Portland in trouble?

I just read the following posting on another thread by SparkleFufu. As a Portlander-to-be, I%26#39;m concerned. How much of it is accurate and are you worried, too? (I mean, we have meth down here in California, but not the increasing cutbacks in social services...)

Thanks,

Celle

';I guess you%26#39;ve missed the Dateline stories about Portland being a meth and heroin capital. We%26#39;ve got our fair share of social problems, unfortunately and since our tax system is so screwed up (based primarily on income taxes which decrease as need increases), things aren%26#39;t going to get better anytime soon. Multnomah County is looking at a $33 million budget cut in the next year, cutting mental health services, public safety budgets (jail beds %26amp; police), and other vital social service programs. It will be the largest budget cut any local jurisdiction has ever had in the entire U.S. The money simply isn%26#39;t there but the need is growing.';

Portland in trouble?

I am not that politically astute, but do know oregon has many funding problems

We tend to ba a state who sends any tax measures to public vote. which for most part is guaranteed defeat

We need a sales tax. Now we depend on gamblers through lottery to fund many state programs. I have voted against all past sales taxes but will vote for next one.

We need increase gas tax. Roads are in terrible shape. but since Jane Cease left legislature noone has courage to push one through

without getting too political, you should check tax situattion before you move. 3 or 4 friends retired to Vancouver WA for better tax break. and many avoid Portland because of extra taxes

Portland in trouble?

Relax.... First of all Oregon is the best in the west as many would agree. There are these problems in every state in the nation. There are areas that are hurt by meth and all other heavy drugs and crime, but Portand has many nice areas you can live in very comfortably and safely. Don%26#39;t be a vicitm of the Bush admin. fear factor. Depending on here you live in CA, I would be willing to bet the concerns you have will be laid to rest when you arrive. As an Or native of over 30 years I would not live anywhere else. Enjoy and don%26#39;t worry.

It%26#39;s all true...please don%26#39;t move to our city, it%26#39;s horrible.

Just kidding, it%26#39;s not that bad...I%26#39;ve seen problems just as bad in numerous cities I%26#39;ve visited. The above poster is correct about the Bush admin%26#39;s fear factor style of running our country...it just scares people for no reason. Portland is easily one of the best cities in the country to live, work, play and raise a family. I%26#39;ve lived in the Portland-Metro area my entire life 28years....mainly because I can%26#39;t find another city in this country that offers everything that Portland and it%26#39;s surrounding areas do. From the Oregon Coast to wicked skiing, from the hundreds of lakes for fishing, boating, swimming to the uncountable number of hiking trails....Portland has everything...sadly even drug problems, but don%26#39;t let that scare you away!!

Portland has the same problems of any congregated population. Most people are wonderful. There are those with mental illness. There are those with drug addictions.Unfortunately our Portland mayor doesn%26#39;t seem to get it (he lives in a suburb) so he is out of touch. Better mental health and more stringent street rules would help this city, but first we need leadership in government.

All the things Whiterabbit mentions about Portland are absolutely the truth; however, when we moved here 16 years ago, the thing we found to be the most amazing were the people. I%26#39;ve never lived (or visited) anywhere else where everyone was so friendly and giving of themselves. While I do of course miss my family, the friends I have made here in Oregon are as close as I can imagine.

Portland is really no worse than anywhere else. There are neighborhoods that are better and some that are worse. The addicts seem to do more harm to themselves than anyone else. Many years ago, I drove through the west Burnside area on a daily basis and could see people shooting up, likely heroin. I was a little shocked since I had grown up in a squeeky clean suburb in the SF bay area. But I think SF could easily be worse than Portland. Multnomah county has some serious budget problems but that cannot be said of all counties in Oregon.

My wife, one year old baby, and I moved to Portland from Los Angeles a few months ago. I have read quite a few post regarding homelessness and drug use in Portland and by and large I find it really blown out of proportion.

Are there homeless in Portland...Of course. There are your usual harmless guys standing at the freeway on-ramp and the occasional guy downtown panhandling. Drugs...I saw a couple kids smoking a joint, beyond that, nothing.

