PORTLAND — The City Council on Monday unanimously approved the $364 million spending plan for fiscal year 2027, but only after several hours of wrangling over amendments on items like downtown parking, library funding, the city’s family shelter and more.

After all was said and done, one cent was shaved off the projected property tax rate for next year, landing it at $12.57 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, a 59-cent increase, or 4.9%. It adds roughly $318 to the tax bill of a homeowner with a property valued at $540,000.

The final changes included removing the addition of Sundays from an expansion of metered parking and increasing the hourly fee for metered parking spots, a last-minute addition of $500,000 in funding for the family shelter, and a small reduction in police funding for Axon software.

From the start of the municipal budgeting process, officials framed it as yet another difficult year due to large increases in county taxes and the cost of staff health insurance. However, City Manager Danielle West was ultimately able to stave off a larger tax increase through cuts to social services and increased fees for several city services.

West’s budget cuts 74 staff positions, roughly half of which resulted from the closure of the city’s shelter for asylum seekers earlier this year, and increased some city fees to make up for rising costs elsewhere. The city has roughly 1,400 employees, including part-time and seasonal workers.

The $364.2 million spending plan for the 2027 fiscal year includes the $278 million general fund budget and $84 million for city enterprise funds like the Portland International Jetport, sewer and stormwater.

City voters will decide June 9 on the $167 million school department budget.

The following is a breakdown of the amendments and debate that took place until roughly 10 p.m. Monday night:

PARKING

After considerable debate and weeks of feedback from the public, officials decided to expand metered parking in the city for an additional hour until 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but eliminated the addition of metered hours on Sundays.

Instead of adding Sundays, the council decided to increase hourly parking fees by 50 cents. The rates will increase to $2.50 an hour for most meters and $3 an hour in the Old Port.

Officials recognized that parking is a hot-button issue for Portland, and that those who live downtown and visitors from outside Portland alike will be impacted by the change. However, those in favor argued that metered parking is one of the only ways to gain direct revenue from tourism, and goes toward a goal of encouraging more people to use city parking garages.

“Street parking is a premium parking spot, and we should treat it like that,” Sykes said.

At one point, a motion was made to extend the Monday-Saturday hours to 8 p.m., but it was eventually killed.

The city had heard considerable pushback regarding the addition of Sundays, and some councilors, like Regina Phillips, argued that increasing fees makes it more difficult for people to park at a time when the city already hears from people who say the expense of parking keeps them away from downtown.

The 50-cent addition will add $900,000 in revenue.

LIBRARY

An amendment from Councilor Kate Sykes that would have increased funding for the Portland Public Library by $256,825 to support wage adjustments failed on a 4-4 vote.

The library is set to receive $5.3 million next year, or a 5% increase. The amendment would have doubled that to 10%. While the city funds library salaries, the library operates as a separate nonprofit with its own administrative structure and decides how the funding is spent.

Sykes had argued that the funding was necessary to increase salaries for library workers, but others argued that the process was not appropriate as the union that represents library workers and the library’s board of directors are in contract negotiations.

Roughly 10 people spoke in favor of increasing the library budget.

Jay Gruber, who has worked at the library since 2021, said the funds were necessary to provide “a crucial cost-of-living adjustment.” Gruber said employees there, who are passionate about the work, share stories of cutting down on groceries or healthcare appointments due to wage stagnation.

Gruber said the library employee union’s negotiations with library leadership didn’t begin until March, and the process has highlighted the “disjointed relationship” between the library and city.

“Workers shouldn’t be punished for that,” they said.

One library employee, a single mom of a child with a disability, works at the library by day and then drives for Doordash at night.

Sykes argued that the library saves the city money in other areas due to its role as a public space that often replaces social services, calling it “invaluable.”

Dion said that while he supports the library, the city doesn’t increase funding for other departments simply because “they’re having trouble with negotiations.”

FAMILY SHELTER

The council added $500,000 for its family shelter operation following a recent increase in use that will require the city to retain an additional Chestnut Street building.

The city had recently planned to downsize the city’s operation from four buildings to two following consistently low use of the shelter. However, staff said over the last several weeks, there has been a rapid increase in use, with 19 families now there.

The funding would go toward keeping a third building in use, for a total of 32 units, and the associated maintenance and staffing needed.

While some councilors expressed concern with the last-minute nature of the amendment, others said it was needed to ensure families in need of shelter aren’t cut off.

Mayor Mark Dion said the amendment “really bothers me” due to his constant lobbying for the state, county or other communities to provide shelter funding to Portland, and that it amounts to the council backing down from that goal.

The amendment passed 6-3.

The city recently renewed temporary leases at two Chestnut Street buildings as it explores moving the shelter to a different location.

POLICE FUNDING

An amendment from Councilor Wes Pelletier removed $15,000 from the budget related to new police department expenses for its contract with Axon, a provider of public safety technology.

While Pelletier’s original amendment proposed reducing the budget by $210,000, including for Tasers and a body camera technology that provides real-time translation, several councilors opposed it.

Instead, Pelletier pulled out $15,000 for a software program called Axon Investigate, which has the ability to string together separate videos from various sources. Pelletier argued that tapping into personal technology like Ring cameras would be a “breach of civil liberties.”

While councilors approved the funding cut with a 5-4 vote, several said the council should host a workshop to fully vet the city’s contracts with companies like Axon.