Some families continue to be buffeted by economic and social forces. More people live in poverty now than in 1980, many of them children. Domestic violence also continues to exact a toll on children and families. Drug use among students is no longer declining and, for younger age groups, is beginning to increase. In addition, drug-related deaths more than doubled in the past six years.
Citizens are generally safer, and they feel safer, in our community.
Reported crimes against people are declining and property crimes are steady. Since 1993, citizens in Multnomah County feel increasingly safe on their neighborhood and downtown streets. Citizen ratings of their neighborhood livability continue to climb, but ratings of local government services dipped slightly after four years of improvement. Citizens have voted to invest for the future with large capital efforts for parks, transit, libraries, and other improvements. At the same time the general burden of local taxes has declined since 1987 due to citizen initiated property tax limits, which has reduced school funding.