BGR - In The News

Editorial: Inspector General’s office too valuable to eliminate

2012-05-15T16:55:34+00:00

The Bureau of Government Research said the $1.7 million cost to run the IG’s office is a “drop in a $25 billion bucket.”

Source: The Lake Charles American Press

Curb pay to play in Jefferson Parish’s contracting: An editorial

2012-05-14T13:19:36+00:00

That has given the parish a reputation for pay-to-play contracting, which hurts taxpayers and erodes confidence in local government. After the Broussard administration scandals and the subsequent federal corruption probe, the Parish Council has made contracting changes. But as the Bureau of Governmental Research outlined in a report last week, council members still enjoy too much discretion to reward political insiders.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Report: Jeff. Parish council’s contract selection process “uniquely vulnerable to abuse”

2012-05-10T13:08:33+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research is calling for significant reforms in the Jefferson Parish government contracting process, calling the process “uniquely vulnerable to abuse,” in a report released Thursday.

Source: WWL-TV

Jefferson Parish’s contracting desperately needs reform, watchdog says

2012-05-10T13:01:27+00:00

Despite a litany of reforms after scandal unraveled Aaron Broussard’s administration, the Jefferson Parish Council still has too much authority to award contracts to political insiders, the Bureau of Government Research said Thursday. The non-profit watchdog blasted the latitude that council members wield when choosing which firms get professional service contracts.

Source: The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Business Alliance to vote on economic development policies

2012-05-09T21:26:25+00:00

The non-profit watchdog group the Bureau of Governmental Research has been pushing for years for stronger policies on economic development.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Plan to defund Louisiana inspector office incurs watchdog groups’ howls

2012-05-09T13:18:40+00:00

Two public policy research groups this week condemned a move to eliminate the state investigator general’s office in advance of a Louisiana House vote on the state budget. The Public Affairs Research Council and the Bureau of Governmental Research blasted a measure by Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Houma, eliminating its financing from the state’s spending plan for next year.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Legislature needs to show leadership by eliminating Crescent City Connection tolls

2012-05-08T13:32:24+00:00

While the audit didn’t find evidence of fraud, the waste is worrisome enough. Tolls have been used mainly for what the Bureau of Governmental Research has described as “far-flung’‘ services, including the three ferries. Only 19 cents of every toll dollar is actually used to maintain and police the Crescent City Connection.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Hospitality district, board could be in the works for New Orleans

2012-04-29T13:56:28+00:00

“The proposed hospitality legislation raises a number of questions and issues,” said Janet Howard of the watchdog Bureau of Governmental Research. She cited the imposition of a new district on top of existing ones, the “appropriateness of the proposed boundaries and governance,” and provisions that would allow the board to authorize tax-increment financing districts and other sub-districts.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Industrial Development Board is generous with property tax breaks for developers

2012-04-29T13:51:58+00:00

For real estate developers, visiting the Industrial Development Board of New Orleans and asking for a property tax break is a worthwhile step as they map out financing for their projects. According to an analysis by the Bureau of Governmental Research, the board has rejected only one request for a property tax break since 1997.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Cuts force changes in mental health care

2012-04-26T19:32:27+00:00

Cuts to mental-health services at Interim LSU Public Hospital were “a punch in the stomach,” but they have forced necessary conversations and better identification of high-risk patients, according to city health commissioner Dr. Karen DeSalvo. “The system has started to talk to each other in a way that’s more meaningful,” DeSalvo said Wednesday during a forum on the impact of the cuts hosted by the nonprofit Bureau of Governmental Research.

Source: The Times-Picayune

An update on mental-health services in New Orleans

2012-04-25T19:30:01+00:00

Two health experts will examine the city’s mental-health system at a breakfast meeting sponsored by the Bureau of Governmental Research.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Bipartisan push helped to pass education bills

2012-04-22T16:06:49+00:00

Another nonpartisan watchdog group, The New Orleans-based Bureau of Governmental Research was critical of some elements of the Jindal voucher plan but did not condemn the concept.

Source: The Associated Press

Obituary: Edward Frank “Eddie” Stauss Jr.

