Portland’s new form of government, which went into effect this year, was designed to make it more accessible for all residents to participate in city policy discussions. Still, most Portlanders struggle to figure out how to cut through layers of local bureaucracy to make their voices heard, with limited time and opportunities available to speak with city leaders. 

One city program has been working for more than three years to help residents get past the red tape and have their concerns addressed. The Problem Solver Network, a program run by the Public Environment Management Office (PEMO) under the Portland Solutions umbrella, gives Portlanders regular opportunities to meet directly with city staff, who have been directed to act urgently on their behalf. 

The trouble? Only a select few are aware this program exists, or know how to attend the meetings. But that may be changing. PEMO’s involvement in a controversial plan to remove traffic diverters in Northwest Portland has thrust the office, and its Problem Solver meetings, into the spotlight. Critics, including some Portland councilors, are now speaking out. 

Problem Solver meetings have been happening, in some form, for more than three years. They currently take place in 15 different areas of Portland, with each location scheduled to meet with city staff in an online Teams call twice a month. (That’s 30 meetings a month.) But the program has not been widely publicized, and basic information about the meetings—when and where they take place, for instance—is hard to come by. 

Note: On August 13, following increased scrutiny and calls for transparency, PEMO published a list of Problem Solver meetings, including the time and dates the meetings occur.

It’s even more difficult to find out what happens at these meetings. The city provides no agendas or meeting notices, and doesn’t keep minutes for Problem Solver meetings. That’s alarming to some Portlanders, who have recently raised their own concerns about the apparent exclusivity of these meetings. 

“If you don't notice [the Problem Solver meetings], and if they’re not broadly accessible, then they are, by definition, meant to be closed and private,” Councilor Mitch Green, who represents Northwest Portland in District 4, told the Mercury. “And that’s meant to suppress the range of opinions and viewpoints that might be in such a meeting.” 

Rob Layne, a spokesperson for Portland Solutions—the city agency that oversees PEMO— said the brief, biweekly meetings serve as a “punch list” of community issues. Layne told the Mercury the meetings give attendees an “outlet to essentially get problems fixed.” 

Technically, anyone is allowed to attend their district Problem Solver meeting. But the meetings were originally designed by former Mayor Ted Wheeler’s administration as a mechanism for local business owners to connect with city staff. Early Problem Solver meetings were described as a way to convene leaders from local business districts, as well as neighborhood associations, and community organizations. Portland Police Bureau leaders are also regular guests at the meetings, sources tell the Mercury. The program received early, glowing reviews from business owners and neighborhood association leaders, who still appear to dominate Problem Solver meetings today. 

Advocates rankled by a surprise plan to remove traffic diverters 

For the past few years, the Problem Solver meetings have largely stayed out of the public eye. But this month has brought a swell of public attention to the program, due to its apparent role in a plan to remove traffic diverters on bike-friendly streets in Portland’s Northwest district.  

On August 1, BikePortland reported that PEMO parent agency Portland Solutions directed the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to remove planter traffic diverters from two Northwest Portland streets—at NW Johnson Street and 14th Avenue, NW Johnson and 15th Ave, and NW Everett St and 20th Ave. PBOT was also asked to return the streets, currently configured for one-way car traffic, to a two-way auto traffic pattern. 

Portland Solutions Director Skyler Brocker-Knapp said the directive was at the behest of city police, who she said had difficulties navigating the one-way traffic pattern when attending to crime in the area. She also said the traffic barriers had been creating “particularly problematic” locations for “chronic nuisance behavior,” like drug dealing and vandalism. Follow-up reporting indicated the removal was likely the product of conversations at PEMO Problem Solver meetings in the surrounding neighborhoods, though records of those conversations aren’t available. 

An August 11 memo written by City Administrator Michael Jordan elaborates on the Problem Solvers' involvement. According to the memo, PEMO has hosted about 120 Problem Solver meetings in Northwest Portland (including the Northwest Subdistrict and the Old Town/Pearl District meetings) since the program began in 2022. Since September 2023, PEMO staff have conducted 30 visits to the Northwest Subdistrict, where attendees report many public nuisances taking place. 

Layne said neighborhood concerns about the intersections with the diverters are not new. But recent public safety incidents brought the issue to a head. During a regular meeting between the two agencies, Layne said, PEMO staff asked PBOT “what it would take to create two-way traffic in the area.” Transportation staff mapped out some options, and the plan went from there. 

Jordan's memo indicates PBOT was not immediately on board with the decision to remove the traffic barriers. The transportation bureau’s data show the planters, particularly the ones at NW 20th and Everett, “contributed to a reduction in crashes.” 

“Initially, PBOT recommended [maintaining existing planters and traffic controls],” the memo states. “However, given the increased access needs and the broader awareness of the extent of the public safety-related issues, PBOT ultimately recommended [relocating planters and adding an all-way stop].” 

News of the plan to remove the planters triggered backlash among neighbors and transportation safety advocates. Many, including some current City Council members, were particularly concerned about how city staff came to their decision. Several City Council members have said they were only notified of the plan after it appeared to be a done deal. 

The diverters were installed as part of PBOT’s Northwest in Motion plan, meant to make it easier and safer to bike, walk, and take transit through Northwest Portland. The plan was developed over more than a year of community meetings and outreach, and was adopted by City Council in 2020. 

“We went through a lengthy public engagement process to adopt the Northwest in Motion plan, and to implement aspects of that plan. But then, there was no public engagement when it came to [the removal],” Councilor Green told the Mercury. “If your theory is that it’s better to implement something and ask for forgiveness rather than permission, then I could see why. But that ignores the organized base of our active transportation community in Portland, and it’s not something that’s going to be taken lightly.” 

