November 9, 2012
Empower LA Newsletter header

Interim General Manager's Update 


I hope this newsletter finds you well. A lot of great happenings this past week! On Monday, we held our first webinar to go over the Department's budget.  With folks both online and in the office, our Administrative Manager, Jeff Brill, and I showed our budget process and answered questions from the participants. Here's a copy of the powerpoint we discussed. A big thank you to those who participated and to the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates for co-presenting the event. The new Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates will be selected during the Mayor's Budget Day on Saturday, November 17th. We have over 100 Neighborhood Council leaders who have RSVP'd for the event so if you haven't already done so, please do. We're looking forward to seeing everyone!

 

Even with Tuesday's election excitement, our hard working Board of Neighborhood Commissioners met and discussed policy for the Neighborhood Council system. They heard from Councilmember Huizar's office on his subdivision and factual basis stakeholder motions and will be further discussing these issues in their upcoming meetings. We also celebrated Hollywood United Neighborhood Council's 10th Anniversary.

 

I had an opportunity on Wednesday to meet and thank our new Boards for West Hills and Lake Balboa Neighborhood Councils, which is always a treat.  Speaking of the Valley Neighborhood Councils, the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils held their famous Planning Forum last night (more info below). With representatives from 33 of the 34 Valley Councils and 1 Neighborhood Council leader who came over the hill from East LA, over 160 participants learned from top notch planning and land use experts. It was really impressive and congratulations to the VANC for holding such a successful event! 

 

Our last election region will go on November 15th, and as we wind down, I've been able to spend more time handling other areas that need attention, such as our budget submission and the Neighborhood Council Funding Program, which includes finishing up work so we are compliant with a Controller audit we received several years ago. I was very appreciative that Controller Wendy Greuel and her Chief Deputy Controller Claire Bartels took time from their busy schedules today to personally meet with me. It was clear that Wendy is supportive of our efforts to streamline the Funding Program and to make it easier for Neighborhood Councils to use the funds for their communities. We discussed options such as imprest checking accounts and increased availability of the purchase card to pay for expenses so that we rely less on demand warrants, which are time consuming both for the Neighborhood Council and on our end. Wendy was very gracious in offering her staff's continued support. Many thanks to Claire, Faith Mok and Min Chen, who have been so helpful these past few months as I've been educating myself on all things funding. I was delighted to pin Wendy and Claire with their "I heart NCs" buttons and look forward to our work together for Neighborhood Councils.

 

A heartfelt thank you to our veterans in celebration of Veteran's Day this weekend.  Our office will be closed on Monday in observance of Veteran's Day. 

 

Enjoy your weekend! 

 

Best,

                                  

Grayce Liu, 

Interim General Manager

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment  

 

Empower Yourself.   

Empower Your Community. 

Empower LA.

    



Funding Report 11.9.12  

 

Treasurer's Training - Monday, November 19, 2012

The Funding crew is going to the San Fernando Valley! Our next training will be held on Monday, November 19th from... 

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Administration Section Report
Week of 11.5.12
 

   

From the Administration Section this week, Ethic's has been a topic of discussion. As Neighborhood Council Board Member's are elected, the Department's Ethics database will have to be updated more regularly. As part of this process and as the Ethics part of the Department transitions to the Administration Section, the Department is investigating...

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News from Field Operations
11.9.12
 

   

Hello, Neighborhood Council leaders! This week, the Department's field staff has concentrated its efforts on preparing for training sessions, conducting individual NC mediation sessions, preparing for Board Retreats and we've been busy attending New Board Installations. We are happy to meet all the new faces in the NC System as well as greet those of you have been part of the system for some time... 

 

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Mayor's Budget Day Program  

 

The date is fast approaching for the Mayor's Community Budget Day, which will be on Saturday, November 17th, from 8:00 am - 12:00 noon at City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street. Everyone is invited. We especially encourage board members from all of the City's Neighborhood Councils to participate. Have you rsvp'd yet?...

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 Veterans Appreciation Festival  

   

The City of Los Angeles invites you to attend its First Annual Veterans Appreciation Festival from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10 at the USS IOWA, 250 South Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro. The free event includes ...

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Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils hosts Planning Forum

   

Board members from 33 Valley neighborhood councils drove through the rain to pack the room at the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils' Planning Forum on Thursday night.  The crowd filled Carla's Cafe on the CBS Studio lot in Studio City for a supper buffet, networking and learning...

 

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New GoSolar.LA Website
Helps Find Solar Contractors
and Project Financing

    

Los Angeles-based Open Neighborhoods this month announced the launch of a new community solar program at  GoSolar.LA. The new website provides comparison shopping and online bidding services for residential, commercial, and tax exempt property owners and multi-family communities in greater Los Angeles seeking to identify and evaluate solar contractors, equipment and financing providers. The GoSolar.LA program also includes discounted...

 

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NC Funding button
Track Your City Check Requests Here

Budget FY 2011-12 Neighborhood Council Expenditures

in Pdf

in Excel 

 

Neighborhood Council
Expense Report 
for OCTOBER 

DETAILED in pdf

DETAILED in excel

SUMMARY in pdf

SUMMARY in excel

 

Election Outreach
Encumbrance Reconciliation Policy
 

UPCOMING 
 EVENTS 

Plan Check NC 
Meeting 

  

Sat, Nov 10th
10am-1pm

  

The Community Exchange
114 W. 5th St.
LA 90013
 

  

South Los Angeles Alliance of Neighborhood Councils Meeting

  

Thu, Nov 15th 
6:30pm-8:30pm

  

Community Health Councils 
3731 Stocker, Suite 201 
LA 90008 
 
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Mayor's Budget Day  

Sat, Nov 17th 
8am-12noon 


City Hall -Board of Public Works Room 
200 North Spring St. 
LA 90012
 
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Contact Us
Phone: (213) 978-1551
Fax: (213) 978-1751

Our New Address:
200 North Spring Street
20th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
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2012 Election Info
 
Independent Election Administrators (IEA)
 
Region 1- Sat, Aug 4th
Region 2- Sat, Sept 8th
Region 3- Sat, Sept 29th
Region 4-Thurs, Sept 20th

Kevin Taylor 

Region 5- Sun, Sept 16th
Region 6- Thurs, Nov 15th
Region 7- Sat, Oct 6th
Region 8- Sat, Oct 13th
Region 9- Sat, Oct 20th
Region 10- Sat, Oct 27th
Region 11- Sun, Oct 28th
Region 12

 

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Van Nuys, CA 91401  

 

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