Roughly 9,000 formerly homeless Multnomah County residents will keep their permanent housing, but 605 adult shelter beds will close starting July 1.

The $4 billion budget closes a combined $78 million gap — $11 million in the General Fund and $67 million in the Homeless Services Department — driven by sluggish downtown Portland property tax growth, clawed-back federal and state funding, and personnel costs outpacing revenue.

It eliminates at least 158 full-time county positions.

District 3 Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards cast the lone dissenting vote, saying the budget "leaves too many gaps and will not reduce homelessness or deliver the level of change our community is asking for."

The budget preserves school-based mental health clinicians, fully funds the downtown Behavioral Health Resource Center, and restores full funding for the SUN Community Schools program serving about 18,000 students across six districts.

Chair Jessica Vega Pederson's original proposal would have cut $1.2 million from SUN, closing nine of the program's 92 school sites. Commissioners Meghan Moyer, Shannon Singleton, and Brim-Edwards sponsored the unanimous amendment reversing that cut.

The county also committed $3.5 million in ongoing funding to prevent evictions for an additional 500 families and funded construction of a new 24/7 Sobering and Crisis Stabilization Center.

Beyond the 605 shelter beds and 90 scattered-site family vouchers, the budget eliminates nearly all funding for the North Portland Drop-In Center, which will close. A wind-down amendment from Commissioner Singleton keeps it open through Thursday, October 1.

To restore employment and hygiene services for people experiencing homelessness — approved 4-1, with Vega Pederson dissenting — the Board reduced funding for eviction prevention, housing placements out of shelter, and specialized street outreach.

More than 18,000 people were experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County as of May 2026, according to county data reported by Axios. County projections show that number reaching at least 20,000 by June 2027.

The county also backfilled some confirmed cuts to more than $25 million in federal HUD Continuum of Care funding, which as of December 2025 had put roughly 800 households at risk of losing permanent supportive housing, according to OPB.

Chair Vega Pederson, presenting her fourth and final budget before leaving office, said the county made "really tough tradeoffs — which will have a real impact on people's lives and livelihood."

Community safety programs account for roughly half the $918 million General Fund, according to the county's budget summary. The budget adds $870,000 to expand the District Attorney's digital evidence unit and restores three positions in the DA's Strategic Prosecution Unit handling high-impact property crimes, approved 3-2.

The Board unanimously approved $1.5 million for a Metro memorial honoring Chinese Americans originally buried at Lone Fir Cemetery, adding to $1 million and a formal apology issued last year.

The budget takes effect Wednesday, July 1. Full budget documents and the Board's deliberation video are available at multco.us/info/fy-2027-budget.