City Budget Timeline

With the recent flurry of concern over the potential loss of 3-1-1 call center services and the CERT training program, people want to know what the schedule is for this year's budget. So, here you go... get your comments in now about your favorite City service or program you want to see maintained or bolstered! (from the City's Council's Budget website)

BUDGET SCHEDULE

2007-08

April 20
Last day for the Mayor to submit Proposed Budget. (Charter Section 312)

April 26 - May 15
Budget and Finance Committee reviews and conducts hearings on the Mayor’s Proposed Budget in the John Ferraro Council Chamber. Detailed agenda setting
specifics to be published later.

May 16 - May 17
CLA with assistance of CAO prepares the Budget and Finance Committee report.

May 18
Budget and Finance Committee report on the Proposed Budget presented to the City Council. No City Council action to be taken except to hold public hearings at 10:00am.

May 21 - until hearings close
In addition to regularly scheduled Council sessions on Tuesday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 23, special meeting days scheduled for Monday, May 21 and Thursday, May 24 at 10:00 a.m. to consider the Budget and Finance Committee
report on the Proposed Budget. The City Council to hold public hearings on the Budget as a special order of business each day it considers the Proposed Budget.

May 24
Date by which the City Council should finalize its action on the Proposed Budget.

May 24 - May 28
CLA, CAO and City Attorney prepare Budget Resolution for the Council’s approval.

May 29 - June 1
Council adoption of Budget Resolution. (Charter Section 313)

May 30 - June 8
Mayor has five working days to review and veto items. (Charter Section 314)

May 31 - June 15
City Council has five working days to override or sustain Mayor’s vetoes. (Charter Section 315)

Other City Nerds

A reader wrote in and had some bad news: she was forced to move from LA to go to San Fransisco for a job transfer. She said she considered herself a City Nerd of sorts, but since she moved, she was looking for a City blog in San Fransisco with a civic focus.

Now, this City Nerd knows the City of Los Angeles fairly well. But, we can barely understand our neighbors like Culver City and Burbank, let alone San Fransisco. The reader asked a good question though:

"I was curious if you knew of any other City Nerds as yourself around the nation. I am dying for a blog like Los Angeles City Nerd for the San Francisco area."

We're not a network like the -ists or Metroblogging are, but maybe you know of a nerdy city website for another city. Let us know, if you do.

Budget Hearings: Day 1

Yesterday started the City Council's Budget & Finance Committee's hearings on the Los Angeles City Budget for 2007-2008. What a day it was of predominantly public safety presentations (with the Controller thrown in). From LAPD to EPD: from 9am to almost 6pm, the 5 member committee sat through presentations from each department's General Manager (although Ellis Stanley of EPD was not able to make it as he was stuck on a ship that served as a floating assistance/medical center for Hurricane Katrina.) Intriguing, right?

How about the fact that the LAFD indicates that there are 5000 dropped calls annually at their call center. Riveting, huh? Well, to an LA City Nerd - you betcha!

You wanna join in the fun and watch (or listen to) the budget hearings (which is where you can pick up a ton of City Nerd facts and tidbits)? Just tune into Channel 35 ( if you're in the City of LA and have cable) or you can stream it via the City's website by clicking here.

You want to know what the budget looked like in past years? Check out the CAO's past budgets page.

311 Irony

It's quite ironic that as the 311 system is facing cutbacks and the elimination of the second phase, the City's Website banner has been changed to feature it. Perhaps this is ITA's way of drawing attention to the vital service that the City has provided for a few years now. Also noteworthy is the fact that the banner on the website hasn't changed in 3 years, so it's definitely intentional that it changes now.

More on 311 on the web here.

NOTE: You can watch the City's channel, LA Cityview 35, streaming on ITA's Website. This is a great way to follow the City's budget process and see what happens to the beloved 311.

Naming Los Angeles

Bob Pool has a great article in the LA Times on the Lake Balboa name change being pushed in the Van Nuys Area. They reference the 180 neighborhoods the City has officially designated, but that number is not entirely accurate. In fact, there are less than half of those 180 (which in itself we're discovering may be too high) that are actually "official."

Stay tuned for an update on those "official" neighborhoods...

