The Council, through Ordinance 191554, approved a new classification of City Administrator to align with the new government structure directed by the recently adopted City Charter. This Ordinance authorizes the Bureau of Human Resources to offer an employment agreement for the City Administrator position. Under the new form of government, a new City Administrator has the authority to hire, fire and supervise all City employees with the exception of the Police Chief and City Attorney.
Official proposal and impact statementEmergency ordinance2025-488
Should Portland authorize Director of the Bureau of Human Resources to offer an Employment Agreement to the City Administrator?
The Council, through Ordinance 191554, approved a new classification of City Administrator to align with the new government structure directed by the recently adopted City Charter. This Ordinance authorizes the Bureau of Human Resources to offer an employment agreement for the City Administrator position. Under the new form of government, a new City Administrator has the authority to hire, fire and supervise all City employees with the exception of the Police Chief and City Attorney.
Official impact statementSee the official legal title
*Authorize Director of the Bureau of Human Resources to offer an Employment Agreement to the City Administrator
Next appearanceFinal action is posted; watch for implementation updates.
Follow this matterWhat this proposal would actually do.
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The reviewed sources do not clearly identify every existing policy, service, contract, or obligation that would remain unchanged.
Official matter recordThis proposal concerns labor & city workforce and requires action through Portland’s public legislative process.
Official matter classification and recordPortlanders had an opportunity to vote and provide testimony on the form of government and associated positions, including the City Administrator position. The employment agreement is largely an internal process to City government and therefore no feedback on the employment agreement was received.
Official community impact statementWhat the record establishes and what it does not.
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Final Council action
Passed · 11–0
Read the exact motion or vote question
Final action on 2025-488: *Authorize Director of the Bureau of Human Resources to offer an Employment Agreement to the City Administrator
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The vote above establishes who supported or opposed that exact motion. A source-validated account of the competing reasons will appear only after human review of the meeting transcript and documents.
On December 13, 2023, the classification for this position was approved. The City Administrator has a range of $284,148 annual full time to $393,078 annual full time. The cost of severance is equal to one year of their annual salary for the first year of this contract and six months of their annual salary for each remaining year of this contract as a lump sum, conditioned upon execution of the targeted severance agreement.
Official financial impact statement- The source-linked record has not yet received a human review of competing arguments. A yes or no vote alone does not establish a Councilor’s rationale.
- What implementation evidence will show whether the intended result occurred?
Can residents still participate?
Official testimony on this decision has closed. Residents can still contact their district Councilors about implementation and follow-up.
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Official text, source files, exact motions, roll calls, provenance, and the technical completeness check remain available without crowding the explanation above.
Official documents1 sources
Final legal actionEmergency ordinance 192131
The operative official record after Council action.
Open at Portland.govRead the full official text
The City of Portland ordains.Section 1. The Council finds:This Ordinance supports the City of Portland's Core Values including Transparency and Communication. On December 13, 2023, the Council approved five new non-represented classifications to support the transition to the government structure supported by City Charter (Ordinance 191554), and one of these classifications is for a City Administrator. The City Administrator position requires a very high level of skill and expertise, as the position is responsible for running the operations of the City. Employment agreements for the position of city administrator and city manager, particularly in larger cities, is a very common practice, as it provides security to people in a highly political position that often sees a level of high turnover. Allowing the Bureau of Human Resources to offer and enter into an employment agreement with the City Administrator is necessary to attract and retain competitive people for the position of City Administrator.NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:The Bureau of Human Resources Director is hereby authorized to offer an employment agreement to the City Administrator that includes a targeted severance agreement under the targeted severance program that is equal to one year of their annual salary for the first year of this contract and six months of their annual salary for each remaining year of this contract as a lump sum, conditioned upon execution of the targeted severance agreement.The duration of the employment agreement will be up to three years, at the discretion of the Mayor, with the ability to continue on an at-will basis without a contract or to negotiate new contract terms as authorized by City Charter, Code, Ordinance, or Administrative Rule or under the terms authorized in this Ordinance.Section 2. The Council declares that an emergency exists because the expeditious appointment of a City Administrator is critical to support continuity between the outgoing and incoming City Administrator and an employment agreement is an important element of the appointment; therefore, this Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the Council.
Meetings, motions, amendments, and votes1 meetings · 1 votes
PassedAgenda item 7
Final Council action · Dec 10, 202511 yes · 0 no · 1 absent
Final action on 2025-488: *Authorize Director of the Bureau of Human Resources to offer an Employment Agreement to the City Administrator
Data quality, timeline, and provenanceRules v2
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Technical information-completeness check · Ready With Caveats
This checks whether decision-relevant categories appear in the published packet. It does not recommend approval or opposition.
Decision definition
CompleteThe official title and operative text identify the requested action.
Official legal text
CompleteOfficial text was found. This check does not certify that every referenced exhibit is complete.
Financial impact
CompleteThe official impact statement includes financial information.
Funding source
CompleteThe impact statement identifies funding information without an explicit unresolved-source qualifier.
Supporting documents
UnknownNo linked attachments were found on the official page.
Referenced exhibit integrity
Not ApplicableNo explicit exhibit reference was detected in the official text.
Counterparty acceptance
Not ApplicableThe reviewed action is not expressly identified as a non-binding agreement.
Implementation
CompleteA direction, reporting requirement, or deadline appears in the official text.
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- First discovered
- Aug 13, 2026, 1:08 PM PDT
- Last checked
- Sep 13, 2026, 2:27 AM PDT
- Evidence hash
- 30a32b8ba3996128
- Guide status
- Deterministic baseline
- SOURCE UPDATED
Passed
- DOCUMENT PUBLISHED
Observed in the official source.
- Council Action
Passed