The Portland City Council held a workshop Tuesday to discuss the challenges the city expects to face in crafting their Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget, which include a decline in state and federal funds, staffing shortages, and financing the operation of the city’s multiple homeless shelters.
In a “FY25 Budget Primer” presentation prepared for the Tuesday workshop, City of Portland Finance Director Brendan O’Connell lists the “significant budget challenges” which could result in a substantial increase in property taxes.
The first challenge outlined by O’Connell is the risk of a decline in funding from the State of Maine for Portland’s General Assistance program, a municipal welfare program that provides residents with vouchers to help pay for housing, food, and other basic necessities.
In FY 2024, the State of Maine made a one-time $7.4 million General Assistance payment to Portland to help offset the city’s outsized welfare spending.
From Jan. 1, 2019 to June 30, 2023, Portland’s General Assistance spending — $109.3 million — accounted for 72.8 percent of all General Assistance spending in the state.
[RELATED: Auburn’s General Assistance Spending Soars Amid Surge in Asylum Seeker Applications…]
Additionally, O’Connell warns in his presentation that federal funds from the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) are set to run out by FY25.
Portland is expected to use the final $4.3 million of the ARPA funds by the end of FY24.
Another budgetary challenge outlined by the city’s finance director are dozens of unfilled staff positions across several city departments.
O’Connell states in his presentation that many of the city’s staff vacancies are 24/7 shift-based positions that are more costly when vacant, due to the shifts needing to be filled at overtime or with contractors.
The staffing shortages are expected to have a $4.5 million impact on the city’s FY25 budget.
Those positions include 911 emergency call center staff, snow removal, and homeless shelter attendants, among several other positions.
City of Portland wages are nearing $110 million annually, and the cost of a 1 percent increase in city wages is now in excess of $1 million, according to O’Connell.
Expansions in capacity at the city’s Homeless Services Center and City Family Shelter are also challenges O’Connell points to for the city in forming their FY25 budget.
[RELATED: Portland City Council Approves Emergency Declaration for 50-Bed Expansion to Homeless Shelter…]
A newly opened 180-bed shelter for single asylum-seeking migrants in Portland’s Riverton neighborhood has an annual operational cost of approximately $3 million, which is currently partially reimbursable from state funds, O’Connell states in his presentation.
In his presentation, O’Connell also will speak to how the FY25 will address the City Council’s outlined goals for the year, which include additional diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, addressing the housing affordability crisis, climate change, and exploring the establishment of an Office of Community Engagement.
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“Office of Community Engagement “ – Orwellian
You now need a bureaucratic department to engage in your community. To me a community is what happens outside of government. Neighbors helping neighbors. Communicating in grassroots organizations…
Now government has got to get their tentacles into every facet of your life.
If people are smart they will run in the other direction and reject government out of hand.
The libs have turned Portland into the other Portland with all of the usual problems. They give it all away then try to stick it to the tax payers when the budget falls short. I wish I could pay higher taxes to pay for “additional DEI initiatives and an Office of Community Engagement” I moved out years ago because I couldn’t afford a house in the city. I have to laugh when the Portland libs try to get the outlying towns to “pitch in” to help fund their give away programs. You created it folks – you fix it.
The biggest problem Portland has is the collection of dunces running it.
Portland Government : driving life long residents who are property taxpayers out of town via excess taxation. Nice work you air headed bozos!!
So Portland is running out of other people’s money to spend on leftist’s wet dreams? That’s a darn shame. I am having trouble feeling even an ounce of compassion for the fools that run that place and the idiots that vote for them over and over. Can we give that part of the state back to Massachusetts?
A very simple fix…RAISE PORTLAND RESIDENTS TAXES. SUCCESS!!!
Best Comment Today; VOTE NON DEMOCRAT removing those that are corrupt and endlessly taxing us from political power.
Anyone take US History in High School? The US established the WPA putting people to work during the depression for the common good. WPA built roads, parks etc. In return workers received a basic wage, food and maybe a tent.
Want free hosing?, Here’s my plan. Lets lease 1000 acres up in the county for two years, maybe even at Loring. We start a work camp for those “new maAiNer’s” and the zombie druggies interested in “free, free.free”. Send a bus and pick them up at almost every Portland road intersection snarling traffic at rush hour when Im trying to get home, looking for free handouts. (No I don’t feed pigeon’s and/or squirrels either). Also snd busses to the hotels we are endlessly being fleeced for when they are not at the mall hanging out doing nothing…
In the winter we use national guard 2.5 tons to drive these temporary camp residents of the to Maine towns to shovel snow, pickup trash and sweep the streets by hand. In the summer they can clean up the woods, beaches, pickup trash and sweep streets.
In return camp residents get a canvas cot, oatmeal for breakfast, potato soup for dinner and a canvas roof over their heads (Army tents). Before the whining starts these tents are good enough for our enlisted troops so “Hop in” folks”!)
Two years is all we’ll need as they’ll be running for the border to get out (Paying for their one one way plane tix – lets also take 50% of their wage to cover our costs for tents and food items etc) or back to their mummy and daddy’s homes for support VS. We the Tax Payers.
Ok politicians, there’s your “Free” plan now get at it, just think we didn’t need a million tax dollars for some politicians brother in laws consulting company for this N/C brilliant idea!