As the Portland City Council debates reallocating $1.9 million from planned Police Bureau funding to parks maintenance, recent polling data reveals complex public sentiments regarding city services.
In council hearings, Councilor Angelita Morillo highlighted polling indicating that a greater number of voters favored cutting the police budget compared to parks maintenance funding.
In contrast, Mayor Keith Wilson referenced a separate mass email campaign citing new polling results showing substantial support among voters for maintaining minimum police staffing levels equivalent to those in other significant U.S. cities.
This division in public sentiment exposes an underlying irony within the new polling data, which reveals that neither police services nor parks maintenance emerged as the most critical concerns among Portland residents.
Compiled by the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center, the fresh figures indicate that priorities like emergency medical response, streets and transportation, and mental health services take precedence over both police and parks funding.
Of the 1,190 individuals surveyed this month, 90% labeled emergency fire and paramedic services as essential or very important, while streets, sidewalks, and transportation garnered 85% in the same classification.
Emergency mental health care and supportive services were deemed essential or very important by 82% of respondents, marking them as a top priority as well.
While both parks and police received considerable support—79% of participants deemed parks and community centers essential or very important, while 77% felt similarly about nonemergency police services—it became evident that these priorities fell short when juxtaposed with more critical services.
Amaury Vogel, executive director of the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center, pointed out that both parks and police rank within the top five essential services according to the poll, often appearing in the top tiers across various districts in the city.
However, District 1, primarily covering East Portland, did not find parks within its top five priorities, whereas District 3—with Southeast Portland’s progressive leanings—ranked police lower on the priority list.
Crucially, the OVBC polling does not definitively resolve the contentious debate over reallocating funds between parks and police but serves as a significant counterbalance to recent surveys funded by business interests, which suggested that two-thirds of voters would favor a ballot initiative mandating increased police staffing.
Such a measure could potentially double the funding for the Portland Police Bureau, necessitating new taxation or cuts to other essential services, which the latest polling suggests Portlanders may not readily accept.
Vogel also noted that the survey’s language focusing specifically on nonemergency police services might draw scrutiny, but it aimed to provide consistent comparisons with previous polling.
The OVBC emphasized that many interactions with law enforcement are categorized as nonemergency, despite the perceptions of urgency experienced by those involved, illustrating the complexities behind public attitudes toward policing.
Significantly, the polling indicated promising news for the newly seated Portland City Council, with 40% of residents expressing a belief that their interests were represented, a marked increase from the previous 25% before the expanded council took office.
This shift was especially pronounced in Southeast Portland’s District 3, where the percentage of residents feeling represented nearly doubled from 24% to 47%.
This contrasts starkly with business-backed polling conducted last week, which found the council boasting an approval rating of only 40%, highlighting ongoing public skepticism and the need for council members to align more closely with community concerns.
image source from：https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2025/05/26/portlanders-view-emergency-medical-response-as-top-priority-survey-shows/
