Budget Testimony Guide

Testify about our budget priorities

Your voice is critical in helping the Portland City Council and Multnomah County Commissioners decide what to prioritize in their budgets. The following are hearing dates if you would like to testify in person.

Multnomah County hearings

• Wednesday, May 14 • 6-8 pm - 501 SE Hawthorne

• Wednesday, May 21 • 6-8 pm - East County

• Wednesday, May 28 • 6-8 pm - Virtual

City of Portland hearing: Wednesday, May 7 • 6-8:30 pm, Council Chambers

Submit testimony online

You can also submit your testimony in writing online.

• Multnomah County: Sign up for verbal/written testimony

• City of Portland: Register for verbal testimony

For maximum impact, submit written testimony in May when it becomes part of the public record. When the budget hearing agenda is posted online, you can sign up to testify in person. When the agenda is updated appears, select the title of the item to submit written testimony.

Crafting your testimony

Oral in-person testimony should be no longer than 90 seconds.. Written testimony should be one page or less. Download our Testimony Guide here.

1. Introduction: Share your name and anything you choose about your identity.

2. Your story: Explain what motivates you to take the time to be involved in the budget process. It can be about your family, your community, your experiences in your job or the challenges you are facing.

3. Portland for All: If you volunteer with us, consider sharing that you're part of Portland for All, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to building a more compassionate and effective city. We want to support the success of the City Council/County Commission during this budgeting process.

4. Your ask: Tell the decision-makers what you want them to prioritize in the budget.

For Portland City Council: Our community is clear. We want a safer Portland for all of us.

Safer means investing in programs and services that make our community strong and more resilient. Safety means funding shelter services, affordable housing production, climate resilience investments, and expanding Portland Street Response.

Together, we face tough decisions about our budget. We must make hard choices to protect the strategies and programs that will make our communities safer. This means rejecting calls to protect the police bureau budget from any cuts. True public safety is better achieved through addressing communities' basic needs for shelter and affordable housing. We must spend public safety dollars wisely by investing in Portland Street Response. And we must ensure that Portland Clean Energy Fund dollars are used for their core purpose–climate resilience and economic opportunity for low-income and BIPOC communities.

For the Multnomah County Commission: Our community is clear. We want a safer Portland for all of us.

Safer means investing in programs and services that make our community strong and more resilient. For the Portland for All community, safety means funding services for community members who are houseless, rental assistance and protection from eviction, and effective programs that support children and families. We don’t need more investments in jails and prosecution strategies that don’t work.

Together, we face tough decisions about our budget. We must make hard choices to protect the strategies and programs that will make our communities safer. This means rejecting calls to protect the District Attorney’s Office from any cuts. True public safety is better achieved by addressing communities' basic needs for supportive services and stable, affordable housing.

5. Closing: Thank the elected officials and provide your name and city, county, district, or neighborhood.