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Neighborhood Resource Teams overview: staff describe equity focus, recent growth and next steps
Summary
City staff presented an overview of Neighborhood Resource Teams (NRTs) on Jan. 14, describing the initiative’s racial equity mission, recent additions of two teams (East Milwaukee Street and Sandburg), and planned boundary tweaks and survey follow-up.
Tarek Salaf, coordinator of Neighborhood Resource Teams (NRTs) in the Department of Civil Rights, briefed the Common Council Executive Committee on Jan. 14 about the teams’ mission, recent activity and planned next steps, emphasizing their role as a racial-equity tool and a citywide catalyst for resident-driven change.
Salaf told the committee NRTs date to 1991 and that his office reframed them around racial equity after he joined in 2012. “The mission is about promoting racial equity, improving quality of life for everybody, and making sure that we're tuning in to what's actually relevant for people that are living in areas with neighborhood resource teams,” he said.
Salaf described NRTs as relationship-oriented; they connect residents, city staff and community stakeholders, surface neighborhood priorities and then press departments or partner agencies to act. He said NRTs do not replace other bodies but often serve as a catalyst for changes ranging from park repairs to targeted staffing. He cited a small example: a complaint about a double-rim basketball hoop led parks staff to replace hoops quickly, a change residents noticed within a week.
Salaf said the city currently supports 11 teams and has recently added two: East Milwaukee Street (serving Meadowlands and Harmony apartments) and a Sandburg team that includes the Sandburg Elementary–Bridal Park area and a stretch of motels and hotels on East Washington Avenue. He explained that data and vulnerability measures guide where teams are placed, but boundaries are being revisited with the UW Applied Population Lab and city public health; Salaf said a preliminary draft of boundary recommendations should be available within several weeks and more finalized maps by spring.
Committee members raised resident-engagement concerns. Alder Knox and Alder Madison said resident turnout at regular daytime NRT meetings can be low; Salaf agreed daytime staff-oriented meetings are not the primary engagement tool and said staff are exploring resident liaisons, community suppers and Parks Alive events to re-engage residents post-COVID. Salaf described a staff survey of NRT participants (city staff and stakeholders) and said results would be reported to the committee when compiled.
Salaf also described NRTs’ contributions to city staffing and program changes: recommendations from NRTs helped create teen specialist positions, teen librarian roles, a Parks Alive coordinator and influenced a county gang-response intervention team position. He said the teams’ work is meant to be flexible and neighborhood-led rather than a single checklist of actions.
The committee did not take formal votes on NRTs but heard that staff will continue mapping and outreach work and return to the committee with boundary recommendations and survey results.
