What is an Advisory Neighborhood Commission? What is an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner?
WHAT IS AN ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION (ANC)?
The Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consider a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and the District's annual budget.In each of these areas, the intent of the ANC legislation is to ensure input from an advisory board that is made up of the residents of the neighborhoods that are directly affected by government action. The ANCs are the body of government with the closest official ties to the people in a neighborhood.The ANCs present their positions and recommendations on issues to various District government agencies, the Executive Branch, and the Council. They also present testimony to independent agencies, boards, and commissions, usually under the rules of procedure specific to those entities. By law, the ANCs may also present their positions to Federal agencies.
To assist ANCs, agency officials, and the general public, a searchable database of letters written by the Office of the Attorney General on ANC issues is now available.
The Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (OANC), which provides technical support to the 37 ANCs, is located in Room 8 of the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20004. The office can be reached at (202) 727-9945 and may also be contacted by email, gottlieb.simon@dc.gov.
For assistance in locating your Ward and ANC please contact the Board of Elections at (202) 727-2525. You may also consult the online DC Guide for this information.
WHAT IS AN ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONER?
An Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) is a boundaried area of the city subdivided into smaller areas (with populations of approximately 2,000 residents) called Single Member Districts (SMDs).
The term for an ANC Commissioner is two (2) years [the current term is 2009 - 2010] . The office is nonpartisan. This is an unpaid position.
Each ANC Commissioner is nominated and elected by the registered voters who reside in the same Single Member District as the candidate. The ANC Commissioner is an unsalaried official who represents his or her neighborhood community (single member district) on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission. The Commission represents the neighborhood and advises the District government on issues relating to zoning, social service programs, health, police protection, sanitation, and recreation.
Establishment of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions was made possible under the provisions of the District of Columbia Self Government and Governmental Reorganization Act (Section 738) and the Advisory Neighborhood Commission Act of 1975 (DC Law No. 121).
In order to hold the office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, an individual must meet the following qualifications:
Be a registered voter in the District, as defined by DC Code Section 1-1001.02;
Have resided in the Single Member District from which nominated continuously for the 60 day period immediately preceding the day on which the nominating petition is filed; and
Hold no other public office.
For more Congress Heights and River East news visit The Congress Heights Examiner website, http://www.examiner.com/x-13507-Congress-Heights-Community-Examiner