PORTLAND, Ore. — Tensions flared during a Portland City Council meeting on Wednesday as councilors debated whether or not to cut $4.3 million from the city's homeless camp removal program, followed by hours of impassioned public testimony both for and against.

The council chamber was full by Wednesday afternoon as the meeting turned to the substance of Councilor Angelita Morillo's proposal, one of several possible amendments to a fall budget adjustment ordinance put forward by Mayor Keith Wilson.

But at the end of testimony, city councilors voted down the amendment.

Morillo's amendment, among other changes, would have cut $4.3 million from the city Impact Reduction Program's budget of roughly $14 million, much of which pays for the assessment and removal of homeless camps.

"The key t

See Full Page