Neighborhood Council Board Member Demands Better Funding, Training

Tuesday night’s Northeast Regional Budget Hearing at the began with a public comments period during which speakers tried to ensure that their pet causes continue to get funded in the upcoming fiscal year starting July 31.

Robert Guevara, the last of about a dozen speakers at the event, began his two-minute speech by raising the issue of the Mayor’s Budget Survey—an online exercise in which L.A.’s top official invites public suggestions regarding the City’s next financial plan.

“We’ve got the budget responses to the survey—and one of the things that stands out is the lack of confidence that people have in what their opinion means to their Council members,” said Guevara, who serves on the board of the and is the co-chair for its Outreach and Event Planning Committee. Across L.A., said Guevara, just 5,394 people responded to the mayor's call to take the survey (February 22 was the deadline).

Guevara’s comment was directed at City Council Budget and Finance Committee Chair Paul Krekorian, who presided over the hearing. , who hosted the March 20 event, was seated next to Krekorian. (Click here to read a report about Tuesday's hearing.)

“A lot of people don’t bother because they feel like it [their opinion] is a drop in the ocean or that they will be neglected,” Guevara added bluntly in a matter-of-fact voice. “Even our [Eagle Rock] Neighborhood Council has no response.”

On the bright side, the Budget Hearing helps “fill in the gaps” by offering members of the public an open and direct forum in which to express their views, continued Guevara. “One of the things I wanted to make sure we covered is funding for Neighborhood Councils.”

Although Neighborhood Councils are conceptually an extension of the City Council, Guevara pointed out that “we’re entirely a voluntary organization” whose annual budget currently stands at $40,500.

“And of course, all these things are diminishing each year,” Guevara said, referring to the meager budget for NCs. “Our funds are not replenishable, we have no discretionary funds, and we can’t fundraise.”

Above all, said Guevara, “our abilities and our skills can’t be applied at [such a] cheap price—so this is one of the things you need to consider when you fund us. We also need more training for the purposes of the Neighborhood Councils.”

Krekorian reminded the audience that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is scheduled to present his proposals for L.A.’s 2012-13 budget to the City Council next month (April 20), and that the entire Budget Survey process is directed to the mayor.

“We will have our opportunity to express our own views and our constituents’ views about budget priorities once we see what it is that the mayor has proposed,” the Council member said, adding: “Certainly we’re facing times where there are cuts all around—and there are conflicting priorities that we have to deal with.”

Krekorian lauded Neighborhood Councils for the work they do. “I for one find great value in the service that’s provided by Neighborhood Councils,” he said.

Regarding Guevara’s suggestion for more training of NC members, Krekorian said that he has a motion in the City Council “that’s working its way through the system to provide for a greater training regimen for Neighborhood Council board members.”