With the completion of the city budget this week, I am just shy of seven months in office. The limitations put on the city budget process this year didn’t leave much buffer for Finance Committee amendments or those brought before the whole council. I attended the Finance Committee meeting to consider operating budget amendments in person, and I am glad to have had the experience.
There were a few key amendments that I think will have positive impacts for the Northside and community at large. First, the city’s three community connector positions were raised from .6 FTE to .8 FTE. These positions were created in 2022 and serve to connect residents whose primary languages are Chinese Mandarin, Hmong and Spanish to city services through targeted outreach and community engagement projects. They also work with city staff across agencies and elected officials to better understand each community, promote equitable outreach, and build trust and accessibility with city processes.
Another amendment created a Parks position to lead programming focused on violence prevention in the city throughout the year and will be onsite at Goodman Pool during the summer months as a trusted adult presence.
A third amendment increased capacity for violence prevention services and staff housed in Public Health by increasing the three existing outreach positions from half to full-time.
I have also spent time this fall putting together some systems to be more accessible to folks. Each month, I will have one in-person and one virtual office hours block. I will be available in-person at Lakeview Library on Dec. 5 and Jan. 16 from 10 am to 12 pm, and virtual office hours will be Dec. 19 and Jan. 2 from 10 am to 1 pm. The pinned post on my Alder blog will have these dates and meeting links.
