More Powerful Local Panels Proposed

Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn released a plan Friday for giving more power to dozens of neighborhood councils, saying the budding groups should even help evaluate how well city department heads do their jobs.

Hahn, a candidate for mayor, made the proposal alongside a group of 30 community leaders in Van Nuys.

Hahn said his plan goes further than one drawn up by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment that is under consideration by the Los Angeles City Council.

Hahn’s 10-point plan includes calls for generous funding of the neighborhood groups, an office of neighborhood advocate within the mayor’s office, coordination between councils and quarterly meetings between city departments and the neighborhood groups.

In perhaps his most novel proposal, Hahn advocated neighborhood leaders’ involvement in evaluating top city employees.

“Community members are best positioned to determine whether a city department has delivered an appropriate level of services,” Hahn said. “Yet, right now, community members have no voice in the evaluation of general managers and their salary levels.”

Hahn is the first of the six major mayoral candidates to submit a detailed written plan on the neighborhood councils, though all of the contenders voice strong support for the organizations.