RETHINKING LA - Last week’s decision by LA’s City Council to forge ahead with Neighborhood Council Elections was a bittersweet victory for proponents of participatory democracy, sweet because the elections are finally authorized, bitter because the Education & Neighborhoods Committee is considering a proposal to charge each council $5,000 for the cost of the elections.
The first item on Tuesday’s E & N agenda that addresses the cost of the elections is #2, a report from the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA) and the City Administrative Officer (CAO) addressing the determination of an appropriate dollar amount for each Neighborhood Council to contribute toward conducting the 2012 Neighborhood Council Elections in order to relieve the cost and burden on the City.”
This “contribution” would be in addition to the current Outreach expenses that are already the responsibility of the Neighborhood Councils. The current number being discussed is $5,000 per council for the 2012 Board Elections.
The second item on Tuesday’s E & N agenda that addresses the cost of NC Elections is a “Verbal discussion with the City Attorney relative to providing an opinion on the legality of reducing the annual funding budgeted to each Neighborhood Council in the amount determined by the CLA/CAO in order to contribute toward the cost of conducting the 2012 Neighborhood Council Elections.”
This comes on top of the current Mayor’s Budget proposal to cut Neighborhood Council budgets from $40,500 to $37,000 for the fiscal year 2012/2013.
Last week’s City Council action gave the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment temporary authority to conduct Neighborhood Council Elections in the current 2012 cycle, leaving the authority for the 2014 cycle with the City Clerk.
Several years ago, when the City Council moved the authority to conduct Neighborhood Council elections from the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment to the City Clerk, the transfer included authority over the elections and five staff positions.
This year, the responsibility to conduct Neighborhood Council Elections was returned to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment but it didn’t include the return of the five staff positions.
Section 911 of the City Charter directs the Mayor and the City Council to “thereafter appropriate funds for the department and neighborhood councils at least one year in advance of each subsequent fiscal year.”
During the last year, several Neighborhood Councils have celebrated their tenth anniversary, proudly leading the Neighborhood Council system into its second decade.
It’s sad to note that while LA’s Neighborhood Council system continues to inspire others around the world while at home, LA’s City Council continues to debate the cost of ballot boxes, poll managers, and participatory democracy.
(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at: [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter and on Facebook.) –cw
Tags: Stephen Box, Rethinking LA, Neighborhood Councils, Elections, City Council, Education and Neighborhoods Committee, City Attorney, funding, NC funding
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 39
Pub: May 15, 2012