Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are bodies of local government in District of Columbia. The ANC system was created in 1974 through a District referendum in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. The first elections for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners were held in the fall of 1975, and commissions began operating in 1976. Congressman Don Fraser and DC resident Milton Kotler helped to draft the ANC language in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act based on the success of Adams Morgan Organization in Adams Morgan and on a 1970 report of the Minneapolis Citizen League, as well as on related neighborhood corporations in Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, Chicago and Columbus, Ohio. 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. This policy has come under scrutiny because of the misuse of funds by commissioners and their employees. Candidates can accept campaign donations up to $25 per person.
Powers
The powers of the ANC system are enumerated by the DC Code § 1-207.38:
May advise the District government on matters of public policy including decisions regarding planning, streets, recreation, social services programs, health, safety, and sanitation in that neighborhood commission area;
May employ staff and expend, for public purposes within its neighborhood commission area, public funds and other funds donated to it; and
Shall have such other powers and duties as may be provided by act of the Council.
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 present their positions to Federal agencies. One of the most common cases of ANC involvement is in the giving of liquor licenses, where the approval or disapproval of the commission, despite having no legal power, represents a veto to the district government.
Membership and qualifications
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 official representing his or her neighborhood community on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission. In order to hold the office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, an individual must be a registered voter in the District, as defined by DC Code Section 1-1001.02; have resided continuously in the Single Member District from which he is nominated for the 60-day period immediately preceding the day on which the nominating petition is filed; and hold no other public office. In order to enter the public ballot, they must receive 25 signatures from registered voters in their district.
The basic area of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are Single Member Districts. There are 299 Single Member Districts, which in turn are subdivisions of 39 'Commission Districts', which are in turn subdivisions of Wards. Each Commissioner represents about 2,000 residents in their Single Member District area. Due to population growth and redistribution, these boundaries often change, causing shifts in power and election turnout. Single Member Districts are named according to Ward, Subdivision, and then Single Member District. For instance, 3B05 is Ward 3, subdivision B, and SMD 05.