Bridges of Los Angeles

There are 533 bridges within City limits.

These bridges are comprised of:
424 vehicular bridges
67 pedestrian bridges
19 railroad bridges
18 tunnels
5 miscellaneous bridges


So, what's your favorite?

Historic photo of the Whitsett Street bridge over the LA River looking southbound (from the LA City online Engineering Vault photos).

Map of the Communities of Los Angeles

As we mentioned earlier, as the Call to Action #1 draws to completion (only about 14 known signs are missing!), we are starting to work on a map of communities of Los Angeles that takes in official and accepted boundaries of the neighborhoods and communities of the City of Los Angeles.

With only about 40 communities mapped so far, we can tell you this isn't going to be as easy as we had thought. It's going to take some time, but we're committed to providing this resource to you all.

As with most projects that deal with people's communities, it's not just one Nerd who can make decisions as to where community lines are - if any. We need help. So, take a look at the map so far: what's missing? what needs to be corrected?

Email us to let us know as we continue to create, refine and update this map of Los Angeles communities and neighborhoods.

NOTE: We purposely turned off comments in this post, as suggestions at this point don't need to be a public discourse - that will come soon! Just email in your suggestions/corrections, and we'll take it from there.

Best Donuts in Los Angeles

So, sometimes we get questions in the LA City Nerd email inbox to which we don't know the answer. It's a reality - we don't know everything about the City. (gasp!) So, I implore you, the readers who happen to stumble upon this post, to reply with your best input in the comments section to the following question:

"Any suggestions on where to find an honest donut in Los Angeles? Not a over-sugary unhealthy thing. More of a semi-healthy baked cake with a light coat of delicious frosting?"

Simple enough, right? Well, I don't have an answer.

I know what's not the answer: Krispy Kreme. They are over sugary. So, don't even mention them. I'm not sure if Randy's (not in LA City) fits the qualifications specified in the question either. Maybe it's Stan's that has what he's looking for? I don't eat donuts all that often, so I look to you, Los Angeles, to answer.

Again: where does such a donut exist?

(After you answer, read Michael Newman's April 4, 2007 take on the importance of the SoCal Donut industry here.)

Photo from you-are-here.com

History returns to the Valley... twice

Aside from the threat of buying babies, Encino has some other great things going on.

Specifically, the Ranchos Los Encinos will be opening up again more on a regular basis. And after 12 years(since the 1994 earthquake), the de la Ossa Adobe is finally about to become open to the public again. The walls are painted, the furniture is there, and the exhibit panels have just been installed. This state park was closed after the 1994 earthquake and has slowly been restored to its former glory.

This weekend will herald in the return of the "Living History" program that happens every 3rd Sunday of the month. Check it out.

Also, in Valley history news...

The Museum of the San Fernando Valley's online presence announces the Valley's acquisition of a portrait of Mrs. Armitage Forbes: "California's Bell Lady." This portrait, painted by acclaimed artist Orpha Mae Klinker, was returned to the Valley from Riverside, and is especially poignant because it will hang in the Campo de Cahuenga, a monument she helped preserve. It will hang alongside two of he other portraits: John C Fremont and Pio Pico - the men who signed the Articles of Capitulation at the Campo back in 1847. (Klinker is also known for painting the Hitler-esque mayoral portrait of recalled LA Mayor Frank Shaw!)

LA Neighborhood Signs Update #4

Just a few more to go...

First, though, check out Ed's great history of the defining of a community in Los Angeles and how things come to be -who's involved, what it takes, how it happens, etc. This project has raised some interesting questions about our neighborhoods in this City. (More on that in the future, I'm sure.)

Now, on to the update...

After a busy weekend by many, our list of known needed signs is down to 22 or 20 depending on some factors. The 22 number is including all those listed on the list we initially published. Since then, some of those signs have been discovered to be non-existent (and others were confirmed to exist). So, I leave the rest for you to confirm/deny their existence - do they exist or not? Perhaps it's time to ask the City officials if they know where their signs are or are supposed to be?

