Portland commissioners clash over plans to renovate City Hall for larger Council

Portland city commissioners are increasingly quarreling ahead of a major government overhaul. One problem lies in the timing of a universally disliked occasion: moving day.

Portland is just over a year away from a critical deadline to have its City Hall ready for a City Council that’s triple the size of the current four-person body. Yet current city commissioners’ disagreement over how those necessary renovations will play out could threaten that timeline — and come with a larger price tag.

City commissioners sparred Friday over a proposal to relocate their offices before their terms end in December 2024. This plan, which has been led by Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office, allows construction to convert their four offices into 12 council offices starting early next year, before the new government’s first day of work in January 2025. That would require city commissioners to move their offices to another city building during that time.