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These draft minutes will be on the agenda of our 4-17-02 meeting for approval
The meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. It was held on the CSUN campus in University Hall. Rita Moreno and David Larkin represented DONE.
Acting President Walter N. Prince gave a brief summary of our status in the DONE Certification process. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the By-Law changes the City Attorney’s office wants, and to determine what changes our Stakeholders are willing to accept. Thee are several minor issues, which may not be a problem, but there is also the main issue of whether our Stakeholders will be allowed to vote on issues that concern them and the community.
The City Attorney’s office has advised DONE that our Stakeholders will not be allowed to vote on how to handle any issued that affect the community. In addition, the Stakeholders will not be allowed to make recommendations on how to resolve community issues, because a recommendation "is too much like a vote." Instead, the City Attorney says the only power granted to the Stakeholders is to elect a Board of Directors. It will then be up to a majority of the Board (perhaps a dozen people) to be the only voice for the entire community.
The City Attorney’s opinion is completely contrary to the By-Laws voted on by our Town Hall Stakeholders. In the Town Hall form of meeting, every Stakeholder has the right to vote on every community issue that comes before the Board. The City Attorney says this will not be allowed. We disagree, and claim that community empowerment is the primary reason the Neighborhood Councils were authorized by the City Charter. We point to Charter Sections 900 and 906, and Section 22.811 of the DONE Ordinance as proof of our statements.
Charter Section 900, for example, says the purpose of the Neighborhood Councils is "to promote more citizen participation in government." And Charter Section 906(a)(6) amplifies this by stating that the By-Laws for each Certified Neighborhood Council must show "guarantees that all meetings will be open and public, and permit, to the extent feasible, every Stakeholder to participate in the conduct of business, deliberation, and decision-making."
Several approaches for suggested By-Laws changes were discussed at the meeting, and the Stakeholders present agreed that various alternates should be presented and voted on at the next Regular Meeting. Charles Brink will prepare a draft and post it on the website, where all Stakeholders can comment, add, or delete, prior to the next Regular Meeting on April 17, 2002.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
SUSAN STEELE Acting Secretary