Greetings, Neighborhood Council Treasurers, Board Members, and stakeholders. Please see below for some important updates, events, and deadlines.
Best,
Armando Ruiz
Neighborhood Council Funding Program Director
IMPORTANT DATES / DEADLINES
- 10 days after your May NC Board Meeting – April Monthly Expenditure Reports due
- May 31, 2014 – Deadline to submit Board Resolution requesting the transfer of NC funds to LA Congress / Advocacy account (see below)
- June 13, 2014 – US Bank Purchasing Cards will be shut off
Demand Warrant Round-up
The deadline to submit Demand Warrants to the Department has come and gone, and boy was it busy! The Department’s hardworking Funding staff is now sorting, scanning, categorizing, prioritizing, and analyzing each of the over 200 Demand Warrants that were submitted in person and via fax, mail, and email yesterday. We will do our absolute best to ensure that the requests are complete and processed expeditiously. Please be patient with us during this time as return phone calls and emails will only be handled in the afternoon, giving us sufficient time to dedicate to processing payments prior to the fiscal year end deadlines.
Here is a breakdown of the percentages of different categories received on the 15th:
Full Funding Training Video Available
As further evidence of the awesomeness that is our Department staff, we’re proud to introduce a full Treasurer’s Training video now available on our website. Thanks to the video and technical expertise of Sevak Paramazian and Arin Abedian, this training has much better sound, visuals, and special effects. Jessica Pua, Kathleen Quinn, and the one and only Betty Wong Oyama will guide you through the intricacies of the funding program while you watch from the comfort of your own home, bed, hammock, whatever! Once the fun is over, make sure you follow the link to register your attendance and receive credit for your newly enhanced knowledge of funding practices.
LA Congress/Budget Advocacy Account
Los Angeles City Council authorized the Department to set up an account that would be used to set aside funds for the annual LA Congress and Budget Advocate events. With Neighborhood Council Board approval, funds can be transferred from each individual Neighborhood Council appropriation account to this new account which will be administered by the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. These funds would not be swept at the end of Budget Fiscal Year 2014, and are essential to ensuring that stakeholders and Board Members are given a strong voice in the civic process. Once your Board has approved setting aside funds for this account, submit a Board Vote Count Form to the Department by Friday, May 30, 2014 (close of business 5 p.m.) and the Funding Unit will process your request accordingly.
No Grace Period for Funding Training Requirements for New Board Members
Please be advised that all new board members must meet the existing training requirements in order to be eligible to vote on funding matters. The EmpowerLA website has links for the general board member training and registration information for these board members to satisfy the requirement whenever is most convenient to them. There will be no grace period in which these new board members can vote on funding matters without taking the requisite training because all board members are responsible for the approval and use of public funds. Without the proper training informing them of funding policies, as well as ethical laws, these new board members may not be able to make informed decisions on behalf of the board.
NC Funding Forms, Now on Google!
We are looking for eager and interested NC Treasurers to pilot our brand new Google packets which will contain all of the new funding forms that are currently being utilized and some that will be implemented once the checking accounts are opened. If you are a fan of Google docs, or want to see what this interface looks like, please contact Kathleen Quinn ([email protected]) or Sevak Paramazian ([email protected]) We are hopeful that this interface will make life easier for the NC Treasurers and their boards by providing a “one-stop shop” approach to accessing their funding forms and information.
Demand Warrants and Auto-Deducts
Until the NC Checking Account is implemented, you may submit demand warrants to the Department for processing and payment. In addition, if you had vendors set-up to be paid via the Auto-Deduct process, the Funding Unit will continue to pay these routine operational expenses directly and notify you of charges via the Check Tracker(click here). To date for this fiscal year, we have received 1,863 Auto Deducts and Demand Warrants.
