
Reasoning that homeless teenagers are a law-enforcement
problem--and the city's concern--Katz ceded to Commissioner
Erik Sten's request to cough up $500,000 for teen
programs. "We have basically ignored homeless youth
in the past," says Katz.
* Parks: $1.2 million
Much of this money will go for repairs that were
scuttled when voters trashed a $64 million bond measure
for parks last fall. Some voters thought the parks
were poorly managed. So the increased spending on
parks comes attached to a giant string: an audit of
parks management.
That news pleases watchdogs like Lewis Marcus of
the North Portland Citizens Committee. "Parks [Department]
has been under a lot of heat for management problems,"
Marcus says. "It will be great to have an audit lay
things out."
* Other: $463,000
The mayor's budget contains two other presents
for kids: $100,000 to curb gun use and violence and
$363,000 to create a child-care center in the Portland
Building for city employees.
Because Katz developed her kid-focused budget in
concert with other city commissioners, it should be
adopted with few changes. Dan Saltzman, the newest
commissioner, says, "As someone who ran on the idea
of making Portland the most family-friendly city in
the country, I'm very pleased with the thrust of this
budget."
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Willamette Week | originally
published March 24,
1999
