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Learn about and share your feedback on the 2022-23 City of Los Angeles Budget Proposal 


Including budgets for the NC System and the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment


Decisions about how the City of Los Angeles will spend its money during the coming fiscal year (which begins July 1) are being made by the City Council over the course of the next few weeks, as the Budget and Finance Committee holds hearings to review the proposed budget for each City department and program. 


The Budget and Finance Committee’s City Budget hearings began on April 26 and are taking place through May 13, so now is the time to weigh in as a neighborhood council and as an individual. 


Here is our guide to participating in the City of Los Angeles budget process, including details on when NC-related discussions are scheduled; important links; and an overview of EmpowerLA’s own Department budget proposal for fiscal year 2022-2023.



The role of Neighborhood Councils in the City Budget


Advocating on the City’s budget is one of the Charter-given powers of LA neighborhood councils, so your budget feedback as NCs and as NC members carries weight. 


When neighborhood councils were formed, it was anticipated that they would be local voices on the needs of the communities they serve. Article IX was added to the Los Angeles City Charter to create the Neighborhood Council System.  Section 909 speaks to how the framers envisioned engagement in the budget process would take place: 


Sec. 909. Annual City Budget Priorities. 

Each neighborhood council may present to the Mayor and Council an annual list of priorities for the City budget. The Mayor shall inform certified neighborhood councils of the deadline for submission so that the input may be considered in a timely fashion.




Steps to engage in the City of LA Budget process


#1 - Check out the schedule. 

Visit the schedule of Budget and Finance Committee hearings to see when Department and program hearings that you’re interested in are being held. Hearings are being held now through May 13 (details below). Even if the Department you seek to provide comment about has already appeared before the Committee, your letters will be considered by the members until the hearings close. 


#2 - Formulate your position.

The BFC hearings will discuss what’s in the Mayor’s Proposed Budget and the requests submitted by departments, so your arguments will have more impact if you frame them within the context of what appears in these Mayoral or departmental proposals. Links to all important Budget documents are in the Where to Find Key Information section below. 


#3 - Share your opinion in a public comment or in writing

If sending an NC Community Impact Statement (CIS) or a letter as an individual, send it to the Budget and Finance Committee and also continue your communications to the full City Council, as the full Council will consider the BFC recommendations before deciding whether to adopt them. Make sure to cite Council File 22-0600.


Individual letters may be submitted directly to Council File 22-0600 by clicking the pencil and paper icon at the top of the webpage that says “NEW.”


To make a public comment during one of the live hearings, see the phone number and instructions in the Hearing Schedule section below.



Dept budget hearing is May 2 at 9am - click to listen



Hearing schedule for NC-related Budget items


Budget proposals for both the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the City Clerk will be discussed by the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee (BFC) on Monday May 2, 2022 at 9:00am Pacific. 


The Neighborhood Council Fund – which annually allocates funding to each of the 99 neighborhood councils – is managed by the City Clerk’s NC Funding Division, so the Fund itself will be discussed during the City Clerk’s portion of the Budget and Finance Committee hearings. 


View the full schedule of BFC City Budget hearings for April 26 - May 13


Watch the hearings live online at https://clerk.LAcity.org/calendar or listen by dialing one of these numbers: (213) 621-CITY (Metro), (818) 904-9450 (Valley), (310) 471-CITY (Westside), and (310) 547-CITY (San Pedro Area). 


How to make a public comment during a hearing

At this time, public comment at these hearings is only going to be accepted by telephone, but that may change because LA City Hall and Council Chambers are reopening to the public on May 4, during the course of these budget hearings. 


To comment by phone: 

  • dial 1-669-254-5252
  • Enter Meeting ID 160 655 3266 then press #
  • Press # again when prompted for participant ID
  • Once admitted, press *9 to request to speak


Public notice will be given at least 24 hours in advance if there is a change to taking public comment in person rather than by phone, during these multi-day budget hearings. For this reason, we recommend subscribing to the Budget and Finance Committee, so that you will receive agendas and other notices via email. Visit https://tiny.cc/CityCouncilAgendas; enter your name and email; and check the box next to the Budget and Finance Committee to sign up. 


Note that Mayoral directives currently require proof of COVID vaccination or of a negative COVID test within the previous 72 hours for anyone entering City Hall. Masks are also required indoors. 




