Dorchester's City Hall liaison takes another city job, and a council hearing on Neighborhood Services staffing has waited since April

Dorchester residents who rely on the city's neighborhood liaison for help with City Hall are without one for now. The Office of Neighborhood Services' Dorchester liaison, who had held the job since August 2024, moved to another city department on Oct. 26, the Dorchester Reporter reported, citing the Mayor's Press Office. The office has no immediate replacement and will soon start taking applications, officials told the Reporter.

That liaison covered Dorchester Bay, Savin Hill, Ashmont and Lower Mills. A separate mid-Dorchester liaison, who covers Uphams Corner, Bowdoin-Geneva, Four Corners and Codman Square, is still in place, the Reporter said.

Liaisons are the mayor's representatives in each neighborhood. City officials told councilors in April that liaisons run the abutters meetings held on zoning, licensing, cannabis and street-renaming requests, and that the office brings in liaisons when 311 complaints keep coming in without a fix (watch at 27:39; 39:38).

What our records show

Vacancies earlier this year. At an April 28 Ways and Means hearing on the Neighborhood Services budget, City Councilor Erin Murphy asked how many neighborhood liaisons the city had and whether any jobs were open. An official answered that the team had 14 liaisons and three vacancies, in Roslindale, Jamaica Plain and Charlestown (watch at 37:19). Our records do not show whether those seats have been filled.

A flat budget. The next day, Ways and Means Chair Benjamin Weber reported that the community engagement cabinet, which includes Neighborhood Services, had proposed a $5.9 million budget. Its personnel line would rise about $200,000 to cover raises, with no new positions, and one long-vacant position would be removed (watch at 57:56).

What the office says liaisons do. At the April hearing, City Councilor Ed Flynn asked why the office has community engagement specialists, whom he said were added in a November 2021 restructuring. He cited a reported $100 million city budget shortfall (25:44). Mohammed Missouri, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services, said the specialists free up liaisons to work on street projects, development, housing and other issues instead of spending their time only on abutters meetings (26:43). Asked by Flynn, he said the office is not involved in political campaigns (28:04).

Flynn's hearing order. Flynn filed an order for a hearing on the office's role, responsibilities and staffing "in light of Boston's fiscal crisis" (docket 0777). It has 11 sponsors and went to the Committee on City Services, which Flynn chairs, on April 8. It has waited 206 days without a hearing.

Recent criticism. On Oct. 28, Flynn said the transportation department and Neighborhood Services should "learn from this mistake," referring to a South Boston bike lane that was installed and then removed within about two months (watch at 1:15:33; our story).

What's next

The office says it will post the Dorchester job soon. Until a new liaison starts, residents can reach Neighborhood Services through City Hall or report problems through 311, as the city advises. Flynn's hearing order stays in his committee until he schedules it. The council next meets Nov. 4 at noon.