May 17, 2013
Empower LA Newsletter header

General Manager's Update 

 

I hope this newsletter finds you well. Last Saturday, I was happy to attend the South Los Angeles Alliance of Neighborhood Council's Candidate Forum where the "two skinniest guys in politics" (as City Attorney candidate Mike Feuer humorously called himself and Mayoral candidate Councilmember Eric Garcetti) spent a few hours fielding questions in front of the 150 plus folks in attendance. The SLAANC even had a list of specific commitments for the Mayoral candidates, and at their meeting last night, they agreed they would be following up with the new Mayor to ensure the commitments are met. 

 

This past week, I've been focused on the budget, and I'm thrilled to say that with the support of the Budget & Finance Committee and our Neighborhood Council leaders, particularly Jay Handal from the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, we maintained all of our positions, including two new positions - Accountant I and Senior Project Coordinator for policy, plus funding for the implementation of the new checking account system and for the Congress and Budget Advocate work. The Committee's recommendations will now go to City Council for final approval on Wednesday, May 22nd, so keep your fingers crossed that nothing else changes!

 

The City Attorney's Office released two opinions this week concerning Neighborhood Councils and citywide committees and on the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners' factual basis stakeholder motion. The Commission will be making their decision on the factual basis stakeholder definition on Monday, May 20th, so if you haven't already weighed in on the matter, please do so by clicking here.

 

I had the pleasure of chatting with Studio City Neighborhood Council on Wednesday night. They file the most Community Impact Statements on issues in the City and had 3 of them on the agenda that night. I hope your Neighborhood Council is taking the time to weigh in on Council Files. Your positions are put on the actual City Council agendas for everyone to see, and Neighborhood Council are the only entity that can do this. If you want to know how to do this, come to our EmpowerLA Leadership Academy tomorrow in the Valley to learn about that and how to effectively lobby your positions at City Hall.

 

Many thanks to the staff and the Neighborhood Councils for the smoothest demand warrant deadline Wednesday we've ever had. We received 138 demand warrants in one day! The next deadline up is for bylaw amendments on June 1st.

 

Thanks for all your time and efforts for your community!
 
Hope you have a relaxing weekend! 

  

Best,

 

 

Grayce Liu,

General Manager

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment  

 

Empower Yourself.

Empower Your Community.

Empower LA.

    



The Ultimate LA Block Party 

 

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa invites you to join him for a final farewell event and Heritage Celebration Finale on June 7th, Celebrate LA! Celebrate LA will be a fun-filled event for the whole family! There will be food, activities, performances by grammy-award winning artists, many surprise guests, and a special appearance by President Bill Clinton!...

 

>>> continue reading 



Where's My NC Agenda?

 

Stakeholders in search of their Neighborhood Council agendas need look no further than their email inbox, thanks to the City of LA's Early Notification System (ENS) which allows the community to select from a long list of councils, commissions, and committees. To subscribe to the ENS for a specific agenda, visit the City of LA's website (LACity.org) and select City Government where you will have the option to "Subscribe to Meeting Agendas and More."...

 

>>> continue reading 



PlanCheckNC Hosts the Planners

 

This past Saturday, PlanCheckNC convened in Glassell Park, hosting Senior Planners Shana Bonstin and Bob Duenas who presented a general overview of the different types of cases and projects that are processed in the Plan Implementation Unit...

 

>>> continue reading 



Commissioners agendize
Factual Basis Stakeholders

 

This past Saturday, PlanCheckNC convened in Glassell Park, hosting Senior Planners Shana Bonstin and Bob Duenas who presented a general overview of the different types of cases and projects that are processed in the Plan Implementation Unit...

 

>>> continue reading 



Alliances and Coalitions

 

Neighborhood Councils continue to grow in strength, working together on regional and citywide issues, and supporting each other as mentors and allies. This past week, the Westside Regional Alliance of Councils (WRAC) met at Jerry's Deli to take on regional issues such as the airport expansion, fracking, and economic development as well as citywide issues such as the budget, the harbor, and Neighborhood Council representation on city commissions...

