[City Council Motions] - Title Not Set [Part 1/X]

If you are like me.  You have been going to City Council Meetings for four years now, and have been watching City Council meetings for 30 years on TV.  You also have taken the Planning 101 training, and have well found it lacking (as well as DONE training).

Over the past four years I have compiled a list of quick links and sign-ups that feed in to my needs, reducing the amount of time i spend physically researching any given topic with the City.  What I am endeavoring to do in this "Title Not Set" series is to address the needs that Council File 18-0467 vaguely asks of the NC's.

While I am no longer part of the BHNC, the two years I was on, led me to believe that the axiom of "teach them how to think, not what to think," or in this case research, is necessary.  Because what you will find in the NC system is people or groups, such as the Mayoral initiatives, or DONE, to put forth topics of interest to them.  And while this is totally understandable, it does not however aide in doing research for your own peoples.

What I am covering with this first article is the [introduction of] "City Council Motions."

As I have mentioned, I have been watching Los Angeles City Hall's City Council since I was about 8 years old.  And I wondered about how new motions get introduced.  I eventually found out that they get posted on a Board at City hall, making it kinda difficult to get to read, at 8 - 10 years old.  Even if they are mentioned during normal proceeds, you can't really sit and read them anywhere.

So you go down to City Hall and can't find them.  Turns out, you are told, that they are posted on a board inside Council Chambers.  So you go inside and spend time trying to find this Board that is on the far side of the chambers.  Great! you just spent a fuck-load of wasted time.  And then you find out that you can sign-up online to recieve e-mails about these new motions.  "Great!  ...where?"

"i dunno..." is the typical response, followed by "go to the City's website..."

So here we go.

After each City Council Meeting, and e-mail is sent out by end of day, that contains scanned copies of the new or amending motions made at that council meeting.

This is important, because essentially this is where most Council Files start.  They have no number, and you will likely get lazy responses when you inquire on these topics, but it gives you a heads up on what is coming down the line 3-months, 6- months, 2 years.

DONE will eventually provide you with this information in the form of a weekly legislative report.  However, that report may be focused on your general area, such at the East Side, Beach side, etc.  Having this information raw, lets you decide that if there is something focused on the west-side, or a pilot program taking place in the San Fernando Valley, may interest your community.  Or effect it a year or two down the line.

What you get is pretty simple.  A standardized text message, with a pdf to download.  But this is the mid-end result.  What you need to know is how to get here.  Because if you don't get here.  You are pretty much automatically set back by a week.  These motions do not have a Council File assigned yet, and can take about a week to get one, or assigned to a Committee.

The long way around is to go to www.lacity.org and click on "Meet Your Government," which leads you to https://www.lacity.org/your-government and then scroll down to "Council Votes" and click on the link for "Subscribe to Council Meeting Agenda" and then fill out your name and e-mail address, click on "Council Motions" and hit subscribe.

Or you can just skip all that and go to:

https://www.lacity.org/your-government/council-votes/subscribe-council-meeting-agendas

You'll get a confirmation e-mail and that's about it.  You confirm and from now on you will get periodic e-mail on new or amended City Council Motions, when ever the City Council meets.

It really saves time on getting ahead of any given topic.  And since you are [potentially] already following these topics there is less need to "catch up" at the 11th hour.

So that is how you get the motions.  Next article?  Since there is no Council File yet... How do you keep track.


[Post Script]

Oh yeah.  Almost forgot.  If you click on the "Council Motions" link on the subscribe page, it will take you to the "Early Notification Agenda Table of Contents," which contanis the pdf file its self.
Here's the link: https://ens.lacity.org/ens.cfm?catid=3508