It’s not rare for a community to create a public fund that helps victims of violent crimes pay for certain things, like medical bills.

However, it is rare to create a fund for victims of property crimes, helping pay for broken windows or to replace a stolen bike. That’s now being proposed in Multnomah County.

Portland attorney John DiLorenzo’s ballot initiative would compel the county to pay up to $2,500 to property crime victims. He’s a few administrative steps from gathering signatures. Once done, DiLorenzo has until Sept. 19 to collect the 30,000 signatures needed to get the proposal on the ballot in 2026.

DiLorenzo said he’s confident he’ll get the proposal on the ballot.

“We’ll raise the money,” DiLorenzo told OPB. “We’ll have paid signature gatherers and volunteers. We’ll probably collect 50,000 to make absolutely sure.”

The petition was first reported on by Willamette Week.

If approved, the proposal would create a “victim compensation fund” with staff who review claims like an insurance company. Claims could come from anywhere in the county, not just the unincorporated parts outside city limits, so long as they are linked to crimes with “probable cause,” according to the filings.

Under the bill language, the entire program would disappear if and when property crimes fall back to their pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, according to FBI statistics. The bill would also prevent county leaders from raising taxes to pay for the program.

Thus, DiLorenzo said, county leaders would have to keep budgets buoyant for the county’s sheriff’s office and district attorney. He conceded that the ballot initiative attempts to “micromanage” the elected leaders.

“People are not coming downtown either because of the dangers presented with being downtown or the perception of that,” DiLorenzo said. “It would incentivize the county to pursue criminals to recover the payouts made to the victims.”

Election officials must review the documents that would be signed by petitioners before DiLorenzo can start collecting signatures.

DiLorenzo, who owns property in Portland’s downtown, has locked horns with government agencies and elected leaders. He sued the city of Portland over how the water bureau spends public money and helped spearhead the rise of private security in the city’s downtown.

He’s said he has concerns that public safety isn’t a priority for county leaders who will have to make budget cuts this year. Multnomah County is facing a roughly $15 million budget shortfall.

Budgets for both the sheriff’s office and district attorney have been relatively steady in recent years. The sheriff’s office’s $210 million budget is 38% higher than it was in 2019. The district attorney’s is 57% higher.

Despite the shortfall, it doesn’t seem likely either department will take a large financial hit. In a Dec. 6, 2024, letter to department heads, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pedersen proposed no cuts to the sheriff’s office and a 3% cut to the district attorney’s office.

The department of community justice was also asked to submit a 3% budget cut.

All other departments were told to submit reduction proposals adjusting for 8%, 10% and 12%, the letter said.

Stephen Gomez of the progressive group Portland For All criticized the ballot initiative as misguided. He said it favors law enforcement at a cost to other county services.

“The only way to have more deputies and a bigger DA’s office is to have less public health and social services that we know we need,” Gomez said.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/04/02/portland-property-crime-victim-fund-money-theft-vandalism-multnomah-county-portland/