Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn

Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn today announced that he is "increasing the budget of each neighborhood council across the city by $100,000."

The City of Los Angeles now has 85 certified Neighborhood Councils, authorized under Article IX of the "new" Los Angeles City Charter, ratified by the voters of Los Angeles on June 8, 1999, which went into effect on July 1, 2000, and City Ordinance 172728, which was "Approved as to Form and Legality" on July 13, 1999, while Mayor Hahn was serving as Los Angeles City Attorney.

You can read the press release issued by Mayor Hahn's office today, in which this announcement was made, by clicking here

Sahar Moridani, a Press Deputy in Mayor Hahn's office, spoke today with Unwired LA and provided some details and clarifications regarding this announcement.

You can listen to this interview by clicking here.

Ms. Moridani indicated during the interview that the money discussed by the Mayor will not become available immediately to the Neighborhood Councils, but would be included by the Mayor in his upcoming budget and would need to be approved by the City Council. She further indicated that, if all goes to plan, it would become available to the Neighborhood Councils starting on July 1, 2005.

This money, according to the Mayor's spokesperson, could only be used for street improvements in each of their jurisdictions, as decided upon by the Neighborhood Councils in consultation with the City's Bureau of Street Services, as well as for street improvements involving more than one neighborhood, through the cooperation of the several jurisdictions involved.

While indicating that none of the $8.5 million in to-be-allotted funds could be used by Neighborhood Councils for planning, deploying, or operating Wi-Fi wireless broadband networks to be used by neighborhood residents, organizations, or businesses in each of the neighborhoods, Ms. Moridani did say that such expenditures could be undertaken by those Neighborhood Councils that wanted to do so, as long as the money came from the $50,000 annual stipend already being provided for each of them through a previous decision in this regard made by Mayor Hahn.