For Immediate Release
February 4, 2003

EDUCATION & NEIGHBORHOODS COMMITTEE
ESTABLISHES WORKING GROUP TO MAKE
IMPROVEMENTS IN NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
EARLY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM

Councilwoman Hahn Urges Changes After Neighborhood Councils Not Consulted Regarding Significant Police Commission Decision

Today, the Education & Neighborhoods Committee of the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved the formation of a Neighborhood Councils Early Notification Working Group. The group, to be made up of representatives of neighborhood councils, various city departments and chaired by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, will focus specifically on improving the system by which neighborhood councils are notified of upcoming events and actions taken by the City Council, commissions and boards. This notification system is known citywide as the Early Notification System (ENS).

Councilwoman Hahn, chair of the committee, called for the formation of the group in response to poor communication between city departments, boards and commissions and the 60 neighborhood councils in Los Angeles. The recent decision by the Los Angeles Police Commission to adopt a non-response burglar alarm policy, without the proper notification of or input from neighborhood councils, brought the severity of the flawed ENS system to Councilwoman Hahn's attention.

In response to the Police Commission's disregard for neighborhood council input, the City Council voted to take jurisdiction of the commission's decision until commissioners agreed to delay implementation of the policy pending task force recommendations. Neighborhood councils, homeowners, business-owners, city officials, and alarm industry representatives will participate in the task force to study ways of reducing false alarms and improving the alarm policy and report back in 60 days.

After hearing from hundreds of people, including neighborhood councils throughout the city, regarding the alarm policy and the lack of information provided by the Police Commission, the Councilwoman decided that the current ENS was flawed and needed immediate re-working.

"This system is not working," said Councilwoman Hahn. "While the City Council sent a clear message to our commissions and boards by seizing the Police Commission's decision until it decided to hear public input, we must ensure that our neighborhood councils are not ignored in the future. We must communicate with our councils; and improving our ENS system, as well as ensuring that our councils know how to use it, is critical."

Councilwoman Hahn introduced a motion with recommended changes to the ENS system last week. The Councilwoman expects her motion (attached) to be reviewed and discussed by the working group, which is anticipated to report back to the Education & Neighborhood Committee in March.

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CONTACT:

Courtney Chesla

213 / 473-7015
310 / 795-2134 (cell)