League Voices Needed Feb 27, 2008, to Support Community Connect

From the February 2008 Portland Voter newsletter

by Pat Osborn

The city’s Neighborhood Association (NA) Program and efforts to revise it became a topic of attention for our action committee in December and January. This is our first use of our new advocacy position on Neighborhood Associations adopted in 2007.

Community Connect (CC) is the 30 month effort to reassess the city’s NA program. It originated as part of Mayor Potter’s Bureau Innovation Project (BIP). The CC committee, comprised of city staff and community representatives, has a final report, “A City for All of Us: More Voices, Better Solutions." 

A five year plan for implementation is proposed, as well as a first year program and budget.

Community Connect’s three broad goals are:

1. To increase the number and diversity or people who are involved in their communities. Here, the one year plan calls for organizational assistance and a special leadership academy for grass roots organizations representing underserved, diverse communities. Both programs began last year on a trial basis and were successful.

2. To strengthen community capacity. This goal pertains to the work of District Coalitions (DCs) in serving NAs and community organizations in such areas as technical assistance, leadership training, a small grants program (started last year) and language interpretation. Last year was the first year that funding for the system of NAs and DCs was substantially increased in at least 5 years.  The additional one staff person at each DC and the small grants program budgets are recommended for continuation.

3.  Increase community impact on public decisions. The “third leg of the stool” involves putting a system in place so that the city actually listens to citizen input. The adoption of public involvement standards for each city bureau is one of the first year programs under this goal as well as an Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) staff person to work on the Community Connect Plan.

The year one program cost to implement Community Connect, originally $2.1 million, has been scaled back to just under $1.1 million. Of this amount, near $800,000 is a temporary funding request, and near $300,000 is permanent funding. All permanent funding is allocated to the Goal 1 programs to involve more diverse populations. The CC budget is in addition to the ONI base budget of $2.2 million.

This revised budget was crafted by the ONI Bureau Advisory Committee (ONI BAC), which brings together representatives of the city, the DCs, the NAs and other community organizations, including the League and the organizations serving under-represented groups. There was conflict in reaching this budget over which programs should be reduced or eliminated, and where the permanent funding was used. Unity was achieved at this committee level when all realized that the most needed change to the NA program is a way to ensure that diverse, under-represented groups are included. The DCs also need permanent funding, but were willing to support the Goal 1 expansions of the program over their own needs.

In monitoring this process, the League found the Community Connect proposals in line with our advocacy position, and we are working with the ONI BAC to build support for this proposal as it winds its way through the city’s budget process.

Community Connect will present its report and proposals to the City Council on February 27. League members will receive an action alert at that time to contact City Commissioners to support the Community Connect work. In the meantime the League is joining a coalition of groups who will be visiting the Commissioners to encourage the adoption of the CC recommendations, implementation plan and budget.