Profigate Spender JOHS Director Marc Jolin Must Be Fired

Council balks at spending $40 million for homeless in motels

May 26, 2020 By Jim Redden

https://pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-...

The Portland City Council on Tuesday questioned Multnomah County's plan [NOT Multnomah county’s plan. It’s Marc Jolin’s plan] to spend $40 million per year to rent 495 motel rooms to fight the spread of COVID-19 in the homeless community. "Wow, that's extraordinary high," said Commissioner Chloe Eudaly after quickly calculating the cost at $6,650 ($6,734) per room per month. Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty also agreed the cost was unreasonably high. The plan was presented by Marc Jolin, director of the city-county Joint Office of Homeless Services.

Wheeler suggested the money would be better spent to buy the now-closed Concordia University in Northeast Portland. [Excellent idea]

Could motels hit hard by coronavirus pandemic help answer Portland’s homeless shelter problems?

May 26, 2020 By Molly Harbarger

https://www.oregonlive.com/hea...

Support is building among city officials and advocates for the homeless for the city to buy a couple motels from financially strapped owners.

Wheeler then wondered aloud how the city could leverage that $40 million into a permanent solution for homelessness. Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty suggested using the shuttered Concordia University campus and the closed Greyhound bus station downtown as housing opportunities. [Inspired ideas]

Portland Housing Bureau Director Shannon Callahan said that buying motels would cut the costs of sheltering nearly 500 homeless people in half.

Response

Marc Jolin, once again, has demonstrated that he has no regard, interest or ability to solve the homeless problem with cost effective and judicious spending of the people’s money. Jolin shocked and insulted the Portland city council with his audacious $222/night homeless housing scheme. Even Ted Wheeler, Jo Ann Hardesty and Chloe Eudaly had to publicly recognize the ineptness of Jolin’s newest, expensive, indefensible pet project.

Marc Jolin has another costly indefensible plan. He has unilaterally decided to spend $550,000 in FY1 and $300,000 a year thereafter to house 20 homeless individuals in a hard-walled homeless camp on private property in downtown St. Johns.

Marc Jolin is fiscally irresponsible and must be removed from a job which gives him unilateral authority over spending more than $70,000,000 of public money with minimum, at best, oversight and no project by project approval by majorities of Portland and Multnomah county commissioners.

The structure of the Joint Office of Homeless Services and its director, Marc Jolin, have both failed. To correct this fire Jolin. Amend the JOHS agreement to require that every proposed project must be voted on and approved by majorities of both the Portland city council and the Multnomah county commission.

Many motels/hotels throughout the Metro area charge from about $60 to $100/night. $3000 is tops for a month stay at single day rates. The basic concept of housing the homeless in motels and hotels is sound. This idea reduces the homeless population and provides a boost to local businesses and the economy. A win win. However, it is absurd and reckless to even consider Marc Jolin’s plan to pay exorbitantly and indefensibly high prices to businesses that because of Covid-19 have drastically reduced revenues and need customers. A six month motel/hotel room rental should be a mere fraction of the daily rate. Mayor Wheeler’s idea to buy and house the homeless at the former Concordia college is inspired.

Mayor Wheeler, Chair Kafoury and perhaps the Portland and Multnomah county auditors must assign their personal staffs to research rental and sales opportunities for motels/hotels in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties, remember Public Housing is now a REGIONAL ISSUE, and see what kind of deals they can make then issue a public report on their findings. Reporters Jim Redden, Molly Harbarger et. al. should also take a shot at checking up on regional prices.

The pandemic will soon drastically reduce city, county and state revenues. We cannot afford to waste dwindling precious financial resources. We must make every Public Housing tax dollar serve the needs of 10 homeless not 1. Every proposed homeless project must be defended as the most cost effective solution available - with details comparing and contrasting other options published on the JOHS website.

Let’s hear from all the staffers of elected officials looking into this matter before we spend another dime of taxpayer’s money on any of Marc Jolin’s expensive, wasteful, ineffective pet projects.

Richard Ellmyer

North Portland

Author of more stories on the politics, players and policies of Public Housing in Oregon over the last nineteen years than all other journalists and elected officials combined. Author of The Ellmyer Report, a newsletter that informs, educates and influences on public policy. Occasionally distributed to more than a quarter of million readers in Oregon and beyond. Facebook, Portland Politics Plus . Opinion contributor to Patch.com news.