Portland Tax Funds Clean Energy Projects for Marginalized Communities

Another reason why Canadian municipalities need to acquire the power to levy taxes beyond simple property taxes.

               -- Gene McGuckin

Mar. 26, 2021

Dozens of Portland nonprofits are poised to become the first recipients of a massive, voter-approved program that seeks to bankroll clean energy projects and jobs geared toward the city’s historically marginalized communities.

The City Council next week will decide whether to approve 45 grant proposals recommended by committee members of the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund.

Those proposals include everything from energy retrofits for Black homeowners to rooftop gardens run by a local yoga studio, documents released Friday show.

Portland’s mayor and commissioners could authorize up to $8.6 million in grants on April 1, a tiny portion of the program’s swelling coffers, which is projected to grow to $160 million later this year, according to budget documents and city officials.

The money comes from an annual tax on large Portland retailers that voters overwhelmingly approved in 2018.

Proponents pitched the fund as a first-of-its kind initiative that would provide millions of dollars to reduce carbon emissions, create jobs and promote resiliency for those facing the most severe impacts from climate change.

Sound familiar? Democrats in Congress are pushing a similar program nationally — the Green New Deal.

City officials estimate the local retail tax will generate up to $60 million annually, a sum that’s double the entire budget for Portland’s emergency communications bureau and nearly as much as what Portland and Multnomah County spent on homeless services last year.

The fund plans to distribute as much as $60 million in grants next fiscal year, city officials say.

As written, the program — overseen by the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability — has few strings attached or measurements for success.

According to city code enacted in 2019, the fund can finance any project related to clean energy, green infrastructure and regenerative agriculture or workforce development programs in those fields.

The projects should prioritize low-income Portlanders, communities of color, women and people with disabilities or who are chronically unemployed, the code states.

A nine-person grant committee, five of whom were appointed by the mayor and the city’s four elected commissioners, reviewed 133 proposals between November and March, said Lokyee Au, a spokeswoman for the program.

Each application was scored by a panel of three people — a program staff member a, grant committee member and a subject matter expert in the proposed field, Au said.

About a third of the applicants made the cut, with some of the recommended recipients pitching clean energy upgrades and job training for communities of color.

The Community Energy Project asked for $890,000 to perform energy retrofits and repairs for 20 low-income Black homeowners in Portland, including installing rooftop solar panels on five of the homes.

A project summary of the proposal claims these improvements would reduce the properties’ energy consumption by 55% and shave 38% off their utility bills.

Constructing Hope, a Black-led apprenticeship program in Northeast Portland, requested $500,000 to help 50 low-income people of color and women start careers in the skilled construction trades, including weatherization and solar installation.

Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of the recommended proposals were for planning grants of up to $100,000 for organizations to study or develop future clean energy projects, documents submitted to the City Council show.

For example, the grant committee recommended Yoga Punx PDX, a nonprofit yoga studio, receive $100,000 to “develop a plan to utilize sustainable agricultural methods to grow medicine and expand offerings that create a safe space for LGBTQ2SIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer and Questioning Two-Spirit, Intersex, Asexual, Plus people), BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), and those in recovery to come together, heal, create, and be seen.”

“The sustainable agriculture component will include growing organic herbs using sustainable rooftop garden beds and street gardens (parking lot conversion),” the project summary continued.

A number of prominent Portland nonprofits and community organizations submitted proposals that were not recommended. Among them: Self Enhancement, Inc., Mercy Corps, Portland Audubon and the Portland African American Leadership Forum.

The City Council is scheduled to hold a two-hour hearing Thursday on the proposed grant recipients before making a final authorization of funds.

[Top photo: (Stephanie Yao Long/Staff)]