NEIGHBORHOOD PANELS COULD BE IN THE MONEY.

Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer

The Los Angeles City Council gave its initial approval Friday to a plan that would give certified neighborhood councils the ability to apply for up to $50,000 to spend on operating expenses or local improvement programs.

``This will empower our neighborhood councils as nothing else we have done so far,'' said Councilwoman Janice Hahn, known to her colleagues as the ``mother of neighborhood councils.'' ``As you all know, money is power.''

The funding would be allocated in quarterly payments of $12,500, and the councils would decide on their own how to spend the money.

Only councils that have elected a board can apply for the money. Of the 55 councils certified so far, only 20 have an elected board, according to Greg Nelson, general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment.

The funding arrangement was recommended by Nelson, and endorsed by neighborhood governance experts. Nelson said that providing a uniform amount for each council, rather an annual fee based on the size of the neighborhood council area, encourages them to stay as small as possible.

The neighborhood councils vary in the number of residents represented, from about 7,000 to 85,000.

Since there were fewer than 12 council members at the meeting to vote on it, the funding proposal will come back to the council again next week for a second reading.