2012-04-15T20:57:21+00:00

Source: The Times-Picayune

Louisiana’s education reform is a dramatic plan for schools and our children: An editorial

2012-04-08T20:31:19+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research recently laid out the pitfalls of lax or no accountability. “Under the proposed program, a student could use a voucher to transfer from an average-quality public school to a low-quality private school with no track record or qualifications,” BGR said in a report released earlier in the legislative session.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Val Mogensen, former BGR director, dies at 92

2012-03-29T16:42:05+00:00

Val Mogensen, a former director of the Bureau of Governmental Research who also was the director of the committee that drafted New Orleans’ Charter, died Feb. 3 in Newbury Park, Calif. He was 92.

Source: The Times-Picayune

IBD hears presentations on South Market District, Jazzland Outlet Mall

2012-03-21T18:02:38+00:00

But Walter Flower, president of the IDB, which has been under pressure from the Bureau of Government Research in recent months for having criteria that are too loose and informal in granting tax abatements, cautioned that the approval was only a starting point for discussion.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Sunday Edition: Legislature focuses on education reform

2012-03-18T19:14:11+00:00

Source: WWL-TV

Gov. Jindal’s education reforms need deliberation by legislators: An editorial

2012-03-16T15:10:53+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research and Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans argue that there should be greater accountability for schools accepting vouchers. They are right. The legislation as drafted does not ensure the academic quality of private or parochial schools in the program and does not provide for a process to remove vouchers from schools that perform poorly.

Source: The Times-Picayune

First Votes Set On Voucher, Tenure Bills

2012-03-14T21:49:43+00:00

The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana and the New Orleans-based Bureau of Governmental Research both said the proposal needs to beef up accountability standards for any private school taking the vouchers.

Source: WDSU

Watchdogs call for amending Jindal’s education plan

2012-03-14T21:47:02+00:00

The high profile organizations calling for changes to Jindal’s plan included the Council for a Better Louisiana and The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, which said the bill appears to allow social promotion of public school students who transfer to private schools using the government vouchers. The New Orleans-based Bureau of Governmental Research had similar complaints.

Source: Fox 8

Report says Jindal’s voucher plan in need of work

2012-03-14T17:09:39+00:00

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposal to expand statewide a school voucher program that was piloted in New Orleans in 2008 needs a number of revisions if it’s to be as successful as the governor says it will be. That’s according to a new study from the New Orleans-based research organization Bureau of Governmental Research.

Source: The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report

Bobby Jindal school voucher plan worries watchdog group

2012-03-14T14:29:31+00:00

BGR is recommending the program be limited to students already attending or heading into schools rated D or F. The group also calls for excluding private schools that can’t outperform the public schools from which they draw voucher students, arguing, “The state should establish appropriate academic eligibility standards and mandate the rigorous testing needed to determine whether a school meets them.”

Source: The Times-Picayune

Some city employees make more in OT than regular play

2012-02-28T16:35:23+00:00

“Something is clearly wrong when that is going on and you’re not in some severe emergency situation,” said Janet Howard, president of the Bureau of Governmental Research.

Source: WWL-TV

Lee Zurik Investigation: S&WB ratepayers funding exec’s $1M retirement plan

2012-02-22T16:04:50+00:00

“It is a very significant, very generous arrangement compared to what most people in the private sector, who are actually paying a lot of the bills, are able to get themselves,” says Janet Howard, who heads the Bureau of Governmental Research, a non-profit research group. BGR has spent more than a year looking at retirement systems in the metro area and expects to release a comprehensive report in the spring.

Source: Fox 8

Sewerage & Water Board schedules public meetings over rate increase plan

2012-01-20T22:08:18+00:00

In an October report, the Bureau of Governmental Research, a nonprofit policy research organization in New Orleans, recommended removing elected officials from the board and giving the board authority to increase water and sewerage rates by an indexed amount annually, citing that local politics have long interfered with needed rate increases.

