Oregon Public Broadcasting

Anyone faced with a stack of bills and reduced income can appreciate the budgeting problem Oregon cities are facing right now -- albeit on a much larger scale. Portland is in the midst of negotiations for its $3 billion budget.  April Baer reports.

If you treated Portland’s budget hearing as a drinking game, taking a swig every time someone mentioned the tough times the economy's in, you’d have had no business whatsoever driving home from the budget hearing last night.

"These tough economic times...."  "....even in these tough times….."    "...It’s a really tough year...."  "...it’s been a tough budget year..."   "This year especially has been difficult…"

Alright, already. The unemployment rate for the Portland Metro area -- while bulging at 11.8 percent -- is still lower than many other parts of the state. And Mayor Sam Adams has cobbled together federal stimulus money, budget cuts, and new fees from business licenses and parking to deliver a budget that preserves more services than many expected.

Rob Hutchins  “This is the  rescue 11-A shift crew today. Pete Neil is a firefighter paramedic, and Josh Sperl, he’s a firefighter.”

Captain Rob Hutchins runs the Portland Fire Bureau’s Station 11 in the eastern Lents neighborhood -- a busy part of town. Hutchins is relieved to learn he’ll keep six people on staff, instead of four -- that means the crews can make more runs, and make them faster.

Rob Hutchins  “It’s huge! When people call 9-1-1, maybe just thirty seconds, fifteen seconds is the difference between them being saved -- in the extreme, or not being saved.”

Other areas that avoided catastrophic budget cuts include the housing bureau,  the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, and the Planning Bureau.

But to get there, all Portland bureaus made voluntary cuts. Among the most noticeable: police precincts are consolidating, from five, down to three.

Portland’s share of funding for its beloved and beleaguered SUN after-school program will be slashed by ten percent.

At Thursday night 's budget hearing, one Portlander got a healthy round of applause when he took a swipe at commissioners for funding big sports venues. And union member Richard Beadle raised questions about blowing one-time windfalls like federal stimulus money.

Richard Beadle    “I was told over and over again by former mayor Vera Katz -- god bless her -- that one-time money was not to be used for ongoing programs, but instead should be used for emergencies or one-time events.”

Recession or no recession, basic politics still work: groups that show up get results. At budget forums over the past four months, some of the biggest crowds turned out in support of senior services.

At last night’s meeting, Commissioner Nick Fish announced that the city had found money to fund some of the endangered senior programs.

Commissioners will take a preliminary vote to approve the budget next Wednesday night.