Portland, OR. — Portland’s Ombudsman received a record number of complaints in 2025, while investigations led to policy changes affecting utility customers, towing practices, and fee collection across multiple city agencies.
According to the 2025 Ombudsman Annual Report, the office received 617 complaints within its authority to investigate, a 32% increase from 469 complaints the previous year. Overall, the office handled approximately 960 requests for assistance. The report noted that the increase reflected growing public engagement with city government and greater reliance on the Ombudsman by vulnerable residents.
City Ombudsman Jennifer Croft wrote that the office increasingly served as “an office of last resort for individuals seeking to advocate for their rights,” particularly among Portlanders experiencing homelessness.
The report found that 36% of complainants who provided housing information identified as houseless, up from 15% the previous year. Sixty percent identified as economically vulnerable, while 46% reported living with a disability.
Transportation-related complaints accounted for the largest share of complaints at 24%, followed closely by Portland Solutions at 23%. Complaints involving Permitting and Development represented 13%, while Police-related complaints accounted for 12%.
Of the 617 complaints within the office’s jurisdiction, 372 were accepted for assistance. The Ombudsman conducted 123 investigations and completed 113 during the year. Investigators substantiated 47 complaints, or 42% of completed investigations, while 29 were found unsubstantiated and 37 could not be conclusively determined based on available evidence.
The report stated that the office generally investigates complaints involving “an egregious individual injustice, access to essential human needs, or inequitable impacts.”
When recommendations were issued following substantiated complaints, city bureaus fully or partially accepted them 77% of the time. Ombudsman interventions helped residents obtain refunds, reduced fines, and other financial relief totaling $306,780 during 2025, roughly double the amount achieved the previous year.
Among the report’s most significant systemic changes were the elimination of returned-payment fees by the Water Bureau, Revenue Division, Portland Bureau of Transportation, and Fire Bureau after an Ombudsman investigation found the fees had inequitable impacts and were inefficient to collect.
The report also highlighted recommendations aimed at creating “fairer conditions for other survivors of domestic violence” after investigators identified gaps in Water Bureau billing practices affecting a customer who had relocated following domestic violence. The bureau implemented several recommendations and began exploring partnerships to better support survivors.
The Ombudsman additionally reported that the city has not fully implemented recommendations from a 2021 investigation into the inequitable impacts of Portland’s complaint-driven property maintenance enforcement system. The follow-up report concluded that more work is needed to balance enforcement with support for economically vulnerable homeowners.
Feedback from complainants showed mixed results. While 80% of survey respondents agreed the office was courteous and respectful and 64% said they would recommend the Ombudsman to others, 53% said their complaint was not resolved in the way they sought. One respondent wrote, “I felt heard and saw a real change at the end of the months long journey.” Another described the office as “Friendly, caring and efficient, made me feel like I mattered.”
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