Portland officials defend General Assistance amid push to cut spending

Yahoo

25-02-2025

Portland City Hall. (AnnMarie Hilton/ Maine Morning Star)
In the face of criticism over General Assistance spending, Portland's elected leaders turned out in Augusta on Monday to explain that Maine's most populous city carries an outsized responsibility to provide for more vulnerable people due to unequal access to services in the otherwise mostly rural state.
'They're there because we haven't determined how to allocate that responsibility to other municipalities,' said Portland Mayor Mark Dion of people receiving assistance. 'You can cut the budget. You have the authority to do that. But, you don't make people disappear.'
General Assistance, which helps municipalities pay for basic necessities for those who can't afford them, has already been a pivotal point in state budget negotiations.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills' initially proposed limits to the assistance in her change package, which is primarily intended to fix an imminent Medicaid shortfall, however the Democratic majority decided to move that issue and other non-emergency measures to the two-year budget. Republicans are still pushing for the changes in the supplemental, which will be considered again on Tuesday.
But dozens turned out on Monday for a public hearing, largely in opposition to the proposed cuts in the biennial budget.
House Minority Leader Billy Bob (R-Winter Harbor) said the budget problems with General Assistance are a Portland issue in a video taken outside Portland City Hall and posted on the House GOP's Facebook page on Feb. 12.
'General Assistance is a good program when it's used correctly,' Faulkingham said in the clip. 'But here in Portland, they spend 50 times more per person on General Assistance than the rest of the state. As a matter of fact, this city alone gobbles up most of the General Assistance state-wide.'
In 2023, Portland received $7.46 million in General Assistance, which was 88% of the total $8.5 million spending. South Portland received the second-most with $156,340, followed by Lewiston with $123,707.
Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris told lawmakers on the budget and the Health and Human Services committees during a joint hearing Monday that disproportionate spending is by design, given that most mental health and substance use treatment centers, as well as homeless shelters are located in or near Portland.
'We don't have the population densities to support hospitals, service centers, nonprofits, etc. at a cost effective scale except mostly in Portland,' Sartoris said.
Her office, as well as the Portland police and sheriff's offices have started to work together to use instances of criminal misconduct to leverage people toward help, a significant change to what had been done years ago, she said.
Sartoris cautioned that if housing assistance for these people were to be cut off before they're able to secure more permanent housing, they're going to come right back on her mental health docket, she said, and at that point will require more expensive services.
'Rather than adopt policies that claim to be concerned about equalizing General Assistance between very different communities, I hope the committee will instead focus on the data that shows Portland is serving a unique and essential role for our entire state, and then consider the consequences of adopting this proposal,' Sartoris said.
The proposed cuts to General Assistance would limit housing assistance, except for temporary housing and emergency shelters, to a maximum of three months per household over one year. The budget plan also seeks to limit municipalities from exceeding the maximum levels for all assistance categories for no more than 30 days per household over one year.
Like Sartoris, Dion said it is no secret that Portland spends the most on General Assistance.
'If this body joins the executive and cuts those funds, then I've lost the capacity to meet that need — a state responsibility I'll fail to meet,' Dion said.
State law requires municipalities to administer General Assistance, but it's largely funded by the state.
The state also regularly reviews these allocations and issued Portland a notice in September that the city violated state law because one of its shelter reimbursement requests exceeded the maximum amount allowed, which is based on the rate the Department of Health and Human Services sets for a studio or efficiency apartment. The maximum that could be reimbursed per bed per night is $44, according to the notice.
In reality, Dion said, much more is needed. He pointed to a study released in January by Maine Housing that assessed the daily costs of 27 shelters that represent two-thirds of those in Maine's Emergency Shelter and Housing Assistance Program and found the average annual cost to be just over $95 per bed per night.
The Department of Health and Human Services is also considering other funding cuts to General Assistance reimbursements through a rule change, which Dion argued would exacerbate what he sees as already inadequate reimbursements.
'Just know that the kennel boarding my dog costs about $75 dollars a day and I supply his food,' Dion said. 'It appears that my dog enjoys the possibility of a better deal than a homeless person in Maine under the proposed reimbursement rate.'
Dion said unhoused people move at varying speeds to positions where they can be employed, depending on a multitude of factors such as getting substance use and mental health treatment, but that expecting city and nonprofit services to make that a reality for everyone in 60 to 90 days is not feasible.
Rep. Anne Graham (D-North Yarmouth) asked Dion to return with a proposed compromise for a limit to General Assistance that he would view as more reasonable. Dion said he'd consult the mayor's coalition.
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