2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 231 - Citizen Participation (§§ 4751 — 4764) › § 4752 - Community Affairs Division—Functions

The Community Affairs Division shall have, without being limited to, the following functions, duties and powers:
(a) Coordinate with the various administrative units of the municipal government the development of capital work and improvements projects, as well as programs to benefit the community initiated by the Division and those submitted by any citizens association or commercial district association or group of citizens.
(b) Advise the mayor and the Directors of administrative units on systems and methods to coordinate and implement suggestions in the areas of public works and services submitted by residents of the municipality.
(c) Offer technical assistance to the municipal administrative units for the review and evaluation of public works programs and services.
(d) Promote the participation of the inhabitants of the municipality in the solution of common problems. By virtue of the above, this unit or the program that is in charge of the responsibility to advise the mayor regarding territorial planning, may recommend to the latter to extend the powers and faculties delegated to the existing Community Board, or if there is no Community Board in said municipality, it may recommend to the mayor the creation of one or several Boards granting them, in addition to the function conferred to the Community Boards in § 4608 of this title, the following duties and powers:
(1) Advise the mayor on the drafting, revision and compliance of the laws and ordinances that affect the community.
(2) Advise the different administrative units of the municipality, for the review and evaluation of the municipal works and public service programs.
(3) Promote the participation of the citizens of the municipality, residents associations, merchants associations, council of citizens or other similar organizations, in the solution of common problems, as well as promoting the development and adoption of mechanisms that enable and stimulate the citizen’s participation, such as consultations or public hearings.
(4) Prepare and submit to the mayor an evaluation of the level of efficiency of the programs that the municipality promotes for the solution of the problems and needs of the citizens.
(5) Evaluate and recommend, through opinions, comments and suggestions, the proposals for capital works and improvements of public use to attend to the needs of the citizens.
(6) See to the establishing and compliance of the laws and regulations applicable to the municipality. In order to comply with this purpose, each municipality shall provide the Community Board such information related to the performance of the municipality contained in the public reports prepared by supervisory agencies. The Community Board may make suggestions or file complaints directed to enforce compliance of the laws, ordinances and regulations regarding the protection of the health, welfare, peace of mind and the quality of life of the communities represented by said Board.
After conducting a study on the population and the characteristics of each community of the municipality, the mayor, on his/her own initiative or by recommendation of the Community Affairs Division or of the Territorial Ordinance Office, shall:
(1) Determine the number of Community Boards to be established according to the needs of the municipality. In the event that the functions of the Community Board previously established for the preparation, review and compliance of the Territorial Ordinance Plans are affected, the mayor may authorize the creation of additional Boards subject to the requirements and conditions set forth in § 4608 of this title.
(2) Create regulations to establish the criteria for the selection of the members of the Board so that will ensure the representation of the broadest sectors of the community. This provision shall also be subject to compliance of the requirements and conditions previously established in § 4608 of this title.
(3) Assign resources for the adequate operation of the Boards.
(4) Offer training to the designated members so that they may faithfully perform their responsibilities.
(5) Expedite communication among the Boards of the different municipalities.
(6) Propitiate regular meetings between the officials and public employees, and the members of the Board.
(7) Provide that the Program of Citizen’s Participation for Municipal Development, other unit or existing program with similar purposes serve as support unit for the Community Boards. The mayor may adopt other initiatives to develop and implement any program to inform, promote and advise on the mechanisms, systems, and procedures provided by law or regulations, to channel the direct participation of the citizens.
(8) Identify other areas compatible to those mentioned in this section, in which additional participation means should be implemented, and draft plans to promote said citizen participation. The Community Boards appointed pursuant to this chapter shall inform and manage their affairs in coordination with the Community Affairs Division, the Citizen’s Participation Program for Municipal Development, or any other unit in the municipality that is pertinent to its functions, such as the Territorial Ordinance Office.