Source: CityBusiness

State panel votes to issue report in favor of renewing Crescent City Connection tolls

2012-01-20T16:54:22+00:00

The task force’s recommendation to renew the tolls is at odds with a report released in April by the non-profit Bureau of Governmental Research, which said the tolls should be allowed to expire because just 19 cents of every toll dollar goes toward bridge maintenance and policing.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Stuck in the toll lane at New Orleans Crescent City Connection: An editorial

2012-01-18T17:14:05+00:00

Lawmakers also should consider the Bureau of Governmental Research report from last year, which pointed out the basic unfairness of the tolls that are now collected on east-bank-bound drivers.

Source: The Times-Picayune

World Trade Center redevelopment appears ready to move forward

2012-01-17T17:10:05+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research suggested in January 2009 that instead of trying to make a deal with another developer, the city should buy out the trade organization’s lease and then sell the tower and garage outright to a private developer.

Source: The Times-Picayune

New Year resolutions for one and for all: An editorial

2012-01-01T16:01:05+00:00

We, the Metropolitan Crime Commission, the Bureau of Governmental Research, Citizens for One Greater New Orleans, Women of the Storm, Levees.org and other citizen advocacy groups, promise to continue to hold government officials at all levels accountable for their actions.

Source: The Times-Picayune

New Orleans mayor abandons for the coming year effort to make some nonprofit groups pay property tax

2011-12-21T14:59:25+00:00

But BGR President Janet Howard said the city’s decision to drop its efforts to change the exemption rules is alarming.

“It’s very disappointing news for taxpayers that there’s an unwillingness to take on the topic at all,” she said. “There’s a whole range of options, and they haven’t even taken steps to deal with the most egregious examples of over-generosity, where the nonprofit is providing no benefit to the public.”

Source: The Times-Picayune

Deputies working private, off-duty details pay into fund used by sheriff for questionable discretion

2011-12-15T16:25:05+00:00

“After the justice department issued its report, Chief Serpas proposed a plan to reform the NOPD’s detail policies and procedures, and one of the criticisms that is sometimes heard is that it would just shift the detail work to the sheriff’s department,” Janet Howard said. “ And clearly, the reforms should extend to all the law enforcement groups engaged in the practice in the jurisdiction.*

Source: The Lens

Bureau of Governmental Research names new officers at luncheon

2011-11-30T16:05:15+00:00

Attorney Scott Willis was named 2012 chairman of the Bureau of Governmental Research on Tuesday. The bureau, a private, nonpartisan organization whose goals are informing the public and working with elected officials to improve government, announced its new officers at a luncheon Tuesday at the Marriott.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Election recommendations

2011-11-16T17:20:07+00:00

This newspaper makes the following recommendations for Saturday’s ballot.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Jefferson voters to decide Saturday on doubled homestead for disabled veterans

2011-11-16T17:07:57+00:00

The non-profit Bureau of Governmental Research opposes the measure, arguing that veterans’ benefits should be handled by the federal government. In addition, the measure creates what Janet Howard, the organization’s president, referred to as “serious fairness issues” because disabled veterans who rent will not see any benefit.

Source: The Times-Picayune

New Orleans voters will weigh in on Public Belt Railroad revamp

2011-11-14T16:02:31+00:00

New Orleans voters will get a chance Saturday to weigh in on efforts to tighten oversight at the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, a once-obscure agency that was thrust into the spotlight as a result of misconduct by its top administrator.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Costco proposal raises questions about need for, availability of incentives in New Orleans

2011-11-10T14:46:46+00:00

Residents of Hollygrove and neighborhoods surrounding a proposed new Costco Wholesale store on South Carrollton Avenue walked among renderings at an Oct. 20 community meeting at Xavier University like they were perusing a candy store.

Source: New Orleans City Business

Real estate transfer tax amendment on Nov. 19 Louisiana ballot

2011-11-09T22:30:52+00:00

Thousands of real estate transfers take place in Louisiana each year, and, so far, those transfers have gone mostly tax-free. An amendment on the Nov. 19 ballot seeks to keep things just the way they are.

