TALKING POINTS-CityWatch recently ran two articles containing statements which the City Clerk would like to address:
“The Los Angeles City Clerk was supposed to conduct outreach on behalf of NCs in the last election cycle but did nothing – zip, nada – despite taking $5,000 from each council’s budget for that purpose.” - Dueling Visions: BH and the BS of a Neighborhood Council 1% Solution-No (by Mr. Paul Hatfield).
"Once the City Clerk sucked up all the money that had been used for outreach for the high cost of its election management, City Hall began to lose interest in the neighborhood councils." - LA's Neighborhood Councils: The 1% Solution is 100% Wrong (by Mr. Greg Nelson)
These statements require correction. In 2009 the Council directed that the overall cost to conduct the 2010 NC elections be reduced in light of the current fiscal emergency. All funds for outreach, along with comprehensive vote-by-mail and other NC election components, were eliminated. Thus the Clerk assumed responsibility only for the mechanics of administering the NC elections, and not for any outreach.
In separate action, as for nearly all City departments, the Council also reduced the amount of funding allocated to each Neighborhood Council - from $45,000 to $40,000 - in light of the current fiscal emergency. The savings were meant to balance the 2009-10 budget, not earmarked for NC elections.
(June Lagmay is Los Angeles City Clerk) -cw
CityWatch
Vol 9 Issue 67
Pub: Aug 23, 2011