 

>>> continue reading 


Funding Update 5.17.13

 

The deadline to submit Demand Warrants on May 15th has come and gone, and I'm happy to report, it was one of the most successful and smooth processes in Department history. We accepted over 138 Demand Warrants in a single day! Both staff and NC Board Members were appreciative of having multiple drop-off locations throughout LA. Staff is already hard at work processing the received Demand Warrants and updating the Check Tracker. As a final reminder, due to shortage of Department staff and the high volume of Demand Warrants that have been submitted by the deadline, there will be no exceptions made for any Neighborhood Councils that submitted Demand Warrants after the deadline...

 

>>>continue reading


 

This week it was all hands on deck in receiving and reviewing Demand Warrants from the various Neighborhood Councils. As you are all aware, the deadline to submit demand warrants was May 15th. As previously stated, field staff worked from our downtown offices and other designated locations in the field such as the Valley, Harbor, West Area and South LA in order to give Neighborhood Councils local access for Demand Warrant drop off. Thank you for taking the time to drop off Demand Warrants before the deadline. I would also like to give the Field Staff a special thank you for their work and assistance...

 

>>>continue reading


 
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DEADLINES 

 

May 31, 2013 

Congress/Budget Advocate Transfers

 

June 1 

Proposed Bylaw Revisions  

 

June 14 

2012/2013 P-Card Transactions

 

July 12
Approved Budgets for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 due
 

  

UPCOMING
 EVENTS

 

 

 

Valley Leadership Academy

 

Sat, May 18

8am-12noon

 

Marvin Braude Building 6262 Van Nuys Blvd

Van Nuys 91401 

 

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Board of Neighborhood Commissioners

 

Mon, May 20

1-4pm

 

City Hall 10th Floor Conference Center
Room 1060
200 N Spring St

LA 90012

 

Agenda in pdf

 

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ELECTION DAY!

 

Tue, May 21

7am-8pm

 

Find your Polling Place

 

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CANCELED

Education and Neighborhoods Committee Meeting  

 

Tue, May 21

 

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NC Plan Review Committee

Tue, May 21
6:30-8:30pm

Community Health Partners
3731 Stocker St
Suite 201
LA 90008

 

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NC Plan Review- Board of Neighborhood Commissioners' Joint Committee Meeting

 

Sat, May 25

1:30-4:30pm

  

Hollywood Constituent Center
6501 Fountain Ave
Hollywood 90028

 

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Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition (LANCC) Meeting

 

Sat, June 1

10am-1pm

 

Hollywood Constituent Center
6501 Fountain Ave

Hollywood 90028

 

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Email City Hall at
Council File
Hot Sheet

 

Here are some active Council Files that affect Neighborhood Councils citywide, which your Neighborhood Council may want to weigh in on:

 

13-0600 Budget Proposal Fiscal Year 2013-14

 

13-0355 Neighborhood Councils / City Budgetary Process Involvement 

 

 13-0046 Business Community Support / Oversight of Land Use Planning and Administration / Streamline System

 

Movement: 08-3050 Establishment of Economic Development Department 

 

CF 11-1020-S1 Neighborhood Council Funding Program -

Approved NC Funding Program - to instruct the City Attorney to begin work on the ordinance language for NC checking accounts and to set up an account for NCs to transfer funds from this fiscal year to next fiscal year for the Congress/Budget Advocates with a cap

of $100k.

 

CF 11-0923 - Art Murals Citywide Program / Mural Ordinance

 

11-1912-S1 2012 Neighborhood Council Elections / Cost and Administration

 

   11-1531 Single-Use Carryout Bags / City Policy

 

12-0600-S171 City at Crossroads: Crisis Management or Stability and Reinvestment?

 

1300-S5 Medical Marijuana / Limited Immunity Ordinance / Ballot Resolutions and Ordinance

 

1300-S6 Constitutional Amendment / Limiting Campaign Spending and Rights of Corporations / Ballot Resolutions and Ordinance / May 2013 Election

 

1300-S2 Medical Marijuana Collectives (MMI) / Ordinance Initiative Petition / Certification of Sufficiency

 

City Clerk's Referral Memoranda 

 

12-1321 Prohibitions Against Felons and Sex Offenders / Elected and Appointed Officials / City Regulations

 

13-1300-S1 $3 Billion Street Repair Bond Measure

 





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