The City Council takes up the city budget for 2011-12 at 9 a.m. today and the only questions to be resolved is who will be hurt the worst, whose lives will be put at the greatest risk.
It would be wrong to call what will go on deliberations since that would suggest there are going to be thoughtful discussions and deep analysis.
What will get is the usual posturing and hot air while decisions are made in back rooms and Council members go along obediently save for occasional face-saving gestures to their constituents.
Sometime after Tuesday’s half-hour Council meeting, back room participants in City Hall’s shadow government came to the realization that borrowing $50 million through unsecured commercial paper to cover just 10 percent of the deficit was probably a bad idea.
By late afternoon, Jay Handal, chair of the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, was getting a call from City Hall telling him that all funding for the city’s 93 NCs might be reduced from $45,000 to zero, or close to zero.
“Basically they are gutting and shutting down the neighborhood council system,” Handal told LA Weekly’s Mars Melnicoff.
A short while later, Handal and Dan Wiseman of the Budget Advocates sent out an email blast to all NC members urging them to come to City Hall today and join in the 10 a.m. news conference with a broad coalition of community groups urging the Council to fix LA without more games and gimmicks.
“Show your opposition to this “same old – same old” style budget that DOES NOT SOLVE the City’s real fiscal problems but just perpetuates them,” they said. “Ssupport the 15 RECOMMENDATIONS (NCBA RECOMMENDATIONS.doc) proposed by your NC BUDGET ADVOCATES.”
“INSIST
that the City discontinue this destructive contraction of funds,
employees and City Services and institute FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.”
Here’s how to email your Council member if you can’t be at City Hall in person:
councilmemberwesson@lacity.org
councilman.rosendahl@lacity.org councilmember.alarcon@lacity.org councilmember.cardenas@lacity.org councilmember.garcetti@lacity.org councilmember.hahn@lacity.org councilmember.huizar@lacity.org councilmember.krekorian@lacity.org councilmember.labonge@lacity.org paul.koretz@lacity.org
councilmember.parks@lacity.org councilmember.reyes@lacity.org councilmember.smith@lacity.org councilmember.zine@lacity.org jan.perry@lacity.org
Having been on the formation committees for 3 NCs, I’m sad to say that I would be relieved to see 95% of neighborhood councils go away.
It is the rare NC that is truly a positively contributing member of its community.
To Anon 10:01AM: We agree with your assessment.
Our nominee for NC nullification is the thoroughly dysfunctional, corrupted Van Nuys NC, an unethical cabal of sycophants, slavish-tools of manipulation for Cardenas’ office.
YES, LETS DO AWAY WITH THESE NEEDLESS USELESS NCs. Let’s also do away with elections for Mayor, Controller, and Gaga-Attorney! Let’s do away with elections for the 15 seats on the Horseshoe—let’s instead put up all these seats ON EBAY to the highest and best bidder! No more “campaigns” and no more “promises” from these crooked, evil, disgusting filth we have for “leaders” of this depressed City! (All the proceeds for the “elections” would go for road repairs on Wilshire Blvd between Western and La Cienega.)
Don’t bother telling anyone at City Hall anything. It’s a waste of your time and breath. The people on whom you should focus are people who fail to vote in local elections.
RE: 6:31pm: Sounds right to me!
I find it quite funny that they say that a call went out to all NC members. I do not recall receiving any email communications from these NC Budget reps.
The only email from an NC budget rep I saw was from the guy in Sunland-Tujunga who was creating panic over the cuts to the fire dept using false information. And that’s it.
I didn’t get any email from the NC Budget Advocates either and I’m a President. Sorry that the first few posters believe we should all go away but that isn’t going to happen so, sorry you lost your election or whatever your reason for hating us is.
However, IF you knew ANYTHING about how the City works, you would know that they can’t reduce our money to zero. It’s mandated by the Charter which you who are bitching, probably voted for.
The problem with those current “budget advocates” is – if you look at their recommendations – they never discuss NCs. That is why we elected them. It appears we need all new ones next year since this team felt it was their job to save the entire City instead of concentrating on NCs like they should have.
I went to Valley Vote on Monday night specifically to see Council member Paul Krekorian. He is the Chair of Education and Neighborhood Committee. I have been to a few of his meetings in the last year. I knew that the Council would look to him for a recommendation for our NC Budgets. He told us that he expected us to take a 10% cut just like other City departments.
I have been very pleased with Paul Krekorian both as E and N Chair, and on the Energy and Environment Committee. He was also discussing the need to bring business to L.A. at Valley Vote. We need to find incentives to have businesses in Los Angeles.
Chris, did you notice how Krekorian said he would not get involved in the City’s budget issues? He voted along wit the rest of the cattle, too.
Sorry – that is chicken-sh*t.
1:43, I didn’t lose an NC election ever. Not even once. You cannot blame my comments at 1:10 on sour grapes. They come from a whole lot of NC experience.
To 1:43, and I, 1:55 pm, didn’t lose either, but I do have inside information that VNNC has devolved into an unethical,corrupted tool for manipulation by Cardenas’ office. Scum rises to the top.