MY TURN-The downside of taking a vacation is that when one returns, the cracks in the ceiling are more apparent. It is now a little over two years that I have been writing articles for City Watch. I went back and reviewed some of those early issues and unfortunately some are the same. (Photo: “Another exciting board meeting”)
It was an exciting time two years ago. We had a whole new group of elected officials and a newly elected Mayor who was talking about making life better for those that live and work in the City of Los Angeles.
Those of us who view the glass as half full…are probably more disappointed than the resident cynics who don’t expect anything. I notice the Los Angeles Times is going to start giving two year report cards to the four elected positions. I thought about doing that and I still might… but I decided to review one of the City chartered organizations that is close to my heart.
My return to involvement in LA city life started with Neighborhood Councils (NC’s). I ran an international company for thirty years and so my interests and public service was international in scope. I could get a great table in Mexico City’s finest restaurant without a reservation, but ask me for a restaurant in Tarzana and I’d have to check “Yelp.”
I discovered Neighborhood Councils when, as President of my Home Owners Association (what a horrible job that is), I needed to get some help with a DWP problem. I discovered the Neighborhood Council System, which in representing all of the stake holders in Tarzana, acted as liaisons with the City departments.
Tarzana Neighborhood Council had a vacancy in the outreach Committee and I was drafted by someone who today, is one of my closest friends. She is an activist that doesn’t seek the spotlight…she just makes good things happen. That led to several years of intense activity and learning the good and bad about NC’s. To this day I still think it is one of the best things Los Angele City has in which to spark civic involvement.
But to be honest after this recent vacation I discovered that not all was rosy in NC Land. Out of the 96 NC’s about 40% were having trouble; twenty per cent were disasters and the others were doing an adequate to good job.
I realize that the Mayor uses his City Commission appointments to repay some of his supporters. I’m sure that there are a few Commissioners appointed because of their expertise in a certain area, but I’ll bet more than 50% are appointment paybacks. These citizens don’t have a clue about their area and since it is an unpaid position and most have real jobs, they leave most of the work to the paid staff.
I did a three part series on the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (BONC) when I first began writing for CW. This Commission works with the City agency, Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (EmpowerLA ) in order to create policy and insure that the NC’s are functioning well. It is not an easy job keeping track of more than 1700 activists from all over the City.
At that time my series was entitled “Is BONC… BUNK? With a couple exceptions the BONC Commissioners were a rather dull group. So when Mayor Garcetti appointed five new Commissioners and re-appointed two prior members, I was really optimistic. Two years later we have two Commissioners who miss more meetings than they attend; the two reappointed Commissioners that have displayed little vision but a lot of knowledge of parliamentary procedure; two commissioners from opposite ends of the City who are full of ideas and enthusiasm and keep getting shot down; and one commissioner who came in raring to go but seems to have less enthusiasm as time goes on.
The mission statement says that BONC is supposed to set policy for the NC’s and to certify new groups and decertify those not doing their job. Instead it has earned the nickname, “Board of No Commitment.” It spends endless months over minutia or thinking up new rules and regulations.
It has not followed through on any of the big issues it has discussed for two years. Add to that, the City Attorney representatives who attend the meetings so they can put the “kabosh" on any imaginative activities or ideas the Commissioners may have. They want to make sure the City isn’t liable. Perhaps they should spend more time and energy controlling other agencies that have huge liability issues.
One of the Commissioners’ jobs is to visit with the NC’s in their geographical area. I took an informal random survey. The majority of the Commissioners had not visited all, or in several cases one NC during their term. Some of them showed up at events where there were sure to be “important people.” so they could be introduced by their titles and post the pictures on Face Book or other web sites.
EmpowerLA has been decimated. When first formed there were 60 plus employees. Now there are 15 and 30% are always out on stress related leave. I sat through a three hour BONC meeting before writing this article. I listened on line and it was hard to stay awake. More time is spent on making motions, amending motions, tabling motions than allowing public comment, which is limited to three minutes per person. With a couple of exceptions, the public comments were far more interesting than the discussion by the Commissioners.
Council President Herb Wesson, has now taken over the Neighborhoods Committee and combined it with his own Rules Committee. He has appointed two new City Council members and has kept his promise (so far) to try and revitalize EmpowerLA and motivate the Neighborhood Councils.
The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (EmpowerLA) has eight job openings. Four are exempt positions, so one doesn’t have to have the Civil Service requirements. Supposedly, the City HR Department advertised the openings. I’m sure there are several people out there that are familiar with NC’s, can handle the stress of all those volunteers; and would love to make sure that stakeholders are involved in making this a better City.
The Neighborhood Council system is at a cross roads. Very few new people are participating. This is due to the “Senior” crowd who has made being an NC Board member or officer, their other life. There are many NC Board members who have held the same title for years OR they play musical chairs and go through the various offices. If a small group controls everything—- using it as their fiefdom, people who may be interested in getting involved, notice and put their time and talents into other organizations.
Perhaps there should be a written job description for City Commissioners. Before they accept an appointment they have to sign a “letter of intent” to carry out the position for which they have been nominated.
Something has to change…It is time for real leadership. Seeking out the next generation of leaders and making sure they are properly trained is vital. The NC organization needs to have a better blueprint. BONC needs an attitude readjustment, as well as accomplishing real changes that are more than words.
I am sure many of you have suggestions. Would love to hear from you.
(Denyse Selesnick is a CityWatch columnist. She is a former Publisher/journalist/international event organizer. Denyse can be reached at: [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 58
Pub: Jul 17, 2015
