a. Subject to appropriation, the civic engagement commission shall provide assistance and training to community boards, in consultation and coordination with the department of city planning and other relevant city agencies and with borough presidents to the extent practicable, including but not limited to:
1. Identifying qualified firms, professional staff members or consultants to provide urban planning or other technical assistance related to land use who do not otherwise have an interest in land use proposals with respect to which they are providing assistance, and administering a program for providing such services to community boards upon request. In administering such a program, the commission shall, to the extent practicable: seek to ensure that available resources are accessible to all community boards and that such resources are administered in a neutral and impartial manner; seek to ensure that such resources are provided in a manner that allows community boards to direct any provider of professional services in a manner that is consistent with their needs and objectives; and provide a mechanism for community boards to provide feedback regarding resources provided pursuant to this paragraph;
2. To the extent practicable, in consultation with the mayor's office of immigrant affairs, identifying and providing services requested by Community boards to address the needs of limited English proficient individuals, including but not limited to staff training, community outreach, and language assistance tools; and
3. Developing and providing training and other assistance to community boards, which may include but need not be limited to assistance in utilizing technological tools and assistance in developing uniform meeting procedures.
b. Reporting. The commission shall include in its annual report a description of the categories of resources made available to community boards pursuant to this section and the number of community boards that utilized each category of resources, disaggregated by borough, as well as any recommended changes to better serve the needs of community boards.
(L.L. 2018/211, 12/3/2018, eff. 4/1/2019)