We put Portlanders first and fought to save jobs and core services

In this article

What happened

Throughout the FY 2026-27 budget process, many councilors, unions, and residents expressed concern about the Mayor's proposed cuts to critical positions and services.

Since the release of the Mayor's proposed budget in the springtime, Councilors Avalos, Green, Morillo, Koyama-Lane, and Kanal made multiple attempts to restore these unacceptable cuts by introducing budget amendments, compromises, and the latest supplemental budget ordinance, Save Our Services.

Unfortunately, opposing councilors rejected our comprehensive packages that sought to minimize disruptions to city services, including our final attempt through our supplemental budget ordinance to save our Save Our Services before the layoff deadline.

On Wednesday July 22nd, Save Our Services failed on a 6 - 7 vote (including a mayor tie-break against it). The Council then moved onto the competing ordinance which ultimately received 10 votes. This restores 30 jobs instead of 55. This fell short of our expectations, but it was the last attempt to minimize harm.

How we got here

We tried time and time again to restore critical jobs and basic services that are essential to City operations. We heard calls from workers and unions. We heard calls from everyday Portlanders.

April 2026- At the release of the mayor's proposed budget, labor unions and residents challenged the effort to layoff rank and file workers as part of the city's "Core Realignment."

May 2026 -Councilor Morillo proposes a one-year pause to protect 46 frontline positions while the City completes a worker-centered review.

May 2026 - Core Services Realignment Pause fails - Introduced by Councilors Morillo, Green, and Novick failed 6-6 (Novick votes against).

May 27, 2026 - Councilor Novick convenes a "labor summit," a two-hour meeting with some councilors and labor partners. Councilor Green takes feedback from summit and introduces Services First budget amendment.

June 2, 2026 - Services First budget amendment introduced and rally to save more than 100 City jobs. Labor unions and councilors come together to announce the package.

June 6, 2026 - Labor unions convene a rally showing support for core services and jobs.

June 10, 2026 - Services First fails 6-6, other proposals to save positions fail on non-tie votes.

June 17, 2026 - Final budget passed on a 9-2 vote.

July 18, 2026 - After the budget, Councilors Morillo, Green, Avalos, Kanal, and Koyama Lane introduce the Save Our Services ordinance to restore jobs and services.

July 16, 2026 - Morillo 1 Compromise Amendment passes 10 - 1. Adding 7 positions from the alternative proposal, $3 million for police training, and a $1.75 million Business License Tax reserve transfer.

July 22, 2026 -Save Our Services is heard first and fails 6 -7. Opposing proposal is voted in 10 - 2.

July 27, 2026 - Employees whose positions were restored through the ordinance will receive a notice rescinding their layoffs by end of day Monday, July 27.

August and September 2026 - City workers facing layoffs will be placed on paid administrative leave starting on August 4 (or after their alternate last day of work) and continuing through September 1, with benefits extended through September 30, 2026.

Why this matters

We should not cut jobs haphazardly (via the City Administrator's Core Realignment campaign) without an analysis. The level of cuts leaves our city vulnerable to service disruptions and harm to our experienced workforce.

While both proposals saved positions, the one that passed saved 25 less jobs and restored less services - particularly in Parks, a letdown after Portland voters agreed to give more of their dollars to maintain Parks programming. It also didn't include the kind of position-by-position analysis that's needed to make informed decisions about the City's workforce.

Save Our Services relied on funding that we knew we had. The alternative proposal sets us up to find underspending in a later budget adjustment.

What this means for city employees

City workers facing layoffs will be placed on paid administrative leave starting on August 4 (or after their alternate last day of work) and continuing through September 1, with benefits extended through September 30, 2026. The administration will work to rescind the terminations of other positions that were restored in the adopted proposal (in some cases, those workers have already left or found alternative work). Employees whose positions were restored through this ordinance will receive a notice rescinding their layoffs by end of day Monday, July 27.

Next spring 2027, the administration is directed to find more than $10 million in underspend and other sources of funding like PCEF interest to fill the hole created by the adopted proposal. Council will have the final say on how to backfill funding that was used to preserve positions and services.

Thank you

Thank you to the Portlanders and workers who have spoken up and reached out to their councilors through this often-frustrating budget process. Your voices and stories reminded us that this was more about numbers on a page. Every line item had a name behind it, a family, and an impact felt by Portlanders in ways big and small.

While this wasn't the outcome Portlanders deserved, we are glad that we were able to prevent some of the most damaging cuts to jobs and services. We are grateful to everyone who's stuck with us, and to every single worker for their service to the City we love.

Our fight is not over. We will continue to do everything in our power to deliver on the services and resources Portlanders expect and deserve.