Source: WWLTV

New Orleans’ reserve fund stands empty for second year in a row

2011-10-28T14:27:43+00:00

“If you don’t have a fund balance, if you have an emergency, if you have terrible flooding or something like that, you don’t have money on hand to deal with it,” Bureau of Governmental Research CEO Janet Howard said. “Ideally you would have one in place, but when you are coming out of a $25 million hole, you have an issue of how fast you can rebuild.”

Source: CityBusiness

BGR: Sewerage and Water Board needs more cash, fewer politicians

2011-10-28T14:20:42+00:00

The beleaguered Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans needs the power to increase water and sewerage rates annually and fewer politicians controlling its activity in order to aptly tackle billions of dollars in city infrastructure improvements, according to a report the Bureau of Governmental Research released today.

Source: CityBusiness

New report calls for massive overhaul of S&WB

2011-10-26T18:33:10+00:00

A new report calls for drastic measures to improve the crumbling sewer and water services in the city, including removing elected members from the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board and giving the agency more control over its own finances.

Source: WWLTV

Study: Aging, leaky water system difficult to plug

2011-10-26T14:17:27+00:00

The system needs billions of dollars in repairs and improvements, said the Bureau of Governmental Research, which noted that the city’s Sewerage and Water Board can’t bill people for an estimated 75 percent of the water it treats, mostly because that water is lost to leaks.

Source: Associated Press

New Orleans S&WB is an aging, leaky water system that needs help, group says

2011-10-26T13:59:41+00:00

A report issued Tuesday by the Bureau of Governmental Research is the first of two to be released by good-government groups in the coming weeks. The Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region will also make governance recommendations in response to a request from Mayor Mitch Landrieu for an outside review of the agency’s finances and management.

Source: The Times-Picayune

BGR: Sewerage and Water Board needs more cash, fewer politicians

2011-10-26T13:54:35+00:00

Source: New Orleans City Business

New Orleans’ reserve fund stands empty for second year in a row

2011-10-26T13:51:21+00:00

Source: New Orleans City Business

New Orleans voters will weigh in on tax for business park

2011-10-20T15:42:51+00:00

To its defenders, the 7,000-acre New Orleans Regional Business Park can be one of the city’s most important tools for promoting economic development. To its critics, the eastern New Orleans park has failed for 30 years to prove that its potential can be turned into reality. Instead, it has been the subject of frequent unfavorable publicity because of management turmoil, political squabbles and ethical problems.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Election recommendations in Orleans and St. Bernard parishes propositions: An editorial

2011-10-20T15:39:32+00:00

As the Bureau of Governmental Research noted, the park has accomplished very little, and businesses that pay the tax haven’t benefited from it in services or infrastructure.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Teachers need greater role in decision-making, Jefferson Parish superintendent says

2011-10-19T14:12:44+00:00

With contract negotiations between the Jefferson Parish School Board and its teachers union set to begin next spring, the two sides agree on at least one issue: Teachers need to be more involved in decision-making. “We feel that teachers are left out of decision-making,” interim schools Superintendent James Meza said Tuesday at a breakfast briefing of the Bureau of Governmental Research at the Sheraton Metairie Hotel. “Teachers should have a voice not only in terms of curriculum but of resource allocation.”

Source: The Times-Picayune

Voters to decide whether JP will get inspector general

2011-10-13T13:58:13+00:00

Orleans Parish already has one, and now voters in Jefferson Parish will decide if they want one.

Source: WWLTV

Business, nonprofit leaders give latest school construction plan good grades

2011-10-12T21:34:08+00:00

The same business and nonprofit groups that knocked a previous set of plans for rebuilding New Orleans public schools came out Wednesday in favor of the revisions unveiled last week. That’s an important endorsement of the so-called master plan, the city’s blueprint for spending the rest of almost $2 billion in FEMA recovery money earmarked for school construction, which heads to the local Orleans Parish School Board Thursday.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Endorsing an inspector general

2011-10-12T21:24:33+00:00

The push for an inspector general’s office in Jefferson Parish has garnered a broad base of support among business groups and government watchdogs, including the Bureau of Governmental Research, Parish President John Young said this week.

