City officials must release the names and some contact information of people who logged a report with Portland's clearinghouse for homeless complaints.

The Multnomah County District Attorney ruled Monday that the city must release the information to Jeff Merrick, an attorney who requested the information in early 2017. Merrick, who lives in the Pearl District and practices law in Lake Oswego, indicated he hopes to contact people who reported a homeless person, camp or RV and organize them into a political advocacy group.

"We need fresh ideas, we're not getting fresh ideas," Merrick said Friday. "And the people who are concerned enough to report to one point of contact might have some fresh ideas to bring to the table."

Mayor Ted Wheeler initially resisted Merrick's public records request, and city attorneys argued that people who call or file online reports expect a measure of privacy.

But the district attorney's office disagreed, given laws requiring government openness and the ways judges have applied them in other cases.

People logging complaints about homeless camps or homeless people's behavior with the city's "One Point of Contact" system did not have to provide their name, phone number or address but, until recently, were offered that option. The system assured those making reports that the city does not share personally identifiable information "other than as necessary," such as when "compelled by law." The law does require disclosure in this instance, Deputy District Attorney Adam Gibbs wrote in an order signed by District Attorney Rod Underhill.

"We are extremely disappointed in this decision," said Wheeler spokesman Michael Cox. "We've fought for six months to protect the confidentiality of community members who reported campsites."

The city's position said it would be an invasion of privacy to have a political organizer contact them based on their complaints.

"While it might be an annoyance to some for a political organizer to have access ... we cannot say that it would be an unreasonable invasion of privacy," said the district attorney's order.

The city also claimed that people want to remain anonymous because they fear repercussion, presumably from homeless people they complain about.

Underhill's order to the city found that point unpersuasive. Underhill cited an instance when substitute teachers during a union strike were harassed with phone calls, vandalism to their vehicles and threats, but a judge ruled they still were not guaranteed anonymity.

"If those factual circumstances do not constitute a basis to withhold personal contact information of substitute teachers hired during a strike, whom a public body had promised confidentiality, and who had expressly stated they did not want their information released, then the generalized fear of retaliation expressed by some of the voluntary reporters to the One Point of Contact surely cannot either."

Merrick always assumed the information was public, he said, and expected follow-up when he used the system.

Former Mayor Charlie Hales started the single point of contact system in 2016 as an easy way for residents to log complaints about homeless people or camps throughout the city. The city already makes public the location and type of situation that people camplain about, but not who made the complaint.

The Oregonian/OregonLive compiled the complaint data into an interactive map that has been updated several times, showing a rough shape of where the most homeless camps are -- or where people are most unhappy with their unhoused neighbors.

The city never promised anonymity to people who complain. It used to collect names and contact information voluntarily. Now, there is not a place to submit one's name or contact information except for email addresses.

The website now says: "It is bureau policy to keep information confidential. Your information will be kept confidential unless you check the box certifying that you do NOT want confidentiality."

The merit of that language was not in the appeal, so Gibbs did not rule on it. However, in an interview Friday, he said that state laws only provide privacy protection for email addresses, except for some circumstances, such as reporting child abuse and similar matters.

Merrick said he complained a few years ago about issues near his Pearl District home, near the Fremont Bridge. While he doesn't think his neighborhood is hard hit right now, Merrick doesn't think the city's approach to helping homeless people get off the street is effective.

"I believe that it is not compassionate to let people wallow in the squalor of rainy tents," Merrick said. "I don't think it's compassionate to let boys and girls turn tricks under their tents for drug money."

Merrick is frustrated that neighbors who complain about homeless people are labeled "NIMBYs," which stands for "not in my backyard." He works as a lawyer and mediator in Lake Oswego, and said he wants to use his negotiation skills to give homeowners a bigger voice in discussions about city policy.

Merrick said he thinks people who use One Point of Contact would be motivated enough to form a powerful political voice in city politics, similar to Portland Tenants United, which helped install Chloe Eudaly on City Council and advocates for city and state laws that protect renters.

"I feel like the people who have reported to One Point of Contact have a deeper view of it," Merrick said. "It's not NIMBY."

Over the summer, the city received at least 2,200 reports a month related to homelessness. Wheeler has increased the number of police and park workers who patrol areas with large amounts of complaints as well as increased the number of decrepit vehicles towed from neighborhood streets.

He has said repeatedly that he wants to appease residents so that they will support bigger policies or funding mechanisms to tackle the city's growing homeless crisis.

Multnomah County has more than 4,000 people without permanent homes on any given night, both in shelters and sleeping outside.

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com

503-294-5923

@MollyHarbarger