The Office of Community Involvement (OCI) is making many changes aimed at revitalizing Multnomah County's Community Budget Advisory Committees (CBACs). These improvements are a response to feedback from the Board of County Commissioners and are designed to enhance how community volunteers interact with the county budget process. According to Multnomah County's news, the focus is on increasing recruitment, improving communication, and making the advisory committees more effective.
In a recent briefing to the board, the OCI laid out its vision for the CBACs. Chair Jessica Vega Pederson made a promise, "You shared your needs and recommendations to help us better support both the community and Multnomah County. We listened – and we’re putting improvements into practice for this upcoming budget cycle with a promise to continue to improve from here," Chair Vega Pederson remarked in a statement retrieved by Multnomah County's news. These commitments are particularly noteworthy as the CBACs have faced various challenges, including irregular meetings and limited access to departmental staff and information.
In an effort to address these issues, the OCI has made a set of concrete recommendations. These include launching a county-wide CBAC recruitment drive, better aligning the CBAC calendar with the county's budget timeline, and holding monthly meetings for CBAC coordinators to tackle ongoing issues directly. This initiative intends to staff each committee fully, with 37 community members across the boards.
Moreover, the plan includes enhancing orientation and training for new and returning CBAC members. The intent is to build a foundation of knowledge that allows them to scrutinize department budgets more thoroughly and provide informed feedback.
