While commissioners are displeased with the present predicament, Clackamas County is preparing for budget cuts as a result of Metro’s proposed changes to the Supportive Housing Services measure.
Voters in 2020 approved the raising of taxes to fund a total of $250 million for Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties to address housing instability and homelessness through initiatives like placing people into housing, maintaining shelters and connecting the people experiencing homelessness with services.
Though a proposal is not finalized, Metro is considering extending the tax — which is currently set to expire in 2030 — to 2050 while lowering the tax rate and taxing threshold (and thus decreasing money available for programming), creating more oversight over the counties’ efforts and establishing greater flexibility for funding to go toward the construction of affordable housing, among other proposed changes. Voters would need to approve a ballot measure for many of the changes to go into effect.