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Problems
with BONC/DONE Revision of NC Conflict of Interest Codes meeting
April 8th
BONC/DONE has posted on the Early Notification System an announcement
about a meeting concerning revisions to the Conflict of Interest
Codes.
The announcement:
| 1) |
has
a date of Thursday, April 29th, 2003 |
| 2) |
deals
with revisions to the codes dealing with conflict of interest
- but does not say what those revisions are |
| 3) |
is
for only one meeting on the subject, and it is out in Chatsworth |
| 4) |
says
that "If you are unable to attend the public hearing, you may
submit your comments in writing at least ten (10) calendar days
before the public hearing date, so that it can be distributed
to the Board in advance of the hearing." |
As written on
the notice, DONE's purpose is "...to promote more citizen participation
in government, and make government more responsive to local needs...."
It is very hard to do that if:
| 1) |
the
date is wrong (it has to be either Thursday, April 24th or Tuesday,
April 29th) |
| 2) |
there
is no information whatsoever in this notice about what the actual
revisions are |
| 3) |
the
meeting is in the farthest corner of Los Angeles, away from
the vast majority of the city's citizens - and it starts at
6:30pm, making it just that much more difficult to attend |
| 4) |
there
is only one meeting scheduled. Shouldn't there be a series of
meetings throughout the City of Los Angeles to get a broad cross-section
of community input? One meeting in the far West Valley has the
effect of disenfranchising a vast majority of participants in
the neighborhood council process and its stakeholders. |
| 5) |
it's very difficult to send comments on proposed revisions if
those revisions are not publicly presented to comment upon. |
Any change to
conflict of interest codes (whether they are tightened or loosened)
will have a significant impact on governance for all neighborhood
councils. Because of that, the process for dialogue should truly
be open, transparent and inclusive so that all stakeholders have
a real opportunity to hear - and comment - on what is being proposed.
Sincerely,
Tony Scudellari
Glassell Park
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Greg Nelson
wrote:
As you probably know by now, a second agenda notice went out 12
hours later showing that the meeting is on Tuesday the 29th. The
report will be available this week on our Web site, and you will
be notified when it's available. To get an idea of what it's all
about, I draw your attention to my newsletter of 1-23-03, which
is also on our Web site at www.lacityneighborhoods.com. Click on
Newsroom>Newsletters. (If they've worked out the bug by the time
you check.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mr. Scudellari
replied:
Dear Mr. Nelson:
Thanks for letting us know about the revision. I had a look at your
newsletter of 23 Jan 2003 that you cite and still have a couple
of questions:
| 1) |
I
just want to confirm that the information referenced will be
made available to in enough time for the public to read them
and meet the comment requirements for the Board (that they must
be submitted to the Board at least ten (10) calendar days before
the public hearing date). |
| 2) |
Will
there be any other hearings besides the one scheduled for Chatsworth?
Both the time and location are inconvenient for the vast majority
of stakeholders and participants in neighborhood councils. |
DONE has been
very clear in its objective to be as open, inclusive and transparent
as possible in the neighborhood council process. By allowing greater
public access to this discussion about such an important issue dealing
with neighborhood council governance, DONE/BONC will greatly enhance
its abilities to achieve those goals.
I thank you for your time and answering these questions.
Sincerely,
Tony Scudellari
Glassell Park
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An UPDATE
from Tony:
Neighborhood Council Conflict of Interest Code Revisions
On Line
April 11
Dear Friends & Neighbors:
DONE has just recently posted the memo outlining the history, policy
discussion and DONE's recommendation regarding the Conflict of Interest
Code.
To read the 9 page document, go to: http://www.lacityneighborhoods.com/home.htm
It is listed as the first item under the heading "News Flash." If
you would like to make public comment, they must be submitted in
writing at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the hearing date.
You can send your comments to:
Shannon Hoppes Commission
Executive Assistant
City Of Los Angeles
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
305 E. First Street Los Angeles, CA 90012
213 / 485-4608 fax
shoppes@mailbox.lacity.org
Or, if you feel adventurous and are so inclined, you can attend
the meeting, which is scheduled for: Tuesday, 29 April at 6:30pm
Lawrence Middle School 10100 Variel Avenue Chatsworth, CA 91311
Be sure to fire up the GPS, get any required inoculations and have
your visa papers in order beforehand.
Have a great weekend and happy reading!
Sincerely,
Tony Scudellari
Glassell Park
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDITOR'S
NOTE: LA Community Policing features a significant section on BONC/DONE
available through the Neighborhood Council link on the LACP.org
home page. All the information we get is presented with clarity
in a timely fashion and as webpages, not PDF files, to make them
easy to read and accessible to the general public.
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