Proposed budgets could mean pink slips for city workers | Politics

PORTLAND, Ore. – Some Portland city workers say they are nervous about losing the jobs as city bureau chiefs turn in budget proposals that hint dozens of jobs will be cut due to funding shortfalls.

Local union members rallied Monday at the Matt Dishman Community Center in Northeast Portland as city bureaus turned in their proposed budgets to the mayor.

Included in the possible job cuts are 60 Portland Bureau of Transportation positions and 40 more in the Parks and Recreation department.

Thirty of the 60 PBOT jobs slated to close include currently vacant jobs that will not be filled, according to department officials.

The proposed cuts would trim $18.5 million from the city's budget but union leaders opposed to the cuts said they will translate into reduced services for Portland residents and possibly more crumbling infrastructure.

PBOT employee D.J. Olver, a single dad to two young sons who has been with the bureau for only eight months, said he is “real low on the totem pole” and is afraid he could be among those getting pink slips.

“I’ve done construction most of my life; there’s no construction out there now,” Olver said. “It’s hard enough to get by as it is.”

He said the bureau, responsible for maintaining city roadways, is already understaffed and more cuts will mean worsening conditions for drivers. “If you think a pothole on your street is annoying now, wait until every street is filled with potholes,” Olver said.

During the recent snow that hit the city in January, Olver was among the crews keeping streets clear.

“You can’t get to work if we don’t come do our job,” he said. "More layoffs isn't going to help the community. If we don't maintain the infrastructure in the city of Portland, everything is going to crumble."

Olver attended a meeting of union workers at the Matt Dishman Community Center on Monday.

He said his PBOT job supports his family, but it also means more.

“You go home, you're family is proud of you and they know you got a good job and you can take care of them, and that could all be taken away," he said. "It's pretty scary.”

PBOT and Parks and Recreation representatives told KATU News that they sympathize with the workers but tough choices will likely have to be made.

Parks and Recreation officials said they’ve been told by City Council members to make some cuts. PBOT officials said most of their revenue comes from a gas tax and since people are driving less or using less fuel, they have less money.

The current budget submissions are proposals. There could still be changes in the calculations and the city’s budget isn't final until the spring.