The Portland Metro Chamber along with a coalition of Portland-area business groups is calling on the Multnomah County Commission to direct dollars toward three priorities during the budgeting process: a fully staffed District Attorney’s Office, an expanded OSU Extension partnership, and a new Recovery Housing Voucher program.
Multnomah County faces significant public safety and livability challenges that affect residents, employers, workers, and neighborhood business districts across the region. The FY 2026–27 budget is an opportunity to address these challenges directly through three practical, outcome-oriented investments.
Key Priorities:
- Fully restore District Attorney’s Office funding
The District Attorney’s Office is a foundational component of the county’s justice system. It plays a central role in ensuring accountability, supporting victims, addressing repeat offending, and maintaining public confidence in the rule of law. At a time when Portland and Multnomah County are working to restore public trust, additional reductions to prosecutorial capacity would move the community in the wrong direction. - Increase funding for the OSU Extension Service partnership
OSU Extension provides research-based, non-regulatory technical assistance and workforce development support that directly advances county priorities related to food access, small business development, agricultural viability, and economic opportunity. The partnership offers scalable investment options that already leverage statewide expertise and local relationships, delivering services efficiently without creating new government overhead. - Adopt Commissioner Moyer’s Recovery Housing Voucher pilot
The shortage of recovery housing is a critical gap in the county’s behavioral health continuum. Many individuals exiting treatment return directly into homelessness, undermining the public investments already made in their care. Recovery housing is not simply a shelter strategy—it is a public safety, behavioral health, and system-efficiency investment that improves outcomes across multiple county systems simultaneously. Without stable transitional housing, significant public investments in treatment, deflection, and behavioral health interventions are less effective and more likely to fail. The proposed pilot aligns directly with the county’s Homelessness Response Action Plan goals around homelessness prevention, behavioral health coordination, and care continuity.
The county faces difficult fiscal constraints, but budgets ultimately reflect values and priorities. Investments in public safety capacity, workforce development, and recovery-oriented housing stabilization are foundational services—not optional enhancements—that support the long-term health and stability of the entire region.
The Board of Commissioners is expected to adopt the FY 2026–27 budget in the coming weeks.
Coalition Partners:
- Associated Wall & Ceiling Contractors
- BOMA Oregon
- Home Building Association of Greater Portland
- Multifamily NW
- NECA Oregon-Columbia
- Oregon Smart Growth
- Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors
- Portland Metro Chamber