Department of Neighborhood Empowerment

DONE Newsletters 2009

March 18, 2009

Message from Our General Manager, BongHwan (BH) Kim
Thanks to the following NC's who responded early to my call for stories about how the NC Funding program has made a difference in their communities: Foothill Trails District, MacArthur Park, Empowerment Congress West Area, South Robertson, and Studio City. I hope for as many NC's as possible to respond by March 31, 2009 so that I can share with our elected officials just how important the NC funding program is citywide.

The projected budget deficit will be over $450 million and twice that for the following fiscal year. Deep cuts in City services are inevitable. As many of you already know, by the time issues reach the full City Council, it is more difficult to affect the final decision. Effective civic engagement begins with being informed and timing your involvement with the flow of the decision making process. I strongly urge you all to attend the upcoming Budget and Finance Committee meetings of the City Council. They will be conducting public hearings to hear from you on the City budget priorities. For your information, I have attached a meeting schedule for the City's budget approval process. If you haven't already done so, please subscribe to the City Clerk's Council File Management System. It is an excellent tool to keep pace with the fast moving actions of the City Council. Neighborhood Council Boards, stakeholders, and your community partners are the most effective advocates for your funding program. Our elected officials base their final decisions, in large part, on how much they hear from the public. The Board of Neighborhood Commissioners will also be conducting town halls throughout the City on this matter so they can help to advocate for maintaining this important community building resource. Let's all work together to make sure that our elected officials fully appreciate the difference the funding program has made in communities in every council district and citywide.

City Clerk Releases the 2010 NC Election Procedures Stipulation Language Worksheet for Review
As the City Clerk prepares for the 2010 Neighborhood Council Elections, they would like your feedback on the processes, policies, and materials the City Clerk - Election Division is developing. In this respect, they have prepared a draft of the 2010 Neighborhood Council (NC) Election Procedures Stipulation Language Worksheet, which will be used in lieu of bylaw amendments to update existing NC bylaw election language.

The 2010 NC Election Procedures Stipulation Language Worksheet is a compilation of key election issues that require further clarification than can be found in most NC bylaws. These items range from establishing a minimum voting age to whether a candidate can run for more than one position on the board during a single election. These worksheets will be distributed to all NC's to ensure that they have the opportunity to determine these issues for their 2010 NC Election.

The City Clerk welcomes your feedback on the content of the document. Please provide your comments by emailing Isaias.Cantu@ lacity.org . All feedback must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

If you have bylaw amendments that are not election related, please submit them to us as soon as possible. Your Neighborhood Empowerment Analyst (NEA) can assist you if you have any further questions.

Spirited Dialogue Continues with the Mayor on the City's 2009-2010 Fiscal Year Budget
On Monday, March 16, 2009, the Neighborhood Council Regional Budget Advocates and Youth Council representatives had a successful and spirited discussion with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Due to the unprecedented nature of the fiscal crises across the country and the simultaneous possibility of a City budget deficit of $450 million or more for the upcoming fiscal year, the group addressed a wide range of over-arching concerns and how the combined fiscal crises may impact our City.

Before presenting the budget priority messages on behalf of their respective regions, the representatives made recommendations on four general areas of concern: 1) reducing the impact of possible City budget cuts, 2) looking at ways to make City operations more effective and efficient, 3) increasing revenues, and 4) holding on to important quality of life programs.

We and the Office of the Mayor will continue to provide information to the Regional Budget Advocates as the Mayor presents his proposed City budget to the City Council by April 20, 2009, the proposed budget moves to City Council Budget & Finance Committee, and goes for approval in City Council sometime in May. Please contact your NEA or the Regional Budget Advocates listed below for further information.

