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The Portland Record
Automated data, not yet fully editor-reviewed. Figures on this site are collected automatically from the linked official sources and currently publish without line-by-line editor review. Records about a named person's votes, attendance, or statements still appear only after the editor approves them — one at a time, or in a batch that is labeled as such. See the methodology and report errors via corrections .

Reference

Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the council, budget, and tax terms used on this site. Each definition restates its linked source, official wherever one exists; the source is the authority if the two ever differ. Sources retrieved 2026-09-26.

Abstain vs. absent
"Absent" means the councilor was not present for the vote; "abstain" means the councilor was present but did not vote yes or no. The City Charter requires every councilor who is present to vote unless a majority of the rest of the council approves an excuse for disqualification, and City Code counts absences and abstentions as no votes when deciding whether a vote is tied.
Sources: Portland City Charter, Chapter 2 (Government) · Portland City Code Chapter 3.02, Council Organization and Procedure
Appropriation
The legal authority to spend money for a specific purpose. In Portland's budget, appropriations are made for each combination of bureau and fund, and City funds may be spent only in conformance with a budget the council has approved.
Sources: City of Portland Budget Glossary · Portland City Charter, Chapter 2 (Government)
Arts Tax (Arts Education and Access Income Tax)
A City of Portland income tax, approved by voters in November 2012 (Measure 26-146), that funds arts and music education for students in kindergarten through fifth grade and grants to local nonprofit arts organizations. The Revenue Division's pages now call it the Arts Education Tax; changes the council adopted in 2026 take effect for the 2026 tax year.
Source: City of Portland Revenue Division: Arts Education Tax
Bond (general obligation vs. revenue)
A bond is a debt the issuer repays with interest by a set date. A general obligation bond is typically payable from the issuer's general funds, for local governments often from property taxes, and in Oregon property taxes levied to repay bonds are outside the Measure 5 limits. A revenue bond is repaid only from a specified source of revenue, such as income from the financed project, and generally does not require voter approval.
Sources: MSRB Glossary of Municipal Securities Terms (entries: Bond; General Obligation Bond; Revenue Bond) · Oregon Department of Revenue: A Brief History of Oregon Property Taxation (150-303-405-1) · Multnomah County: How Your Property Taxes Are Calculated
Bureau
A City department or office that delivers a set of services; in the budget, each bureau is its own business area with its own goals and expenses. The City Council establishes the bureaus and their authority by ordinance, and the mayor exercises executive and administrative power over them.
Sources: Portland City Charter, Chapter 2 (Government) · City of Portland Budget Glossary
City administrator
A professional manager, appointed by the mayor with council confirmation, who is responsible for the administration of City affairs. The administrator appoints and removes bureau directors (other than the City Attorney and the Chief of Police), controls the City's financial affairs, and prepares the annual budget under the mayor's direction.
Sources: Portland City Charter, Chapter 2 (Government) · City of Portland: Form of Government Glossary
Committee of the Whole
A council committee whose members are all twelve councilors; City Code exempts it from the four-to-six member limit that applies to other committees. Portland's Finance and Governance Committee of the Whole covers finance, governance, review of executive appointments, and oversight, and like every council committee it makes recommendations rather than final decisions.
Sources: Portland City Code Chapter 3.02, Council Organization and Procedure · Portland City Council: Policy Committees
Continued
A council action recorded on the agenda when an item is carried over to a later meeting instead of receiving a final vote at the current one. Agenda records list the date and time the item returns, for example "Continued to July 16, 2026 at 2:00 pm."
Source: Portland City Council agenda, July 15, 2026
Council committee
A smaller group of councilors that reviews items in a topic area and makes recommendations to the full council. Committees generally have four to six members, which is less than a council quorum, and they cannot make decisions that bind the council or the City.
Sources: Portland City Code Chapter 3.02, Council Organization and Procedure · Portland City Council: Policy Committees · City of Portland: Form of Government Glossary
Council president
A councilor elected by the council from among its members, at the first regular meeting of each year, to preside over council meetings. The president also refers items to committees or the full council and assists in preparing the agenda; the council vice president, who generally must be from a different district, presides when the president is absent.
Sources: Portland City Charter, Chapter 2 (Government) · Portland City Code Chapter 3.02, Council Organization and Procedure · City of Portland: Form of Government Glossary
Emergency ordinance (marked *)
An ordinance that states that an emergency exists and gives the reasons; it needs at least nine of the twelve councilors' votes, may be passed at the meeting where it is introduced, and takes effect immediately unless it sets a date less than 30 days later. City Code requires an asterisk (*) before the title of each emergency ordinance, so a council title on this site that begins with * is an emergency ordinance.
Sources: Portland City Charter, Chapter 2 (Government) · Portland City Code Chapter 3.02, Council Organization and Procedure · Portland City Council agenda (current meeting agenda page)
First and second reading
A non-emergency ordinance has two public readings of its title, with at least five days between its introduction and final passage; public testimony is generally limited to the first reading. Council agenda records show "Passed to second reading" when an ordinance moves on to the later meeting where its second reading and final vote take place.
Sources: Portland City Charter, Chapter 2 (Government) · Portland City Code Chapter 3.02, Council Organization and Procedure · Portland City Council agenda, September 9, 2026
Fiscal year (FY)
