CommentsEASTSIDER--Goodness, according to the City they don’t have to keep records of DONE’s agendas and minutes, so I guess that under the Government Code they aren’t an actual Commission!
This is one of those ‘only in LA City’ moments. After making a public records act request, yours truly wound up chasing Alice down the Rabbit Hole that is called DONE and BONC United.
I was doing research (yes we CityWatch contributors do that) over the evolution of the BONC/DONE roles in placing Neighborhood Councils in “Exhaustive Efforts”, also referred to as Purgatory. As a part of the original NC process and elections, I seem to remember that back in the day, DONE did not have the authority to unilaterally place a Neighborhood Council into Exhaustive Efforts. In Fact, while BONC could ultimately decertify a NC, there was no mention of “Exhaustive Efforts” in the Charter or Plan.
Since the current Rules seem to specifically allow this, I wanted to go back to the early days and review BONC agendas/minutes to see (a) if I was right, and (b) track the evolution of this procedure, since it is nowhere found in the Charter Amendment or the original Plan.,
Sounds simple, right?
Enter the BONC/Done Express
I went online to find the historic files, politely writing that I could find no files prior to 2011. Since the Charter amendment dates to 1999, and BONC was up and running around 2001, this made no sense. Thus, the PRA request asking for the old BONC agendas and minutes. Basic research 101.
Imagine my surprise when I got an attached set of pdf files covering the time between 2011 and 2008 only, with the following statement:
“Please note. The Department has no records prior to 2008, except for one agenda dated January 17, 2006.”
I knew that this should not be so, so I went back to my bible on such matters -the League of California Cities monograph, entitled “The People’s Business - a Guide to the California Public Records Act”. Looking up the reference, right there in the California Government Code, at Sections 34090-34095, we find the following language”:
“Unless otherwise provided by law, with the approval of the legislative body by resolution and the written consent of the city attorney, the head of a city department may destroy any city record, document, instrument, book or paper, under his charge, without making a copy thereof, after the same is no longer needed.
This section does not authorize the destruction of:
....” (e) The minutes, ordinances, or resolutions of the legislative body or of a city board or commission.”
So, under the law, assuming the BONC is a city board or commission, the head of a city department, in this case DONE, cannot have ever destroyed the minutes of the BONC. Period. Full stop.
Therefore, either BONC is not a city board, or the head of DONE has violated state law, and evidently has never bothered to follow the statute. Heck maybe never read it. Take your pick. Mayhap we will find out real soon now which is the case.
And thus, the heading of this article - since we all know that Grayce Liu & DONE have never ever violated the law (just ask them), I guess BONC is not an actual Board. I therefore respectfully ask that they cease doing business until they can comply with the Public Records Act.
Then and Now
Unfortunately, all sarcasm aside, this issue is critically important. For example, I’m reasonably certain that back in the day, if DONE wanted to recommend disciplinary action (for that is what this is all about), nothing could take place until the neighborhood Council had an opportunity to appeal DONE’s recommendation to BONC. The Board then could sustain, reverse, or otherwise modify the recommendation after providing the affected Neighborhood Council a due process review.
Now the latest Plan for a Citywide System of Neighborhood Councils, in Article 6 Section 4, it states that:
“Complaints against a Neighborhood Council of any nature shall be filed with DONE on a form prescribed by DONE. A copy of the complaint shall be delivered by DONE to the affected Certified Neighborhood Council against which the complaint is made within five business days of receipt of the complaint. Exhaustive efforts to remedy all complaints shall be taken by DONE. In the case where a complaint is in regard to a violation of this Plan and a remedy cannot be reached, the process prescribed in Article VI, Section 5 shall be followed.”
Sorry for the lengthy quote, but it’s important. Article VI, section 5 is the involuntary de-certification of the Neighborhood Council.
So, to find out how this piece of authoritarian rubbish came to be, I wanted to go back to the beginning, and track the changes that ultimately led to the current language.
Well, I can’t do it because the Department Head charged with preserving all these records has evidently destroyed them and doesn’t even know that they are in violation of the very law which would allow the public to conduct the research necessary to find out what happened! Sheesh!
And where is City Attorney Feuer and the band of city attorneys ensconced at DONE? Remember, the Government Code specifically requires that he sign off in writing on any of the destruction of Commission records. Shame.
The Takeaway
Underneath the current Plan, there has occurred a monumental shift in power from BONC to DONE, with no criteria, no appeal, no due process. And aside from some Amendment dates, you can’t even tell what the language changes were and when they were made.
The closest analogy I can give you is an International Union decides to place a local union in Trusteeship. The International sends someone out, cans the President & officers, freezes the assets, and runs the show for as long as they like, with no meaningful appeal process. Everybody does exactly what they want or they are goners.
This is a takeover scheme worthy of Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump. Just ask any of the NC’s who have been exhaustively effort-ed what happened to their funds that were frozen and then ‘swept’ into DONE’s own coffers.
The whole thing stinks worse than an angry skunk who sprayed. Maybe, just maybe, so that LA City can be in compliance with the law, the City should get rid of both BONC and DONE, have the City Council directly take over the Neighborhood Council system, and run it themselves. That way, at least the Neighborhood Councils could go to their very own City Council member to obtain support and/or help. They could even set up a Committee! Oh, wait, they already have one.
So, folks, who in this mess is going to step up and start following the law? Any takers?
(Tony Butka is an Eastside community activist, who has served on a neighborhood council, has a background in government and is a contributor to CityWatch.)
