Authorize an increase up to $245,000 in bureau rates for FY 2026-27 to implement a pilot program to subsidize transit passes for City employees

The City of Portland ordains.Section 1. The Council finds:In 1994, the City of Portland began encouraging employees to use alternative modes of transportation such as walking, biking, transit, and carpool in an effort to reduce commuting impacts to air quality in the metro area and climate impacts overall.Over the last 30 years, the City has continued this commitment by providing financial incentives to promote alternative modes of transportation via the Trip Reduction Incentive Program (TRIP). The Bureau of Human Resources (BHR) administers the financial aspect of the program as an employee benefit and the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) serves as the policy lead.This program aligns with the State of Oregon's Employee Commute Options (ECO) Rule, which requires employers with more than 100 employees within the Portland metropolitan area to measure and offer commute options to reduce auto trips. The City currently offers transit passes to employees, the cost of which is based on enrollment. Employees contribute 50% of the cost via payroll deductions which is matched by a 50% contribution from the home bureau. There are currently approximately 500 employees enrolled in the existing program.In 2024, in partnership with BHR, PBOT conducted an employee engagement survey and convened key partners to review the TRIP program. In early 2025, PBOT released a report examining TRIP's performance and outlining objectives and recommendations to improve the program. Two objectives that the TRIP report identified are lowering barriers to participation and improving offerings for employees, both of which became drivers in exploring a fully subsidized employee option with transportation providers. Over the last year, PBOT has worked to negotiate with transportation providers for better offerings as well as assess feasibility within the City to cover the projected costs.Over the last several months, the City has been preparing for the Oregon Department of Transportation's closure of all southbound lanes of Interstate 5 (I5) beginning on September 11, 2026. The City anticipates significant disruption to daily commutes in the estimated five weeks the closure will be in effect.The City has sought ways to reduce the number of vehicles on the road during the closure by encouraging greater usage of public transportation options and carpooling when practical. In an effort to incentivize greater usage of public transportation options, PBOT staff have worked with TriMet to negotiate a one-year pilot program that would provide all 9,000 City of Portland employees with full transit coverage including TriMet bus, MAX and WES trains, and C-Tran local service.The current cost of TRIP is approximately $500,000, which is comprised of $250,000 in payroll deductions from City employees and an additional $250,000 from the home bureau. The per employee cost to the City in the existing program is $500 for 500 participants. The proposed one-year pilot would cost up to an additional $245,000, paid by bureaus and service areas, for a total flat rate of $495,000 that the City would pay to provide fully subsidized transit passes to approximately 9,000 employees for a 12-month period (September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027). The per employee cost to the City during this pilot program period would be approximately $60.62 for up to 9,000 employees. Therefore, the negotiated new cost of a flat rate of $495,000 would enable 18 times more employees to be served and save the City more than $4,000,000 in cost if calculated using the current rate.Employees who have already enrolled in TRIP under the existing program for FY 26-27 and utilize the annual payment option will receive reimbursement for the unused portion (10 months) of their passes. Employees who have already enrolled in TRIP under the existing program for FY 26-27 and utilize the month-to-month deduction option, will receive reimbursement for September 2026 and then cease to have reductions taken for the duration of the pilot program.The Bureau of Human Resources will provide required notice to labor partners consistent with the PECBA and will obtain affirmative approval from each labor union before extending the pilot benefit to employees represented by that union. Pending the outcomes of the pilot program and FY27-28 budget development, employees will receive guidance in spring of 2027 to guide any required steps for enrollment to ensure transit access is not impeded.NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:The City Administrator or designee is authorized to adjust rates as outlined in Exhibit A to pay TriMet a flat total amount of $495,000 for expanded eligibility for the Transit Rider Incentive Program (TRIP) as part of the one-year pilot (September 1, 2026 – August 31, 2027).Section 2. The Council declares that an emergency exists to facilitate timely provision of this benefit to employees as the City prepares for I5 closure; therefore, this Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Council. Section 3: The City Administrator or designee shall extend the benefit to contracted employees providing sole service to the City of Portland and determine an operational plan to work with those contractors to ensure their employees are properly covered under this benefit while providing service to the City of Portland in a manner consider by the City Administrator to be sole service. The proposed TriMet contract dictates a maximum of 10,000 passes under this contract and the City Administrator shall request additional funding if needed in order to execute this section. It is recognized that this section is an amendment to an existing plan and my require slightly more time to implement.