Advisory Neighborhood Commission

Advisory Neighborhood Commission
Agency overview
Formed1974
JurisdictionDistrict of Columbia
HeadquartersJohn A. Wilson Building, Washington DC
Parent agencyCouncil of the District of Columbia
Websiteanc.dc.gov

Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) are bodies of local government in the District of Columbia, the capital city of the United States. The ANC system was created in 1974 through a referendum (73 percent voted "yes") in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.[1] The first elections for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners were held in the fall of 1975, and commissions began operating in 1976.[2] Congressman Don Fraser (D-Minn) and D.C. resident Milton Kotler helped to draft the ANC language in the Home Rule Act based on the success of Adams Morgan Organization (AMO) in Adams Morgan and on a 1970 report of the Minneapolis Citizen League, as well as on related neighborhood corporations in Pittsburgh; Brooklyn, New York; Chicago; and Columbus, Ohio.[3][4][5]

ANCs 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. Commissioners serve two-year terms and receive no salary, but commissions do receive funds for the general purpose of improving their area and hiring staff.[6] This policy has come under scrutiny because of the misuse of funds by commissioners and their employees.[7] Candidates can accept campaign donations up to $25 per person.[8]

As of 2023, ANCs represent more than 100 neighborhoods.[9]

  1. ^ Garrison, David F. (2011). "District of Columbia's Elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions: An Unlikely Experiment in Governance at the Grassroots". State & Local Government Review. 43 (2): 159–166. doi:10.1177/0160323X11416074. JSTOR 41303187. S2CID 155798683.
  2. ^ Garrison, David F. (2011). "District of Columbia's Elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions: An Unlikely Experiment in Governance at the Grassroots". State & Local Government Review. 43 (2): 159–166. doi:10.1177/0160323X11416074. JSTOR 41303187. S2CID 155798683.
  3. ^ Gibson, Josh; Nahikian, Marie (March 23, 2020). "A Minnesota congressman is one reason we have ANCs. But the true inspiration was the spirited tradition of activism of Adams Morgan". The DC Line.
  4. ^ Garrison, David F. (2011). "District of Columbia's Elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions: An Unlikely Experiment in Governance at the Grassroots". State & Local Government Review. 43 (2): 159–166. doi:10.1177/0160323X11416074. JSTOR 41303187. S2CID 155798683.
  5. ^ Kotler, Milton (10 July 2019). "ECCO bene: Organizing Neighborhood Government Milton Kotler—father of the ANC".
  6. ^ "Employment Opportunities". DC Government. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  7. ^ DeBonis, Mike (2012-04-27). "William Shelton gets 30 days for theft of ANC funds". Washington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  8. ^ "ANC Elections". DC Government. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  9. ^ Tikkanen, Amy; Campbell, Heather; Goldberg, Maren; Wallenfeldt, Jeff; Augustyn, Adam (2023-05-04). "Washington, D.C. - Government". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2023-05-05.