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11/2/2021 Member News

Portland Charter Commission Seeks Your Input


Every 10 years, the City Council convenes a Charter Commission to review and recommend amendments to the City of Portland Charter. Charter commission meetings are open to the public and the commission is currently soliciting feedback from the public through a series of listening sessions and other community outreach efforts. You can find more information on getting involved here and are encouraged to attend and give your input at an upcoming listening session on November 13 or November 16 or the upcoming commission hearing on Dec 13. There will also be more opportunities to make your voice heard throughout the process.

The current form of government with individual commissioners overseeing city departments, rather than a centralized chain of responsibility lends itself to departments acting in silos rather than as a collective group sharing responsibility for outcomes desired by residents and directed by the commissioners as a collective whole. Our industry and the HBA is privileged to be represented on the Charter commission by Brenda Ketah (brendak@hbapdx.org), Executive Director of the Home Builders Foundation.

Generally, Portland’s Charter defines the powers of the City as granted by the state, the municipal powers and organization of the City Council, the roles and responsibilities of the Mayor, City Commissioner, and the Auditor. It details the procedures for elections, initiatives, referendum and recall elections, campaign finance, and how vacancies are filled. It also provides a guide on how the City is managed, the way taxes are levied and bonds are issued, how the streets, parks, sewers and other infrastructure are managed and improved, the powers of the Prosper Portland, the powers of the Portland Police and Fire Disability and Retirement Fund and how to amend the Charter.

Charter Commission Timeline

Phase one began in August 2021 and phase two will begin in early 2022. Phase one anticipates referring charter amendments to the ballot in June of 2022 for Portlanders to vote on the November 2022 ballot. Phase two anticipates referring a second set of charter amendments to the ballot in December 2022 and having charter amendments on a future ballot for Portlanders to vote.