Contact admin@theopnc.org for further information.

Info@lanccoalition.org
www.lanccoalition.org

The LANCC meets on the first Saturday of each month.
See our web site for details and agendas.

LANCC/BUDGETLA MEETING
This Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 10:00 AM

GUEST SPEAKERS

• DEP. MAYOR LARRY FRANK
• SPECIAL ASST. CITY ATTY JANE USHER

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

BudgetLA
February 27, 2010, 10:00 am
Hollywood Presbyterian Church
Upper Terrace Hall (enter on Yucca, park on Yucca)
1760 N. Gower Avenue, Hollywood , CA 90028

Leonard J. Shaffer
Chair, LANCCoalition

Sunday, March 7, 2010 10:00am - 2:00pm Women’s History Month Program begins at 1:00pmCalifornia African American Museum Exposition Park 600 State Drive LA 90037Car Seat Checks will be at: Figueroa Street & State Drive in the Round-a-bout. Parking: parking lot at 39th Street & Figueroa Street. CHP sponsored Car Seat installation and safety checks Child ID kits available from KIDS ARE 1st Enjoy the California African American Museum Learn about resources in your community. Talk to Senator Price about issues affecting you.

For more information please contact
Rebecca in Senator Price’s District office at (213)745-6656 or e-mail Rebecca.Bernal@sen.ca.gov ]]> http://olympicparkneighborhoodcouncil.org/2010/02/26/sen-curren-price-child-safety-event-3712/feed/ http://olympicparkneighborhoodcouncil.org/2010/02/25/opnc-board-meets-march-1-630pm/ http://olympicparkneighborhoodcouncil.org/2010/02/25/opnc-board-meets-march-1-630pm/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:27:56 +0000 admin http://olympicparkneighborhoodcouncil.org/2010/02/25/opnc-board-meets-march-1-630pm/ The monthly Olympic Park Neighborhood Board of Directors’ meeting will be held on Monday, March 1, 2010 – 6:30 PM (NOTE EARLIER START TIME) at the LAPD West Bureau Community Room – 4849 West Venice Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90019. This meeting will be a DONE coordinated NC RETREAT with training sessions in Planning and Goal Setting, Funding, Board Member Roles and Responsibilities and Outreach. We will also have a RE-VOTE on stakeholders Kelly McConnell and Peter Schulberg’s applications to fill the open EAST REP board seat. STAKEHOLDERS will participate in re-vote and are ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE in the RETREAT and learn about the NC system in advance of the upcoming board ELECTIONS (Candidate Filing Packet). Click on the Agenda to the left to view or dowload here:  OPNC AGENDA-RETREAT 030110Contact admin@theopnc.org for further information.

The Daily News’ Rick Orlov reports that today Mayor Villaraigosa is expected to announce that the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, which oversees Neighborhood Councils, will be folded into another agency. Via the news: “A recommendation to the mayor on Sunday calls for placing the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, or DONE, within the Community Development Department and reducing its staff from 42 to about a dozen. DONE has a total budget of $3.2 million. Under the action, DONE General Manger BH Kim is expected to step down as director. Responsibility for the agency will be placed with CDD Director Richard Benbow.” As previously reported by other papers, there’s been strange screw-ups recently at the agency ($880,000 in unaccounted credit card purchases, for instance). And while admitting that he’s “not a fan of DONE’s performance,” Our LA.org OpEd writer Noel Weiss questions the legality and protocol of folding one city agency into another.
· DONE expected to be folded into another agency to save money [Daily News]

At Saturday’s LANCC Budget LA meeting, moderator Stephen Box reminded us that when the oxygen masks on an airplane in distress are lowered we first put them on ourselves and then assist others. NCs need to take care of themselves because like the airline passenger we won’t be of help if we are incapacitated by defunding.

It was suggested in passing at City Hall? That to save the City money those NCs that didn’t show up to the BudgetLA meetings should lose all their funding.

A proposal to reduce DONE staffing by including NC volunteers something previously endorsed at the Feb. 6th LANCC meeting got some serious discussion. One queried can we get enough NC members to staff the 30 or so volunteer positions and another Paul Hatfield, was concerned about continuity in the DONE with NC volunteer turn over.

Doug Epperhart presented the plan in place of Shawn Simons, away in New York. He said the final numbers or conditions are not cast in concrete.

The Education and Neighborhoods Committee will take up the issue of DONE and NC structure and funding this Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. in the City Council chambers.

BongHwan Kim, General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, welcomes the changes put forth. He reminds us that the neighborhood councils are considered mini-city councils by the City , at least for the purposes of oversight. That requires NCs to have various department resources and support. That makes DONE an enforcer of numerous regulations and keeps it involved in many areas, diluting focus and requiring expertise in those areas. That is inefficient.

Community Partners, a non-profit was proposed to handle financial oversight of NC funding, taking a large workload off of DONE’s shoulders. BongHwan Kim felt that a non-profit could likely do it better and cheaper, largely because the non-profit wouldn’t be burdened by the City pension system.

When the NC pulse was taken to support outsourcing there was some hesitation with a split vote. The motion was amended to explore the possibility of outsourcing rather than recommending it presently.

At the LANCC BudgetLA meeting Feb. 6th a 7% charge for all transactions by Community partners was thought to be their fee. At Saturdays meeting Lupe Solorio of Community Partners said the fee could be 12%.

The hybrid plan presented Saturday consists of reorganizing DONE into four departments:

1. Administration – Responsible for the efficient running of the DONE office
2. Public Relations – To create a citywide NC campaign to encourage stakeholder participation in the system
3. Governmental Relations – Create relationships with City departments and foster communication with City Hall
4. Training – Programs to create strong boards and seamless transitions.

The total paid City personnel required is just 17 which includes a General Manager and Assistant GM. This is less than the proposed cut by the CAO to 19. The slack left by the reduced staff would be formally picked up by 35 NC unpaid positions staffed by NC volunteers, permanently assigned to DONE.

The reported savings to the City is at least $4 Million, again more than required by the CAO’s plan.

In exchange the NCs want minimal cuts leaving funding largely intact, re-instituted a one year rollover of unspent funds year, maintain the current system of bank cards for small disbursements and to allow NC involvement in determining expenditure categories.

Everyone is asked to arrive at Tuesday’s City Council meeting early to meet City Council staff and to attend the Education and Neighborhoods Committee meeting starting in the same chamber at 3 p.m.

Michael Cohen is a long time community activist and Reseda NC Council Liaison. He can be reached a mncohen@earthlink.netmncohen@earthlink.net

Download the AGENDA here: Election Committee AGENDA 021810

Stakeholders interested in participating in the election as a candidate may download a filing packet here: Complete Candidate Filing Packet

Download the flyer here: Sock Drive Flyer

Please pass this information on to your family, friends, colleagues, and contacts within the community so that we can ensure that EVERYONE gets counted in the 2010 Census!  Thanks!