Ombudsman Office
Source: PDF pp. 597-598 ↗ · raw: 597 · 598
Breadcrumb: Service Area Summaries > Office of the City Auditor > Office of the City Auditor. > Ombudsman Office
City of Portland Fiscal Year 2026-27 Proposed Budget Office of the City Auditor > Office of the City Auditor > Ombudsman Office Ombudsman Office Budget Revenues by Fund 2023-24 Actuals 2024-25 Actuals 2025-26 Revised Budget 2026-27 Proposed Internal Revenues $643,929 $583,969 $647,468 $694,794 General Fund $643,929 $583,969 $647,468 $694,794 Grand Total $643,929 $583,969 $647,468 $694,794 Program Expenses by Major Object Program expenses only include personnel, internal materials and services, external materials and services, and capital. 2023-24 Actuals 2024-25 Actuals 2025-26 Revised Budget 2026-27 Proposed External Materials and $32,174 $21,569 $41,580 $31,600 Services Internal Materials and $15,542 $13,359 $6,750 $25,292 Services Personnel $531,661 $625,171 $601,268 $637,902 Grand Total $579,377 $660,099 $649,598 $694,794 Program Description and Goals The Ombudsman's Office is an independent advocate for a fair, equitable, and just City government. In response to complaints from the public, businesses and City employees, the Ombudsman conducts impartial investigations and resolves problems informally. If a complaint is substantiated, the Ombudsman will advocate for a fair and equitable solution, including improvements to policies or procedures where relevant. The Ombudsman also conducts investigations into systemic problems. Services The Ombudsman's Office handles complaints about City bureaus; provides referral information for non-jurisdictional complaints; facilitates informal resolution of complaints; conducts investigations into City administrative actions and decisions; makes 597
City of Portland Fiscal Year 2026-27 Proposed Budget recommendations to City bureaus when relevant to ensure fair, just, and equitable outcomes; monitors implementation of its recommendations; and publishes reports. Equity Impacts The Ombudsman does not have the staffing capacity to investigate every complaint received, and we use our priorities to guide decisions about which cases to investigate. These priorities include assessing whether the complaint involves inequitable impacts on the complainant or other community members. The Ombudsman tracks and analyzes voluntary demographic information from complainants to assess service equity and identify opportunities for outreach. In 2025, we published that and other data in a dashboard which can be accessed on a self-serve basis. We report aggregate data to ensure confidentiality. The Ombudsman continues to conduct data-driven systemic reviews that assess equity impacts of specific City programs and practices. The Ombudsman issued several public reports in 2025 that called on the City to address issues having inequitable impacts, such as the continued reliance on complaints for property maintenance enforcement, despite its harmful effects on diverse and gentrifying neighborhoods. Changes to Program The Ombudsman fielded a higher number of jurisdictional complaints about the City in 2025, when it received about 650 complaints compared to 469 in 2024. 598
Parent: Office of the City Auditor. · PDF: pp. 597-598 ↗