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The record · Sessions archive

Council Meetings — March 2026

15 recorded sessions in March 2026. Each session page has the full transcript and summary.

• Council session — Thu, Mar 19, 2026

  2 hr 51 min

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed2 disagreements

  • City staff presented the public works budget, highlighting a 14.2 billion dollar backlog in deferred maintenance on aging infrastructure.
  • Staff presented three budget scenarios for water and sewer rates, trading off rate increases against service levels and long-term costs.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Wed, Mar 18, 2026

  3 hr 1 min

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed2 disagreements

  • The council opened with a tribute to Minoru Yasui, honoring his resistance to WWII-era Japanese American incarceration with proclamations and guest speakers.
  • During public testimony, residents raised concerns about business crime near Providence Park, unspent arts tax funds, and equity language removed from housing bureau climate plans.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Tue, Mar 17, 2026

  2 hr 2 min

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed3 disagreements

  • The committee considered a proposed ordinance requiring visible badges, banning facial coverings, and requiring identity verification for law enforcement activities in Portland.
  • Staff and state officials explained a new state law requiring all law enforcement in Oregon to follow uniform identification and masking standards.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Thu, Mar 12, 2026

  2 hr 1 min · one of 2 recordings this date

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed1 disagreement

  • The committee held its final meeting and discussed budget priorities for labor and workforce issues going into the next budget cycle.
  • Business leaders presented data on the state of Black owned businesses in Portland, describing historical displacement and ongoing systemic barriers.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Thu, Mar 12, 2026

  1 hr 57 min · one of 2 recordings this date

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed

  • The committee considered reappointing a member to the Historic Landmarks Commission for another four-year term.
  • The committee took up a resolution directing city staff to speed up zoning changes for the inner eastside to increase housing production.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Wed, Mar 11, 2026

  2 hr 57 min · one of 2 recordings this date

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed1 disagreement

  • The council held a budget work session reviewing spending for the city administrator's office, portland solutions, and city operations service areas.
  • Staff presented a citywide plan to centralize internal services like human resources, procurement, and technology, which could eliminate 98 to 125 positions.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Wed, Mar 11, 2026

  3 hr 50 min · one of 2 recordings this date

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed4 disagreements

  • The council held a short pregavel ceremony proclaiming a specific day to honor a longtime local disc jockey for his decades of community work.
  • A dispute arose over the agenda when two housing-related ordinances were removed indefinitely rather than simply delayed to a later date.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Tue, Mar 10, 2026

  2 hr 8 min · one of 2 recordings this date

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed2 disagreements

  • Several arts organizations testified urging the city to quickly release part of a newly discovered multi-million dollar arts tax reserve to help struggling groups.
  • Arts groups testified that a draft rule requiring three years of tax filings before qualifying for city operating grants would unfairly exclude newer organizations.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Tue, Mar 10, 2026

  1 hr 29 min · one of 2 recordings this date

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed

  • Members of the public testified about homelessness and housing, including concerns about unspent funds and planned shelter bed cuts.
  • Staff reported that after five months, the temporary system development charge exemption program has reached about a third of its 5000-unit housing goal.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Mon, Mar 9, 2026

  1 hr 41 min

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed2 disagreements

  • PBOT presented results from recent community open houses and an online survey on possible new transportation funding options.
  • Staff said PBOT faces at least a 25 million dollar budget shortfall this year without new revenue.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Sat, Mar 7, 2026

  7 hr 21 min

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed4 disagreements

  • Through pre-interviews and in-room ranked voting, the council narrowed its strategic priorities to five areas: safety, housing and homelessness, the economy, core services and delivery systems, and infrastructure.
  • Members spent considerable time trying to define and distinguish the terms community safety and public safety, since they had been using the words differently.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Thu, Mar 5, 2026

  1 hr 48 min · one of 2 recordings this date

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed3 disagreements

  • Staff proposed a first set of funding sources, like unused contingency and reserves, that they said would have little to no impact on services.
  • Staff outlined a second set of options with bigger tradeoffs, including pulling money from a housing fund and from council office underspending.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Thu, Mar 5, 2026

  3 hr 18 min · one of 2 recordings this date

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed4 disagreements

  • Housing bureau staff presented a breakdown of about 106 million dollars in previously unbudgeted housing fund balances, explaining how much is already committed versus available for new allocation.
  • Council members raised concerns that the 106 million figure did not match a separate 137 million beginning fund balance figure, and staff could not fully explain the gap.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Wed, Mar 4, 2026

  4 hr 2 min

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed3 disagreements

  • Staff presented the monthly city administrator report organized around operational stability, enterprise modernization, and disciplined fiscal stewardship.
  • Council debated and then took a vote on an amendment to remove new language letting a climate fund finance office-to-housing conversions.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording

• Council session — Tue, Mar 3, 2026

  3 hr 9 min

  AI draft · not editor-reviewed

  • Staff presented the community and economic development budget, noting the permitting bureau relies almost entirely on fees that have not kept pace with costs.
  • The permitting bureau's reserve fund, used to cover budget shortfalls, has fallen to about 13 million dollars and could run dry within about a year and a half.

  full summary & transcript → watch the recording