Source: The Times-Picayune

St. Tammany Parish voters to decide disabled veterans homestead exemption referendum Oct. 22

2011-10-10T15:25:00+00:00

Last fall, the government watchdog group Bureau of Governmental Research estimated that 2,500 veterans statewide would qualify. The BGR opposed the constitutional amendment, in part saying it was the federal government’s role to provide benefits to veterans and noting that a provision in the amendment prevents local governments from replacing lost revenue through other measures.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Future of Jefferson Parish schools topic of BGR briefing

2011-10-08T15:10:19+00:00

James Meza, acting superintendent of the Jefferson Parish Public School System, will be the featured speaker at a Bureau of Governmental Research program on Tuesday.

Source: The Associated Press / The Republic

Mayor’s assistant earns big honor; Kilpatrick a key cog in running town

2011-09-29T19:07:09+00:00

In Abita Springs, that person is Donna Kilpatrick, who recently received much-deserved recognition for outstanding government service by the Bureau of Governmental Research, which awarded her with the Excellence in Government Award. She was nominated by Alderwomman Patricia Edmiston.

Source: The Times-Picayune

City IT director tries to end reliance on contracts

2011-09-28T18:52:06+00:00

Janet Howard, president and CEO of the Bureau of Governmental Research, said the city’s “calcified and byzantine” civil service system has hampered the effort further.

Source: CityBusiness

BGR honors St. Charles employees for their work

2011-09-24T16:46:04+00:00

Two longtime St. Charles Parish Finance Department employees won Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Bureau of Governmental Research on Thursday.

Source: The Times-Picayune

End the bumping rule at New Orleans City Hall: An editorial

2011-09-23T16:51:58+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research, which supports ending the bump rule, has said the “organizational unit” language is too broad, and that’s a valid concern that the city needs to address. But eliminating the bump rule makes sense. The policy can trigger chain reactions that force good employees out while requiring the city to unnecessarily retrain workers.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Civil Disagreements

2011-09-20T15:28:56+00:00

New Orleans Deputy Mayor Andy Kopplin made an appearance in the D.H. Holmes Ballroom at the Chateau Bourbon Hotel on Monday, Sept. 12, to brief members of the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) of the Landrieu Administration’s progress in reforming city government.

Source: Gambit

Public servants to receive awards

2011-09-19T16:40:24+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research will honor the achievements of eight outstanding local government employees Thursday when it holds its annual Excellence in Government Awards ceremony.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Bureau of Governmental Research focuses on City Hall operations

2011-09-14T03:33:21+00:00

The non-profit watchdog group, the Bureau of Governmental Research, hosted a briefing Tuesday morning on efforts to strengthen operations at New Orleans City Hall.

Source: WWLTV

New Orleans government overhaul unveiled

2011-09-14T03:15:18+00:00

Janet Howard, president of the Bureau of Governmental Research, says the problems in city government are so widespread that prioritizing will be critical in attacking the issues. “You can’t expect a ship like New Orleans to turn around overnight,” said Howard.

Source: Fox 8

Stat of the City

2011-09-13T16:37:35+00:00

Deputy Mayor Andy Kopplin will present a status update Sept. 13 to the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR), the local government watchdog group, on the Landrieu administration’s ongoing efforts to reform city government operations. Kopplin is expected to measure the city’s progress against a report produced last year by the Public Strategies Group (PSG).

Source: Gambit

Public meetings start for New Orleans’ proposed comprehensive zoning ordinance

2011-09-12T16:40:02+00:00

A 2003 study by the Bureau of Governmental Research said the current CZO, written about 40 years ago and since amended hundreds of times, is “incoherent, overamended, outdated and vague,” and that “interpreting (it) is well beyond the reach of the typical developer, not to mention the average citizen.”

Source: The Times-Picayune

Orleans watchdog group sets luncheon speaker

2011-09-06T14:45:11+00:00

A New York Newsday columnist will be the featured speaker when a New Orleans government watchdog group holds its annual luncheon.

Source: Associated Press & KATC.com

New Orleans watchdog group gets award

2011-08-23T15:38:22+00:00

A New Orleans non-profit group that researches government issues has won an award for recommendations it made to overhaul the way the City of New Orleans awards professional services contracts.