So, here's the list of what's known to be missing (those with a star either are not yet posted in the community or are confirmed non-existent by LA City Nerd):

Arroyo View Estates*
Atwater
Carthay Village
Griffith Park
La Cienega Ctr
La Fayette Park Square
North Hollywood
Pacific Palisades
Pico – Union
Rose Hills
San Pedro
Shadow Hills
Sherman Village*
South Park
Twin Plaza District
University Hills
Western Heights
Westwood
West Lake
West Los Angeles
Wilshire District
Wilshire Park Mile

Remember folks, we're looking for those official blue signs with white lettering and the City Seal. Now, I tried to find the North Hollywood sign, the Western Heights sign, but I couldn't. So, hopefully you know where it is. Also, it looks like a few of these communities have been officially retired. Let's see what happens.

Thanks to DailyMatador for his work and photo above!

Disaster Builds Community - but for how long?

A disaster - be it an earthquake, uncommon crime (or spike in the common ones!), a death or eminent death (domain) - will bring a neighborhood together. It happens all over LA every year. Hopefully, the disaster doesn't just force the preservation of the neighborhood, and then the community built (that person to person, neighbor to neighbor connection) is lost when the battle is won.

A great example of success is the Valley Plaza Neighborhood Assn, which has morphed over the last 7 years from a one-issue group fighting to keep the character and quality of their neighborhood against one development (an LAUSD school!) into one of the strongest neighborhood associations (Laurel Grove Neighborhood Assn.) in the Valley (up there with Studio City Residents Assn. & Tarzana Property Owners Assn.).

Let's hope the folks over at C.A.N. will build their community network, find a solution to their own LAUSD issue, and keep improving their community - both the physical space (getting their street paved after 17 years of asking) and those essential person to person connections - once this eminent disaster has been resolved.


See the folks over in Van Nuys are being notified that their neighborhood and homes may be the next LAUSD elementary school. The issue has understandably upset the community and given them a disaster to band together against. Hence, the community's "Anti-Eminent Domain Block Party" photographed above. More details on their position from one neighbor's eloquent perspective in the LA Times of April 1.

photo from HereinVanNuys's Flickr page.

Where's the Los Angeles Volunteer Bureau?

With the big pushes for the upcoming "Big Sunday" volunteer service event (which, like Halloween, is more than one day in Los Angeles), it's too bad the City doesn't work to build a volunteer base all year long. For many years, there has been a Volunteer Bureau in the Mayor's office, but as of late, their web presence has been disappointing. Here's a great way to engage the (web-savvy) citizenry of Los Angeles, yet it's merely a "check back soon" page.

They could easily do a few things to make at least the temporary page useful:

1. List links to other volunteer agencies in the City, like the Volunteer Center of Los Angeles or any other the many other such non-profits.

2. Have a contact name, number and email for someone who is working with coordinating and placing volunteers in the City or could make that referral.

3. Have links to the other community volunteer opportunities within the City such as interns in various departments like LAPD (neighborhood watch, reserves, etc.) and Animal Services (which has an entire volunteer page), special community projects & engagement opportunities from departments and practically every councilmember, etc.

4. Link to the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment's site and refer inquiries to get involved to the local neighborhood council.

5. Link to the Big Sunday site.

At least these is a way to direct and convert someone's interest to get involved into something meaningful and they don't get frustrated with the City.

In a City the size of Los Angeles, the City leaders and employees alone cannot sustain a livable community without the community's participation and volunteerism. It's fine if the City's not going to operate at volunteer bureau, but at the very least, they should have a "get involved" button on the City's homepage that directs visitors to a list of all those opportunities offered as listed in the suggestions above. The City needs to admit as an entity (and on their homepage) that it needs people to be involved.

LA Neighborhood Signs Update #3

It's the beginning of the weekend, and it looks like it's going to be a clear day. (Thank you, wind!)

There are only 36 (known) signs missing from the LA City Neighborhood Signs group on Flickr. Right now, we have collected 150 signs, some of which were not in the original list (one of which is sadly now gone). Once you take a shot and upload it, make sure you use the map feature to identify where the photo was taken (where the sign is). Also, there is a slight delay from when you upload your photos until they actually appear in the group - please be patient.

