Councils Need More Power, Hahn Says

Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn released a plan Friday for giving more power to dozens of neighborhood councils, saying the budding groups should be so deeply involved in city affairs that they even help evaluate how well city department heads do their jobs.

Hahn, a candidate for mayor, said his plan goes further than one by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment under consideration by the City Council.

Hahn’s plan includes calls for: funding of neighborhood groups, an office of neighborhood advocate within the mayor’s office, coordination between councils, and quarterly meetings between city departments and the neighborhood groups.

Hahn also advocated the neighborhood leaders’ involvement in evaluating top city employees.

“Community members are best positioned to determine whether a city department has delivered an appropriate level of services,” Hahn said. “Yet, right now, community members have no voice in the evaluation of general managers and their salary levels.”