Should climate funds pay for public safety? Portland voters may decide

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A campaign aimed at increasing Portland police staffing is moving closer to the November ballot.

Supporters of the Safer Portland Initiative say they are on track to gather enough signatures to qualify the measure for voters. They need 41,000 signatures by July 2.

If approved, the initiative would redirect one-quarter of funding from the Portland Clean Energy Fund, or PCEF, toward public safety and law enforcement staffing.

“We want to continue to deliver on all the missions that PCEF was designed for,” Aaron Schmautz, president of the Portland Police Association, said. “But there’s some excess funding. It was designed to get $30 million to $50 million. It’s bringing in about $200 million.”

READ ALSO | Portland councilors debate using clean energy funds to stop job cuts

The push comes as some business owners continue to voice concerns about crime and slow police response times.

In Parkrose, Valerie Holtz, owner of Disc Golf Depot, said her shop has fallen victim to crime.

“We have had some random occurrences. The first one was the power in the back was cut,” Holtz said. “I’m guessing they were trying to take the copper. They weren’t successful, and so they just left. We had to rewire the whole building.”

Holtz said additional police staffing could improve response times.

“When we had the break-in through the window, I got here from Southeast Portland before the police showed up,” Holtz said.

Schmautz agreed that staffing shortages have contributed to long response times.

“When they do call the police for the first time, it takes us a really long time to get there,” Schmautz said. “The services they’re getting are not as good as they want because we just have this huge capacity issue.”

Under the proposed measure, funding would come from PCEF, a voter-approved program originally created to fund climate and clean energy projects.

Support for the initiative extends beyond businesses and public safety officials to some downtown residents.

“I grew up in India in the third world. The things that I’m seeing now, I don’t even see there anymore. We have people defecating on the streets. We have needles everywhere,” said Sandeep Divekar, a downtown resident. “How is the city going to come back if all of this stuff is going on?”

READ ALSO | Portlanders split on Moda Center funding as City Council weighs options

“[I support the initiative] so that people like my 75-year-old neighbor who’s in a wheelchair also can enjoy the life that he’s got for himself and someone like myself who’s put in all my money to buy this little condo downtown doesn’t have to worry about being accosted by people crazy on meth. So I beg the City Council to take some of their funds and do a better job allocating them so that our streets can be safer,” said Avatika Bawa, a downtown resident.

However, not everyone agrees the additional revenue should be considered excess funding.

“When Portlanders overwhelmingly voted in favor of PCEF, they understood that it was designed to address the impacts of climate change on frontline communities. Funding sworn officers with these dollars would be a massive departure from what Portlanders voted for. The police union knows that Portlanders feel strongly about the use of these funds, which is why they’ve resorted to deceptive messaging and shady tactics to gather signatures before the deadline,” Councilor Angelita Morillo said in a statement to KATU.

The Coalition of Communities of Color and a coalition of PCEF supporters also oppose the proposed measure, citing the impact they say PCEF funding has on the community. They sent KATU the following statement:

“The Portland Clean Energy Fund has played a transformative role in supporting climate action and resilience in our communities. Every dollar paid by billion-dollar corporations into the fund has already been allocated through the City Council-approved Climate Investment Plan. PCEF is being used right now to lower families’ energy bills through energy-efficiency upgrades, plant trees, improve air quality in schools and help people stay safe during extreme heat and cold. As the Trump administration rolls back environmental protections, Portland needs to rely on its own resources to safeguard communities against the climate crisis.

In addition to raiding PCEF, the Portland Police Association measure would undermine government accountability and is inadequate to meet our community safety needs.

This measure would permanently diminish the power of the democratically elected Portland City Council to set the budget. The police union will have a seat at the table, but the community won’t.

None of the funds may be spent on critical community safety programs such as Portland Street Response, firefighters or 911 dispatchers.

This amendment will encourage costly lawsuits that manipulate the political process by awarding attorney fees using taxpayer dollars.”