The Aurora Special Finance Committee on Oct. 24 reviewed the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs (MOCA) proposed 2025 budget and heard presentations from MOCA and Communications & Marketing staff about expanded events, equity initiatives and a planned MyAurora 311 central customer‑service system.

MOCA Chief Engagement Officer Clayton Mohammed told the committee the office is organized into three divisions—community events, equity/diversity/inclusion (EDI) and community engagement—and said that events and engagement account for “about 50% of the work that we do.” He and division directors described planned increases in staff, new and returning city festivals, expanded flag‑raising ceremonies, and a push to centralize the city’s community events calendar.

The budget review matters because the office’s programs drive public outreach, volunteer and cultural programs and some citywide service delivery. Committee members pressed staff on revenue assumptions for events, staff capacity, and how MOCA will coordinate with aldermen’s offices and other departments.

Mike Nelson, Community Events Director, described the department’s emphasis on keeping events consistent across the city and said the division collected modest vendor fees for large events (for example, the Fourth of July vendor revenues are “nominal” but are charged to encourage participation). Michelle Clark, Director of Equity, said a 2025 decision package would fund a public-facing equity, diversity and inclusion website: “we will have a website that talks about what we do, around equity, diversity, inclusion as a whole,” she told the committee.

Tony Martinez, Chief Communication & Marketing Officer, presented his department’s first full-year accomplishments since the unit formed. Martinez said the city’s social and video work produced hundreds of items this year and helped grow e‑mail reach and social followers. He recited the department’s mission statement: “to inform, to connect, and inspire the community of Aurora to become more engaged through innovative, strategic, and effective communication and marketing initiatives.” Martinez outlined decision packages to add brand/marketing staff, digital‑signage software and an additional video services coordinator to improve turnaround on video production.

Ricky Benjamin, Customer Service Manager, walked the committee through the MyAurora 311 plan, which would consolidate many department phone lines and web requests into a single front door for routine service requests and information. He said the city handles roughly 200 calls a day now and expects that number to scale toward 800 calls per day after consolidation, which drives the department’s request for three additional full‑time call takers. “The ultimate goal is to be that first point of contact and, address their concerns or questions in that conversation,” Benjamin said.

Committee members asked about hours of operation, boundaries and phasing. Staff said the implementation target date for 311 is March 11, 2025, and that existing department phone numbers would remain during the rollout and be routed to the new 311 center; the city will later phase those legacy numbers out. Staff also said the proposed 311 hours expand from the current 8 a.m.–5 p.m. to a planned 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Monday–Friday, with after‑hours options under review.

Several aldermen asked clarifying questions: an alderman asked why the Fourth of July revenue line was only about $1,000 (Nelson explained that vendor fees are intentionally nominal); another asked about starting pop‑up farmers markets on the Far East Side (staff said pop‑ups are under consideration). Clark outlined plans for business outreach workshops under the business equity program to help minority and woman‑owned firms access city contracting opportunities.

Staff said other 2025 priorities include: a community events calendar tied to the city website, neighborhood starter kits to support local associations, continued census outreach (including a “special census” effort), and a tree‑grant partnership tied to neighborhood investment.

Mohammed and Martinez told the committee they will return with budget amendment requests as the new year clarifies needs and that much of the 2025 budgeting work is iterative. No formal committee vote on the MOCA budget was recorded during the session; this item was presented for review and Q&A.

The presentation included several direct project requests and decision packages that will come back to the finance committee during the budget amendment process or in later meetings.