Portland Dion Mark Dion is voicing acute displeasure over what he says is a move by the state to reduce funding of homeless programs.
“I got a very disturbing Christmas gift from Augusta,” Dion told the WGAN Morning News with Matt Gangon. “It appears that the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services (Sara Gagné-Holmes) and her team decided that it made good sense to propose a rule that would eliminate about $2 million from a homelessness budget. And for the next fiscal year, it looks like $4 million, and if it has an impact on us. It’ll have an impact on all the private shelters as well.”
Dion says the department has come up with a new standard on how to measure costs and notes he can’t find any find any reference to that standard in the law.
He went to Augusta last week to testify before a rulemaking session, where he complained about the process. “Not only do I disagree with your economics, but I think we have a right to have this aired out in the legislature,” said Dion.
The Portland mayor believes Governor Janet Mills recent statement that the state will have a tight budget in the next year is a signal that she’s asked all her commissioners to pencil in lower spending than in the past.
Dion says the City of Portland has been using its homelessness funding to successfully provide services homeless people.
“I checked yesterday, we’re almost at 800 tents that we’ve removed from the city, replacing people in services,” Dion said. “We get the shelter working as it should. What is she (Gagné-Holmes) telling me to open the door and ask half of them to go back out on the street because they don’t want to fund it?”
Dion says he’ll push to get lawmakers to address the state homeless budget for municipalities.
“I don’t have a problem with a legislative fight, at least it feels it’s a level playing field, and we can build consensus, but to be dictated to by rule making is totally inappropriate,” said Dion.
He says he’s building a coalition with 10 other mayors in the state, as well as non-for-profit providers to get the issue before the legislature.
