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Gov. Tina Kotek updated the press today on the progress of getting $200 million out the door to alleviate the state’s homelessness crisis.
Upon taking office in January, Kotek issued an executive order targeting eight regions of the state where people are experiencing high levels of unsheltered homelessness. She and the Legislature have subsequently expanded the focus to the whole state and added more money.
Kotek shared the details of her plan to distribute the money around the state. The funding will be based on applications that regions filed describing how they would help to meet her goal of rehousing more than 1,200 households and creating more than 600 new shelter beds.
Kotek singled out Hillsboro, Beaverton and Washington County for submitting a clear, detailed plan for how it would spend its $8 million allocation. But the governor said that the combined Portland-Gresham-Multnomah County plan, which could yield $18.2 million in emergency funding, is currently unacceptable.
“I was disappointed,” Kotek said of the Portland-Gresham-Multnomah County plan. “They need to get their stuff together.”
As an example of the application’s incompleteness, Kotek said the plan proposed to use part of the $18.2 million for 100 pallet beds—but didn’t say where those beds would be located. The governor noted that applicants have until April 28 to provide additional information. (Kotek also cited Clackamas County’s application for shelter money as inadequate.)
As WW has reported, the lead Multnomah County agency on homeless issues, the Joint Office of Homeless Services, has struggled to spend the money it has budgeted.
Kotek also weighed in on the open-air fentanyl market at Southwest 4th Avenue and Washington Street first highlighted by WW. She called the situation “unacceptable,” but added that fixing it is a city of Portland issue, not a state responsibility.
In a statement responding to Kotek’s comments, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said he’s pleased by the improved relationship between his office and the governor’s and Multnomah County chair’s offices as all three work together to address homelessness.
“I agree with Gov. Kotek that partnership and collaboration between city and county governments is critical,” Wheeler said. “My team looks forward to reviewing both the submitted proposal and recent input from the governor’s office. We will work in partnership with the Multnomah County-led multiagency coordinating (MAC) group on an updated revision. Both the city and the county are each responsible for different parts of an overall solution, and we must show a clear strategy on how to best deliver those services with the allotted state emergency funding.”
Multnomah County spokesman Denis Theriault said the county and the cities of Portland and Gresham and their nonprofit partners have been working hard to create a plan that aligns with Kotek’s vision and will make the necessary changes.
“We look forward to meeting with the governor, her team, and the leadership at Oregon Housing and Community Services and the Oregon Department of Emergency Management to ensure that we have a plan and path forward that delivers on the urgency of this momentum, the unprecedented funding from the state and our shared priorities,” Theriault said.