Source: WWLTV

Briefing focuses on N.O. City Hall

2011-08-21T16:48:36+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research, a nonprofit watchdog group, is planning a briefing on efforts to strengthen operations at New Orleans City Hall.

Source: WXVT 15

Master plan review reveals spending discrepancies for repairing, replacing schools

2011-08-18T17:50:29+00:00

A group of civic, public policy and business organizations led by the Bureau of Governmental Research sharply criticized the proposed plan this month, calling for a “more utilitarian approach” with fewer “architectural dreams and luxuries.”

Source: CityBusiness

New Orleans City Council appoints Joseph Clark to Civil Service Commission

2011-08-18T16:56:56+00:00

Fielkow voted for Hagmann at a committee meeting last week, but he said he had changed his mind because of concerns raised by Bureau of Governmental Research President Janet Howard about a conflict of interest, “real or perceived,” between Hagmann’s roles as a Civil Service Department employee and a member of the commission that oversees the department’s work and chooses its director.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Workers’ pick for panel opposed; BGR urges council to nix nomination

2011-08-18T11:04:35+00:00

A council committee last week recommended that the full body confirm the candidate who led a recent vote by city workers, but the Bureau of Governmental Research on Tuesday urged the council not to approve that candidate, Robert Hagmann, because he works in the Civil Service Department.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Panel looks at life without CCC tolls; Bridge police, lighting likely to go

2011-08-14T19:33:58+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research released a study in April saying that the tolls should be allowed to lapse because too much toll revenue is being spent on “far-flung services,” such as the ferries.

Source: The Times-Picayune

New Lawless High promised on old 9th Ward site

2011-08-09T04:01:06+00:00

It was clear from Monday’s press conference that White is already making his pitch to the BESE and Orleans Parish School Boards. The votes were originally scheduled for late summer, but last week, think tank, the Bureau of Governmental Research, asked them to delay the votes because their research showed what they perceive as problems with the funding and scope of the schools included in the plan.

Source: WWLTV

Review New Orleans school master plan: An editorial

2011-08-05T15:44:01+00:00

A group of business and nonprofit leaders is questioning whether the current plan accomplishes that purpose. They say the roughly $2 billion in federal funds earmarked to fix city schools should be enough to put every student in a new or renovated classroom. That may mean eliminating architectural luxuries that have characterized new schools built since the flood.

Source: The Times-Picayune

The key to New Orleans police reform is the reformer: Jarvis DeBerry

2011-08-05T15:14:51+00:00

This week the Bureau of Governmental Research gave its qualified approval to New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas’ plan to reform the system that lets police work off-duty security details. After calling Serpas’ plan “a promising start,” the BGR is careful to point out that “no matter how strongly a detail policy is worded, its effectiveness depends on how well it is enforced.”

Source: The Times-Picayune

Sanctions warranted on New Orleans police details, but reforms needed as well: An editorial

2011-08-04T15:03:12+00:00

Meting out sanctions sends a message to other officers in the department and to the community. But by itself it’s not enough. The superintendent and Mayor Landrieu also must carry out the reforms Superintendent Serpas proposed more than two months ago. Those included centralizing detail coordination in a civilian office and setting limits for detail work. The Bureau of Governmental Research said this week those changes, if properly enforced, should curtail abuses.

Source: The Times-Picayune

A new set of zoning rules for New Orleans: An editorial

2011-08-03T15:07:37+00:00

New Orleans’ zoning laws have long been a mess. The Bureau of Governmental Research said in 2003 that the 40-year-old document was “incoherent, overamended, outdated and vague” and virtually impossible for the average citizen to figure out.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Government watchdog says NOPD detail reform plan is a step in the right direction

2011-08-03T02:47:44+00:00

New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas’ plan for reforming the NOPD’s antiquated system for monitoring paid police details is a “good starting point” that reflects many of the best practices used by police departments across the country, according to a new report by the watchdog Bureau of Governmental Research.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Business, nonprofit leaders voice concerns about New Orleans schools master plan

2011-08-02T14:42:28+00:00

A group of New Orleans business and nonprofit leaders is calling for city and state education officials to head “back to the drawing board” on plans for spending what’s left of about $2 billion in federal aid earmarked for rebuilding the city’s public schools.

