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Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
Newsletter
December
8, 2004
Re: Citywide Election Procedures Advance. Form 700 Filing Exemption
Advances. Legal Advice Letter Released Regarding Quorums and Neighborhood
Councils. Grievance Procedures Working Group Meetings Postponed.
CITYWIDE ELECTION
PROCEDURES ADVANCE
The recommendations
of the Election Procedures Working Group were considered last night
by the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners. They unanimously approved
a motion that recommends to the City Council that the Plan for a
Citywide System of Neighborhood Councils be amended to require the
commission to adopt citywide election procedures.
This, the BONC
felt, would make it easier for changes to the procedures to be made.
I.e., the changes could be made by the commission and not require
City Council approval.
If a Neighborhood
Council were to plow ahead and hold an election that did not meet
the minimum standards of the procedures, they would be told that
their election would be invalid, and the City would not, of course,
provide any financial support to the election. Additionally, going
ahead with the election would permit the Department of Neighborhood
Empowerment to ask the commission to decertify the Neighborhood
Council.
The commission
discussed some changes that they would like to see to the procedures
regardless of who ends up adopting them. One of the changes states
that the current board members would continue to serve until the
election challenges were resolved …. as opposed to allowing
the newly-elected board member to begin serving right away. Other
changes involved time deadlines.
You can expect
that this matter, the recommendations from both the Election Procedures
Working Group and the commission, to be heard by the Education and
Neighborhoods Committee no sooner than Tuesday, January 18, 2005.
The proposals
of the Working Group remain available on our home page. The recommended
changes by the commission will posted there as soon as the transcripts
are ready.
As you probably
know by now, the document is not a single set of election procedures,
but rather a collection of many different types of elections from
which Neighborhood Councils can choose. Depending upon which choices
are made, the procedures spell out the minimum requirements that
must be met in order to ensure the stakeholders that the election
will be held in a fair and open manner.
FORM 700 FILING
EXEMPTION ADVANCES
Last night,
the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners also voted unanimously to
support an ordinance that is working its way to the City Council.
The proposed ordinance, which has been on our home page for several
weeks, would exempt Neighborhood Council board members from filing
the financial conflict of interest statement (Form 700), although
the requirements of the state’s law would always apply. It
is not known when this will be discussed by the City Council.
QUORUMS AND
NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS
Our website
now includes the newest advice letter from the Office of City Attorney.
It advises Neighborhood Councils on when to cancel meetings for
lack of a quorum, and when it would be OK to continue to discuss
the agenda items even though no official action could be taken.
At the website, click on Reference
Library>Legal Advice.
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
WORKING GROUP MEETINGS POSTPONED
The November
15 meeting of this working group has been postponed. Rescheduled
dates to follow. This group was formed by the general manager to
advise him regarding possible citywide procedures for how the Department
of Neighborhood Empowerment can more specifically exercise its legal
responsibility to ensure that Neighborhood Council fairly attempt
to resolve complaints filed against them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Greg Nelson
gnelson@mailbox.lacity.org
866 / LA HELPS
213 / 485-1360
213 / 485-4608 fax
done@mailbox.lacity.org
email
www.lacityneighborhoods.com
website
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