Here's what's left; have fun out there:

Arroyo View Estates*
Atwater
Baldwin Hills
Cameo Plaza
Canoga Park
Carthay Village
Chatsworth
Civic Center
Griffith Park
La Cienega Ctr
La Fayette Park Square
Mariachi Plaza
Mission Hills
North Hollywood
Pacific Palisades
Panorama City
Pico – Union
Playa Del Rey
Rose Hills
San Pedro
Shadow Hills
Sherman Village
Solano Canyon
South Park
Toluca Lake
Twin Plaza District
University Hills
Vermont Vista
Westchester
Western Heights
Westwood
West Lake
West Los Angeles
West Toluca Lake
Wilshire District
Wilshire Park Mile

*yes, Arroyo View Estates has not be installed yet, but it's still needed... when it is installed.

LA City comes of age - historically speaking

From Ken Berstein and the City Planning Office of Historic Preservation: the City is finally a “'Certified Local Government' (CLG) for historic preservation under the National Historic Preservation Act."

This shows you that with even being in place for less than a year, Ken Berstein is a great hire and asset to the future of our city - and our past. It's too bad it's take 15 years for this position to be filled when it was proposed in the last Cultural Masterplan of the City from 1992.

Here's the full press release (with the error of selling the City short by 6 square miles):

LOS ANGELES COMES OF AGE:
CITY ATTAINS “CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT” STATUS
FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION

LOS ANGELES – The State Office of Historic Preservation and the National Park Service have officially approved the City of Los Angeles’ application to become a “Certified Local Government” (CLG) for historic preservation under the National Historic Preservation Act. This action provides official recognition to the City of Los Angeles for its new comprehensive historic preservation program and makes the City eligible, for the first time ever, to obtain state and federal historic preservation grants.

“For too long, Los Angeles has been derided as indifferent to its architectural and cultural heritage, so the attainment of Certified Local Government status represents a ‘coming of age’ for our city,” said Ken Bernstein, Manager of the Department of City Planning’s new Office of Historic Resources. “This is a significant milestone for historic preservation in Los Angeles.”

“This announcement is an important validation by the state and federal governments that the City of Los Angeles finally has in place all of the elements of an effective, balanced historic preservation program,” said Gail Goldberg, the City’s Director of Planning.

Because Los Angeles was not a CLG, it was not previously eligible to receive Historic Preservation Fund grants, allocated by the National Park Service and distributed on a competitive basis by the State Office of Historic Preservation. While these grants are relatively modest, they can provide significant support for local historic preservation activities, such as preservation plans, historic resources surveys, and preservation education and outreach programs. CLGs also receive valuable technical assistance from the State Office of Historic Preservation and are given formal authority to review and comment on nominations of sites to the National Register of Historic Places.

Los Angeles historic preservation organizations have urged the City of Los Angeles to seek CLG status for nearly two decades. The City of Los Angeles was the only large municipality in California that had not become a CLG. Despite Los Angeles’ remarkable historic resources and vigorous grass-roots historic preservation activity, the City of Los Angeles had not previously been eligible for CLG status because it had never created a full-fledged historic preservation office, did not have specific professional qualifications for its Cultural Heritage Commissioners, and lacked a systematic program to survey and identify significant historic resources.

In 2006, the Department of City Planning created a new Office of Historic Resources (OHR) with a staff of six, which is a full-service historic preservation office within the Department. The OHR is spearheading the five-year, multi-million dollar Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey Project, in partnership with the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Getty Conservation Institute. The Survey Project is the most ambitious local survey initiative in the nation – a comprehensive program to identify potential historic resources throughout Los Angeles’ 466 square miles, which will provide valuable information to City officials, neighborhood associations and preservation groups, and much greater, up-front certainty for developers and property owners.

The OHR also staffs the City's five-member Cultural Heritage Commission, administers the Mills Act property tax incentive program for historic properties, reviews proposed changes to designated historic properties, and works with owners who want to rehabilitate their properties. The OHR oversees over 850 designated Historic-Cultural Monuments (local landmarks) and provides policy coordination for the city’s 21 Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZs, or historic districts). The Office is providing more seamless coordination of historic preservation activities with other City departments and other sections of the City Planning Department and is developing training and educational programs on preservation for City staff and the public.