CENTRAL AREA
Scott Bytof, Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council
Vincent Autiero, Mid City West Neighborhood Council

EAST AREA
Loren Colin, Silver Lake Neighborhood Council
Heinrich Kiefer, Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council

HARBOR AREA
Nedros Bridgeforth, Harbor Gateway North Neighborhood Council
Susan Prichard, Wilmington Neighborhood Council

NORTH VALLEY
Mary Benson, Sun Valley Neighborhood Council
Edward Johnson, Pacoima Neighborhood Council

SOUTH AREA
Charles Zacharie, Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council
Tomiko Nakamoto, Voices of 90037

SOUTH VALLEY
Al Abrams, Tarzana Neighborhood Council
Barbara Monahan Burke, Studio City Neighborhood Council

WEST AREA
Jay Handal, West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council
Denny Schneider, Neighborhood Council of Westchester/ Playa Del Rey

Neighborhood Purposes Grants (NPG) Coming Soon!
In the very near future, Neighborhood Councils will have the opportunity to provide grants, using a portion of their annual City funding, to support neighborhood improvement projects. We have tried to make the process as simple as possible while still following all applicable laws, including required state conflict of interest laws. The forms and documents needed to participate will soon be uploaded onto our website, and packets of printed forms will also be available. Your NEA will guide you through the initial process on how to properly fill out the required paperwork and how to submit it to our funding unit. We look forward to working closely with each NC as you continue to improve your community by the establishment of key partnerships with community organizations via the NPG.

Save the Dates! Upcoming Regional Roundtables with GM BongHwan Kim and CBT/NLI Classes
General Manager BongHwan (BH) Kim will be hosting a series of roundtables in the regions to discuss the upcoming changes to the Neighborhood Council System due to the budget crises. Under the Carol Baker Tharp Neighborhood Leadership Institute (CBT/NLI), we will also be offering classes with the City Attorney on the mandated ethics training after the roundtables. The ethics training is in lieu of the online training offered by the Ethics Commission. You will receive a Certificate of Completion, which is effective for 2 year. The first roundtable and CBT/NLI ethics class will be in the Valley on Saturday, March 21, 2009, at the Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center located at 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys 91401 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Roundtables and CBT/NLI ethics classes in the South/West/Harbor will be on Saturday, April 25, 2009, and in the Central East on Wednesday, April 29, 2009. Times and locations to be determined.

Please RSVP for the Valley roundtable and CBT/NLI class by calling Diana Estrada at (213) 473-4529 or emailing her at diana.estrada@ lacity.org . If you will be taking the mandated ethics training, we must receive your RSVP prior to the training to ensure materials and to prepare the certificate.

CBT/NLI Board Orientation Class on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 in the Central East Area
We will be holding a CBT/NLI Board Orientation class on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Charles White Elementary School, 401 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90057. The Board Orientation class will cover the Roles and Responsibilities of Board members, legal training - Brown Act, Conflict of Interest, and Public Records Act, and NC funding training, which satisfies the mandated NC Treasurer training. Darren Martinez from the City Attorney's Office will be presenting the legal training. Please RSVP for materials and refreshments by contacting Annie Kwak at (213) 473-5115 or annie.kwak@lacity. org .

Clarification of Interpreting and Translation Services for CBT/NLI Classes and Your Meetings
If youor a stakeholder that you know requires interpreting services for a CBT/NLI class, please call us and request the services when you RSVP. We require 72 hours notice prior to the class to secure interpreters. In addition, please review a letter from us clarifying the recent revision to the policy of NC's hiring interpreters and translators.

The Plan Has Been Amended
The Plan for a Citywide System of Neighborhood Councils was amended on February 20, 2009. Please replace your old copy with the current version on our website.

Share Your NC Funding Success Stories!
We arecollecting stories about the positive impact the NC funding program has made for neighborhood quality of life issues throughout the City. The funding program is vital to the continued success of the Neighborhood Council system. Please share one or two of your most exemplary projects. We will collect and share these stories with our elected officials so that they fully understand the importance of the funding program. Please limit your response to 200 words or less so that we can compile the stories collected into a succinct yet compelling message. Subjects to be addressed should include:

1) A description of the project and the amount
2) What tangible and positive difference was realized from the use of public funds in your community?

Please submit your success stories to BongHwan.Kim@ lacity.org by March 31, 2009.

