Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
Newsletter

Februrary 11, 2003

Re: Office Depot Discount. Treasurer Training Reminder. New Election Web Site. Arroyo Seco Interactive Community Calendar. Grass Roots Venice Position Letter.

OFFICE DEPOT DISCOUNT
Once a Neighborhood Council has its governing board in place, the Treasurer and another person have attended the Treasurer training, and it has requested funding, it can chose to use its Stored Value Card at Office Depot. They have the contract with the City of Los Angeles to provide office supplies.

Using them will allow you to enjoy the benefits of the contract: a discount of up to 62 % depending on the item; the ability to order online, by fax, or over the phone; and to have the items delivered to your desired location. You can also go directly to any Office Depot store and purchase what you need. A separate account will be set up for each NC utilizing the Stored Value Card number, and for online purchases a User ID number and password will also be established.

Ordering online is pretty straight forward, and Office Depot will provide written instructions, assistance over the phone, or one-on-one or group training if desired. To assist you in your purchasing, each of you will be provided a catalogue that identifies all the Office Depot products.

Arrangements are being made for additional discounts using City vendors.

REMINDER -- NEXT TREASURER TRAINING

A third Treasurer training session has been planned for those missed the first two.

February 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the West Valley Municipal Building Conference Room, 19040 Vanowen St. The first two sessions lasted about 90 minutes, including all the questions and answers.

NEW ELECTION WEB SITE

LA36 has organized an election website www.lavotes.org

It's up and running and features information about every candidate for City office. It’s goal is to provide with a one-stop shop for impartial election information.

Shortly, Channel 36 will video on demand. Each City Council candidate taped an eight minute interview discussing their strengths and reasons for wanting to be on the Council.

BEST PRACTICES – ARROYO SECO COMMUNITY CALENDAR

People are free to enter meeting information. Check it out at by clicking on Calendar at http://www.asnc.us

BEST PRACTICES – GRASS ROOTS VENICE POSITION LETTER

We had talked earlier about the value, or even the need, for Neighborhood Councils to include a statement on their letters explaining how they took the position they did. See the attached PDF letter from Grass Roots Venice. The reason for doing this is pretty much truth in advertising, and to ensure that the position is truly one that was taken by the Neighborhood Council and not just the position of a single person trying to get others to believe it was an official position. This will most commonly occur when issues come up with little notice, such as the burglar alarm issue, and when newspaper reporters call someone such as the President and ask about how the Neighborhood Council feels about a particular matter. In these situations, there is an incredible temptation for the person to say what they feel the Neighborhood Council’s position would or should be.

Greg Nelson

213 / 485-1360
866 / LA HELPS toll-free
213 / 485-4608 fax
done@mailbox.lacity.org email