Councilman David Ryu, 4th District, took the first official steps toward reviewing discretionary funding in his district Tuesday when the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a measure to create a task force to review the funding.

The council also approved a measure to repeal approximately $600,000 in discretionary funding approved during the final weeks under his predecessor, Councilman Tom LaBonge.

The task force will only review discretionary funding in Council District 4. Ryu said it doesn’t necessarily mean the projects approved during the final weeks of LaBonge’s tenure will not be funded in the future, only that they will be reviewed by the task force.

He said one of things to be reviewed is whether the funding could come from city departments or other sources instead of discretionary funding, which in turn would “free up“ more money for the district. The task force fulfills a campaign promise he made, Ryu added. Council district offices receive approximately $1 million per year in discretionary funding for projects.

“It was all about neighborhoods first and transparency,” Ryu said. “Some of these projects are good projects, and we fully intend to fund them.”

The councilman said he could not identify which projects might still be funded until the review is conducted. They include 27 payments ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 for organizations such as Hollywood Heritage, the Hollywood-Wilshire YMCA, The Ford Theatre, Alexandria House, Tree People and the Korean Cultural Center. Also included on the list are Hollywood High School and Los Angeles High School, as well as museums such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Petersen Museum and the Autry National Center. There is also $15,000 to $40,000 for projects such as tree removal and structural repairs to a wall in Griffith Park, and sidewalk repair near a parking facility in Larchmont Village.

Ryu said projects such as the repairs in Larchmont Village are an example of why he wants the task force to review projects. He said his office received a call about another segment of sidewalk that needs repair in Larchmont Village, and the task force will allow him to better weigh which projects need priority.

Ryu is in the process of assembling the task force, which he said he hopes to have in place as soon as possible. It will include 10 to 20 community members, according to Ryu’s deputy, Estevan Montemayor.

“The task force will be established in a month or so,” Montemayor said. “That’s the work that lies ahead, the parameters of who will sit on the task force.”

No potential members were identified. Ryu said they will be members of the community.

Stephen Kramer, president of the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce, said he is hopeful the task force will follow a formula similar to the neighborhood council system, in which people who live, work or have a vested interest in certain neighborhoods would examine projects in those neighborhoods. Montemayor said the task force will “partially” follow that formula.

“We hope to have people who are representatives of different neighborhoods,” Montemayor added. “We will know more in the next month or so. Most certainly it is about this district, and making sure the issues are heard.”