“We are proud to have the City of Los Angeles become the nation’s largest Certified Local Government for historic preservation,” said Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA,
California’s State Historic Preservation Officer, whose office administers the CLG program. “The Office of Historic Preservation is honored to be in partnership once again with the City of Angels to promote the integration of preservation interests and concerns into local decision-making processes as the city moves into the 21st Century. L.A. is ‘The Place’ for historic preservation!”

100,000 without power

It's about 6pm on Thursday, and over 100,000 LA DWP customers in the City are without power due to the wind.

Who says LA doesn't have seasons? It's the windy season.

Maybe this is the wind from Chicago because they know we'll be getting the Olympic Bid this weekend. They're trying to freak us out - but it's not going to work!

New (Studio) City Nerd

So, there's a new Neighborhood Nerd in the City: The Tujunga Village Nerd (Chris Corrao). His new blog is here to enlighten and serve the Studio City community of Tujunga Village.

Now, he lists the area as much larger than the actual "Tujunga Village" (as seen on this Google Map). For LA City Nerd purposes, the area in question is the "T" commercial area at Moorpark and Tujunga. But, Chris's blog is about more than that. So, we'll watch it and see what develops.

Now, Chris has yet to mention what is probably (unfortunately) what has defined the area over the last 6 years, unlike Andrew who eloquently portrays the tragic events in sharing the new blog and his take on the area:

"The bloody killing of Robert Blake's wife Bonnie Lee Bakley on May 4, 2001 just outside of Vitello's Restaurant, was an anomaly. Murder in Tujunga Village mostly occurs only in the scripts penned by area writers."

So, welcome new Nerd Blogger. Let us know if we can help. (And for those looking to move in: one of the former residences that is now in the middle of Tujunga's commercial core is for sale for $1.5 million.)

Oh, watch the traffic coming in from Ventura Boulevard to the south: the bridge over the LA River is being retrofitted (finally) from Prop G (seismic retrofit bond that has repaired bridges and structures, like City Hall) which will widen this bridge over the LA River from 35 to 67 feet, as well as retrofit it.

Apparently, it's about time

Often, blogs get comments that are interesting. We'll today, we've received one that we must share. One of our heroes and the Municipal Nerd of the City, Brian Humphrey of the LAFD, wrote a comment regarding the upcoming Google Community Map that needs more wide distribution:

Dear LACN,

Please consider creating a PayPal account or the like so that those of us benefiting from this project might make a personal monetary donation. If not that, maybe a PO Box so that we can at least send you a Starbucks card, etc. every now and then? I cannot begin to tell you how helpful a map such as this (which I have been begging for from City agencies for more than a decade) will be in our workday pursuits.[emphasis added]

Now, first, we're flattered to be adding a service to the City - that's what LA City Nerd is all about. We don't need donations or gifts - just people to work to improve, appreciate, and understand the City of Los Angeles. That's why there is no advertising on this site right now - it can function without any cost (but if we billed by the hour we'd need more ads than you can imagine!). But what concerns me a bit is that someone in the City has been asking for such a map for "more than a decade" that would assist with daily work, and the City hasn't been able to produce such a document.

Now, this map is not going to easy or perfect on the first go-around. It is going to be a work in progress with input from folks from throughout the City (hopefully). If nothing else, Brian's comments and longing for such a resource motivates LA City Nerd to really get moving on this map, so look for updates often (and send suggestions/corrections to it can be refined).

Los Angeles Neighborhoods & Communities Map via Google

With the recent introduction of the creatable Google map, LA City Nerd has started out on a long process (it will take time, for sure) to create the map that shows "accepted boundaries" for the neighborhoods and communities of the City of Los Angeles. There are maps that exist that generalize the communities, but they are not at all accurate. And the City itself doesn't even have a map through the Bureau of Engineering of these neighborhoods. (Now, some will argue that the Neighborhood Council maps of the City create such a neighborhood map. Unfortunately, that's not true.)

The beauty of such a Google map is that it can be updated easily and also have overlays for questionable, disputed or orphaned areas. We've started the project ever so slightly in a cursory way. As soon as the Call to Action #1 project is complete, we'll start working on this one.