In an email to PEMO Director Anne Hill and Mayor Keith Wilson last week, one Portland resident said they were “struggling to understand” how PEMO’s Problem Solver meetings are staying in the good graces of Oregon’s public meeting laws, despite the opacity surrounding the calls. Others have raised similar concerns, reporting their struggles obtaining even basic information about the Problem Solver meetings, like where they take place around the city. (After repeated emails asking for a list of meeting locations, including from the Mercury, PEMO uploaded a map of the Problem Solver Network to its website.) 

According to city press officer Cody Bowman, the Problem Solver meetings “are not subject to the statutory requirements of Oregon’s Public Meeting Law.” But, Bowman said, the city has “opted to open them to the public in support of stronger community engagement.” By this, he meant that people are welcome to contact PEMO for information on how to join their local Problem Solver meeting.

Layne told the Mercury the meetings aren’t governed by public meetings laws because they “aren’t for decision-making.” Instead, he said, the meetings are for “gathering information and then reporting back.” The Portland City Attorney Office didn’t respond to the Mercury’s request for clarification on the issue. 

Even if the Problem Solver meetings aren’t explicitly intended to be the site for decision-making, it’s clear they have an influence on city staff and could result in policy changes. The meetings were designed to be effective, emerging from the former mayor’s administration during a time when many Portlanders, especially business owners and neighborhood association leaders, were vocal about their grievances with city leaders. 

Mayor Wheeler often addressed concerns about a rise in post-pandemic “livability issues,” including unsanctioned homeless camps, graffiti, abandoned cars, and trash, with promises of action. The Problem Solver meetings were a part of that approach. 

How the Problem Solver Network came to be 

In May 2022, then-Mayor Wheeler signed an emergency declaration to “improve cleanup of the city.” The order created a new management center, the Public Environment Management Office (PEMO), to consolidate existing city clean-up operations under one roof, in hopes of spurring post-pandemic recovery. (In 2024, Wheeler created Portland Solutions as a “centralized program hub” for city offices including PEMO.) 

Wheeler’s emergency declaration didn’t include information about the Problem Solver meetings. But his administration began rolling out the meetings in the months after his May 2022 declaration. The Problem Solver Network began in just four locations: Central Business District, Hollywood, Montavilla/Lents/Jade District, and North Portland (including St. Johns, Kenton, and Delta Park). Through the rest of 2022 and 2023, the city added more locations to the roster. 

Records obtained by the Mercury indicate Wheeler discussed the concept behind the meetings during a speech at a private Venture Portland event in September 2022. 

“We need to bridge the divide between business groups and local government,” Wheeler said, according to a set of talking points he prepared ahead of the speech. “I will be convening small action groups of key stakeholders with the energy and expertise to help expedite Portland’s rebound from the challenges we have faced since 2020.” 

Wheeler said the city would be a “full participant” in the endeavor, “providing administrative support, working toward red-tape reduction, and clearly communicating the initiatives taking place in various neighborhoods.” 

It’s clear leaders prioritized swift action at the meetings. In a March 2023 PEMO progress report, then-Director Christine Leon lays out the expectation that city staff attending the Problem Solver meetings are expected to solve attendees’ concerns “in less than a 2-week timeframe.” 

This approach has appealed to Problem Solver meeting participants, some of whom have submitted positive testimony about the experience, which was included in the 2023 progress report. Attendees emphasized how city staff listened to their concerns and took quick action. One person, a member of the Hollywood Boosters Business Association, said after consulting with the PEMO team about apparent crime and homeless camps in the area, they saw “immediate results.” 

TJ Browning, then the safety chair and vice president of the Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association, wrote to Portland City Council in September 2022 in support of the program.

“Having the ears and attention of those city employees who can potentially help address our safety and livability problems gave me hope for a better Portland,” Browning wrote. “So many in Portland are struggling during this chaotic, lawless time. This program can go a long way to calm nerves, reduce fear throughout our city and put Portland on the path to recovery.”

Others, including Old Town community leader and business owner Jessie Burke, and Kenton Antiques owner Mo Bachmann, have praised PEMO and the Problem Solver meetings in testimonials featured on the office’s website. 

New problems for the problem solvers? 

Based on updates presented at the August 12 Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting, the fate of the traffic diverters remains uncertain. Regardless of the ultimate decision, the incident has been eye-opening and discouraging for many. 

“It really does feel like an offense and a betrayal of trust to have something we've worked so hard for get ripped out with a snap of the fingers and with very little transparency,” one committee meeting attendee said. 

Ben Gilbert, who lives in Northwest Portland, said he has “heard a lot about the PEMO meetings,” but doesn’t know how to attend. 

“I’ve talked to neighbors in my building,” Gilbert said. “They’re concerned, elderly neighbors who walk everywhere. I worry they don’t have a voice in this.” 

Among the City Council members who have stated their disapproval of the diverter removal plan, several have also advocated for process reforms. 

Councilor Sameer Kanal, who has experience with PEMO and the Problem Solver Network through his time working in Portland’s Community Safety Division, said he’s seen the group do good work. But, he said, something went wrong here. 

“If public involvement principles were followed here, then they have to change,” Kanal said at the August 12 Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting. “We’ve seen a lot of examples where regular people have to go through process after process to get a small piece of community…and then an entrenched interest comes along, and boom.” 

“I hope we can take that apart throughout the entire city,” Kanal said.

Councilor Green told the Mercury that he “expects to be asking questions of the mayor and the city administrator about what is appropriate when it comes to these Problem Solver meetings, and if we need to narrow the scope with council directives.” 

“Because I think right now, it's a little too broad,” Green said. “If PEMO and the Problem Solvers and the police can all get together and say, PBOT, give me a plan that validates this set of desires, that means City Council has some work to do.”