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Neighborhood stabilization, Citizen Service Bureau warn staffing shortfalls are slowing service response
Summary
Acting director Karen Clifford and NIS/CSB staff told the committee that increased service requests, vacancies and inconsistent interdepartmental follow-up are straining the city's 311 system and neighborhood improvement work; they asked for staff additions and operational changes.
Acting Director Karen Clifford of the Neighborhood Stabilization Division told the Board of Aldermen budget committee on May 12 that call volume and service requests to the Citizen Service Bureau have risen about 20% this year and that the department needs additional staff to keep response times from slipping.
“Our mission is to empower residents to sustain a quality environment within their neighborhood through effectively and efficiently registering and routing city services,” Clifford said. She described the Citizen Service Bureau as the city’s “first line of contact” for issues ranging from refuse pickup to snow and ice removal, and she asked the committee to restore or add customer service supervisor positions so staff can coach and monitor CSB agents during high-volume periods.
Clifford gave a staffing snapshot: the Neighborhood Stabilization team is structured with an executive director, three NIS supervisors, 18 active NISs and three vacancies; the CSB includes one CSR‑2, six CSR‑1s and one CSR‑1 vacancy (plus two per‑performance positions). She said the division requested a general-fund total of $3,616,111 for FY2026 and the proposed budget shown to the committee reduced that to $3,375,853; she called particular attention to a request for an additional CSR‑2 (a quasi-supervisory customer-service role) that she said could be funded by moving an existing secretary position into the CSR series.
Clifford and committee members also described a process problem that contributes to repeat calls: different departments apply different rules for when to “close” a service request. She said some departments mark a request closed after an initial inspection or after mailing a violation notice, while residents expect the ticket to remain open until the full remedy — such as a completed repair or trash pickup — is carried out. Clifford said staff are meeting with city operations and IT to standardize closing rules and improve tracking.
Committee members asked for specific cost estimates for proposed changes, and Clifford agreed to provide a calculation for the cost of providing take‑home vehicles for Neighborhood Improvement Specialists and a staffing-cost breakdown that would allow the committee to consider shifting existing funds to restore a utility worker complement and to fund the CSR‑2 supervisor request.
Ending: Clifford said the division will supply requested cost estimates and a list of boardable positions and vacancies so the committee can consider reallocated funds or targeted amendments during the budget process.