The twelve-month period, beginning July 1 and ending June 30, for which the City's annual budget is adopted. "FY 2026-27" is the year from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.
Source: City of Portland Budget Glossary
Fund balance
The money a fund carries from one fiscal year into the next. The City budget records it as the beginning balance: computed for each fund, the net of actual resources less actual requirements in the previous fiscal year.
Source: City of Portland Budget Glossary
Levy
A property tax imposed by a taxing district such as the City. Under Oregon's system since Measure 50, districts may impose three kinds: taxes from a fixed permanent rate, voter-approved local option levies for operating costs beyond that rate, and bond levies that repay bonded debt.
Source: Oregon Department of Revenue: A Brief History of Oregon Property Taxation (150-303-405-1)
Measure 5 and Measure 50 (assessed value)
Two Oregon ballot measures that limit property taxes. Measure 5 (1990) caps operating taxes at $5 per $1,000 of a property's real market value for schools and $10 per $1,000 for general government, reducing ("compressing") taxes above those caps; Measure 50 (1997) set up a separate assessed value, generally limited to 3 percent growth a year and never more than real market value. Each tax bill is calculated two ways (assessed value times the tax rate, and real market value times the Measure 5 limits plus items the limits exclude, such as bond levies), and the bill is the lower of the two.
Sources: Oregon Department of Revenue: A Brief History of Oregon Property Taxation (150-303-405-1) · Multnomah County: How Your Property Taxes Are Calculated
Ordinance
A formal council action that carries the binding force of law; the City Charter requires the council to act by ordinance when it makes laws. A non-emergency ordinance needs at least seven of the twelve councilors' votes and generally takes effect 30 days after passage, unless it sets a later date.
Sources: Council Clerk: Learn about City government · Portland City Charter, Chapter 2 (Government)
Parks levy
A five-year local option property tax that funds Portland Parks & Recreation operations. Voters approved the current levy in November 2025 at $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed value starting in FY 2026-27; it follows a 2020 levy that covered FY 2021-22 through FY 2025-26.
Source: Portland Parks & Recreation: 2025 Parks Local Option Levy
PCEF (Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund)
A City of Portland fund, created by a ballot initiative Portland voters passed in November 2018, that makes grants and investments in clean energy, transportation decarbonization, green infrastructure, and climate-related workforce projects. It is funded by a 1% surcharge on the Portland sales of large retailers with $1 billion in national revenue and $500,000 in local revenue.
Source: City of Portland: New to PCEF? Start here
PFA (Preschool for All, Multnomah County)
A Multnomah County program providing free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, approved by county voters in November 2020 (Measure 26-214). It is funded by a county personal income tax on income above set thresholds, which took effect January 1, 2021.
Sources: Multnomah County: Preschool for All · Multnomah County: Preschool for All Personal Income Tax
Point-in-time (PIT) count
A HUD-required count of people experiencing homelessness, sheltered and unsheltered, on a single night in the last ten days of January, conducted at least every other year. HUD reports results by Continuum of Care, a planning region; Portland's is OR-501, which covers Portland, Gresham, and Multnomah County.
Sources: HUD Notice CPD-16-13 (Point-in-Time and Housing Inventory Count requirements) · HUD CoC Homeless Populations and Subpopulations report, OR-501 (Portland, Gresham/Multnomah County), 2025
Ranked-choice voting
An election method in which voters rank candidates in order of preference and ballots are counted in rounds; Portland has used it for city offices since the November 2024 election. The mayor and auditor are elected citywide by instant runoff, and each district's three councilors are elected by a proportional method called single transferable vote.
Source: Portland City Charter, Chapter 3, Article 1, Section 3-102
Referred
Sent to another body for review or action. The council president refers items submitted by the mayor, the auditor, or a councilor without a committee preference to a committee or to the full council, a committee may refer an item on to the full council, and a motion to refer to a committee may be made during debate; agenda records also show items "Referred to Mayor" when they are sent back to the Mayor's office.
Sources: Portland City Code Chapter 3.02, Council Organization and Procedure · Portland City Council agenda, September 9, 2026
Resolution
A council action that states the council's official position or policy, or refers a matter to the voters; resolutions do not have the force of law. A resolution has one reading, needs at least seven votes, and takes effect when adopted unless it states another date.
Sources: Council Clerk: Learn about City government · Portland City Code Chapter 3.02, Council Organization and Procedure
SHS (Metro Supportive Housing Services)
A regional program funding services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, approved by greater Portland voters in May 2020 as Measure 26-210 and run by Metro with Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties. It is funded by a business income tax and a marginal personal income tax on income above set thresholds, which the City of Portland Revenue Division administers for Metro.
Sources: Metro: Supportive Housing Services · Metro: Pay my Supportive Housing Services taxes
Tabled
The result of a motion to "lay the matter on the table," which sets an item aside; under council rules it is the highest-priority motion that may be made while a question is being debated. Council records list such an item as "Tabled," and procedural questions the City Code does not cover are resolved under Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised.
Sources: Portland City Code Chapter 3.02, Council Organization and Procedure · Council document record: Protecting public buildings (ordinance, shown as Tabled)
Work session
A public council meeting on a specific topic where information is presented to the council. The council does not vote or take any action at a work session, and public testimony is not taken.
Sources: Council Clerk: City Council Work Session, September 29, 2026 (event page) · Council Clerk: Learn about City government

Spotted an error or a missing term? See Corrections.