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Government Action Committee
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The Government Action Committee reviews proposed ordinances to determine if the neighborhood council should support or oppose them. The Committee also reviews the actions of city departments and commissions that may have an impact on the neighborhood council and its stakeholders.
Chair: Al Abrams
Agenda & Minutes Archives for this Committee
TARZANA NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
GOVERNMENT ACTION COMMITTEE REPORT
AL ABRAMS, CHAIRMAN
September 23, 2008
PROVIDENCE HEALTH & SERVICES TAKES OVER TARZANA HOSPITAL
The new owners of Tarzana Hospital took control of the facility on September 22nd. Providence Health & Services now plans to turn the hospital into a regional medical center with Dale Surowitz, the current President, as the hospital’s new head. Most of the staff will be staying and the Emergency Room will continue to provide critical services to the community at large.
CITY TO INSTITUTE FOOD SCRAP COMPOSTING PROGRAM
Motion - (Greuel - Smith) - Move that the Bureau of Sanitation be instructed to develop a
food scrap collection and composting pilot program that would serve special events and
organizational gatherings that are not currently served by the City's food-scrap programs.
CONCERN GROWS OVER CITY PENSION FUNDS
Motion - (Smith - Rosendahl) - Move that the City Administrative Officer, the Office of the
City Treasurer, the Fire and Police Pension System and the Los Angeles City Employee
Retirement System report on the impact of the recent financial meltdowns and their
potential impact on the City's investment portfolio, City employees' pension/retirement
benefits and the City's Budget; etc.
COUNCIL ACTS QUICKLY TO SUPPORT POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS
CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION (GARCETTI - GREUEL - SMITH - ZINE - PARKS) relative to the City's position on the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act. Recommendation for Council action, SUBJECT TO THE CONCURRENCE OF THE MAYOR: ADOPT the accompanying RESOLUTION to include in the City's 2007-08 Federal Legislative Program SUPPORT for the Federal Railroad Improvement Act; and URGE Congress to grandfather in the victims of last Friday's Metrolink Rail-Union Pacific crash in Chatsworth, and shorten the timetable for implementing positive train control systems and to consider additional rail safety measures.
REMINDER:
CITYWIDE CONGRESS OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND MAYOR'S BUDGET DAY TO BE COMBINED AT CITY HALL ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11TH.
Community Budget Day Congress of Neighborhoods
October 11, 2008
Al Abrams (foreground), Chair of the Government Action Committee of the Tarzana Neighborhood Council, meets with Mayor Villaraigosa and fellow NC Budget Reps at City Hall on March 8th. The invited group met to discuss potential cuts in City services with the Mayor and to make recommendations for possible revenue enhancements to the City's annual budget.
Summary of NC Budget Rep Meeting
With Mayor Antonio Villraigosa on March 8, 2008:
● Youth want:
a) Consideration of their needs in the entire budgeting process
b) Continued funding for summer jobs
c) Internship positions, paid or unpaid
d) Protection of values important to them
e) No cuts in gang prevention and intervention programs
● Neighborhood Councils want:
a) An on-going partnership with the Mayor as a smart, committed “focus group”
b) Incorporation of specific NC input into the budget process
c) An active promise to use NC Budget Reps throughout the year
●
Key
NC
Budget Recommendations, A-Z:
a) Support “smart” economic development programs
b) No cuts in protection and public safety
c) No major cuts in infrastructure maintenance and repairs
d) No cuts in traffic improvement programs on major roads; a Valley concern
e) No major reductions in bus routes or other mass transportation
f) Cut or only continue current support for affordable housing programs
g) Support gang prevention programs that are “proven” and “working”
h) Isolate, focus on, and support “results-driven” City programs
i) Avoid selling surplus City properties; lease them for new revenue streams
j) Local museums should be protected, if possible
k) Cut and limit fee waivers; battle City Council on this issue
l) Use summer youth jobs to fill in where job cuts appear, e.g. at parks and libraries
m) Cut red tape and streamline City government efficiency
n) Modernize and consider new paradigms for City government operations
o) Use more public/private partnerships to fill in budget gaps
p) Raise more private monies for parks and libraries
q) For new revenues, increase “naming” opportunities of bridges, libraries and parks
r) Insure that developers pay full permit and impact fees
s) Institute job cuts to trim down that category’s 80% of the City’s budget total
t) Make the City more business-friendly to attract more jobs and industry
u) Create more awareness to “Shop LA” to produce more annual sales tax revenues
v) Increase collection on ticket scofflaws and unpaid invoices to the City
w) Make the City tax structure attractive to business and industry
x) Maintain manufacturing jobs in
L.A.
y) Do not decrease “development cycles”; let communities partner with the City
z) Make sure that police and fire personnel are used efficiently |
