Security related outtake from CBO review, Fall BMP FY 2017-18
(full document here: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/cbo/article/658945)

Key Decision:
•

Transfer $571,438 from the General Fund to the Facilities Services Operating Fund for increased
security spending at City Hall. (Recommended with reservations)

Facilities Services and Security Operations

Facilities Services has had an increase focused on security services in the prior
fiscal year, due in part to an increase in the number of protests and uncivil
outbursts at City Hall.
Facilities Services is requesting $571,438 in General Fund resources to support the
incremental cost of increased security guard presence at City Hall and for the
Mayor. This increased level of service was instituted during FY 2016-17 and has
continued into the current fiscal year. While the increased level of security
services may well have been warranted, the increase is too substantial to be
covered by the City Hall operations and maintenance budget, and Facilities
Services is currently relying on building reserves to support the service level
increase.
To the degree that the increased level of security services is ongoing, OMF should
coordinate a FY 2018-19 decision package that reflects an increase in the
operations and maintenance rental rate component for City Hall. In the near term,
and to the degree that Council wishes to retain the existing level of security
services, CBO recommends that $571,438 in one-time General Fund discretionary
resources be appropriated to City Hall tenants to fund the current year increase in
the City Hall rental rate. Structuring the security increase as a one-time increase in
rental rates, rather than a cash transfer, will allow for the recapture of General
Fund Overhead resources.
Facilities Services is coordinating a consultant engagement with Triad to complete
a Citywide Security Assessment. The division requested $112,280 from building
reserves to fund costs associated with a temporary position to oversee this
contract. It is CBO’s opinion that, while these temporary costs can be
appropriately funded from building reserves, any ongoing personnel expenses

 related to general Citywide security management efforts be funded via the
operations and maintenance component of rental rates.
Tenants pay Facilities Services a rental rate that includes both an operations and
maintenance component and a major maintenance component. Currently,
resources from building-specific underspending on operations and maintenance
go into the building’s major maintenance account at year-end, essentially
comingling the resources. CBO has been supportive of OMF’s efforts to increase
the major maintenance rental rate component, and looks forward to the result of
the work Council directed OMF to perform in the FY 2017-18 budget note around
major maintenance and asset management. However, as Facilities Services
develops its asset management program and makes the case to increase major
maintenance contribution rates, it will be critical to have policies and internal
controls that prevent major maintenance funding from being cannibalized by
operations expenses. CBO recommends the division consider establishing a
Facilities Services Capital Fund to that end.