Mayor's office seeks city funding to sustain outreach, ambassadors and trauma response work

Syracuse City held a budget hearing on funding for the Mayor's Office to Reduce Gun Violence where staff and partners described requests to convert several grant‑funded positions to city pay, re‑engage trauma‑response contractors and fund seasonal neighborhood ambassadors.

Pastor Latif, who leads the mayoral office's gun‑violence work, told councilors the office wants city funding for three part‑time 'credible messenger' outreach workers (previously funded through grants) and to maintain a project coordinator and a data analyst so the office can track outreach and attendance. "Anytime we're out doing anything ... we will make sure we are recording every child that we're involved with today," Latif said when a councilor asked whether the program tracks how many youth it reaches.

Councilors pressed for line‑item detail. A councilor flagged an apparent typo in operating supplies that appeared as $25,000 in the packet; the presenter corrected it to $2,500 and explained that operating supplies pay for outreach activities such as meals and program materials beyond basic office supplies. The professional services line drew particular scrutiny: Latif said trauma‑response funding fell from $250,000 in 2024–25 to $50,000 in 2025–26 and that only about $12,000 of the $50,000 had been invoiced to date. Latif said the office plans to re‑engage trauma‑response partners this year and to encourage contracted organizations to invoice for services they provide in the field.

The office described partnerships and service delivery methods rather than delivering a single program. Latif said Syracuse's work is an "ecosystem" that coordinates law enforcement, schools, community groups and contracted service providers; he contrasted that with New York City's Exalt program, which he said focuses more narrowly on education and activities. The office noted a mobile unit partnership with McMahon Ryan that would place therapists in the field; therapist time would come from the professional services budget.

Councilors also discussed a neighborhood ambassador program funded initially with state grant dollars secured by Latif's team. Latif said ambassador positions would be part‑time and seasonal, with a proposed May–November schedule, and that the current grant should cover ambassadors through 2027 for some positions; additional city funds would be needed to continue beyond the grant period. Councilors urged that ambassadors meet regularly with district councilors and be coordinated across existing ambassador efforts (city staff, contracted programs, SNUG) to avoid duplication.

Police leadership attending the hearing (identified in the transcript as Deputy Chief Metz) described the partnership with the mayor's office as helping focus enforcement on a small number of high‑risk individuals while enabling prevention programs and neighborhood activities to flourish. Councilors raised neighborhood safety examples — including reports of young children smoking near a school — and emphasized the need for ambassadors and outreach workers to be trained in de‑escalation before engaging in school‑time interventions.

The office emphasized tracking and accountability: it said forms are filled out for each outreach event, attendance is recorded and partner organizations are held to follow‑through so funded activities actually occur. Latif announced a Mothers Against Gun Violence series beginning the first week in May, in partnership with Leepa Jones and the Salvation Army, to provide family functional therapy to survivors' families and later add children to services.

No formal votes were recorded during the hearing. The meeting closed after councilors asked for further details on contracts, invoicing and training schedules, and for clearer public messaging to highlight program successes as well as incidents.