The mayor's recommended 2026 budget for the Neighborhood and Community Relations (NCR) department would eliminate the annual Community Connections Conference and reduce several engagement funds as part of a broader tightening of discretionary spending.

Karen Moe, NCR director, told the Budget Committee on Sept. 18 that the mayor's proposal eliminates ongoing funding for the Community Connections Conference, a reduction of $123,000, and reduces the Partnership Engagement Fund by $500,000 (cut in half). The department would also take an ongoing $25,000 reduction to legal services the city provides to neighborhood organizations plus an additional one-time $18,000 cut in 2026, Moe said. A one-time $40,000 reduction was proposed to the PlanNet database contract supporting neighborhood organization finance tracking; NCR and IT will use 2026 as a transition year to identify alternatives.

Why it matters: NCR manages citywide engagement support, neighborhood organization contracts, the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, and programs such as the Trans Equity Summit and senior services. Committee members said the Community Connections Conference is an important public forum for residents to give input on city policy.

Program details and achievements: Moe described NCR's structure (five teams and 23 staff) and said the department expects to be nearly fully staffed by year'end except for a trans equity coordinator vacancy planned for hire in July 2026. NCR reported serving 1,281 people with immigration legal services from Jan. 1 through May 31, 2025, and projected serving over 3,000 people in 2025. The department also reported the highest Community Connections Conference attendance in its history (about 1,300 attendees) and said it hosted a tenth Trans Equity Summit with over 350 attendees and multiple community partners.

Risks and context: Moe listed risks that affect engagement broadly: increased violence targeting trans, queer and immigrant residents; federal policies that may affect immigrant protections; and inconsistent enterprise digital tools and security concerns. She said NCR and Performance Management and Innovation have been updating dashboards and metrics and that some 2025 metrics remain in progress because the department has added new programs and staff.

Budget decisions and mitigation: Moe said NCR will seek alternative strategies to meet the conference's goals if the line item is eliminated and that the Partnership Engagement Fund reduction will likely result in fewer contracts rather than reduced total per-contract funding. For neighborhood organizations, legal services will remain available but at a smaller ongoing pool and with potential delays as the department refers groups to alternative resources.

Discussion vs. direction vs. decision: Council members expressed concern about eliminating the conference and reducing funds that support neighborhood organizations; that discussion generated requests for follow-up information. The chair directed the clerk to file the NCR presentation with the committee record.

Next steps: NCR will continue implementing its programs, refine dashboard metrics with PMI, and work with IT to identify alternatives for the PlanNet database. The items remain at the committee stage as part of the 2026 budget review.