Require City Administrator to release public records in reference to unspent surplus funds and schedule an oversight hearing
Require City Administrator to release public records in reference to unspent surplus funds and schedule an oversight hearing
Derived from official scheduling fields
1 Council session appearance; latest Feb 4, 2026.
Decision readiness
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Implementation language appears in the official text.
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Documents
Official page textRead
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.
Motions, amendments & votes
Motion to limit debate on the technical questions to the current queue: Moved by Kanal and seconded by Novick. (Aye (11): Avalos, Smith, Kanal, Ryan, Koyama Lane, Morillo, Novick, Clark, Green, Zimmerman, Dunphy; Nay (1): Pirtle-Guiney)
Motion to amend the Resolution as shown in Green 1: Moved by Green and seconded by Avalos. (Aye (12): Avalos, Smith, Kanal, Pirtle-Guiney, Ryan, Koyama Lane, Morillo, Novick, Clark, Green, Zimmerman, Dunphy)
Motion to amend the Resolution to replace the last Resolved Statement with "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Council direct the City Administrator to perform an investigation into the Portland Housing bureaus funds or work with the City Auditor to enter into an audit of these finances, beginning within the next month.": Moved by Pirtle-Guiney and seconded by Novick. (Aye (4): Pirtle-Guiney, Ryan, Novick, Clark; Nay (8): Avalos, Smith, Kanal, Koyama Lane, Morillo, Green, Zimmerman, Dunphy). Motion failed to pass.
Motion to limit debate on the technical questions to the current queue: Moved by Kanal and seconded by Novick. (Aye (11): Avalos, Smith, Kanal, Ryan, Koyama Lane, Morillo, Novick, Clark, Green, Zimmerman, Dunphy; Nay (1): Pirtle-Guiney)
Motion to amend the Resolution to replace the last Resolved Statement with "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Council direct the City Administrator to perform an investigation into the Portland Housing bureaus funds or work with the City Auditor to enter into an audit of these finances, beginning within the next month.": Moved by Pirtle-Guiney and seconded by Novick. (Aye (4): Pirtle-Guiney, Ryan, Novick, Clark; Nay (8): Avalos, Smith, Kanal, Koyama Lane, Morillo, Green, Zimmerman, Dunphy). Motion fail
Motion to amend the Resolution as shown in Green 1: Moved by Green and seconded by Avalos. (Aye (12): Avalos, Smith, Kanal, Pirtle-Guiney, Ryan, Koyama Lane, Morillo, Novick, Clark, Green, Zimmerman, Dunphy)
Final action on 2026-046: Require City Administrator to release public records in reference to unspent surplus funds and schedule an oversight hearing
Money & effects
The sequence of events and actions relating to the discovery and information flow pertaining to unspent funds within the rental registry fund, and development of the Fall Technical Adjustment Ordinance proposal, have raised concerns substantial to the public interest with regards to the flow of information between the administration and the Council.Council has yet to define a formal procedure and structure to perform its investigative responsibility. This resolution is intended to require subsequent actions to pilot an approach for obtaining and day-lighting information for the public's understanding, and to identify subsequent actions, as they pertain to further investigative or legislative action.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Implementation & accountability
The reviewed source does not identify a responsible City organization.
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.
Timeline
- DOCUMENT PUBLISHED
Observed in the official source.
- Council Action
Adopted as amended