Hahn Seeks to Strengthen Councils

Moving to bolster the city’s new neighborhood councils, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn laid out his plan Friday for giving the organizations a greater say over city issues.

In a letter to the City Council, Hahn urged the adoption of seven proposals he said would make the councils stronger. The steps are from a 10-point plan for the councils that he outlined in his campaign.

“We will make government different,” the mayor said during a morning news conference outside Van Nuys City Hall. “We will make sure the people’s voice is heard.”

Later Friday, a motion by council members Janice Hahn, Dennis Zine and Nick Pacheco asking the council to approve the mayor’s proposal was referred to a committee, which will hear it in September.

Hahn’s recommendations include giving the seven members of the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners specific geographic oversight, requiring community impact statements for City Council actions affecting neighborhoods, creating a method for communication with the neighborhood councils, mandating neighborhood council input on the city’s budget and general manager reviews, and requiring city departments to meet quarterly with the neighborhood groups.

The mayor also said that in the next city budget, he would like to allocate money directly to the neighborhood councils, but said he had not decided how much.

On Oct. 1, groups that wish to be recognized as neighborhood councils can begin submitting their applications to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment.

Hahn also announced his nominees Friday to the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners. He wants to keep three current members--former nonprofit organization director Pat Herrera Duran, human relations consultant Mary Louis Longoria and Eastside activist Tammy Membreno. The mayor nominated architect William Christopher, teacher Jimmie Woods-Gray, Studio City community leader Tony Lucente and Internet executive Ronald Mark Stone for the other four slots on the board.