EDITORIAL SLOUCHING TOWARD DEMOCRACY L.A.'S FUTURE DEPENDS ON EMPOWERING AND FUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS.

WITH all that the Los Angeles City Council has done recently to squelch public participation in the political process, it's heartening that it's considering a proposal to let neighborhood councils have more power in City Hall.

Not a whole lot of power, granted. But a little more than the near-none that the city's approximately 90 citizen advisory councils now wield.

The proposed deal, which was amazingly endorsed by a council committee Wednesday, would allow motions and initiatives that have been endorsed by at least three of the city's neighborhood councils to come before the City Council for consideration. This is a proposal that has been floating around City Hall for some time, and this is the first positive sign that this particular council isn't all about shutting down the public's access.

Some might see a world of chaos in allowing citizens to get together and submit motions. Who knows what crazy things they may propose! No doubt these ranks of nascent policy wonks will propose some stinkers along with the truly neighborhood-improving initiatives.

That's the price of democracy, though. It's as messy as it is wonderful.

Besides, the City Council is one to talk: Plenty of hare-brained policy has come out of the official council-sponsored channels. Remember just this year when council members called for the investigation of Police Chief William Bratton when he said mean things about them?

The council owes it to the public to allow this first step toward the full democratization of Los Angeles, as odious as it may be to council members. But that's not where this ends. Next, we need to give neighborhood councils real power, better training and more funding.

But first things first, and this proposal is the right beginning.