10.1.26 Regular Meeting

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners’ regular meeting on October 2, 2026, included a first reading of the revised Ambulance Service Plan (ASP). The board approved the first reading, 3–2, with a second reading scheduled for October 8. A proposed amendment to require an eight-minute response standard for time-sensitive, life-threatening emergencies in Fairview, Troutdale, and Wood Village failed. Staff said that applying the broader urban standard to those cities could require $1.2–$4 million in annual subsidies; the chair also cited an estimated $4.6–$7.4 million when indirect costs are included. The ASP establishes a framework for a later ambulance-provider procurement, anticipated after the plan is submitted to the Oregon Health Authority and currently expected in late 2027. Staff described the proposed changes as addressing response standards and allowing locally funded supplemental performance agreements to be negotiated with the selected provider. The plan is expected to take effect September 1, 2028.

The board also considered and approved a resolution allowing the county to participate in the joint authority for proposed Moda Center renovations and authorizing the county attorney to complete related documents consistent with the board’s August direction. The action gives the county a role in project oversight and ongoing negotiations but does not release county funds or make a final funding commitment. Staff said the county’s proposed financing framework would cover county debt service through required payments and revenues and protect the county from cost overruns; binding financial, workforce, and community protections remain under negotiation, with a December 1 negotiation target ahead of the state’s December 17 bond-funding deadline. Public testimony cited possible public financing of $600 million and $275 million in city maintenance costs over 20 years, but these were a commenter’s figures, not final approved terms. Public comment also challenged the cost and implementation of the county’s return-to-office mandate, citing estimated workstation costs of $14,000–$18,000 each and approximately $26 million for 1,600 remote employees; no board action on that issue was recorded.