Blogtown, PDX: Meet the Contenders - Question #7

The Portland Mercury's Blogtown, PDX site has been producing a weekly series of questions for the various candidates running in the Portland mayor and city council races. This series is a great way to meet the candidates and learn about the issues affecting the public and Portland city government. We're reproducing (with permission) Chris's responses here, while also providing links to the original Blogtown posts.

Question #7:

(Original Post from Jan. 31, 2008)

Multnomah County is facing an $18 million budget shortfall, which will make it exceedingly difficult to provide adequate mental health, drug treatment, and addiction services. Though social services aren’t under the city’s jurisdiction, the issue impacts our city. How would you, as a city commissioner, find creative ways to fill the gap?

Chris's Response:

Simply saying “it’s not the City’s problem” is not just irresponsible morally but also fiscally. If the safety net of critical social services has gaping holes in it, the City often winds up paying through provision of emergency services. Often this means paying more than what non-crisis delivery of the services would cost.

But neither can we simply pick up the cost for whatever the County chooses not to pay for. What is required is to work hand-in-hand with the County early in the budget process and to hold the County accountable for its budget choices. If the County is going to ask the City to pick up part of the load, the County needs to expect that the City is going to ask for justification for the County’s priorities. If I were negotiating with the County as Commissioner, I would insist on an early, open and frank dialog throughout the budget development process. And even as I extended a helping hand to the County, I’d be asking tough questions and expecting good answers.