Hahn Vows to Increase Citizen Council Power

Moving to stop defections to the secession movement, Mayor James K. Hahn on Saturday reassured leaders of Los Angeles’ fledgling neighborhood councils that they will be given more say in city budgeting and services.

Addressing more than 600 activists at the city’s first Congress of Neighborhoods, Hahn announced the creation of a new Neighborhood Team within his office to help expedite projects by neighborhood councils, and pledged that the councils will be given a role in setting priorities for the next city budget.

“Today, I am asking you to partner with me in leading Los Angeles,” he said. “I believe our mission is simple: to improve Los Angeles neighborhood by neighbor- hood.”

Hahn said in an interview that he sees the neighborhood council system as the best alternative to Hollywood and San Fernando cityhood measures on the Nov. 5 ballot.

“It’s very important to reassure the people that they will have a meaningful role,” he said. “It’s a real antidote to secession.”

The one-day conference at the Sheraton Universal Hotel provided workshops on topics ranging from how to get action from city bureaucrats to running council meetings.

The crowd applauded when Valley Councilman Dennis Zine declared: “We don’t need to secede from the city of Los Angeles. We need to find more success in the city of Los Angeles.”

However, the event was held amid growing frustration in some quarters that the city has been too slow in creating the councils and that they lack decision-making power.

Since a charter reform commission called for the councils three years ago, 39 have been certified by the city and eight have held community elections to fill out their ranks.

City officials said they actually are ahead of schedule, and that 70 councils may be in place by the end of the year, covering half of the city.

Still, the program has suffered some setbacks, including the city’s refusal to certify councils that would not adopt mandated bylaws. And among the councils that have been certified, some members have complained that they lack impact on city decisions.

In recent weeks, more than half a dozen council organizers and members have voiced support for secession as the best way to give residents more say at City Hall.

“I’ve been very, very frustrated,” said Rosa Martinez, an elected member of the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council. “Even though we have worked hard to get organized, we do not have the power to do much.”

She said city officials have hindered her group in its attempts to address local problems, including an effort to eliminate a needle exchange operation that the council believes attracts drug addicts to the neighborhood.

“I think Hollywood needs positive change, and cityhood will make a big difference for residents,” said Martinez.

Kim Thompson was another disenchanted attendee at Saturday’s convention. She helped organize a neighborhood council in Granada Hills but said the city has yet to certify the panel seven months after an application was filed.

Thompson, a Hahn appointee to the city’s Environmental Affairs Commission, said she now supports secession and will seek a Valley city council post.

Secessionists stood outside Saturday’s conference and handed out fliers that indicated they support neighborhood councils for the new cities, but with decision-making power over land-use issues.

Hahn said he understands the frustration, but that the councils need time to reach their potential.

He issued an executive directive in May to strengthen their role, in part by requiring city managers to meet quarterly with the councils to get input on services.

The mayor also increased the Department of Neighborhoods’ budget and set aside $3 million for grants to councils to spend on community improvements.

Mike Feyder of Harbor City and Richard Marshall of South Los Angeles were two attendees who agreed with the mayor. Both said they plan to vote against secession because they believe neighborhood councils provide the closer citizen involvement that secessionists promise without the potential problems of breaking up the city.

Charles Gremer, president of the West Hills council, said the mayor impressed his group by adopting its position against the Ahmanson Ranch subdivision project after consulting the council.

However, Gremer said the panel has otherwise had mixed success since it was elected in May, with some city officials ignoring their recommendations. So Gremer is voting for secession.

“The neighborhood councils have only an advisory status,” he said. “It is only by the dint of personality and contacts that we get anything done.”

Hahn, who later attended an anti-secession rally by city firefighters, said he will work on convincing the likes of Gremer that the councils are a better solution than secession.

“I know that people are dismissing these things, but they are just getting started and they have to be given a chance to work,” Hahn said.