2014 National Convening Skills Presenations Portland Plan | Page 12

THE PORTLAND PLAN

The success of tomorrow’s city
depends on sound basic services.
High quality and reliable basic public services are essential to Portland’s future success. It
takes the collective effort of multiple government agencies and regulated utilities to provide
these necessities — such as clean drinking water, responsive fire and police services, safe and
affordable transportation choices, parks, electricity, natural gas and quality education. These
services are fundamental to what the Portland Plan governmental partners do every day and
make up much of our public spending.

For Portland to be prosperous,
educated, healthy and equitable,
quality, reliable basic services
must be provided for all.
The Portland Plan partners must make complex
choices about how and where to invest in public
services. On a daily basis, and over the next 25 years,
they must balance maintaining existing public
services and infrastructure with bringing new or
improved services to underserved and new residents
and businesses. And these improvements must be
made in a way that meets federal, state and regional
regulations. As the world changes, the way public
services are delivered must continually be reinvented
to prepare for and adapt to the future. This means
setting clear service goals, actively managing services
and assets, and making strategic investments.

The Portland Plan also includes specific objectives,
policies, and actions that relate to basic public
services. A range of other regional and local
plans, like Portland’s Comprehensive Plan, and
plans completed by each partner agency, provide
more specific guidance on how these services are
provided and how they should be improved in the
future.

Basic Public Services provided by
Portland Plan Partners

„„ Water (City)
„„ Sewer and stormwater (City)
„„ Waste / recycling collection (Metro / City)
„„ Transportation (City, Metro, Multnomah County,
State)

„„ Public transit (TriMet)

The Portland Plan sets key directions and goals for
the city. How and where we provide services can
help meet Portland Plan goals while protecting
public and environmental health and safety. The Plan
recognizes that quality public services are essential to
achieving equity, a healthy economy and community
affordability.

„„ Airport and marine terminals (Port)

The plan’s three strategies and equity framewo rk
outline a coordinated approach to providing services
that meet multiple goals with limited funding. In a
time of diminished resources, an emphasis on multiobjective actions is not in competition with basic
services; it is a strategy to ensure effective service
delivery.

„„ Health and human services (Multnomah

„„ Public education/training (school districts,
colleges, universities, WorkSystems)

„„ Libraries (Multnomah County)
„„ Parks and recreation (City, Metro)
„„ Natural areas (City, Metro)
County)

„„ Police / Fire / 911 (City)
„„ Emergency management (City)
„„ Justice (Multnomah County)
„„ Recycling and landfill (Metro)
„„ Affordable housing (City, Home Forward)
„„ And many more

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April 2012 | www.pdxplan.com