In December, Portland leaders announced that the city’s clean energy fund is expected to raise an unanticipated $540 million over the next five years. This staggering surplus comes at a time when city agencies are facing major budget shortfalls.
Commissioner Carmen Rubio, who oversees the fund, has proposed funneling half of the excess money to cash-strapped bureaus to help pay for a wide plethora of climate-related projects.
They include walking and bicycle routes, LED street lighting, electric vehicle charging infrastructure for the city’s fleet, electric-powered leaf blowers to replace city-owned gas-powered ones and tree planting and natural areas restoration, among others.
The other half of the excess revenue would go towards creating energy efficient affordable housing, maintaining trees across Portland and subsidizing a new “climate resilient” Keller Auditorium and new infrastructure for the city’s Fire Bureau.
Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, Portland City Hall reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive, talked about the surplus, Rubio’s spending proposal and how the fund has continued to evolve ever since it was approved by voters via ballot measure in 2018.
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