SHRINKING NC FUNDING - On Tuesday, July 24, Councilman Bernard Parks’ Education and Neighborhoods Committee will take up an agenda item that could shrink neighborhood council budgets yet again.
The item involves deducting money from each neighborhood council's budget in order to pay for the costs of our elections. Unfortunately, the city agencies that support this move are not telling us in advance what the exact number is supposed to be, but it ranges from moderately serious to disastrous, depending on who you ask. Insider estimates range from $1,200-$12,000.
There are several counterarguments to this position: (a) The neighborhood council budgets were already cut by the Mayor by $5,000 this year with the understanding that this decrease covers election costs (b) The city budget already includes money for DONE to assist in elections to the tune of approximately half a million dollars (c) neighborhood councils routinely do outreach programs for their elections out of their own budgets (d) many neighborhood councils have chosen to carry out self-run board selection procedures that cost the city relatively little.
The LA Neighborhood Council Coalition is asking each neighborhood council to reply back to us at [email protected] either through its elected president or its appointed LANCC representative regarding your views on a potential second round of funding cuts for neighborhood councils. We will tally the responses and report on them.
Also, please copy [email protected]
Note: The council file number for the E&N agenda item is 11-0600-S23
(Bob Gelfand chairs the LA Neighborhood Council Coalition and Sara Epstein writes for CityWatch.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 59
Pub: July 24, 2012