Coming from L.A. and having lived in both Berkeley and NYC at various times in my life, I have hound Portland to be an amazingly safe and welcoming city. Maybe compared to what it once was, there is a problem, but it%26#39;s all relative. In L.A., even in the best neighborhoods, you were a short drive or walk from some seriously BAD areas with all kinds of vice going on. Market St. in SF after about 12:00 a.m. is like a scene out of some post-apocolyptic movie. Portland, I%26#39;ll go to Old Town for a drink and see some street punks smoking out....big deal.

I am not trying to minimize the situation, but it%26#39;s just not that bad. My wife takes our baby out to the local park daily and has never felt unsafe. That in and of itself is saying a lot and something that never would have occured in other cities I%26#39;ve lived in.

I hope this helps. Greater Portland is not perfect. it is a city of two million whose population will grow to three million in the near future. But it is the most inviting, friendly, livable, walkable, neighborhood oriented city that I have ever lived in. We really feel we%26#39;ve found a special place here in Portland and feel very lucky to be here. Plus, as a new member of the community I plan to get involved in working to make my new city an even better place to live.

So, come on up and give the city a chance. It positives far outweight the negatives and I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll be happy with your decision. Hey, we can%26#39;t all be wrong. Afterall, Portland is a city filled with people from all over who have come here in the hope of finding a special place to live. A place to raise families and put down roots. That kind of positivity alone goes a long way to making Portlands future shine brightly.

Good Luck

I can tell you that the budget cut I referred to is HIGHLY likely and very accurate, unless we see a DRASTIC change in the economy in less than a year (meaning increased tax revenue).

If you%26#39;d like more information, do a search on the Wapato Jail (which is far more problematic than the press has disclosed), the SUN school issue (which has been solved this year but there isn%26#39;t funding for future years), the Portland School district (which has been featured in Doonesbury because we keep cutting school days and if the November ballot measure doesn%26#39;t pass, we%26#39;ll see more cuts), same with the Library levy (which an out of state group is heavily funding to defeat interestingly enough). Increasingly we%26#39;re using jails to pick up the slack for declining mental health funding (which is unethical on a number of levels and more expensive). Drug rehabilitation has been cut drastically in our prison system and drug offenders are much, much more likely to re-offend once released if they do not receive treatment. Our matrix system guarantees early release for many of these offenders.

Stay tuned as there should soon be a new report released on some budgetary issues.

Part of the problem is that the Federal Gov%26#39;t continues to cut social service programs. Those cuts trickle into State government and then the State gov%26#39;t passes them along to local jurisdictions. Oregon, in particular, is getting hit hard for a variety of reasons (employment being one but also because we%26#39;re not a particularly favored state on a federal level).

I%26#39;d also like to re-iterate something I said a number of months ago about the power our mayor has (or more accurately, doesn%26#39;t have). Portland%26#39;s mayor is just one of all of the City Counsel votes. This means we do not have what is called a ';Strong Mayor';. It%26#39;s nice to blame the mayor for a myriad of problems but it is simply inaccurate.

I don%26#39;t mean to rain on everyone%26#39;s parade but I think it%26#39;s important that potential newcomers come in with their eyes open about all of Oregon / Portland, not just the obvious beauty and recreation. Kind of like when someone comes here during the summer, decides to move because it%26#39;s one of the most gorgeous places in the world in the summer and then winter comes along and they don%26#39;t know what hit them.

If you have any specific questions about some of these issues, let me know. I may not have the answer at hand but I can easily find out if it%26#39;s public information.

Sparklefufu--Thanks for sharing the information. I knew most of it, but not all. Unfortunately, the problems here are not entirely new. In the late 80%26#39;s I was in banking here, at a small branch. The branch was robbed so many times, that the corporate office ended up closing it. After one robbery, the police and FBI told me that OR was #1 in the nation for bank robbery...by sheer numbers, and CA and FL even with their much larger population were quite a ways behind us. It was explained to me that it was because criminals knew our justice system did not have any teeth. I may get flamed for this, but I do wish we would vote in a sales tax. I realize it is not a total fix, but it would be a good start in helping our state when we are in downtimes. Let all the visitors help us out, as we do their states.

Mtngrl - I too wish we%26#39;d get a sales tax and I say that as a native. Tourism is one of the largest industries in our state and because of our tax system, we don%26#39;t benefit from it the way we could (and the way the majority of the states in the nation do).

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