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THIS IS THE URBAN ISSUES PAGE
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IN THIS SITE
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Some links on these archived pages are not operative.
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This NONCOMMERCIAL site is a harmless hobby of George Garrigues, who has lived in the Westside Village district of Palms for 12 years. These pages have no connection with any organization.
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Mar Vistan will serve on a commission to probe neighborhood councils Top story
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Councils are having trouble spending all their money Second story
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MAR VISTA HOMEOWNER IS APPOINTED TO STUDY NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS
Council Member Bill Rosendahl has named Tom Ponton
to render advice on the future of grass-roots democracy
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| (We received this press release from Councilman Rosendahl's office via Westside homeowners' leader Ken Alpern.)
LOS ANGELES — City Councilman Bill Rosendahl  has named Tom Ponton, chair of the Mar Vista Community Council (photo at right), to serve as his representative on a commission studying the effectiveness of the City’s system of neighborhood councils.
Ponton, a lifelong Mar Vista resident and long-time community activist, will be one of 29 Los Angeles residents charged with evaluating the effectiveness of neighborhood councils and of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment.
The review commission is mandated by the 1999 City Charter, which created neighborhood councils to give people a greater voice in city government.
“Tom Ponton is the perfect choice to represent the 11th District on this commission,” Rosendahl said. “He chairs one of our City’s most successful, most active, and most inclusive neighborhood councils. His leadership style has helped build consensus on important issues that have improved the quality of life within our neighborhoods.”
Ponton, a local businessman and property owner, has a long history as a community activist in Mar Vista and surrounding neighborhoods. An advocate for open space, Ponton led community activism to protect the Ballona Wetlands and minimize the traffic impacts of Playa Vista on the Westside.
He also helped to assemble the first volunteer Park Advisory Board at Mar Vista Recreation Center and went on to chair that board for 4 years. During that time, he spearheaded
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beautification projects, annual community festivals, and fundraising efforts for a new roller hockey rink and an artificial turf soccer field in Mar Vista.
In February 2001, Ponton co-founded the organizing committee for the Mar Vista Community Council, which was certified on August 13, 2002. He was later elected chairperson and has served in that capacity for the past 3 years.
“Bill Rosendahl isn't the only one who believes in bringing everyone to the table,” said Ponton. “As chair of the MVCC, I've always fought hard for open public meetings that include everyone willing to participate. I'm honored to serve as a commissioner. I'll work to embrace the views and concerns of the other neighborhood council participants throughout Council District 11."
The Commission is composed of 29 members. Each councilmember appoints one member while the Mayor appoints seven members chosen from a pool of representatives nominated by the City’s neighborhood councils, and seven other members at his own discretion.
The commission, which is expected to receive money for staff and operations during the city budget process, will start meeting in late June and make recommendations to the council and mayor on how to change, improve or reform the neighborhood system and its relationship with City government.
“Tom knows where neighborhood councils work well and where they have failed,” Rosendahl said.“And he knows where the City has worked well with them, and where the City has failed grass-roots democracy.”
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 LOCAL MONEY IS WASTING AWAY; DITHERING COULD COST COMMUNITIES
By Beth Barrett, Daily News staff writer
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Despite getting $11 million in city funding over the past four years, Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils have spent less than half of it and now risk forfeiting $2 million, according to a Daily News analysis.
Since 2002, 85 councils that have emerged in the grass-roots system have received $11 million from the city in $50,000-a-year increments.
But more than $6 million remains unspent and the councils, which have three fiscal years to spend each year's appropriation, now have $2 million that has been unused for so long that it will revert to the city's general fund if not spent by next summer. . . .
"You see these very large bank balances of up to $100,000 and more and you're asking, `What are they doing?"' said Councilman Greig Smith. . . .
Seventeen of the councils enrolled in the funding program. . . had account balances of more than $100,000 at the end of last month, according to Department of Neighborhood Empowerment records. . . .
"That's a lot of money," said City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka. "I'd like to see them use it for some of the public works programs, like the sidewalks program (where the city provides a 50-50 match)."
But Lisa Sarno, acting general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, said some councils have not spent their funds yet because they are relatively new, while others are just learning what they can spend it on. . . .
Former DONE general manager Greg Nelson defended councils' stockpiling their funds, saying it allows them to do bigger projects and removes any pressure to "spend money foolishly" if they risked forfeiting it every year.
"We didn't want them spending like drunken sailors at the end of each year," Nelson said. "We wanted to train them to spend (the money) wisely, or to bank it for big projects."
Annual total spending by the councils has increased from $930,889 in fiscal 2004 to a projected $2.1 million this fiscal year. The average annual spending per council has risen from $14,321 to $25,181. . . .
But infighting on some boards has stalled projects, or made it difficult to come up with a unified plan that reflects community priorities. Other boards have adopted a conservative philosophy to spending. . . .
Tuesday night, for example, nine members of the Northridge West Neighborhood Council spent about 15 minutes debating whether to spend $600 on buses for a graduation trip for 100 Topeka Drive Elementary School students, and another $290 to sponsor 10 low-income students on the outing.
The council — which has spent or committed to spend about $13,000 of its $50,000 appropriated since September — decided the buses should be |
Los Angeles Unified School District's responsibility, but agreed to fund the sponsorships.
"I told you it's a frugal group," said Jim Alger, president of the council. "Generally we don't spend a lot of money because we're not bureaucrats. We act as though it's our own money." . . .
The board also has approved $1,500 for an automatic dialing system that alerts stakeholders to meetings and other matters.
As of last month, Pacoima Neighborhood Council still had more than $81,000 out of $150,000 appropriated since 2003. But it will lose $37,213 if it's not spent in the next year, records show.
President Edwin Ramirez said Pacoima's troubles in spending the funds are the same as many other neighborhood councils.
"Spending money requires training and knowledge. When you spend public funds, there are rules you have to follow," he said, including not being able to make donations to nonprofit groups.
Ramirez said the council has funded Christmas gifts for low-income families, safe places for kids to go on Halloween, educational programs for high school seniors and street improvements in partnership with the Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce.
. . . the Arleta Neighborhood Council . . . recently rented office space at $6,000 for the year and is embarking on several projects.
[President Albert] Piantanida said the council is considering spending about $5,000 on banners celebrating Arleta's first high school, planting trees along Arleta Avenue and buying sturdier trash cans for an elementary school.
Canoga Park Neighborhood Council has taken a different tack, spending more than $100,000 of its $162,500 in city funds so far.
The council, he said, has funded projects ranging from the annual Memorial Day Parade and Day of the Dead festival to programs for youth and others.
"The biggest obstacle sometimes is the rules within the city — where we can spend the money, and can't spend the money," said Michael Cortez, the council's president.
At Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council, which will lose $38,000 if it's not spent in the next year, new chairwoman Kim Thompson said there are differing schools of thought on how the money should be spent.
She said the board agreed to spend $3,200 to send four people to Sacramento for a conference on emerging technologies for dealing with trash because closing Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Granada Hills is the community's top issue.
Others on the board have backed projects such as spending $25,000 for park playground equipment, an investment that was matched by Councilman Smith. |
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