Here's what we've got so far - very cursory and rough.

If you've got a neighborhood in the City that you think has defined boundaries that should be included, just email us with those specific boundaries (streets, waterways, railroad tracks, freeways, geological features, etc.). We're purposely not linking to the other maps in this post in order to avoid influencing suggestions.

LA Neighborhood Signs Update #2

After just two short weeks, the LA City Nerd Call to Action #1 has been a resounding success so far. But, we're not quite there yet...

We're looking for all the official LA City Neighborhood Signs (blue with a City seal) out there and collecting a photo on the LA City Neighborhood Signs Flickr page. As of right now, we have 202 photos of 140 of the known signs (plus one special green sign joint with the County). Some are signs not on the list we originally posted (from 2005, with 2 added as of last month).

We still know of 44 signs that the City claims exist but for which we do not have photos. See if you can get a shot of one or two (or 27!) and upload them this week:

Arroyo View Estates

Atwater

Baldwin Hills

Baldwin Hills Estates

Baldwin Vista

Cameo Plaza

Canoga Park

Carthay Village

Chatsworth

Civic Center

Griffith Park

Historic Downtown

La Cienega Ctr

La Fayette Park Square

Mariachi Plaza

Mission Hills

Mount Angelus

North Hollywood

Pacific Palisades

Pacoima

Panorama City

Pico-Union

Playa Del Rey

Rose Hills

San Pedro

Shadow Hills

Sherman Village

Solano Canyon

South Park

Sun Valley

Sylmar

Toluca Lake

Twin Plaza District

University Hills

Vermont Vista

Village Green

Westchester

Western Heights

Westwood

West Lake

West Los Angeles

West Toluca Lake
Wilshire District

Wilshire Park Mile

King Estates (above) - what a place to live in LA! (from Wildbell's Flickr page and the LA City Neighborhood Sign group)

Littering = Job Creation?

We get a lot of emails here at LA City Nerd. We don't get to all of them as quickly as we'd like, but we do our best. A lot of the questions we get require additional research to fully answer the often perplexing dilemmas people have.

Well, we got one yesterday that may be spam, or it may not be. Who knows! We don't have an answer, so we put it out to you the world: what do you think can be done in response to this question?

Dear Sir/Madame

How do I change the anti-social behaviour of littering of

A community of about 120 000 people that belief that littering

Is a form of job creation?

Yours in good governance!

[redacted]

Well, what do you do for a community that is about the size of North Hollywood that thinks littering creates jobs?

City Dreams at the "LA City Center"

Los Angeles has always been known as a city of big dreams. From Hollywood to the mystical Pacific, Los Angeles has embodied all that can be for so many.

Within the City structure, there have also been many dreams. Recently, some of these dreams have come to light again. There was the dream of a "Los Angeles City Museum" that was again discussed last month at the Saving LA Conference. Just last week, there was the dream of the "Los Angeles City Store" (actually, the idea came up in December... again.) And both of these ideas have been proposed as networks of said institutions around various parts of the City. There has been the idea of a City Ombudsman and discussions of how we spend our marketing and tourism dollars have swirled since the turn of the century. As a City, Los Angeles has looked at creating regional City Halls and Service Centers. It's good to have dreams. But what about the reality of what these varied, yet related enterprises represent and can be if fully developed?

Perhaps it's time to look at merging these ideas into one and move forward on a pilot "Los Angeles City Center."

Los Angeles City Center could combine a new branch library specifically on the books of Los Angeles, a book store to sell these books, a gift shop, a museum, and also a service center/community space. This space could be used for lectures and seminars. Also, the City could have ombudsman based at the "LACC" to help direct people - not to solve every problem but to be able to know enough to give accurate information and direct the questioner to the proper location/person.

Where could this be? The first center should be transit accessible and probably Downtown near City Hall/Olvera Street to start (The Los Angeles Mall??). A second one could be located in the government center in Van Nuys (on the Orange Line), and others could be in Hollywood along the Red Line, in Highland Park along the Gold Line, an along the New Exposition Line in Exposition Park.

