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Mayor’s Budget “Heavily” Influenced by NCs |
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New Community Budget Process
By Karen Villafana
In 1999, Angelenos created a new system of Neighborhood Councils to bring communities closer to their local government. This was a groundbreaking opportunity for neighborhood members to build an active collaboration with City Hall.
 The process has not always been smooth, nor has it been easy. However,
as with any new system, it takes trial and error to figure out the best
ways to improve this system of democracy. Over the years, the system
has indeed been progressing.
Working with the City’s Neighborhood Councils, Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE), Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (BONC), and the Neighborhood Council Review Commission (NCRC), we have witnessed an evolution of the Neighborhood Council system. What is particularly significant is the creation of innovative partnerships between Neighborhood Councils and the Mayor’s Office. In the 33 months since Mayor Villaraigosa took office, neighborhood councils have played an increasingly significant role in helping guide one of the most important responsibilities of the Mayor, the City Budget.
In October 2007, over 200 community members and neighborhood council representatives participated in the Community Budget Day event. To ensure that the voices of Los Angeles communities were heard, a special budget survey was designed according to feedback received from the budget survey conducted in the previous year. This new survey asked respondents tough questions on real budget issues that we faced as the budget developed. The survey required respondents to analyze the funding levels of City programs and services as a way to create a balanced budget. The neighborhood councils answered the call, and over 2,700 Angelenos completed the budget survey providing valuable input on how the City could best serve the people of Los Angeles.
The citywide results from the budget surveys were compiled, and neighborhood councils were reconvened in February to discuss regional budget issues and priorities. From those meetings, 14 regional budget representatives were elected by their peers to deliver their respective region’s budget priority message directly to the Mayor.
On March 8th, the elected representatives met with the Mayor for an open dialogue about their regional budget priorities and specific suggestions from neighborhood councils for potential budget cuts. The representatives also made specific recommendations on new revenue sources for the City and new partnerships with the Mayor’s Office. Mayor Villaraigosa welcomed the proposed collaboration with neighborhood councils and invited each of the budget representatives to the State of the City address. Your budget representative from the Tarzana Neighborhood Council, Mr. Albert Abrams, succinctly captured the meeting with the Mayor in a special report to City Watch on April 11, 2008 (click here) .
As the Neighborhood Council system evolves, so has the interaction between City Hall and the neighborhood councils. Budget representatives that met with Mayor Villaraigosa created an innovative process and a new way for the community to be a part of the political process. The voices of the community and the budget representatives helped guide the priorities of our City Budget. As you will see in the proposed budget for fiscal year 2008 – 2009, the decisions and choices made by Mayor Villaraigosa are heavily influenced by the input from neighborhood councils. This is a pioneering process, providing a truly collaborative partnership between neighborhood councils and the City. We at the Mayor’s Office are looking forward to continue this new partnership with the Neighborhood Council system.
We would like to offer our gratitude to the 14 Budget Representatives who have dedicated so much of their time to make this a truly democratic process.
Bel Air-Beverly Crest - Ron Galperin
Central Hollywood - Scott Campbell
Central San Pedro - John Delgado Jr.
Empowerment Congress Southwest – James Harris
Empowerment Congress West - Charles Zacharie
Foothill Trails - Lucy Matsumoto
Greater Valley Glen - Vic Viereck
Historic Highland Park - Heinrich Keifer
LA-32 – Jimmy Dechirico
Westchester-Playa – Denny Schneider
Northwest San Pedro - Craig Goldfarb
Olympic Park - Verna Jones
Pacoima – Leticia Rodriguez
Tarzana - Al Abrams
See Mayor’s budget here.
(Karen Villafana is Area Representative and Budget Process Coordinator for the Office of the Mayor.) _
CityWatch
Vol 6 Issue 33
Pub: Apr 22, 2008
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