Below are two documents our volunteer mediators' coalition is sending to City Attorney Mike Feuer's office on Friday, July 18.

The first is the OUTLINE for a restructured community mediation program. This details the meaningful community mediation program City Attorney Feuer needs to get behind to provide "access to justice" for all Angelenos, not just the rich and powerful. (It's basically the program that existed before he slowly killed it off.)

The other document (via link) is a BUDGET, which we had some help creating thanks to an amazing and growing group of former Dispute Resolution volunteers who have been calling and emailing me and other current volunteer mediators. These are retired lawyers, retired LAPD, accountants, and others who knew all the stuff we didn't (like the percentage you need to add in for city employee benefits).

The program needs two things: Space and money. (I wrote about the "resources" starved from it here -- money would bring those back.)

We volunteer mediators feel pretty sure that Mr. Feuer and his honchos are not exactly going to be falling all over their phones to find either.

I am a dogged reporter/investigator, and I've found out about "rounding errors" in the City of LA budget, "idle funds" the LA Controller Ron Galperin has identified, and other sources of money. There's money -- millions upon millions of dollars -- and Mr. Feuer needs to use his power to go ask for it.

The same goes for space. The City has a vast supply of unused office space. Feuer's people should be finding it. (Yeah, I know -- we aren't holding our breath on that, either.) A note on the budget: If space is not found at City Hall, where there's already security, the budget will increase by $60,405 for a Security Officer, plus 20-30% benefits).

However, it is our hope that if we volunteer mediators keep making noise -- and if the LA community joins us -- we can maybe do some magic and bring back the Mike Feuer of old...the good guy Mike Feuer. Or at least force him to act like he cares about the poor and middle class getting "access to justice."

Provided below is an outline of the organization of a fully functioning community mediation component of a comprehensive Dispute Resolution Program. This structure can be implemented in the Office of the LA City Attorney immediately to provide services to all members of the public who are experiencing disputes.

LAPD consistently reports that they receive three million calls for service annually. They report further that half of the calls for service they receive could benefit from the intervention of trained mediators instead of continuing contact with law enforcement. Small claims and/or civil court and other public institutions and regulators tout the significant benefit of mediation services for matters under their jurisdiction.

Scope of services:

The community mediation component of the Los Angeles City Attorney's Dispute Resolution Program will be immediately reinstated and funded to fully provide comprehensive dispute resolution services to members of the public.

At any point that a member of the public requests intervention in any dispute involving family members, neighbors, friends and/or associates, co-workers, organizations, institutions, individuals previously known or unknown will have available the community mediation component of the Dispute Resolution Program to provide services to assist with the de-escalation and resolution of any dispute.

The range of work undertaken by the community mediation component of the Dispute Resolution Program will involve: Intake, information and referral, conciliation, mediation, neutral fact-finding, restorative justice, facilitation, arbitration, proven as well as experimental techniques designed to assist parties in the resolution of disputes.

Referral sources from throughout the region shall be cultivated and will include, but are not limited to, City departments, LAPD, 311 Operators, City and County human service organizations, law enforcement agencies, non-profit and for-profit organizations, employers, schools, religious institutions, advocacy organizations, neighborhood councils and associations, and individuals.

Community mediators who will provide services to members of the public are required to obtain training or meet the requirements detailed in the California Dispute Resolution Programs Act of 1986.

An ongoing public relations effort will be designed to ensure that the community mediation component of the Dispute Resolution Program gets maximum media coverage touting the opportunity to access a wide range of services to assist members of the public in preventing the escalation of disputes as well as their resolution. Volunteer mediators and program staff will provide ongoing educational outreach to the public.

Trained volunteer mediators will be encouraged to participate in the community mediation component of the Dispute Resolution Program. A minimum of ten fully functional desk areas/work stations with computers, internet access, comfortable seating, three large conference rooms, with seating for up to 30 people and four small conference rooms for meetings, caucuses, private consultation and mediation sessions will be contained in the office space of the community mediation section of the Dispute Resolution Program. This will allow for privacy communication between disputants and mediators. A training room large enough to accommodate the training of up to 50 community members will be made available to the community mediation unit of the Dispute Resolution Program on an as-needed basis.

Program must remain centrally located--ideally remaining at Los Angeles City Hall--a secure building that is accessible to the low-income, elderly, and mobility-challenged community members we serve. If space is not found at City Hall, where there is existing security, the budget will increase by $60,405 for a Security Officer, plus 20-30% benefits.

Training for new mediators will take place at minimum twice yearly (40 hours in class), at a time convenient to staff members of the community mediation unit of the Dispute Resolution Program.

Minimum staffing needs:

One Program Director whose responsibility is to oversee the full range of services provided by the community mediation unit of the Dispute Resolution Program. Writing proposals, managing the budget, seeking funds, being the face of the community mediation component of the Dispute Resolution Program would be the primary focus of this position.

One Assistant Director to assist the Director in every aspect of work of the community mediation unit of the Dispute Resolution Program. This position would focus on recruitment and training of community mediators, educational outreach and duties assigned by the Program Director.

Five Supervising Mediators to oversee and support the work of trained volunteer community members with the goal of recruiting, training and maintaining a roster of four thousand community volunteers consisting of Interns, trained mediators, and administrative volunteers.

One Supervising Executive Assistant to report to the Program Director, ensuring accountability measures are secured and maintained, overseeing monitoring visits and audits as well as overseeing the work of two additional clerical staff members.

One Lead Clerk whose would serve as the front line Receptionist and record keeper for all contacts by members of the public. This position would oversee the gathering of all program related information from volunteer contacts and casework. As the first line of contact with many disputants this person would oversee the welcoming and encouraging environment to all potential community mediation participants and people who inquire about all aspects of the community mediation program.

One Assistant Clerk who would back up the primary receptionist, support the staff, volunteers and members of the public when needed in a variety of ways.

No fees will be assessed any person who wishes to utilize the services of the community mediation component of the Dispute Resolution Program.

--Amy Alkon, volunteer mediator, Dispute Resolution Program
(on behalf of the coalition of volunteer mediators)

Mr. Feuer needs to ask for money (and there is available money in the city's coffers) to bring back the Dispute Resolution program to what it was and should be -- a vital provider of "access to justice" for all in the Los Angeles community.

Budget PDF: 7.16.19 DRP Annual Budget.pdf.

Sadly, from what Mario Munoz, the former LAPD lieutenant and DRP mediator, told us, City Attorney Feuer and his honchos are likely to retaliate against the Dispute Resolution Program's three wonderful staffers for our effort here to bring back community mediation. We volunteer mediators will be watching.