The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners plans to vote Thursday on a resolution to take $15 million in unspent money from Metro’s supportive housing services tax and pass it along to the city of Portland to fund its shelters.
If passed, the transfer would mark a change in strategy for Metro and the county. Until now, Metro has sent money to the three counties in its jurisdiction—Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington—and they have guided the spending.
The funds would come from Metro’s own slice of the SHS tax. It keeps 5% of the receipts (after paying Portland to collect the tax) to administer the SHS levy. Because of higher-than-expected collections, Metro has $31 million in the administrative fund…