The news that the county has budgeted funds that it turns out do not exist is hardly a surprise. There is a pattern of county leadership lacking forethought, and planning without sufficient information or a contingency plan.
There is a “big picture” problem here, as has often been the case in county government (as well as state and city government in Oregon). Problems are not often solved by throwing money at them. In Multnomah County, we are spending over $50,000 per homeless individual per year, and the result is that little has changed.
The only way to address homelessness is by adding a stick to go with the carrot. County leadership should be demanding that the legislature repeal HB3115, which wrote Martin v. Boise into state law, immediately. Public drug use needs to be curtailed, through the use of existing law, with actual consequences for those engaging in this behavior. Property crimes by homeless addicts need to be seen as actual crimes, and punished, with mandatory drug treatment. In the long run, this helps the people on the street who suffer from behavioral and addiction problems they cannot solve on their own.
Will this succeed in getting everyone off the streets? No…but it will make Portland and Oregon less of a magnet for those who wish to come and take advantage of the generous nature of the people in this region and state. Hopefully, then we will have a more manageable problem that will not require levels of taxation that drive productive people and businesses away.