ACTIVISTS SAY REPORTS OF VIOLENCE AT MEETINGS ARE INFLATED.

Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer

A city report about violence at neighborhood councils has sparked an outcry among some community activists, who say it smears the local boards and inflates claims of bad behavior.

The report, released earlier this week, has ricocheted among council activists who say they are shocked by the list of fistfights, threats and shouting matches that have allegedly occurred throughout dozens of councils.

``Some of it may be true, some may not,'' said Tammy Flores, president of the Sylmar Neighborhood Council. ``In order to get the right thing out there, there should have been an investigation. This report doesn't make us look good and it doesn't make people want to participate in neighborhood councils.''

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment Interim General Manager Lisa Sarno began compiling the report this year after hearing complaints of conflicts and intimidation.

DONE tracked 18 incidents of disruptive behavior so far this year, compared with 15 in 2005 and five in 2004.

``Our folks are volunteers,'' Sarno said. ``They shouldn't have to come to meetings where all they're doing is having conflict that takes them away from what they were originally elected to do.

``We have to address these challenges so everyone can move forward. To not address the issue is where we fail everyone.''

But Sarno's report comes as neighborhood councils are at a critical point in their growth. The Neighborhood Council Review Commission is evaluating how well councils work and will recommend reforms next year.

At the same time, neighborhood council leaders are increasingly clashing with the City Council over how much authority the local boards should have.

And Sarno herself has been criticized for her management style, especially after DONE canceled dozens of council elections because of procedural problems.

The report -- which was presented to the City Council's Public Safety Committee with no input from neighborhood councils -- is just the latest incident to rankle some advocates.

``I haven't had the sense that we have a lot of violent people showing up to neighborhood council meetings,'' said Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who helped create neighborhood councils.

``When you have people who are passionate about their neighborhoods, maybe you'll have behavior that is not perfect.''

Dan Curtin, with the Mid-City West Neighborhood Council, said that while there may sometimes be tensions at councils, the bad behavior that has been documented is insignificant given the number of participants.

``Do the math: Eighteen incidents. There are 80 councils with one meeting a month. I don't think the statistics back up their conclusions,'' he said.

But others said there are behavior issues that need to be addressed and DONE could play a stronger role in resolving conflicts.

``Neighborhood councils were created to help improve our neighborhood,'' said Kristine Eide with the Mid-Town North Hollywood Neighborhood Council. ``As a board, we spend more time complaining and arguing then getting the `grass-roots' work done.''

While Sarno's department has not made formal recommendations, DONE and the Human Relations Commission want to see formal rules on behavior and more authority to remove problem board members and intervene when things get ugly.

``For people to say this isn't happening and that it's isolated instances, that's a disservice to neighborhood councils,'' Sarno said.

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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