Michelle Brence | File

In the run-up to creating the city of Portland's budget for the coming year, officials from the city's 27 bureaus submitted budget requests Monday that spell out positions, programs and equipment they would like to add.

They also proposed cuts to their departments' spending to comply with Mayor Ted Wheeler's directive to name which 5 percent they would put on the chopping block for fiscal year 2018-2019 in anticipation of a deficit.

Scroll down to read about some of this year’s asks and proposed cuts.

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Courtesy of LEVER Architecture

Housing Bureau

Commissioner in charge: Wheeler

The Housing Bureau, whose profile has risen amid the housing crisis, asked for $800,000 a year to run a new Office of Renter Services. The mayor promised during his campaign to create an office to help mediate disputes between landlords and tenants, but not much has materialized, aside from a name change for what used to be the Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs.

Bureau officials also asked for $1.2 million in one-time funding to pay for culturally- and language-specific outreach to inform Portland renters of all backgrounds and languages of the renter protection rule the council adopted in February 2017. According to the budget request many renters of color are unaware of the rule, which requires landlords to pay $2,900 to $4,500 to renters they evict without cause or who must move as a result of a rent increase of 10 percent or more.

The bureau also requested $500,000 in ongoing funding to help vulnerable low-income homeowners stay in their homes. This money would be used to offer home repair grants to homeowners fined for code violations that threaten their ability to stay in their homes. The request said the grants would provide an average $6,000 worth of home repairs to 83 low-income homes. Bureau leaders predict 80 percent of all homeowners served would be able to stay in their homes at least a year after receiving the repairs.

The housing office proposed contributing $29 million to the city and county’s Joint Office of Homeless Services.

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The Oregonian/OregonLive

Police Bureau

Commissioner in charge: Wheeler

The Police Bureau requested $12.3 million in part to pay for 93 new sworn officer positions and nine other positions, new computers for emergency response vehicles, and new training space that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Of the new positions, 21 are intended to help the bureau create "walking beats" and other community-based policing roles that take officers out of their cars and get them talking to and interacting more with community members.

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Photo courtesy of Portland Parks & Recreation

Portland Parks & Recreation

Commissioner in charge: Amanda Fritz

The parks bureau took advantage of a recent ruling on a lawsuit that accused Portland's Water Bureau of misspending ratepayer funds on non-water related services. A judge ruled in January 2017 that the water bureau could spend ratepayer money on decorative fountains. Now, the parks bureau is suggesting handing off the operational costs of park fountains to the water bureau. That means water bills, not taxes, would pay for the estimated $620,000 of annual maintenance.

Parks officials also put the Sellwood Community Center, Woodstock Community Center and the Fulton & Hillside Community Centers on the potential chopping block for about $371,000 in total annual savings.

And they proposed eliminating a $200,000 annual program to remove invasive species in natural areas.

Fritz made clear in her letter accompanying the budget request that she really really really does not want to cut the parks and recreation bureau's budget.

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Oregonian file photo

Bureau of Emergency Communications

Commissioner in charge: Wheeler

The Bureau of Emergency Communications requested $450,000 from the general fund to replace the 911 recording system. A 2016 report found that more than 18,000 calls to 911 went unanswered and unrecorded after a screening system meant to filter out accidental cell phone calls lost them.

It also requested $750,000 to buy a new system that would help dispatchers better prioritize responses to medical, fire and police calls.

The bureau also wants to pay a new administrative support professional $72,000 per year, including benefits, to help with clerical work, data maintenance and call response timekeeping. The bureau knowingly reported false wait times for years, a July report found.

“We must ensure that as we implement a much-needed quality assurance program, that it is focused on the quality of work we’re providing not just as individual call-takers and dispatchers, but as a bureau as a whole.”

To comply with the mayor’s direction, the bureau also suggested cutting 11 positions.

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Photo courtesy of the city of Portland

Office of Neighborhood Involvement

Commissioner in charge: Chloe Eudaly

The neighborhood office's proposed cuts involve spreading their workload across other bureaus and organizations. Bureau officials proposed reducing their spending on the city's graffiti abatement program by about $400,000, suggesting that the police, transportation, parks & recreation and environmental services bureaus also have "critical roles" to play. This program is of particular interest to Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who previously managed the neighborhood office.

The office also suggested ending a $165,000 10-year contract with Elders in Action so that the bureau can explore working with more diverse groups to meet multicultural and multi-generational needs.

The neighborhood office’s biggest request is $750,000 for public safety, emergency preparedness and community resiliency. City officials are exploring a strategy to unite communities through emergency preparedness.

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Beth Nakamura | The Oregonian/OregonLive

These budget requests lead off a six-month long budget process, during which the city council holds public work sessions, hears individual commissioners advocate for their bureaus' needs and debates the merits of cuts.

The mayor ultimately submits his proposed budget at the end of April. The council then continues to review and debate that plan and ultimately adopts a finalized form, in June.

Proposing the city’s budget is one of two unique powers afforded to the mayor beyond the typical commissioner duties of running bureaus and voting on policy. The other is assigning commissioners the bureaus to run.

--Jessica Floum

jfloum@oregonian.com

503-221-8306

@cityhallwatch

@jfloum