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The regional government Metro will contribute $15 million toward Mayor Keith Wilson’s ambitious shelter plan, providing about half the money Wilson says he needs to set up thousands of shelter beds in the coming year.
The Metro Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve the $15 million in unused administrative dollars from the supportive housing services tax, an unusual allocation given that such funds are typically directed to counties, not cities. The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners approved the funding last month, and the Metro Council is the final stamp of approval.
Mayor Wilson has been scrambling to find external sources of funding for his shelter plan, estimated to cost $28 million next fiscal year, so as not to rely on the city’s beleaguered general fund to cover the costs. (The city faces roughly a $65 million gap in the general fund in the fiscal year that begins July 1.)
County officials already said they would put $10 million toward Wilson’s plan.
It was initially factored into the city’s general fund gap by city administrators—a signal that the mayor, if need be, would fund his plan by cutting things currently paid for out of the general fund.
Including the mayor’s plan in the general fund deficit was seen by some as a misleading inflation of the gap, when in reality the mayor’s shelter initiative doesn’t yet exist.
Metro officials said they were happy to help.
“By directing these funds to where they are most needed, we aim to make a tangible impact on our community’s well-being,” Metro President Lynn Peterson said in a statement. “We owe it to Mayor Wilson to support his efforts to address this crisis.”
Wilson’s mayoral campaign last year centered on his plan to build thousands of additional shelter beds in a year. Though some scoffed at the notion given how sticky it’s been historically to erect beds in the city, Wilson won the election by a landslide—signaling Portlanders’ support for his idea. Other local elected officials, seeing the resounding political support for Wilson, have begun to take the mayor‘s plan more seriously.
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to questions from WW about whether he’d secured the remaining $13 million in external funds needed for his shelter plan.