The Portland City Council approved a measure Wednesday to increase their own office budgets and that of Mayor Keith Wilson by millions of dollars amid a growing financial shortfall for the city — though only after making a significant change to the proposal’s funding source.

Portland City Council held a meeting Wednesday night to discuss the potential for increasing the city budget by up to $4.6 million. Read online:

"Kneecapped." "Defunded." "Not set up for success." Portland City Councilors had blunt words to describe the budget bestowed on them by the prior Council. The city’s new 12-person City Council voted Wednesday evening to increase their budget by nearly $4.

One of the first big issues that Portland’s 12-member City Council plans to confront this year is whether to increase their own office budgets and that of Mayor Keith Wilson by millions of dollars. It could bring about one of the first public clashes between the city’s legislative and administrative branches under Portland’s new form of government,

Three years after Portland voters said yes to government oversight, the Portland City Council is still working to establish an ethics commission.