Neighborhood Council Representatives
Address LA's Budget Crisis
NC proposals for Partnership & Solutions
LOS ANGELES – Neighborhood Council representativesfrom throughout the city will convene on the steps of the Van Nuys CityHall on Monday evening at 5:30 pm to present their initial recommendations for LA's Budget Crisis to the City Council Budget andFinance Committee along with a statement of their commitment to workingtoward immediate, short-term and long-term solutions.Jay Handal, chair of the West LA Neighborhood Council, led the marathon session that drafted the initial proposals, and started with two basicpremises, that "everything is on the table and must be considered as wework together to solve the budget crisis and neighborhood councils mustbe at that table as partners in the process."
With that he openedSaturday's meeting at the Hollywood City Hall that saw people of allwalks take on bankruptcy, pensions, the delivery of city services andthe reorganization of the city system.
LA'scurrent budget crisis is one of epic proportions and business leadersare referring to it as a "pension crisis" that is unsustainable andthat is sure to decimate the delivery of city services while leading tomunicipal bankruptcy.
TheNC reps have taken a full-spectrum approach to the budget crisis andbelieve that it is essential that the community engage with our electedofficials as well as city staff to pursue Revenue innovations alongwith Pension reform while maintaining prioritized delivery of CityServices and the implementation of Organizational improvements, all ofwhich work together to guarantee that Los Angeles take its place as aGreat City.
The City Council's Budget and Finance Committeewill be conducting four budget meetings around the city over the next two months and Monday night'smeeting takes place at the Van Nuys City Hall, 14410 Sylvan Street, Van Nuys, 91401.
BudgetLA supports the activitiesof several neighborhood council groups, all working together to pursuesolutions to LA's Budget Crisis. Participants include the Los AngelesNeighborhood Council Coalition, the Valley Alliance of NeighborhoodCouncils, the Mayor's Budget Advisory Committee and representativesfrom neighborhood councils throughout the city. For more informationvisit http://BudgetLA.org where you will find a Calendar of upcomingevents, the Speakers Bureau, an archive of BudgetLA videos and links toindividual neighborhood councils. Join BudgetLA on Facebook and follow BudgetLA on Twitter(@BudgetLA) To get involved, join BudgetLA this Saturday, January 30 at10:00 am for "Budget Crisis - Next Steps #2" at Hollywood City Hall,6501 Fountain Ave., Hollywood 90028.
