The city attorney’s popular neighborhood prosecutor program will be doubled from eight to 16 attorneys beginning in June in what officials call a major effort to deal with quality of life issues in the city.

City Attorney Mike Feuer said Thursday he has completed the hiring of the new attorneys and he plans to begin assigning them to their new posts after meeting with local community leaders to discuss what is needed in the different areas.

“We are going to be starting to roll out in a series of meetings in communities in which the neighborhood prosecutors will be functioning,” Feuer said during a briefing with reporters. “We will meet over coffee and I’ll be there to discuss what we will accomplish in their neighborhoods to improve the quality of life.

“This office needs to be deeply engaged in neighborhoods of our city and we are going to return to that theme in the coming months.”

The last San Fernando Valley area to be without a neighborhood prosecutor is the Topanga Division, and it will receive one under the expansion, Feuer said. Neighborhood prosecutors have been working in Foothill, Mission, Van Nuys and West Valley.

Other areas to receive the new prosecutors are Hollenbeck, Newton, Northeast, 77th, Harbor, Southwest and Wilshire.

Jill Banks Barad, founder of the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils, praised the action.

“To the communities this is a very important symbolic step to deal with our concerns,” Barad said. “Whether it’s a neighbor-to-neighbor dispute or problems with properties that need to be cited or dealing with issues such as loitering and vandalism.

“For the community, it is important to have someone we can go to, who can work with the senior lead officers, to deal with problems. That is what government is all about. It’s something people can feel and see and have someone you can contact.”

Former City Attorney Carmen Trutanich reduced the program because of the budget cuts his office experienced during the recession.

Feuer said he has been able to see his budget increased and he is pleased with what Mayor Eric Garcetti has proposed in his 2014-15 budget.

The current budget for the agency is $103.1 million. Garcetti has proposed increasing it to $118.8 million.

“What this does is it allows me to permanently hire 52 attorneys we brought on as part time last year,” Feuer said.

In other areas, Feuer said he is planning to hold quarterly meetings with the mayor, City Controller Ron Galperin and the City Council to discuss areas of common concern, particularly how to reduce the number and amounts of payouts for liability.

Also, Feuer said he wants to work more closely with the Los Angeles Unified School District to expand the Safe Passages program to schools to include elementary and middle schools.

“We are going to be rolling out the first of these programs in a month or so,” Feuer said. “We are going to be focusing on eliminating the problems in a neighborhood so people don’t have to live with crime.”