Neighborhood Councils Experiment Needs Clear Guidelines to Succeed

Thanks to the new City Charter, the City Council and the fledgling Department of Neighborhood Empowerment have until summer to determine the framework and powers of a new citywide network of neighborhood councils. If structured correctly, neighborhood councils can help communities unify around shared goals and secure city services that help them achieve those goals.

But with a little more than six months before the deadline to create this new and expansive experiment in local governance, several questions remain about how these councils will be structured, who their members will be, how they will be funded and what power they will have to hold city government accountable to their communities’ needs.

The first draft report released by the department emphasized a process for certifying a neighborhood council but lacked a bold vision and statement of purpose defining how these councils are to be structured and operate.

The plan that is ultimately adopted by the City Council by July 1 should clearly articulate how neighborhood councils will enhance community and civic life in Los Angeles and how residents, business people and community leaders will gain a greater voice in government by participating in them.

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Business leaders are among the stakeholders who have a significant interest in how the city decides to implement the network of neighborhood councils. That is why the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. (VICA), one of the city’s largest business leadership organizations, has recommended that the ultimate neighborhood council plan adopted by the City Council embrace the following guidelines:

* Balance. Membership in the neighborhood councils should be balanced to ensure that the business community has equal representation to other interested communities. The boards of directors or governing boards of neighborhood councils should operate on this same principle.

* Efficiency. The neighborhood councils should be structured to operate in a way that maximizes economic efficiency and the timely delivery of services. VICA supports the role of neighborhood councils in improving and streamlining the delivery of city services to all parts of the city, thereby improving the ability of the region to compete economically and to foster business retention and development.

* Fairness. VICA supports the fair and consistent application of all land-use policies and procedures to every planning case under the new charter. VICA believes that there should be uniform standards for land use, permits and decision-making that apply consistently throughout the city.

* Accountability. VICA encourages neighborhood councils to help clarify lines of authority between city departments and increase the accountability of all city departments for the services they provide.

* Openness. VICA supports the timely dissemination of information to the public regarding all decisions pertaining to implementation of the new charter and development of neighborhood councils. VICA encourages the city to fully utilize the World Wide Web as a means for distributing vital city documents and other pertinent materials. VICA also recommends that the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment create a system for notifying stakeholders each time a new neighborhood council begins the certification process. Easily accessible information about new proposed neighborhood councils should be open to all interested communities.

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The plan that is adopted will need to expand far beyond these guidelines and establish clear parameters for setting physical boundaries for the neighborhood councils as well as determining how tax dollars will be appropriated to each. The final plan should articulate a detailed recommendation for establishing boundaries that includes the optimal number of neighborhood councils for Los Angeles, given the physical size of the city, resource constraints and population.

The criteria and guidelines for funding must be clearly established and accountability for the expenditure of city funds must be built into any funding system. And while neighborhood councils should be encouraged to secure outside funding for projects, they should also be required to report the source for every dime of outside funding to the city and to the public.

These guidelines will help ensure that neighborhood councils reach their potential as local catalysts to create healthier communities, a more responsive government and a chorus of strong community voices that voters demanded be heard when they overwhelming approved the new City Charter last year.