Brady PieperPortland is facing an infrastructure crisis with more than $1 billion in maintenance needs annually, a citywide audit finds.
The new audit, released by the Portland City Auditor’s Office, outlines the city’s long-standing infrastructure funding gap and existing strategies, policies and procedures that contribute to Portland’s infrastructure. While evaluating the city’s extensive portfolio of infrastructure assets, the audit provides final recommendations for city governance to improve operations and a perennial underinvestment in maintenance projects.
The infrastructure audit comes as the style of governance is changing for Portland. Voter-approved and enacted on Jan. 1, the city’s new centralized government seeks to ensure a citywide approach to government and asset management. Prompting the audit, Portland is exploring new ways to fund vital infrastructure needs.
According to 2023 estimates, the city’s major government bureaus owned, managed and operated approximately $74 billion worth of infrastructure assets. A significant portion of this infrastructure was built in the mid-1900s and is in need of maintenance, repairs or replacement.
However, Portland’s annual funding gap for infrastructure projects has grown rapidly, according to the audit. Despite totaling just $112 million in 2007, the funding gap rose from $475 million in 2019 to nearly $1.4 billion in 2023.
Auditors note that this funding gap will continue to increase until the city invests more in maintaining its physical infrastructure assets. This increase is compounded when the city builds or acquires new assets without sufficiently funding ongoing operations and maintenance needs.
City officials clarify that the data used in the audit may not consider additional operations and maintenance-related needs, such as regulatory requirements, technological obsolescence, public values and demographic shifts between municipal boundaries.
Another central purpose of the audit is to evaluate the city’s current strategies to identify, maintain and operate infrastructure assets. The audit finds that Portland’s city governance has yet to adopt a citywide asset management strategy that guides investment structure, decision-making processes and a long-standing infrastructure funding gap facing the city.
Asset management strategies are comprehensive action plans that promote the timely development and maintenance of city-owned assets, in adherence with city goals.
As Portland pursues this centralized form of city governance, the city is recommended to develop a comprehensive asset management strategy. According to the audit, the citywide strategy should include:
- An asset management governance structure that dedicates new positions and offices to infrastructure funding, planning and guidance.
- An infrastructure decision-making process that prioritizes important projects and streamlines existing processes.
- A long-term approach for infrastructure funding and capacity needs, including a financial plan that coincides with the asset management strategy.
- Improved transparency to promote buy-in from the public and other city leaders.
The audit also indicates that this annual underinvestment in infrastructure maintenance does not include areas of Portland that lack basic infrastructure, such as roads, sidewalks and stormwater systems. As one of the final recommendations, auditors emphasize the importance of reevaluating current practices to tackle the funding gap and restore equity in underserved communities.
City governance responded to the audit’s recommendations, approving most of the proposed actions with concessions. In a letter included in the audit’s final report, City Administrator Michael Jordan and several other city officials agreed to develop an asset management strategy that incorporates stakeholder feedback, existing measures and policies and next actionable steps.
The citywide asset management strategy will be presented to city governance and will feature a new website with prospective actions and periodic updates for the public. The city administration’s letter targets September 2027 for the implementation of this new strategy and asset management adjustment.
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