Department of Neighborhood Empowerment

DONE Newsletters 2009

April 1, 2009

City Clerk Holding Stakeholder Meetings on the 2010 NC Election Materials and Policies 
The City Clerk - Election Division invites you to the following series of meetings in preparation for the 2010 NC Elections:

2010 Neighborhood Council Election Procedures Stipulations Language Worksheet Informational Meetings

These three meetings will be focused on providing Neighborhood Council leaders an opportunity to ask questions regarding the 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.  

April 2, 2009 Flyer
Harbor Gateway Branch Library
24000 S. Western
Los Angeles , CA 90710
6:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

April 4, 2009 Flyer
Piper Technical Center
555 Ramirez Street - 3 rd Floor, Space 300
Los Angeles , CA 90012
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

April 6, 2009 Flyer
Marvin Braude Building - Room 1B
6262 Van Nuys Boulevard
Van Nuys, California 91401
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The Neighborhood Council Election Development Group (NC EDG)
In preparation for the 2010 NC Elections, the City Clerk - Election Division invites NC's to provide feedback on the NC election processes and materials by participating in the NC EDG, which will be a series of meetings on various election topics.  These meetings are opened to all stakeholders.  See the schedule here or on the NC Election Unit website .  For more information, please feel free to call the Election Division Election Unit at (213) 473-6804 or via email at Isaias.Cantu@lacity.org.

NC Bylaw Amendment Time Schedule
Any bylaw amendments that address election issues not covered by the City Clerk's 2010 NC Election Procedures Stipulation Language Worksheet must be submitted to us by May 15, 2009.  Bylaw amendments that are not election related may be submitted to us from June 1, 2009 to September 1, 2009.  After this date, we will have a moratorium on processing bylaw amendment applications until after the 2010 NC elections.  Please contact your NEA if you have any questions or need assistance with your bylaw amendments.

Save the Dates!  Upcoming Regional Roundtables with GM BongHwan Kim and CBT/NLI Classes  
Our 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 as well.  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.  In addition, the CBT/NLI will also offer a liability training by the City Attorney to teach Board members how to protect themselves from being personally liable for their actions on the NC.  Nearly 100 Board members attended the roundtable and CBT/NLI ethics and liability classes in the Valley on March 21st.  Please join us in the South/West/Harbor on Saturday, April 25, 2009, or in the Central East on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 (Ethics class) and Thursday, April 30, 2009 (Roundtable and Liability class).  Times and locations to be announced soon . 

Neighborhood Purposes Grants (NPG) Has Launched!
Neighborhood Councils now have the opportunity to provide grants, using a portion of their annual City funding, to support neighborhood improvement projects.  The Neighborhood Purposes Grants (NPG) information packet and application  are available on our website .  We have tried to make the process as simple as possible while still following all applicable laws, including required state conflict of interest laws.  Your Neighborhood Empowerment Analyst (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 Date for the Regional Congress in the San Fernando Valley!
Please mark your calendar and plan on spending a day full of learning, information sharing and gathering in the San Fernando Valley Regional Congress scheduled for Saturday, May 30, 2009.  Details of content, location, time and registration to be coming soon.  For Save the Date flyers in Spanish and English, please click here .

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

A Message from Linda Lucks, President of the Commission, to Neighborhood Councils
In response to a letter from the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (Commission) objecting to the City Council's recent adoption of Financial Disclosure Form 54 , Councilmembers Hahn, Zine and Garcetti agreed to revisit the issue.  Please see their motion .  We thank the Councilmembers for echoing our concern and support of revisiting the nature of the form.  However, the Los Angeles City Council has not heard from many individual Neighborhood Council Board members or NC Boards wanting the form changed to allow increased participation. 

The Commission is concerned that the current Form 54 will seriously discourage NC Board members from participating in the Neighborhood Council File pilot program.  Please see Commissioner Abrams' article  on this issue.   But, without letters and emails NOW to your City Council representatives requesting a less intrusive replacement for Form 54, the financial disclosure document as adopted will stand, and Councilmembers Hahn, Zine, and Garcetti's motion will die.

Please let the City Council know now that you want a financial disclosure form that is less intrusive than Form 54 and urge them to ask the City Ethics Commission to present another form as soon as possible.  As NC Board members, individual and organization letters or e-mails to your City Council will carry the weight to make that change happen.

So that we can keep tabs on the letters going to City Council on this important issue, it will help if you would also copy me, linda.lucks@lacity.org , and Mr. BongHwan Kim, General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment,  BongHwan.Kim@lacity.org , on your communications.  Thank you.

Next Commission Meeting Is on Tuesday, April 7th
The next Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (Commission) meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at the Glassell Park Community and Senior Center located at 3750 Verdugo Road, Los Angeles, CA 90065.

The Greater Cypress Park NC is invited to receive their 5 Year Anniversary certificate.  The Arroyo Seco and Del Rey Neighborhood Councils will present best practices and receive their 5 Year Anniversary Certificates. 

The Commission will set aside a portion of the regular meeting agenda to hold a Town Hall  from 7 p.m. to   8 p.m. and would like to hear your recommendations and ideas for minimizing any possible budget impacts to the Neighborhood Council Funding Program.  The Commission is also interested in your suggestions and advice for reaching 100% compliance on the State and City mandated NC Board member Ethics Training.  

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.

Department of Transportation Hosting Meetings on Olympic West - Pico East Initiative
The Department of Transportation is hosting three public scoping meetings to discuss the proposed Olympic West - Pico East Initiative.  The purpose of these meetings is to receive public comment regarding the scope of the environmental analysis being prepared for this project.  Please see the flyer for additional details on the proposed project, the dates/times of the meetings, and a link to the documents prepared to date. Comments on this project should be addressed to Mr. Ken Husting at ken.husting@lacity.org .  For more information on the meetings, text "DRIVE" to 25827 or call (310)531-8910.

Foreclosure Trainings Are Being Offered Across the City
WorkSource Centers throughout the City are offering Foreclosure trainings to the public.  For the training closest to you, please go to their website .  

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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