Welcome Neighborhood Council Board Members

Neighborhood Council Board Members, both elected and appointed, are required to do three things in order to vote on issues that come before the council: take Ethics Training, take Funding Training, and sign a Code-of-Conduct Certificate.

EmpowerLA tracks the compliance on these three items and posts the results of the Ethics and Funding Training on the EmpowerLA website so that the public and the board can see who is eligible to vote.

Visit EmpowerLA.org and select your council to see a page that has information on your council, including the location of your meetings, your bylaws and maps, and a roster of Board Member with their contact email and their training status. Please take a look and verify the accuracy of this information, emailing Rosters@EmpowerLA.org with any updates or corrections.

New Board Members

For new Board Members that have yet to be updated on the NC EmpowerLA Page Board Roster, please make sure to email Rosters@EmpowerLA.org and CC your officers. The new Board Member will then have the information updated on the EmpowerLA NC page roster. Please make sure to have completed your trainings, so that it can updated at once when you are added to the NC EmpowerLA Page Board Roster.

Board Member Voting Eligibility and Certification Requirements

To be eligible to vote on any NC Expenditure, Financial Reports, and/or annual budgets, the board member must:

  • Be an Elected, Appointed and/or Selected Board Member of the NC
  • Be 18 years of age or older
  • Have completed the California State Ethics Training Requirement for Local Officials (AB 1234)
  • Have completed the Code of Conduct acknowledgement.
  • Have completed the online NC Board Member Funding Training and obtain a passing score of 70% or above on any test associated with the online course at least once every 2 years.
    • Board members may also attend the in-person Funding Training required for NC Financial Officers, at least once every 2 years.
    • Any Funding trainings completed before July 1, 2018 will expire June 30, 2020

Ethics Certification

To take the Ethics Training, visit the Fair Political Practices Commission and login by entering your email and creating a password. You will be prompted through a 2 hour tutorial with some quizzes, concluding with a certificate which is emailed to you. Email your signed Ethics Certificate to Rosters@EmpowerLA.org and send a copy to your Neighborhood Council President or Secretary so they can also update their records. EmpowerLA will update the rosters three times a week and you will receive an acknowledgement and a confirmation.

Please note that if you are taking the Ethics training online, your completion certificate must show at least 2 hours of training, and must have a signature, as mandated by state law. The Department has adopted the policy that any Board Member with a current, or is submitting, an Ethics certificate that does not show 2 hours of training, must retake the training and provide a new eligible certificate. You will not be able to vote on funding items (or any items depending on the Neighborhood Council bylaws) until you do so.

EmpowerLA will not accept any other Ethics Training Certificates other than the certificate provided by the AB1234 Local Ethics Training provided by the Fair Political Practices Commission.

Ethics Certifications expire 2 years after the date taken.

Funding Certification

To take your Funding Training, visit the EmpowerLA Home page and select Self Serve under the banner. Click on Boardmember Training, and select Funding. This will take you to the ‘Neighborhood Council Funding Program‘ webpage. On the left side, click Training, Workshops, and Tools. Then click on ‘Neighborhood Council Board Member Funding Training – Online Video‘. This will open a YouTube page. Please watch the video and take the SurveyMonkey quiz in the video description. You must score at least 70% or above to pass your Funding Training. Your score will then be sent to the City Clerk’s Funding Team to be updated. Please allow up to 2 weeks for your Funding Certification date to be updated. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Field Representative.

Every Board Member must complete the AB 1234 Ethics Training and the NC Board Member Funding Training to be eligible to vote on financial matters. Please review the Neighborhood Council Funding Policies here.

Any Funding trainings completed before July 1, 2018 will expire June 30, 2020. Any Funding trainings completed after July 1, 2018 will expire in 2 years from the date taken.

Code of Conduct Certification

To complete the Code of Conduct Form, Board Members simply visit the EmpowerLA home page, select Self Service (bottom Right) and read the document or watch a video. You need to fill out an online and your record will be updated. You will receive an email receipt but there is no need to contact Rosters@EmpowerLA.org. You can send the email receipt to your Neighborhood Council President or Secretary so they can also update their records.

As per Policy Number 2014-2(2), a Board Member has 30 days to complete their Code of Conduct training. If a newly elected Board Member does not complete the Code of Conduct training within the 30 day time frame, that Board Member will be suspended from their Neighborhood Council, cannot act on any Neighborhood Council matters, and cannot be counted towards establishing a quorum for the Neighborhood Council. If the Code of Conduct is not completed within 30 days of suspension, the Board Member will be removed from the Neighborhood Council board.

Code of Conduct trainings expire 2 years after the date taken.

Resources