PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Portland Mayor Charlie Hales has released a proposed budget that calls for spending most of the city’s $49 million budget surplus on basic services, with much of it going toward repairs for the city’s notoriously bumpy streets.
Hales revealed his spending blueprint Tuesday in East Portland, an unfashionable yet fast-growing part of the city in which residents complain of being overlooked.
They were not ignored in the mayor’s proposal, with more than $8 million going toward paving, sidewalks and safety improvements along 122nd Avenue. Dana Haynes, the mayor’s spokesman, said TriMet, the regional mass transit agency, agreed to expand bus coverage in that section if the city fixed the roads.
East Portland, which has more gang activity than other parts of the city, would also benefit from the mayor’s proposals to help young people, such as $2 million to give teenagers free access to more of the city’s parks, gyms and pools.
“It’s not enough to say put down the gun,” Hales said Tuesday. “We have to give young people something to pick up - such as healthy activities, internships and job skills,” he said.
The budget will be finalized next month, after the public and the rest of the City Council have their say.
Bad roads are a citywide issue, with nearly half of Portland’s most traveled roads in poor or very poor condition. A January 2013 city audit said “aspirational” projects, including the streetcar, had displaced core services such as street maintenance, leading to roads marred by cracks and potholes.
Hales and Transportation Commission Steve Novick have been attempting to pass a new fee or tax to address the estimated $90 million per year maintenance backlog.
The budget surplus isn’t big enough to handle that kind of expense, but Hales’ proposal includes an extra $9 million for paving, $7 million for street-safety improvements and $1.5 million for the so-called “out of the mud” program, which aims to pave the city’s dirt roads.
“Portlanders asked us to focus on fixing our streets. I listened,” Hales said. “This won’t solve the city’s whole street problem. But I’m serious about addressing the problem.”
Other budget highlights include:
- $6 million more for affordable-housing programs and services to the homeless.
- $2.6 million toward the planned renovation of The Portland Building.
- $1.4 million to retain 26 firefighter positions
- $1.9 million to support the 2016 Indoor Track and Field championships that will be held next March.
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