Hahn Unveils Proposals for Charter Reform

Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn unveiled his own charter reform proposals Thursday, calling for a network of elected neighborhood councils with the power to make appealable decisions on local land-use questions.

“I believe the time has come to personalize city government in Los Angeles by creating a truly local level of government,” he said in a letter to two commissions working on drafting a new charter to submit to voters next year.

Hahn’s plan would split the city into 20 neighborhoods of about 200,000 people each, with five elected volunteers representing 40,000 people each.

In addition to deciding land-use questions, each of Hahn’s proposed neighborhood councils would decide how to spend its share of park and arts funds and advise citywide officials on how to best allocate city services. A city Office of Neighborhoods would provide resources, coordination and support.

Hahn, who is often talked about as a candidate for mayor, also suggested increasing the powers of that office to make it “more equal to . . . the City Council.” Hahn suggested giving the mayor greater managerial authority over city departments, stripping the council of its ability to “micro-manage . . . by doing things like holding up managers from filling positions . . . already authorized in the budget,” and taking away the council’s authority to second-guess any decision made by departments’ citizen commissions, whose members are appointed by the mayor.

Hahn rejected as pointless and costly an idea advanced by Mayor Richard Riordan to split the elected city attorney’s office in two--an elected prosecutor for misdemeanors and an appointed lawyer to handle civil matters.

Hahn also suggested preserving the city’s Civil Service system.