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Today, Multnomah County commissioners voted unanimously to spend an additional $15 million on rental assistance—and left unspent a substantial portion of proceeds from Metro’s new homeless services tax on high earners.
The new funding adds to the $29 million the county has already spent on rental assistance. It comes amid a rapid increase in eviction proceedings as state assistance wanes and tenant protections end.
During the meeting, county officials said they would spend more money if they could, but were hamstrung by staffing shortages.
The number of people living on the streets has increased 50% since 2019, and the city and the county are at odds over the best strategy to address the ongoing crisis.
The county says its rental assistance programs have helped more than 9,000 people avoid eviction—and the new money will help over 3,000 more.
“We can’t talk about our commitment to ending homelessness if we’re going to allow 3,000 people to become homeless when we have this money to spend right now,” said Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury.
Today’s vote left more $12 million in “contingency funds” to be allocated “after the first of the year,” said Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson, who succeeds Kafoury as chair in January after winning election Nov. 8. (Kafoury was term-limited from running again.)
The county’s vote serves as a rebuke to Mayor Ted Wheeler’s strategy. Wheeler is focused directly on reducing street camping. He wants to ban it and sweep people into centralized encampments, and he’s asked the county for financial help to do so.
“We are disappointed that the Multnomah County board failed to fully fund our budget request for an initiative that has received overwhelming public support—though our work continues,” he said in a joint statement with City Commissioner Dan Ryan.
City commissioners recently voted to spend $27 million on the mayor’s program, diverting $7 million from the city’s contribution to the Joint Office of Homeless Services, which it funds alongside the county, Metro and the feds.
The county is sitting on a massive pot of money earmarked for addressing homelessness thanks to the tax on high earners Metro voters passed in 2020.
Here’s how the county is spending the nearly $100 million raised over the past fiscal year, according to a presentation given to the board today by the county’s chief budget officer, Christian Elkin:
$36 million: Already spent.
$28 million: Budgeted for next year.
$5 million: Placed in reserve.
New allocations approved today:
$15 million: Rental assistance funds.
$1 million: Client assistance.
$12 million: Contingency funds.
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