Should Portland require City Administrator to release public records in reference to unspent surplus funds and schedule an oversight hearing?

WHEREAS, Council was first notified of the potential for a budget deficit to be balanced in the Fall Technical Adjustment Ordinance (TAO) on August 8th, 2025; andWHEREAS, following the passage of the Fall TAO, the Deputy City Administrator (DCA) of the Community and Economic Development Service Area (CEDSA) notified Council of previously undiscovered funds available for housing related use on November 20th, 2025; andWHEREAS, reporting on the matter of the funds has raised significant public interest in the timeline related to the fund discovery, its relation to TAO development, and why City Council was not notified of these funds prior to Council consideration of the TAO; andWHEREAS, Council expects that information from bureaus will be readily available upon request in order to aid in effective legislative oversight.NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, Council exercises its investigatory authority in aid of its legislative function granted by the Charter and directs that the City Administrator shall release all relevant public records subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act, including without limitation communications and other information pertinent to understanding the following questions:What happened to the funds and what led to them not being spent in previous years?Who was aware of the funds, at what point in time was each party made aware, and why was Council not informed in a more timely manner?What dynamics led to this information not being shared with Council, and what was the sequence of events, given that Council has received differing accounts of what occurred?To what degree were decisions made around these funds and when information was or wasn't shared, as it pertains to development of the Fall TAO proposal? BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City Administrator shall share a complete set of the above-described public records identified by the City Administrator with Council and Council Operations no later than February 20th, 2026; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Council Operations shall compile all available information, accounts, records, and communications shared by the City Administrator, Council Offices, journalists, and other relevant parties. Council Operations shall share this compilation with Council no later than February 27th, 2026, distinguishing the set of public records described above provided by the City Administrator from all other information provided by other sources; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Council President shall schedule an initial oversight hearing to invite testimony of relevant individuals and consider all findings, no later than March 6th, 2026, and schedule subsequent oversight hearings to consider additional investigatory action by Council if necessary, in the interest of working toward conclusory findings in aid of Council's legislative function.