Amid a housing shortage, Portland City Administrator Raymond C. Lee has disclosed that a surplus of $106 million allocated for new homes is lying dormant in several City Council accounts.
The Surplus is a Relic of a Previous Accounting System
This huge surplus could be “a relic” of Portland’s previous system of accounting, explains City Council President Jamie Dunphy. He was referring to Portland’s commission-run government until its switch to a mayor-council controlled government in 2025.
Before the changeover, the mayor and individual commissioners controlled the budgets of various bureaus that were not controlled by a central administrative branch.
In a memo to the city council on Friday, Lee states that there is $62.1 million in four different housing bureau accounts, $24.9 million in the Housing Investment Fund, and $20.7 million in the Rental Services Office.
City Administrator Believes the Surplus is an Isolated Incident
To resolve the budget oversight, Lee suggests that city councilors institute an independent investigation. In his memo, Lee states that he does not believe funds are regularly under budgeted and that the $106 million surplus suggests an isolated incident…