Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
Newsletter

December 1, 2005

Re: DONATIONS ORDINANCE

DONATIONS ORDINANCE

At its meeting on December 6, the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners will be given an opportunity to provide input on the proposed “donations ordinance” before it is considered by the City Council.

An earlier draft of the ordinance was been available on our website for many months. The new report and the new draft of the ordinance have replaced it on our home page.

A trust fund would be created so that Neighborhood Councils and our department could more easily accept gifts, keep track of them, and use them.

Right now, donations of any size must be accepted by the City Council. That's not a big problem, just a nuisance. The ordinance proposes that gifts or donations of $10,000 and less do not have to go the City Council. Neighborhood Councils would be able to put donated funds into a checking account at the city's official bank, which is the Bank of America, as long as the balance doesn't go over $50,000. Our department would have access to the account to ensure that the money is being handled properly.

And a simple system would be used to record the gifts that are value over $100, in the interest of transparency.

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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