Grievance

Department of Neighborhood Empowerment Grievance Form

Thank you for contacting the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment regarding your Grievance. Your concerns are important to us. Please fill out this form as completely as possible to help expedite our determination. Please be aware that the information you are submitting is subject to the California Public Records Act.

We will NOT be able to respond to your Grievance unless you provide a valid email or mailing address.
Please note that once you click Save at the upper right corner, your Grievance will be submitted.

All witness statements must be attached on this form.

The Department will not process more than three Grievance Forms filed by the same person in any calendar year and no more than five Grievance Forms filed by the same individual in any three year period. All Grievances submitted through this portal are considered processed.

First Name

Mitchell

Last Name

Rishe

Please identify your role within the Neighborhood Council system:

Stakeholder

Phone Number

(310) 463-1693

Email Address

mitchellrishe@gmail.com

Mailing Address

3413 Purdue Ave, Los Angeles, California 90066

Neighborhood Council

Mar Vista

Neighborhood Council Bylaws

Specific Violation Alleged

Failure to indicate the nature of your alleged Grievance will result in the dismissal of your Grievance.

Neighborhood Council Bylaw

Article Number

VIII

Section

Los Angeles Administrative Code

Section

Plan for the Citywide System of Neighborhood Councils

Section

Board of Neighborhood Commissioners Policy

Please state Policy below

Department Policy

Please state Policy below

* - Any other City code, executive directive, rule or regulation applicable to Neighborhood Councils.

Date of Alleged Violation

09-12-17

A Grievance must be filed within 30 days from the date of the event giving rise to the Grievance. Any Grievance alleging a violation relating to Neighborhood Council funding must be filed within 90 calendar days of the date the expenditure is made.

Please state below

At the September 12, 2017 meeting of the board of the Mar Vista Community Council board, the board considered three motions (items 13(m)-(o) on the September 2017 agenda) that would each reverse the decision of the July 11th decision of the Board. The July 11th board decision resoundingly defeated, in an 8-3 vote, a motion (item 6.c.i. on the July 2017 agenda) for "Restoration of 3rd Lane on Venice Boulevard." The board decision was made after extensive community input.

Each of the three motions considered at the September 2017 board meeting were placed on the agenda in a highly irregular manner.

For example, the transportation and infrastructure committee ("T&I") meeting at which the motions were first considered was held without sending the agenda to the subscription list and giving stakeholders 72 hours� notice.

Item 13.m. was passed at that T&I meeting. But given that only the constituency that drafted the motion knew about the meeting prior to 10:30pm the night before the T&I meeting, passage of that motion was pretty much guaranteed.

item 13.n. was a "director�s motion" placed by a newly appointed director (Elliot Hanna) who apparently did not like the decision made by the Board on July 11th. If a new director is free to submit a "director's motion" simply because he/she did not like the prior vote of his fellow directors, it makes a mockery of the work of the Community Council.

Item 13.o was on the T&I agenda. I am informed (because I did not attend the T&I meeting) that the motion was tabled as the consensus was that it needed more work. Nonetheless, it was placed on the September board agenda as a "directors motion" by the chair of T&I (Ken Alpern), who is also a director and was on the losing side of the July vote. Placing the motion on the agenda in this matter completely undermines the purpose of committees and the structure of the Community Council. Again, it makes a mockery of the work of the Community Council if a director, dissatisfied with the vote of his fellow directors, repeatedly re-introduces a defeated motion in the hope that, next time, the board will vote his way.

Tonight, T&I will once again consider another motion to "reverse the lane reduction component on Venice Boulevard and restore the six-lane configuration" (item 7.a.4). It will likely pass and thus will likely be on the board's October agenda, for the third time in as many months.

The attempt by a minority faction of the board (who also happen to chair the T&I committee) to repeatedly attempt to reverse the prior vote of the board is causing the community to lose confidence in the integrity of the Mar Vista Community Council.

Please specify the exact rule and explain the facts of the alleged violation.

Bylaws, Article VIII, Section 3: "The agenda and notice of Board Meetings shall be publicly posted at least seventy-two (72) hours prior to the meeting."

Standing Rules, Section 2.6 "All standing and ad hoc committees must: ... b. Create a properly posted agenda for each regular meeting at least 72 hours prior to the start of the meeting. The agenda must be posted on the MVCC website, and emailed to the MVCC Board of Directors and all subscribers to the Committee�s newsletters, and posted at public locations designated by the Board of Directors."

The T&I Committee violated the bylaws and rules by failing to properly notice its meeting to "all subscribers to the Committee�s newsletters" at least 72 hours before the September meeting.

Remedy

There are various remedies available. Please select from the list below the remedy OR remedies you are seeking.
Please be advised that the Department has sole discretion in determining whether your remedy conforms with your Grievance.

From the list below, which remedy or remedies are you seeking?

1) Warning to the Neighborhood Council board, individual board member, or, members.

2) Required corrective action of the Neighborhood Council.

3) Mandated training for the Neighborhood Council, individual board member, or, members.

4) Required mediation for the Neighborhood Council board, individual board member, or, members.

5) Suspension of Neighborhood Council board until mandated trainings are taken by board, board member, or, members.

6) Temporary suspension of Neighborhood Council Funding.

7) Placement of the Neighborhood Council board under control and supervision of the Department.

8) Suspension of individual board member or members.

9) Initiation of de-certification process or process to declare board seats vacant.

Please state why you are seeking the above mentioned remedy or remedies.

Unless corrective action is taken, the community's confidence in the integrity of the board, and respect for its decisions, will be forever damaged.

Witness Information

ALL of your Witness information and Witness Statement needs to be included at this time. The Department will ONLY accept and review Witness information included at time of submission.
You can find the Witness Statement form here.

Witness 1 Contact Information

First Name

Mitchell

Last Name

Rishe

Email Address

mitchellrishe@gmail.com

Phone Number

(310) 463-1693

Witness Statement

September MVCC Board Meeting Opposition to Items 13mo.pdf

Witness 2 Contact Information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Phone Number

Witness Statement

Witness 3 Contact Information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Phone Number

Witness Statement

If no witness, please check this box

Supporting Documents

Before submitting, please include ALL supporting documentation HERE. The Department will ONLY process and review materials included at time of submission. NOTE: The Department will only review up to 10 pages submitted. Any information submitted past 5 pages will not be taken into account.

Supporting Document

July 2017 Board Minutes.pdf

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

By checking this box and typing my name below, I am electronically signing this form.

Mitchell Rishe

To SUBMIT, please click "Save" on top right corner.

NC Determination

Panel Determination

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Client Performance Report

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