In Portland, nothing's more suspect than success
The folks who took over Multnomah County's never-used Wapato Jail and turned it into a highly functional homeless shelter, called Bybee Lakes, deserve a medal. Instead, the county has jerked them around from Day 1, and is still jerking to this day.
The shelter is running out of money to stay open, and they're asking the county to, for the first time, chip in a little of the billions in "homeless taxes" that the politicians are currently awash in. Tens of millions sit unspent.
But wouldn't you know it, the phony-baloney county chair, Chevy Vega, is determined to keep hassling them.
Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson told KOIN 6 News there will be money allocated to Bybee Lakes at least through the end of the year, but after that, Bybee Lakes funding faces an uncertain future.
“Make sure that 176 beds that they have currently in use are going to stay as resources for our community in this time of crisis. We also need to make sure that as Multnomah County thinks about making an investment in them as an organization, just like we do with any organization, that we want to make sure that this investment is going to be used wisely, that the organization has the capacity to continue on long term,” Vega Pederson said.
Bybee Lakes wanted $5 million however the county is offering just under $1 million. With discussions still underway, Vega Pederson told KOIN 6 she wants an outside organization to review their financial records.
What hypocrisy from the county that is bankrolling fly-by-night nonprofits so that they can do stuff like hand out kits encouraging people to ingest opiates through their anuses. I wish I were making that up.
I told you not to vote for JVP. She's horrible. Now I'm telling you never to do it again.
A solution that is working.....treated absolutely shamefully by the county, who propose NO solutions. Another example of too much government (City/County/Metro) rendering real needs un-met.
ReplyDeleteIf it isn’t Chevy Vega’s idea she rejects it.
ReplyDeleteThat woman is a menace! (I’m trying to refrain from expletives but it’s increasingly difficult!)
They probably have 'rules' they expect residents to live by.
ReplyDeleteWell it's not her supporters getting the money, so of course she doesn't want to fund it. It's a level of scrutiny no City or County initiated program would ever survive; https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2022/07/28/contractor-running-safe-rest-villages-over-billed-joint-office-by-525000-county-auditor-says/
ReplyDeleteWhy hasn’t there been a push to recall Kafoury Jr and Schmidt??
ReplyDeletePlease, it's not about the homeless, it's about the taxes. As a never-enough-taxes progressive, Chevy-Vega is all about looking ahead to 2030 to make sure the homeless tax is renewed. Clackamas voted against it the first time around. Washington barely passed it. So, it'll all be down to Multnomah again. If there aren't enough homeless people on Portland's streets, there will be no need to renew the tax. From this viewpoint, spending the money in the county's coffers efficiently is counterproductive.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this column about why the stuff that works is being defunded and the stuff that doesn't gets promoted: https://truthonthestreets.substack.com/p/enabling-is-more-profitable-than
ReplyDeleteIdealists are POISON and should be removed one way or the other.
Great piece. Thanks for posting the link.
DeleteSpare me your empty grandstanding, JVP.
ReplyDeleteThe Joint Office did not notice when one of their pet start-up non-profits, whose entire operation is bankrolled by the County, over billed them by more than half a million bucks. When the County Auditor pointed this out, you could barely manage a shrug. The County continues to merrily fund clowns like All Good Northwest, without the slighted concern.
https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2022/07/28/contractor-running-safe-rest-villages-over-billed-joint-office-by-525000-county-auditor-says/
Amen. She's such a hypocrite. And packing for her corrupt Portugal vacation as we speak.
DeleteThe county can run a very simple test to determine whether to continue to fund Bybee Lakes. First, take all the money the county has allocated to Bybee Lakes and divide it by divided by the total number of nights that the beds were occupied (one bed-night is one bed occupied for one night.) What did the county spend per bed-night actually occupied by homeless persons? Then do the same calculation for all of the other homeless shelters the county sponsors. Who operates the most efficiently and most effectively? Give that agency more money, and cut off the others.
ReplyDeleteHow about an audit of the Portugal vacay?
ReplyDeleteAre they flying biz class? Where are they all staying? I bet it’s not a hostel with plastic mattresses…meals? Amenities?