Why are critical services like Patrol and Corrections being targeted for cuts?
• Chair Wheeler is requested a budget reduction of 12%, or nearly $12.6 million, from all County departments and agencies. Unfortunately the only one that took 100% of that cut was the Sheriff’s Office and in a close second place was the District Attorney’s Office. These decisions show a clear lack of priority for basic public safety. Since Multnomah County has cut the agency’s budget every year for the past eight years, it is already operating at “bare bones” levels. Any further reductions, let alone one of this magnitude, will force cuts to even the most basic and critical services.
