District 2 City Councilors Are Frustrated by What They See as Top-Heavy Administration

As the City Council gears up to confirm Mayor Keith Wilson’s appointment of interim city administrator Mike Jordan, members of the new council are publicly airing their displeasure at what they perceive as bloat on the administrative side of the government.

Both in public and in private since taking office Jan. 1, councilors have grumbled about what they feel is excess staffing on the administrative side of City Hall—in particular, the added layers of management created during the two-year government transition that preceded the new council, mostly notably the six deputy city administrators that work under Jordan.

Meanwhile, as WW previously reported, most of the City Council felt they’d been hamstrung by the prior council, which voted in early 2024 to fund only one staff person per future councilor. As one of their first orders of business after taking office, the new 12-member council approved a $4.6 million funding increase for their offices’ budgets through the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

In a recent public forum hosted by the City Club of Portland, all three of the District 2 councilors—Dan Ryan, Elana Pirtle-Guiney and Sameer Kanal—voiced their frustrations on the topic and aired tempered grievances about how the administrative side has dealt with the government transition.

“We did this major change of government...and my concern and perhaps criticism at this moment is that there’s been a lot of adding at the top,” Ryan said. “I’m concerned about that. How many [deputy city administrators] do we really need?...My point is, we have to be bold and courageous enough to do system change work. It’s not just about a new logo and new colors, it’s about really scrubbing it.”

Pirtle-Guiney, who was elected as council president at the council’s first meeting, echoed that frustration. “When this change went into effect, all the additive work happened on the administrative side, though not on the council side. The additive work happened, and the reducing didn’t. The streamlining didn’t.”

Kanal, too, chimed in: “The sheer rows on the organizational chart is often a problem. I want to start by looking there.”

Watch the clip of Kanal, Pirtle-Guiney and Ryan below.

All six of the deputy city administrators, each of whom oversees a cluster of bureaus, are paid a base annual salary of $204,000 up to $307,000. The positions are currently temporary appointments.

Jordan has warned city employees in recent emails that trimming will happen in conjunction with this year’s upcoming budget, in which the city faces up to a $100 million shortfall (only $27 million of that gap is general fund dollars). Jordan said the first areas to be squeezed will be equity, communications, procurement, human resources, engagement, technology, budget and business operations. “Given our budget gap, we are asking project managers to create new strategies and structures that result in leaner work areas and reduce the city’s overall spending,” Jordan wrote in a Jan. 14 email.

But councilors are still frustrated that little of the belt-tightening happened in the two years the city spent transitioning to a new form of government prior to the new councilors taking office.

Christine Llobregat, a spokeswoman for the city, says the administration understands those frustrations.

“We acknowledge the concerns raised by the councilors and recognize the opportunities for streamlining and consolidation within the executive branch,“ Llobregat says. ”We are collaborating to explore potential paths forward that address these concerns."

Jordan faces confirmation by the City Council next week, a confirmation he needs to keep his appointment until the end of the year. He was asked by Mayor Keith Wilson, before Wilson took office, to stay on at the city until the end of the calendar year.

Jordan spent time talking to groups of councilors last week about his confirmation, which insiders say he’ll certainly receive. They peppered him with questions about how he would continue to lead the administrative side of the government and specific concerns. Jordan, known for his calm temperament and unflappable assuredness, impressed the councilors who spoke to WW about the meetings.