“We’re in a position right now, where people are going to end up being unhoused for the long-term, and we have to take action,” City Councilor Angelita Morillo said, explaining a proposal to divert funds from homeless encampment removal to bolster housing and food assistance.

If passed, a new budget amendment Morillo proposed November 7 would remove over $4.3 million from the city program that sweeps homeless Portlanders.

Morillo submitted the proposal in advance of the Fall Technical Adjustment Ordinance (TAO), an annual process to tweak the city’s budget for that fiscal year. The city’s $8.6 billion budget went into effect July 1, which allocated $16.7 million toward the Impact Reduction Program (IRP).

“Across the country, and especially in Portland, we’re seeing a lot of people suffe

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