NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUE DEBATED.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

Citing the need for more citizen involvement in government, the city's chief administrator proposed Tuesday that 75 neighborhood councils be appointed throughout Los Angeles to advise City Council members on issues of local interest.

However, some reformers who have proposed elected councils with decision-making powers say the plan by City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie falls short of giving residents the voice they need in their government.

``It's smoke and mirrors,'' said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association. ``The whole idea of neighborhood councils is to give them authority to make local decisions. If they are advisory people won't participate.''

Close also said having the neighborhood councils appointed by the City Council, as Comrie proposed, would make them puppets of the City Council.

The Valley Industry and Commerce Association and a group called the 5th District Committee for Meaningful Reform also have called for neighborhood councils to be elected.

Comrie proposed the network of advisory councils in a report he sent Tuesday to the city's appointed Charter Reform Commission, which had requested his recommendations for charter reform.

That panel also released a report Tuesday it commissioned from a national group that recommends overhauling city government to put budget and finance decisions in new city agencies under closer control of the mayor.

The Government Finance Officers Association proposed creating a new position of chief operating officer, reporting to the mayor, who would oversee a new City Budget Office, City Finance Office and City Management Office.

The proposal also would divide the elected city controller's duties into a City Auditor Office, either elected or appointed by the council, while accounting duties would be given to the City Finance Office.

However, much of the debate Tuesday centered on Comrie's proposal for neighborhood councils, which he said should be the commission's top priority.

The key recommendation of his report is that each of the 15 council districts be divided into five neighborhoods, each to receive a 20-member advisory council appointed by the City Council member for the area.

``Because of the sheer size of the city in terms of population and land area, some improvement to the linkage between neighborhood groups and the city's governing process should be considered,'' Comrie said in his report.

Holding elections for 1,500 neighborhood council members would be costly, complicated and inject politics into the process, Comrie said in an interview.

The councils would provide advice to the City Council on the level of city services needed, provide input and recommendations in the development and modification of land-use plans, and provide a forum for representatives throughout the city to discuss key issues at a periodic summit.