Department of Neighborhood Empowerment

DONE Newsletters 2009

May 6, 2009

Proposal to Cut NC Funding from $50,000 to $11,200 a Year
Information went out today in a Special Information Bulletin which stated the Budget and Finance Committee will be recommending to City Council that the NC funding program be reduced to a total of $1M for next year - this roughly breaks down to $11,200 instead of the $50,000 per NC. There was no change to the current rollover policy and no changes to the Mayor's proposed 20% reduction for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. If you wish to express your opinions and concerns about the Mayor's 2009-2010 Proposed Budget, you can appear for public comment at both the Budget and Finance Committee and full City Council, submit Community Impact Statements via the City Clerk, or send your letters and emails to your elected Councilmember. You can also follow the deliberations on your home computer via Live Streaming Audio here, or on LA CityView, Channel 35, for live coverage. The Budget and Finance Committee will convene on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 to finalize their complete recommendations to send forward to the City Council. The full City Council will then begin holding special meetings to consider the Committee's budget recommendations on Monday, May 18, 2009. Updated Budget and Finance Committee Agendas and City Council Agendas can be found on the City's home page, City Meetings and Agendas calendar.

If you can't make it to the meetings, please use the COUNCILPHONE -- a telephone system that allows the public to listen to live coverage of City government meetings from any phone-can be accessed by dialing the following numbers from the listed locations:

NC Self Update Launching This Week
Board members will be receiving emails this week from our Systems Division inviting them to log-on to our new NC Self Update system. This system allows for Board members to make changes to their online contact information as well as add their pictures and bios for public viewing. In order to have a NC Self Update account, please make sure that you have provided us an individual email address. Board members of NC's with one address for the entire Board will not be able to participate. If you have any questions or need assistance creating your own email address, please contact your Neighborhood Empowerment Analyst (NEA).

Important Dates for Your NC's 2010 Elections
Please note the following important dates for your NC's 2010 elections:

If you need language assistance at the NC EDG meetings, please contact the City Clerk - Election Division by calling (213) 473-6805 at least 48 hours before the event. Si necesita asistencia en otro idioma, por favor comuniquese con nuestra oficina con 48 horas de anticipaci llamando al (213) 473-6805.

Valley Regional Congress - Registration and Workshop Information Now Available!
Networking, workshops, alliance building and the Neighborhood Council Recognition Ceremony will take place at the Valley Regional Congress on Saturday, May 30, 2009 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at Panorama High School, 8015 Van Nuys Blvd., Panorama City, CA. A series of Empowerment Camps will be available to Neighborhood Councils which will provide all an opportunity to engage in active discussions on such topics as Report Cards for Elected Officials, Sunshine Ordinance and Issue Driven Alliances. A wiki site has been created for active participation on congress topics.

A Neighborhood Council Recognition Ceremony will also be part of the event which will allow Board members to nominate peers for Recognition Awards. Nominations are now being accepted and will end May 9th. Voting begins May 10th and ends May 22. For more information and to register, please visit www.lacityneighborhoods.com and http://valleyregionalcongress.org.

Please don't forget to support the food pantries by bringing a non-perishable item to the event. See you all on the 30th!

NC Bylaw Amendment Time Schedule
Any bylaw amendments that address election issues NOT already 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.

BOARD OF NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONERS NEWS

Recap of Commission's May 5th Meeting and Town Hall
The Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (Commission) held a town hall on financial disclosure and scheduled a Board retreat on June 12, 2009. The retreat will be from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Audubon Center at Debs Park, 4700 N. Griffin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90031.

The next Commission meeting is on Monday, May 18, 2009, 11:30 a.m., at the City Hall 10th Floor Conference Center, Room 1060, 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.

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.

CITY NEWS

HIRE LA Creating Jobs for LA Youth
Leading the nation in job creation for youth, Hire LA is placing over 16,000 young people in jobs beginning this May and continuing through July 2010. Hire LA's Youth Employment Program works to provide young adults ages 14-24 with employment opportunities ranging from summer jobs to full time employment. Since its inception in 2006, Hire LA has placed over 28,000 young Angelenos in jobs. For more information, please visit www.hirelayouth.com or call (213) 744-7206.

Youth Squad Summer Job Opportunity
The Mayor's Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) and its partners will be launching the "Summer Night Lights" program in 15 facilities in the GRYD Zones. This program provides fun-filled, positive opportunities for young people living in the most violence-ridden communities throughout the City. GRYD is looking for youth ages 17 to 20 in these communities to work on the Youth Squad for the program. To obtain an application or for more information, please contact Alicia Avalos at GRYD at alicia.avalos@lacity.org or call (213) 473-7796. The due date for applications is May 11, 2009.

Bureau of Sanitation Holding Open Houses
The Bureau of Sanitation will be holding Open Houses around the city at each of its six district yards in Sun Valley, Northridge, Lincoln Heights, South Los Angeles, San Pedro, and West Los Angeles to showcase its collection and recycling programs in order to improve awareness and increase recycling practices. For more information, please call (800) 773-2489 or visit www.lacity.org/SAN. To learn more about the City's progress towards "Zero Waste" and the future of reducing, reusing and recycling, please visit www.zerowaste.lacity.org.

LA City Tax Penalty Amnesty 2009 Begins May 1st
The City of Los Angeles is offering a penalty waiver for the following: business tax, telephone, electricity & gas users tax, commercial tenant's occupancy tax, transient occupancy tax, and parking occupancy tax for businesses who have unpaid taxes, under-reported gross receipts, and who are not registered. This offer is good between May 1 - July 31, 2009. Call the Tax Amnesty Hotline for more information M-F at (213) 978-1555 or go online to www.lacity.org/finance.

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

PlanCheckNC's General Plan Framework and Community Plans Training on Saturday, May 9th
PlanCheckNC is partnering with John M. Dugan, Deputy Director of the Department of City Planning to present a training on the general plan framework and community plans. For more information, visit www.PlanCheckNCLA.com.

LANI Holding Its 7th Annual Community Forum on Thursday, May 14th
The Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) will be holding its 7th Annual Community Forum. This free day long event is designed to provide real and useful tools for individuals to make positive changes in their own communities. Learn how you can improve you neighborhoods one block at a time. To sign up, visit www.lani.org.

Community Garden Opens in Highlight Park on Saturday, May 9th
Bring you family, friends, neighbors to grand opening of Milagro Allegro, a community garden in Highland Park. The program will include a blessing of the land, guest speakers, activities for kids, tours of the garden and refreshments. For more information, please see the flyer.

Bring Music to Your Neighborhood!
Get Your Chops Back, an Active Arts at the Music Center program, is looking for neighborhood site to host exciting and fun summer music-making projects - "Jazz Combo" and "Snare Drum Choir" - for non-professional musicians. If Neighborhood Councils would like to bring music to their neighborhoods by providing a site, contact Active Arts at activearts@musiccenter.org no later than May, 10, 2009.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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