Where to find key Budget information


The City Council File for the 2022-2023 City of Los Angeles budget is CF 22-0600


The Mayor’s Proposed Budget 2022-2023 is actually a set of documents, all of which can be found at https://CAO.LAcity.org/budget/


The Mayor’s documents include his main Proposed Budget, as well as an illustrated, shorter Budget Summary that provides a quick overview of what’s in this year’s proposal. 


Details regarding what the Mayor proposes for each City department and City program are also available, in two separate “Blue Book” volumes. Neighborhood Empowerment is on p.457 of Blue Book Volume I, and City Clerk is on p.117 of the same volume. 


Here is the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment’s main Budget Proposal for 2022-2023 as well as our 2022-2023 Supplemental Budget Proposal. An overview of what’s in our proposal is below. 


Budget requests submitted by other City departments are available in Council File 22-0600, in the “Online Documents” section. 


The Neighborhood Council Fund - which is the source for each NC’s annual fund of taxpayer dollars - is in Blue Book Volume II on p.993. The total proposed fund for this year is $3,218,000: $32,000 for each of the 99 NCs, plus an additional $50,000 for translation funding.




What’s in the 2022-2023 EmpowerLA Budget Proposal?


The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment’s 2022-2023 Budget Proposal makes a total of 8 priority requests that meet one of 4 main goals:



Goal #1 - Improve customer service

Three of the Department’s requests were for additional staff to play a variety of roles that would increase support to the Neighborhood Council System. 


One important request is the recovery of a Project Coordinator position which would allow the Department to have the same number of Neighborhood Empowerment Advocates (NEAs) as were originally on staff prior to 2020. This position had been lost to the Separation Incentive Program (SIP) – an early retirement and position elimination program which in 2020 had helped the City make the sudden budget cuts necessary to respond to the pandemic by cutting what was spent on salaries. 


As relief funds were disbursed and the City recovered, other departments have been able to get some of their SIP positions restored, but this NEA position has not yet been restored to EmpowerLA. Recovering it would ensure NCs get more individual attention.


Another request was for administrative support staff to assist with tasks like posting NC agendas to the City’s Early Notification System, to be hired through the Targeted Local Hire and BRIDGE programs. These programs provide pathways to City civil service roles to members of underserved communities. The department is attempting to address a critical infrastructure deficiency as most clerical support functions are performed by staff in classifications whose primary purpose is to provide direct neighborhood council support.


And a third request was for a Commission Executive Secretary for the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, which would provide dedicated support for the Commission’s important work on behalf of neighborhood councils, and also allow the time of staff currently supporting the Commission to be reallocated to NC services. 



Goal #2 - Increase positive relationships within the NC System

The Department also requested funding to create a new dispute resolution unit, to better resolve grievances and other issues within the NC System before problems escalate. Improving grievance support will help retain talented NC board and committee members, and keep stakeholders coming back to NC meetings by increasing public trust. 



Goal #3 - Increase and support NC resources 

Three additional requests were made to provide new or improved advocacy and educational resources to NCs. 


NCs have asked for a better way to track Community Impact Statements (CIS) Systemwide, so funding for a new Community Impact Statement platform was requested to better support NC legislative advocacy. The number of CISes filed every year would be expected to rise with such a tool, as NCs would be able to see what other NCs are working on and be able to add their own voice. This in turn would increase the impact that NCs have on City issues. 


Another request was for funding to create an improved NC training platform that would meet the accessibility and language needs of the diverse membership of the NC System in a way that the current training platform is not fully able to do. 


Funding was also requested to continue and expand upon the Civic University civic engagement and public policy education series, which the Department offers in partnership with Cal State LA’s Pat Brown Institute. 



Goal #4 - Increase participation in the NC System

Finally, funding was requested to build awareness and engagement in the NC System leading up to and during the 2022-2023 Neighborhood Council Elections season, which opens in mid-November 2022. 


Please keep in mind that the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment is only funded for NC Elections engagement and outreach. Funding for NC Elections administration – including elections scheduling; polling places and staff; and candidate and voter registration and documentation guidelines – is via the Office of the City Clerk, so those aspects of neighborhood council elections will be discussed as part of the Clerk’s budget. 


The Department’s detailed Elections Strategy Plan for the 2022-2023 NC Elections will be released soon and a special Elections Town Hall is expected be held in July, to discuss the details of the proposed strategy. Both the Plan and the Town Hall invite will be shared in an upcoming newsletter. 





Photo credit: City Hall image via Congress of Neighborhoods Flickr


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