The first of these centers should be designed to succeed in the long run. Planning of these centers should be deliberate and not just politically appealing. Perhaps only one center/museum/store is necessary for the next 5 to 10 years. (Don't plan a network of centers with infrastructure that is cost-prohibitive, thereby committing to something that may not work but is done anyway because "it's the right political thing to do.") There should be paid staff, but also a corp of volunteers at each site to docent and run the programs. There should be a revenue stream to pay for staffing, but capital improvements and general maintenance should be paid through the City (either through Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), the Municipal Improvement Corporation of Los Angeles (MICLA), or even some general funds.

The Centers should have varied operating hours (like specific evenings & even weekends, perhaps). These should not be viewed as "government" or "service" centers; they should be "centers of community" where the community can gather, to get things done, and most of all: learn. (With knowledge comes power and effectiveness in improving the community.)

With a little long-range planning, these many ideas that seem far-flung and sometimes unnecessary, politically charged ideas can be combined to achieve the goals of what the ideas fundamentally represent (which also needs to be defined upfront). All too often in government, ideas and solutions are put forth without the goals and results being vetted and developed. This is the first step - the answers and solutions will come if goals and desired outcomes are clear. Combining multiple outcomes and results into a common project makes for a stronger project, a stronger investment, and a stronger City.

So, as the Mayor continues to ask for the world to dream with him, let's create an Los Angeles City Center where these dreams can be realized.

The City Budget is coming...

Keep your eyes open...

The Mayor will release his 2007-2008 Budget in just a few short days.

If there is something you feel passionate about, you have about 2 weeks from when it's released to truly make your case and implore the City Council to maintain funding as the Mayor proposes or get them to amend his budget.

It's not an impossible feat, but it takes dedication and organization AND an understanding of the budget process for Los Angeles:

First, the Mayor takes 6 months to meet with department heads and get their requests for funding for the following fiscal year. His staff drafts the City's budget based on those requests/meetings and the Mayor's priorities. Then, they send their document to the city print shop and has at least 3 books printed: the main budget and two supplements. Then, these books are delivered to the City Council and all City departments for review. They have about a week to review and analyze the proposed budget before the City Council's Budget and Finance Committee starts their budget hearings. Budget Hearings are special meetings in Council Chambers that review each section of the budget, department by department. Each General Manager comes in with their team and requests more money or defends what has been budgeted. The City Council committee asks questions and requests reports back. These reports are then provided back after about 6 (almost full) days worth of regularly scheduled hearings. The committee moves to amend or accept the budget, and then their recommendations are sent to the full City Council. The full City Council then can make motions to amend or accept. Whatever they vote on (whatever changes are made) must be accepted by the Mayor and have him sign and adopt that budget by June 30th - at the very latest.

That's the basic process in a nutshell. The general public can attend the hearings and speak on any (or all) items of their choosing. The public can also attend the full City Council meeting where the budget is discussed, but most changes have been made by that time. So, the best way to get into the mix is to make sure you know what you're asking for now, and start communicating with all 15 City Councilmembers. Then, once the budget it released make realistic requests to the Budget Committee (and copy all Councilmembers on your correspondences so they can be kept in the loop - you'll never know who might emerge as the champion for your budget item).

Now, Neighborhood Councils have a minor (to be generous) role in the shaping of the budget, but they would be just as effective to get involved at the City Council level versus back when the Mayor asked for their restricted input through his "NC budget process."

Some suggestions: make your requests specific and realistic. Don't ask for "doubling the funding for the Department of General Services"; ask for a specific amount to be included for a specific reason. And, be ready to recommend where those funds would come from - what other program or service from that department could be adjusted to fund what you're looking for? It's not easy to craft a $5 billion, and knowing how to give and take is what makes getting specific interests funded. Remember, also, that only 54% of that total is unrestricted funds - about half of the money is restricted to specific uses, so the City really only can shift around about $2.6 billion.

This brief overview could be pages long - and still be just a brief. There is a lot that goes into creating the City's annual budget, and the best way to effect change on it is to understand it completely.

Check out the Mayor's Budget Website from last year's budget (not updated) and the CAO's budget website for more information.

Awww Shucks!

I guess Mr. Markland found me out.

Oh, well.

Game over... or is it??