Participants at the forums will have a chance to learn about the County budget and the Board of County Commissioners' preparations for determining which services to fund. Participants at the forums also will be asked to form small groups for discussions and to fill out surveys on County service priorities. If the county tax is repealed on Nov. 2, the Board will have to approve $30 million in service reductions to take affect on Jan. 1, 2005.

The schedule for the forums is as follows. Each meeting begins at 6 p.m. with registration starting at 5:30

This week: Tuesday October 12 - Gateway Children's Center, downstairs classroom, 10225 E. Burnside, Portland Thursday October 14 - Central Library, US Bank Meeting Room, 801 SW 10th Ave., Portland

Later this month: October 19 - Portland Community College, Cascade Campus, Student Center Building Cafeteria, 705 N. Killingsworth, Portland October 26 - East County Building, Sharron Kelley Conference Room, 600 NE 8th St., Gresham.

Ross Williams Outreach Coordinator Office of Citizen Involvement, Multnomah County 501 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Suite 192 Portland OR 97214 Phone: 503-988-3450 Fax: 503-988-5674 email: williar@co.multnomah.or.us web: www.citizenweb.org