NC Leaders at the DONE Restructure Table; Keys in BudgetLA Plan Adopted

CityWatch, Feb 23, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 15

The City of Los Angeles is in flux and the resulting reorganization of the city is dividing the community into two groups, one is experiencing overwhelming crisis, the other is experiencing incredible opportunity. • Yesterday's announcement by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment was being combined with the Community Development Department was perceived by some as a step backward while others looked at it as progress. Either way it's an opportunity, one that the neighborhood councils must seize, quickly.

• However you measure the Mayor’s decision to combine departments and the DONE restructure proposal, the crisis produced on considerable success: leaders from at least 75 neighborhood councils participated in the BudgetLA Project and had a voice at the solutions table. The BudgetLA recommendations that the City examine outsourcing the NC funding program, outsourcing elections, turning training and mentoring over to NCs and including a critical volunteer assistance program were made part of the restructure package.

• The BudgetLA community has been meeting since the beginning of the year, tackling LA's budget crisis with broad strokes and with an eye for detail. Through it all, the consistent message is "everything is on the table and must be considered as we work together to solve the budget crisis, and that neighborhood councils must be at that table as partners in the process."

To that end, the BudgetLA community has experienced unprecedented success, first with Councilman Paul Krekorian's leadership in the Environment and Neighborhoods Committee and then with Deputy Mayor Larry Frank in the Mayor's Office. This time of crisis is also the time of opportunity and it is up to the community to rise to the occasion and to deliver a vision for Los Angeles, one that results from the public taking a leadership role in reorganizing LA as a Great City.

• This past Friday, and again on Saturday, BudgetLA representatives met with Deputy Mayor Larry Frank and presented the DONE re-org plan. This plan was adopted twice with a resounding vote from the community members in attendance at the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition meeting and then again at the BudgetLA meeting.

Neighborhood Council’s have much to be proud of, including the fact that they have a place at the table as well as a role in the programming and staffing of the future Neighborhood Empowerment Department.

• In all, leaders from 75 of the 90 certified neighborhood councils participated in the BudgetLA meetings, debating much and looking for common ground. The plan that was presented to the E & N Committee and then again to the Mayor's office is simply the starting point, the beginning of the journey, one that has neighborhood councils taking a leadership role.

Neighborhood Councils have much to be proud of, including the simple fact that the community showed up with a plan and that it had an impact on the Mayor's office and the resulting reorganization of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. For those who call this a time for "triage" and refer to neighborhood councils as "under attack" the simple reality is this, the city is in the middle of a budget crisis and all departments and everybody feels as if they are under attack.

• Now, more than ever, we must work together to deliver a vision for Los Angeles that is based on a balanced budget, well defined priorities, efficient delivery of services, and effective evaluation of performance.

As for the Neighborhood Council system, the BudgetLA community has the opportunity to move forward as partners in developing a strategic plan for Neighborhood Empowerment based on a commitment to "grass roots civic engagement and volunteerism.

To that end, BudgetLA meets again this Saturday to review details of the Mayor’s DONE restructure –plan, consider other budget issues to target and work on next steps for the future of the neighborhood council system. Deputy Mayor Larry Frank and Special Assistant Attorney Jane Usher have been invited.

BudgetLA

February 27, 2010

10:00 am

Hollywood Presbyterian Church

Upper Terrace Hall

(enter on Yucca, park on Yucca)

1760 N. Gower Avenue

Hollywood, CA 90028

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.com)

NCs Finding a Seat at the Table

CityWatch, Feb 19, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 14

The journey has been long and it has often been tedious and fatiguing, but it has paid off.

When the CAO's recommendations for the neighborhood council system came up two weeks ago, the BudgetLA community turned out in great numbers and went to work, fighting in the Budget and Finance Committee and in the City Council and again at the E & N Committee. Committee Chair Paul Krekorian championed the NC cause and took the proposed cuts off the City Council agenda and out to Committee, demActive Imageonstrating that a strong relationship with an NC Champion was worth its weight in public comment.

The council sessions have been rugged, the people who have worked the phones, sent the emails, spoken in public comment, shared their victories, offered their commitment and stood their ground have made a difference and that is what the neighborhood council system is all about.

As of yesterday, City Council instructions for actions on items involving neighborhood councils include the directive "in consultation with the neighborhood councils" demonstrating a huge shift in the relationship of the public with the City Council.

The City Council is still weighing options on NC elections, NC funding, Rollover funds, Bankcards, Expenditures and the structure and staffing levels for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. Departments including the City Clerk's office, the City Controller's office, the CAO, the CLA, the City Attorney, DONE, BONC and CDD are all working on reports for the future.

Meanwhile, the BudgetLA community has a plan. It's a beginning, a place to start, but it's not a report, it's not a survey, it's a plan.

Plans are rare these days, especially ambitious plans that come with the commitment of the public.

This plan for the future of the Neighborhood Council System will be presented to the Mayor's office on Friday, February 19. If you care about the role of neighborhood councils in the future of Los Angeles, this is the meeting to attend.

There is a lot of ground to cover, from NC elections and NC funding to the core priorities of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we put all of our energy into being part of the solution as we take on the city's budget crisis and as we work together to position neighborhood councils as an asset in the journey to make Los Angeles a Great City.

Deputy Mayor Larry Frank hosts BudgetLA

Friday, February 19, 2010

3:00 pm

Mayor's Press Room

3rd Floor

200 Main Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012

As for the NC agenda items that were in City Council over the last two weeks, Krekorian's recommendations were all passed unanimously, with an amendment to the rollover fund motion, giving neighborhood councils the opportunity to claim all money encumbered through January 29, 2010.

1) Committee recommends a) that the city report back to the committee within two weeks of the feasibility of a non profit taking over NC funding, b) making BONC the managing commission and moving DONE staff under them. “We have to move forward and study this,” Krekorian says. “We need to move. We are in a crisis.” Report back in two weeks.

2) Krekorian said "It’s clear to me this is a broken accounting system. This is a system that requires reform. Sweeping these funds into the reserve would not allow NCs what they need to meet their commitments. We need to move the funds into the unappropriated balance account, subject to certain claims. We also need a better verification process." Report back in two weeks.

3) Committee recommends that the NCs submit monthly accounting reports of bank cards to maintain the current procedure and improve transparency. Also moves that cash withdrawals from NCs be eliminated and that DONE report back, within two weeks, how that will get done. Report back in one week.

4) Committee recommends that DONE report back in 60 days.

5) Krekorian recommends total REJECTION of 50% cut in NC funding the CAO had recommended citing partnership with NCs as basis on which to move forward, calling that the “sweet spot in this issue.”

Krekorian vows to continue the discussion with the city and NCs for better, more efficient and transparent ways to move forward.

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net)