Smith Spins Attack on NCs; Should Go Back to Sleep

"Those damn blogs! If it wasn't for those damn blogs I could sleep more in Clowncil meetings and bamboozle a whole lot more folks much easier!"

- Clowncilman Greig Smith

= SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT =
May 8, 2009

In Response to Recent Mischaracterizations About Neighborhood Council Funds

Dear Neighborhood Council Members and Friends:

Over the past few days, many emails and calls have come to my office full of emotion and, sometimes, misinformation regarding various proposals affecting Neighborhood Council funding.

Ironically, just last week (Friday, May 1) I communicated directly with every Neighborhood Council President in my District outlining my concerns for their unspent funds. I also offered some ways to protect these funds, and strongly voiced my support for the good work each Neighborhood Council in my District has been doing.

Despite some of the mischaracterizations that appeared in blogs and emails in recent days, I strongly support Neighborhood Councils and have overwhelmingly positive, close constructive working relationships with the Neighborhood Councils in my District. Members of our staff are in constant communication with all of our Neighborhood Councils, and they regularly attend the meetings of all of the Neighborhood Councils to ensure continuous communication between us.

I have seen a real effort made by the board members of these councils to be prudent with their funds and find useful projects that improve the quality of life in our community. These range from partnering with us and other Neighborhood Councils and community groups on community events, to beautification projects and clean-up events, to a collaborative District-wide emergency preparedness event.

We have worked very closely with Neighborhood Councils in our District on a great number of community improvement projects. One Neighborhood Council contributed funds to help us make a land acquisition to increase the size of Stoney Point Park and save a horse-keeping property from development.

Neighborhood Councils have used their funds to purchase signs that display the speed cars are driving to improve street safety. They have contributed money and sweat equity to countless neighborhood clean-ups, graffiti removal, and weed abatement projects that we have done together. We have worked together to find solutions and funding to clean up the half-completed projects and overgrown medians left behind when a local Business Improvement District dissolved.

One Neighborhood Council used its funds to stock a shipping container with emergency supplies, first aid materials, and food and place it in park property. They developed plans to make these emergency supplies available to the community in case of a large-scale disaster, and their project has been lauded across the City as a highly innovative and valuable use of Neighborhood Council funding.

They have also brought forward a number of great ideas that we have turned into legislation.

The Neighborhood Councils provide an essential advisory function and have used their funds to complete a great number of projects and activities that improve the quality of life in our community. These are valuable services and projects that the City doesn’t provide. They can and should continue to do these good works, but under the current conditions, they will have to make do with less money, at least temporarily.

As we grapple with a potentially devastating City budget, the financial choices the City Council has to make in approving the proposed budget are not easy. We must look both at the near and long-term impacts of decisions we make. We can't look at that quick fix to balance the budget today without considering the complicated and long-term impacts.

During the Budget Hearings of Tuesday, May 5, I entered the discussion only with respect to the proposal to eliminate the $1.5 million rollover of unspent Neighborhood Council funds, not the proposal to deeply cut their annual budgets.

I am not sure if councils can be funded at the full $45,000 per year as proposed in the Mayor’s budget. But I will work hard to find the best-case scenario to support the good efforts of our volunteer community members who serve on the advisory boards in my District.

The Daily News and the blogs would have you believe that eliminating jobs is preferable to reducing the funds that Neighborhood Councils have available for neighborhood projects. They are vilifying the very same people that provide the services that no one wants to see reduced. The great majority of City employees are regular, hard-working people who are supporting families and contributing to the economy.

None of these are easy decisions. We must strike a balance between preserving essential City services, preserving jobs, and preserving funds such as the Neighborhood Council funds. My position is to put more emphasis on preserving necessary City services – these are services that we can’t do without. They include hauling trash, maintaining streets and sidewalks and sewers, keeping parks and libraries open and preserving Police and Fire services.

I will continue to work to preserve as much of the Neighborhood Council funds as we can under the current crisis conditions. I will also work closely with each of the Neighborhood Councils in my District to find ways to support their projects and maintain positive, constructive relationships.

Council Member Grieg Smith

Related:
Greig Smith Hates Neighborhood Councils