Put Neighborhood Councils Back on the Hot List

It looks like neighborhood councils are back in style with two new hires for General Manager and Assistant General Manager at the city's Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE). Their first "whirlwind" week on the job has come on the heels of two new neighborhood councils: Panorama City and Rampart (making a total of 89 councils in LA).

In their first letters to the public and neighborhood council members, General Manager Carol Baker Tharp shares her goals and philosophy. "I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to work with BongHwan Kim [Asst. General Manager] in this endeavor. He's someone whose work as a community leader I've admired for many years, and we are finding that we share a philosophy of open government and community action while bringing distinct skills and experiences to the DONE team."

The past 9 months of neighborhood councils has been exactly the opposite -- secretive and bureaucratic. At the core of that problem, or at least how the public viewed it, was Lisa Sarno, interim general manager for DONE. She now heads up Million Trees LA.

Full statements by Tharp and Kim after the jump.

Additional Reading:
- These appointments are DONE [LA Observed]
- Carol Tharp takes on the wild west [Bill Boyarsky at LAO]
- Mayor Names Baker Tharp and Kim to Head DONE [City Watch]

Message From Carol Baker Tharp, DONE General Manager:

I'm delighted to send this first "official" greeting to Neighborhood Council leaders and friends. My first week on the job has been a whirlwind, but I've got to say that I'm finding more potential for positive change in the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment and the Neighborhood Council system than in any job I've ever had. We all know there's lots of work that needs to be done--work that calls for energy, intelligence, dedication, imagination and love of our city. I've told our staff and I'll share with you that the over-arching goal I bring into DONE is to find every way possible to help neighborhood councils focus on the good work they want to do in their communities and to make the day-to-day processes and operations of the neighborhood councils as simple as possible while maintaining the accountability to the public that comes with being part of the City family.

I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to work with BongHwan Kim in this endeavor. He's someone whose work as a community leader I've admired for many years, and we are finding that we share a philosophy of open government and community action while bringing distinct skills and experiences to the DONE team. We're also fortunate to share DONE leadership with Arturo Pina, Director of Field Operations; Michael Vitkievicz, Director of Administrative Services; and Ricardo Reyes, Director of Systems, along with the colleagues on each of their teams. Together we will strive to give you enthusiastic service, prompt and consistent replies to your queries, and lots of front-end opportunities to give us the benefit of your wisdom on issues that require new policy direction.

Over the next two months, in close communication with the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners and the Neighborhood Council Review Commission, we will be creating an action plan for our work over the next 3-6- and 9 months. We'd be delighted to know the ways in which DONE can most effectively help your neighborhood council achieve its goals. To that end, we'll be available in person to take your input at the Congress of Neighborhoods coming up on April 21. We hope to meet you there and begin to build working relationships that will make Los Angeles the kind of place we all want to live.

With gratitude for this opportunity to work with you,
Carol Baker Tharp

Message From BongHwan Kim, DONE Assistant General Manager:

I would like to take this opportunity to greet and acknowledge all of the diverse stakeholders involved with the city's efforts to build strong and vital neighborhood councils. It's been a whirlwind week and my head is still spinning from the volume of information that has to be absorbed!! I'm very impressed and grateful to the DONE staff, the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, and Neighborhood Council leaders for their hard work and commitment. It's clear that there is much work ahead but I can also see that the work going forward builds upon the time and effort of many dedicated individuals. To begin with, Carol and I are looking forward to meeting with neighborhood council leaders and activists as soon as possible. We want to hear directly from those of you with experience on the ground on how things are going and what you need from the department. This input will help guide our efforts to determine how best to organize our resources in order to assist our stakeholders realize their communities' visions and aspirations.

I look forward to this tremendous opportunity to collaborate with you all to make a difference in communities across this great city.