More than 10 years after the Portland City Council first declared a Housing Emergency, city officials announced the Housing Bureau has $106 million in unspent funds that are earmarked for housing.
The remarkable Feb. 6 announcement follows weeks of city officials revealing they have discovered an increasing amount of unspent funds in the bureau.
District 2 Councilor Dan Ryan, who oversaw the House Bureau from 2020 to 2022 under the city’s previous form of government, is calling for an audit of all bureau funds.
“I had no knowledge of this,” Ryan, who represents North and Northeast Portland, told KATU News. “That’s probably why I’m so crystal clear that we need an independent financial audit and objective facts about this issue.”
Until January 2025, all city bureaus were supervised by indivdual members of the previous five-member council. Now, because of City Charter reforms approved by Portland voters in November 2024, the council has increased to 12 members, not counting the mayor, and all bureaus are supervised by the city administrator.
District 1 Councilor Loretta Smith blasted officials who did not notify the City Council sooner.
“This is not a small oversight. It reflects a serious failure in fiscal stewardship and transparency. Portlanders deserve to know how this happened, why required reporting protocols were ignored, and who made the decisions that kept this information from council and the public.
“We will get those answers, and we will ensure accountability. But accountability is only the first step. Now that we know these dollars exist, we have a responsibility to act,” said Smith, who represents East Portland.
“I want to apologize to Portland residents, because while this money sat idle, people were struggling to stay housed, find stability, and access basic support. These funds must be deployed quickly and responsibly to expand shelter capacity, accelerate affordable housing development, and strengthen the community organizations already doing lifesaving work.”
According to the announcement, more than 40 % of the unspent funds comes from the Housing Investment Fund, which was created in 2016 to track financial activity related to multi-family housing operations. The remainder, which was reported for the first time, comes from other Portland Housing Bureau funds with more stringent spending restrictions.
“This moment reflects the City’s ongoing shift from bureaus and offices developing budgets independently, to the City of Portland managing its finances holistically under our new form of government. I am prepared to support the council, as the city’s legislative body, in making fully informed decisions,” Lee said in the announcement.
When the first $20 million in unspent money was discovered a few months ago, the council began debating how to spend it. But no decision was reached before the new announcement that there are more than five times the amount of the first estimate.
“The administration is committed to providing accurate information to support Council deliberations and decision-making about these funds specifically, the broader budget, and the city’s long-term financial health,” Lee said in the announcement.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.