GROUP OPPOSES NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

In the most explicit threat yet to charter reform proposals, a downtown group called the Los Angeles Business Advisors warned Thursday that it will ``vigorously campaign against'' any reform that proposes elected neighborhood councils with decision-making power.

The threat was made by the group's president, Sam Bell, in a statement read to a task force of the elected Charter Reform Commission.

The task force met Thursday night to discuss the commission's position supporting elected neighborhood councils that can make decisions at least on local budget issues.

After weeks of offering veiled threats and engaging in talks aimed at compromise, Bell said LABA rejects the commission's premise that elected, decision-making councils are a foregone conclusion.

``LABA will not support this additional and costly new layer of government,'' Bell said. ``If required, we will vigorously campaign against elected neighborhood councils if they are included in a new City Charter ballot measure.''

To improve representation of the public, the downtown business group has instead proposed an expansion of the City Council from 15 to 35 members.

The threat was met with disappointment by elected Charter Reform Commissioners, including Bill Weinberger, who heads the task force that met Thursday night.

``I'm worried about any concerted opposition to a charter reform issue because charter reform is such a fragile, delicate thing,'' he said.

Commissioner Rob Glushon noted that homeowner leaders have threatened to campaign against any charter reform package that does not create neighborhood councils with decision-making power.

``That's hardly the recipe for successful charter reform,'' Glushon said of the threats from both sides.

Faced with the threats, Glushon said there is growing consensus on the elected commission to provide voters with a menu of different proposals, including one ballot measure proposing advisory neighborhood councils, another with decision-making councils and another with the bulk of less controversial charter reforms.

``I think there would be support in the commission for that,'' Glushon said, adding that he would then hope LABA and the homeowner leaders would not oppose the bulk of reforms that are aimed at streamlining government and making it more effective.

Weinberger said the task force plans to look at all of the proposals for neighborhood councils not yet considered by the charter commission, including Studio City attorney David Fleming's proposal for creating 15 ``quasi-cities,'' each with power over local land use and budget decisions, and each with a mayor who would represent the district in a citywide Metropolitan Council.

Asked about the possibility that different council districts would get different levels of service, Fleming told the task force that his plan would allow council districts to keep tax revenues generated by new development and grant them power to raise taxes for special priorities.