Revised RFP for Translation and Interpretation Services
We are seeking proposals from qualified entities to provide translation and interpretation services for the Department and the Neighborhood Councils. Please see the revised Request for Proposal (RFP), which outlines the guidelines for applicants in submitting their proposals on our website. The deadline to respond is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 10, 2009. The RFP, along with all the attachments and appendices, are available for download on the City's website at www.labavn.org. Registration on this website is free.

BOARD OF NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONERS NEWS

Summary of the Commission's March 16th Meeting
At its March 16, 2009 meeting, the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (Commission) voted to encourage Neighborhood Council Board members to reach the goal of 100% compliance with City and State Ethics Training requirements by the end of 2009. Ethics Training may be taken online or at the upcoming CBT/NLI classes. The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment posts the names of all NC council members who have completed the training on its website.

Important Town Hall meetings are planned to dialogue with stakeholders on the current City budget crisis, to discuss how the Neighborhood Council Funding Program may be impacted, and to hear recommendations to send to elected officials on the future of the Neighborhood Council Funding Program.

First Town Hall Meeting: a block of time will be allocated for a Town Hall at the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 6 p.m., Glassell Park Elementary School - Auditorium, 2211 West Avenue 30, Los Angeles, CA 90065. Additional Town Hall dates will be announced soon.

In February 2009, Council members Janice Hahn, Dennis Zine and Eric Garcetti responded to a recent letter from the Commission objecting to the recent Financial Disclosure ordinance by initiating a motion to revisit its decision to impose Financial Disclosure Form 54 on NC's wishing to open a Neighborhood Council File (CF# 08-0351-S1). The Commission thanks the Council members and appreciates the assistance of NC's to support this effort.

Shannon Hoppes, Community Liaison for the City Clerk's Office, provided a detailed presentation on the Legislative Process and the Council File Management System to track Council actions. The public is encouraged to sign up for the Early Notification System to subscribe to City Council meeting agendas, committee agendas, or to receive notification on file specific activity.. Please visit the City of Los Angeles website at www.lacity.org to sign up..

The Commission Meetings Are Accessible Via the Telephone
You can now listen to a Commission meeting live via the telephone. This service is available only when the Commission is meeting at City Hall by calling CityFone -- 213-621-CITY.

Explore Pico Union This Saturday, March 21st
The Los Angeles Conservatory will be hosting a walking tour and community fair on Saturday, March 21, 2009, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pico Union Branch Library, 1030 S. Alvarado St., Los Angeles, 90006. For more information, please see the flyer.

LA Heritage Day Brings LA History to Life on Sunday, March 22nd
The LA Heritage Alliance will host its Second Annual LA Heritage on Sunday, March 22, 2009, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Heritage Square Museum. LA Heritage Day reconnects the public with Los Angeles' vast range of cultural institutions and resources with activities for kids of all ages, panel discussions, and tours of historic structures on site. Over 65 participating heritage, preservation, and historical society groups from across Los Angeles will showcase their efforts to promote and preserve LA's collective past. Free with flyer! For more information about LA Heritage Day, please visit www.laheritage. blogspot. com or call Heritage Square at 323-225-2700.

LACityClerk Connect
If you want to follow Council Files affecting your neighborhood or NC, sign up for LACityClerk Connect, the City Clerk's new Council File Management System (CFMS). Formerly the Council File Index (CFI) system, this online service is your access to a comprehensive file index and management system with summary and detail of all legislation considered and/or acted upon by the Los Angeles City Council. The electronic CFMS contains all records of legislation, commendatory resolutions, results of City Council votes, and scanned documents and reports filed in the City Council's files. You can perform simple or advanced searches for Council Files, view file activity, generate and print reports, and subscribe to a Council file to receive RSS feeds or e-mail notifications whenever there is activity related to a Council File. Stay connected to the issues before City Council!

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BongHwan Kim, General Manager
done@lacity.org

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
334-B E. 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

866 / LA HELPS
213 / 485-1360
213 / 485-4608 fax
done@mailbox.lacity.org email
www.lacityneighborhoods.com website