From left, Mayor Keith Wilson, City Administrator Michael Jordan, and all twelve members of Portland's City Council listen to testimony from City of Portland Professional Workers Union members, Feb. 5, 2025, Portland, Ore.
Anna Lueck for OPB
More than two years after Portlanders voted to overhaul their local form of government, the new system is up and running.
The switch hasn’t been without hiccups — from AV challenges in the new council chambers to debate over staffing the new elected officials. But the bigger mission, to create geographic representation on council and a more streamlined administrative branch, is falling into place. That includes the goal to remove barriers that have made City Hall feel inaccessible and out of touch with Portlanders.
To do so, the city has established new meeting schedules and committees — and plans to eventually open in-district offices. Here’s what you need to know on how to engage:
City Council meetings
Instead of the old weekly schedule, the new 12-person city council will regularly meet only twice a month. Those meetings fall on the first Wednesday of the month at 9:30 a.m. and the third Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney, who sets the council schedule, has said she hopes to reserve more administrative issues for the daytime meetings, while scheduling meatier policy items that could benefit from public testimony to the evening session. If there are a lot of policies to tackle in a week, council meetings may be scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Under the new structure, these meetings will rarely be the first time councilors are hearing of a proposal – most will originate in the city administrator’s office or in city council committees (more on that next).
Council Committee meetings
These brand-new sessions are similar to legislative committees, where policies will be debated and fine-tuned before heading to the full council. This is where the majority of public comment will be heard.
Portland has eight committees: Transportation and Infrastructure; Homelessness and Housing; Climate, Resilience, and Land Use; Community and Public Safety; Arts and Economy; Labor and Workforce Development; Finance; and Governance.
Five councilors sit on each committee. See a full roster here.
These committees will start by meeting twice a month, on the second and fourth weeks of the month at set times. Find the full schedule here, and find their weekly agendas here.
How to engage
Council and committee agendas are posted at 9 a.m. on Fridays. If you want to submit written testimony on a specific agenda item, either before a full council session or committee meeting, you can email the council clerk. To testify verbally, you can find a registration link on the meeting agenda once it’s posted, register in person or call 3-1-1. Learn more about testifying here.
If you’re unable to attend in person, but are interested in following a certain council meeting, tune in to a live broadcast on the city’s YouTube channel.
City councilors are still figuring out ways to meet with members of the public outside of City Hall. Some, like Councilor Mitch Green, are holding weekly “office hours” in community buildings in their district. Others are still looking to use city funds to open a district office in the geographic area they represent. No district offices are open yet. In the meantime, find out how to contact your city councilors here.
