The Portland City Council on Wednesday voted to postpone voting on allocation of approximately $20.7 million in unspent Rental Services Office funds.

The money would be appropriated within the Portland Housing Bureau across the 2025-2026, 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 fiscal years. The resolution would urge the mayor to make allocations to create or expand prevention programs that would be administered by the Rental Services Office. These include several rent assistance programs, eviction prevention services, emergency housing vouchers, landlord/tenant education for tenant protections, affordable housing stabilization, and down payment assistance.

Wednesday’s meeting was the third to discuss the unspent funds. Councilors were divided: some wanted more information before voting, while others believed they had sufficient information.

“We were given a memo, and it told us the exact uses of the dollars,” Councilor Loretta Smith said. “I don’t know what more they can actually brief me on.”

Several councilors expressed uneasiness about voting after changes in the amount of available funds. While they began discussing $20.7 million, that amount has since grown to $120 million, Councilor Candace Avalos noted. Smith suggested allocating the $20.7 million now and then discussing the additional funds later.

“It’s not an easy decision to say that we need to step back, but we cannot keep being in a situation where we get new information and we haven’t had time to discuss it as a body,” Councilor Angelita Morillo said.

Councilors voted 8-4 to postpone the vote on the resolution; Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Sameer Kanal, Eric Zimmerman and Smith voted no.

The council also postponed a vote on two ordinances that would adopt a supplemental budget for the Portland Housing Bureau. The ordinance would amend the appropriation schedule for the 2025-26 fiscal year and make one-time funds available to the bureau for housing, homelessness intervention, and real estate activity.

The vote to postpone the passed by an 8-4 margin, with councilors Olivia Clark, Smith, Pirtle-Guiney and Zimmerman voting no. The vote to postpone the also passed by an 8-4 margin, with Dan Ryan, Smith, Pirtle-Guiney and Zimmerman voting no.

Because the council postponed the vote, no testimony was given during Wednesday’s meeting; however, opportunity to speak will be presented during a future council meeting ahead of the vote. More than two dozen people were signed up to testify on Wednesday, Pirtle-Guiney said.

A work session set for March 5 calls for discussion of options for using the money as well as confirmation that the amendments as currently written in the draft resolution would pass city code, Councilor Jamie Dunphy said. The council has previously discussed potentially using the funds for rental assistance, rent buy-downs, legal assistance or gap funding for affordable housing, he said. Or money could be returned to the general fund to help cover a looming budget gap of at least $67 million, he added.

The vote could take place at the next council meeting after the work session, Dunphy said. According to the schedule, that is March 11.

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