I hope our newsletter finds you well.
We’ve been busy wrapping up Neighborhood Council funding and bylaw issues this week. I am happy to say though that we’ve started interviews to fill our vacancies so we’ll be introducing some new faces to the EmpowerLA team soon. Don’t forget to stop by our Neighborhood Council Town Hall next Saturday, July 25th, at the Hollywood Constituent Center (6501 Fountain Ave. 90028) from 12 pm – 4pm, where we’ll be taking feedback on what works, what needs improvement and what’s coming up in the Neighborhood Council system this year. If you can’t make it, no worries, we’ll also send out a survey next week for folks to provide feedback.
The Board of Neighborhood Commissioners will be meeting at City Hall on Monday, July 20, 2015. They’ll be continuing their conversation on our report for Council President Wesson’s Council Files 15-0524 and 15-0389. The Commission will also be discussing the Neighborhood Council stakeholder definition in regards to clarifying the term “substantial and ongoing” for the Community Interest Stakeholder and taking steps on consequences for Code of Conduct violations. If you haven’t submitted for the Commission’s EmpowerLA Awards yet, please do so asap as the deadline is August 1st!
I am really bummed to share that Deputy City Attorney Alois Phillips from our Neighborhood Council Advice Division is heading to another assignment this week. Alois supported the Neighborhood Councils in the Valley and East areas as well as helped to staff the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners meetings. We really appreciated Alois’ humor and professionalism and wish her all the best!! This drops our NCAD team to only two: Managing Deputy City Attorney Darren Martinez and Deputy City Attorney Carmen Hawkins. They are supporting 96 Neighborhood Councils as well as our department and the Commission on legal matters, including contracts and leases. While Darren and Carmen are amazing, please understand that this workload is immense so there will be delays in responding to all legal questions.
I’ll be stopping by the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates first meeting and retreat tomorrow. If you haven’t had a chance to take the Budget Survey, please take a few minutes to share what you think the City’s budget priorities should be for the Mayor’s Office. Thank you!!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Best,
Grayce Liu,
General Manager
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (aka) EmpowerLA
