Neighborhood Councils . . .
not just $50,000 but $100,000 more

MAYOR HAHN GIVES $100,000 TO NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS

LOS ANGELES -- Mayor Jim Hahn today announced that he is increasing the budget of each neighborhood council across the city by $100,000.

"Nobody knows what neighborhoods need more than the neighborhood councils that represent them," said Mayor Hahn. "Neighborhood councils have long listed street services as one of their top priorities. Today, I am turning the control of $100,000 of street repairs over to each neighborhood council, for them to use as they see fit within their own communities."

Neighborhood councils can chose to spend the $100,000 in any number of ways on street resurfacing projects. Neighborhood councils can elect to repave streets, slurry seal miles of road or even join with another neighborhood council to resurface long thoroughfares or streets where their boundaries meet.

To make the process easier, the Bureau of Street Services already provides each neighborhood council with an assessment of street conditions within its boundaries. "Street services is such a crucial element in improving the quality of life in neighborhoods across Los Angeles," said Eric Reuveni, vice president of the Midtown North Hollywood neighborhood council. "Within our neighborhood council, it is a top priority. By giving the neighborhood councils actual decisionmaking authority over these funds, Mayor Hahn is really giving the power back to the people."

In the current fiscal year, Mayor Hahn doubled the number of miles of streets that were resurfaced or slurry sealed. The $100,000 that Mayor Hahn is providing to each neighborhood council is in addition to the annual allocation to the Bureau of Street Services for its ongoing resurfacing projects.

The Bureau of Street Services has been especially visible within communities over the past few weeks as crews worked around the clock to fill over 13,000 potholes caused by the devastating storms in Southern California. Mayor Hahn's decision to allocate $100,000 to each neighborhood council for street repairs demonstrates his commitment to repairing roads, thereby improving the quality of life for all Los Angeles residents.

Mayor Hahn's commitment is to bring City Hall closer to the residents of Los Angeles through the neighborhood council system. The 85 certified neighborhood councils in Los Angeles already receive annual budgets of $50,000, which they spend on equipment, activities or services for the benefit of the communities they represent. Some examples of spending have included new playground equipment, street fairs or anti-graffiti programs, to name a few.

Last year, neighborhood councils participated for the first time in the city's priority-based budget process. Neighborhood councils across the city developed lists of their neighborhood priorities, most often listing public safety and street services as the top two items on their lists. Representatives from the neighborhood councils met with Mayor Hahn and discussed their budget priorities with him.

"I want to empower the neighborhood councils to make decisions more effectively for their own communities," added Mayor Hahn.