This year’s budget cycle in Portland has demonstrated the vulnerability of the city’s commendable commitment to the island communities that lie within Portland’s boundaries. The position of island and neighborhood coordinator, created several years ago in response to a troubled relationship between City Hall and island neighborhoods, has found itself on the chopping block for economic reasons. Eliminating the position would doubtless save money at a time when every dollar counts, but keeping it would send an equally important message to Portland’s island communities: you have survived in the face of isolation and out-of-sight-out-of-mind habits on the mainland; you are important; you deserve to be listened to; a return to neglect and indifference is not an option.