DWP Agrees to Notify Councils on Proposals

The city's neighborhood councils and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have reached an agreement to give the councils advance notice of important proposals, as well as a role in the agency's budget process and policy decisions.

The proposed pact, which was announced Wednesday and will go to the DWP board for approval next week, would set up an oversight committee of representatives from neighborhood councils that would meet periodically with DWP officials and be amply notified of major budget and policy proposals.

"This is an epic change," said Brady Westwater, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Council. "It's a new partnership."

Mayor James K. Hahn praised the agreement as "another outstanding example of how the city of Los Angeles and neighborhood councils are learning new ways to work together."

The agreement will now be submitted to the more than 80 neighborhood councils for their formal vote on whether to participate, Westwater said.