None of the functions, duties and powers of the Community Affairs Division granted by virtue of this section shall not be construed as denying or limiting the powers of the Community Boards, § 4608 of this title, which creates the Community Boards, and § 4058 of this title, in order to propitiate the adoption and implementation of the Codes of Public Order in the municipalities.
(e) Provide orientation and advice to citizens’ associations, commercial district associations or any other community organization or entity, as well as individual citizens, on the mechanisms provided by law or by ordinance to facilitate and achieve citizen participation in the handling and solving of community problems.
(f) Do everything possible to expand the level of citizen participation in the municipality and promote the development and adoption of mechanisms that facilitate and stimulate said participation, with special emphasis on the promotion of residents and commercial district associations.
(g) Use any viable and available means of communication in the municipality to disclose and publicize municipal programs and the activities and services of the Community Affairs Division, as well as spur the interest and initiative of residents in promoting the economic and social-welfare of the community.
(h) Prepare and submit for the mayor’s approval, rules to coordinate and guide administrative units and other dependencies or entities of the municipality in the formulation and execution of programs and public works projects and services.
(i) Recommend to the mayor affirmative action plans that it deems should be established to ensure full compliance with the public policy on citizen participation.
(j) Establish the systems and procedures needed to evaluate the level of efficiency of municipal programs in the solution of the problems and needs of the municipality’s residents.
(k) Hold any public hearings that are needed to comply with the purposes of this chapter, anywhere in the municipality.
(l) Execute the procedures, norms and regulations promulgated by the mayor that are necessary to achieve the proper and effective delegation and use of the funds proceeding from the Citizen Participation Program for Municipal Development.
(m) Insure and guarantee that the delegation and use of the funds proceeding from the Citizen Participation Program for Municipal Development be conducted for the purposes provided in this chapter and that any proposal for improvement be considered taking into account the criteria established in subsection (n) of this section, and that the funds be matched with contributions from the Residents and the Commercial Improvement Associations in a proportion of up to fifty percent (50%) of the municipal contribution.
(n) Evaluate the proposals for capital works and improvements projects that request the delegation of funds for the projects of the Citizen Participation Program for Municipal Development submitted by the citizens and the commercial district associations and determine whether they comply with the requirements of the law and the regulations; prepare a summary and evaluation of each and submit its recommendations and observations to the mayor. Proposals for improvements for public use capital works and improvements projects that solve or attend to the urgent needs of the municipal population shall only be allowed. Likewise, any capital works and improvements project shall conform to the public policies, laws, regulations and other central and municipal government documents related to territorial ordinance and the environmental public policy. The following criteria shall apply in the evaluation and adjudication of the capital works and improvements requested in the proposals for improvements:
(1) That they encourage the organization of residents and commercial district associations and their joint participation with the municipal government in the planning, financing, execution or maintenance of the capital works or improvements that are proposed;
(2) that they foster the intensive use of the human resources residing in the municipality;
(3) that they be capital works and improvements projects that complement other works of the same municipality, the public agencies or other municipalities;
(4) that they propitiate development projects in cooperation or partnership with the citizens and the commercial district associations of other municipalities;
(5) that they sponsor and support other socioeconomic activities and be inclined to effectively foster the development of the municipality, giving priority to its less developed areas, and
(6) that they be able to contribute in mitigating and controlling environmental damage.
The citizens and the commercial district associations shall not discriminate against any person or entity whatsoever in the planning, determination, introduction and execution of the projects contemplated in their proposals for improvements. Likewise, the municipalities must observe and see to it that in exercising their faculties for considering, evaluating, adjudicating and supervising the proposals for improvements introduced and adjudicated according to this chapter, no acts of discrimination are incurred as prohibited by the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(o) Send to each of the district representative and senatorial legislators corresponding to the municipality in question, a copy of the proposal for the use of the funds proceeding from the “Citizen Participation Program for Municipal Development” after its approval.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 16.003; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 94; Apr. 30, 2001, No. 27, § 1.