Source: The Times-Picayune

New Orleans business, civic groups say school master plan should go ‘back to drawing board’

2011-08-02T02:44:35+00:00

“The amended plan would create gross inequity in the quality of school facilities across the city. Some school facilities would be built at a cost that far exceeds national norms. Others would get nothing, even where repairs are urgently needed,” states the letter signed representatives of the Bureau for Governmental Research, the Business Council of New Orleans, the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, the New Orleans Regional Black Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana, Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, Common Good and the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives at Tulane University.

Source: The Newsroom, CityBusiness Blog

Draft of revised New Orleans zoning law is online

2011-08-01T21:26:00+00:00

A 2003 study by the Bureau of Governmental Research, an independent watchdog group, said the current CZO, written about 40 years ago and since amended hundreds of times, is “incoherent, overamended, outdated and vague,” and that “interpreting (it) is well beyond the reach of the typical developer, not to mention the average citizen.”

Source: The Times-Picayune

Fox 8 Investigation prompts swift action by N.O. Assessor

2011-07-31T21:39:20+00:00

“There’s a list of approximately 15 entities that receive some part of your taxes,” said Janet Howard, President/CEO of the Bureau of Governmental Research in New Orleans.

Source: Fox 8

Task force reviewing Crescent City Connection tolls holds first meeting

2011-07-29T21:32:35+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research released a study in April saying bridge tolls should be allowed to expire because only 19 percent of toll revenue goes to policing and maintaining the bridge. The report said much of the rest is spent on “far-flung” services, including the ferries, which consume 32 percent of toll revenue.

Source: The Times-Picayune

A Question of Will

2011-07-26T15:22:34+00:00

…the nonpartisan Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) issued a report calling for a systematic overhaul of civil service. BGR, which can hardly be accused of supporting a spoils system, pointed out that the local civil service system, which functions as a central (and very powerful) human resources office for all city departments, is “archaic, overly centralized and inefficient.” Many who know the ins and outs of City Hall say that’s being kind.

Source: Gambit

Signatures gathered to try to prevent Loyola president from joining Civil Service Commission

2011-07-19T13:12:59+00:00

Wildes said he is aware of several reports, including one by the watchdog Bureau of Governmental Research, that call for a major overhaul of civil service policies. “My (concern) is not about any particular rule, but it’s more about how the whole damned thing is functioning and how do we improve it,” he said.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Public employees who improve local government to be honored

2011-07-16T21:45:40+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research, a private, nonprofit research organization, is seeking nominations for its annual BGR Excellence in Government Awards.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Opinion: Mayor, city workers on shaky footing

2011-07-06T15:07:14+00:00

City government should be no different, but the problem New Orleans faces is that its system for evaluating civil service employees is nothing short of a joke. According to the Bureau of Governmental Research, an evaluation of 4,315 city employees last year showed that just 31 were in need of improvement.

Source: CityBusiness

‘Unsatisfactory’ New Orleans employee isn’t alone: Jarvis DeBerry

2011-07-03T14:30:21+00:00

According to a letter written to the Civil Service Commission by Janet Howard, president of the Bureau of Governmental Research, of the 4,315 city employees evaluated in 2010, only 31 were found to need improvement.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Bumpy road for rule change: An editorial

2011-07-02T14:35:19+00:00

But the argument falls apart in the face of how city employees are rated on performance. As Janet Howard of the Bureau of Governmental Research pointed out in a letter, only 31 of the city’s 4,315 employees were rated as needing improvement in 2010. Even more incredibly, only one employee in the entire municipal workforce was labeled unsatisfactory.

Source: The Times-Picayune

City Workers Blast Landrieu’s “Bumping” Proposal

2011-06-30T19:37:39+00:00

Still, the Bureau of Government Research said the bumping rule is problematic.

Source: Fox 8

Group urges change in Orleans civil service

2011-06-30T18:22:15+00:00

The nonprofit Bureau of Governmental Research in New Orleans this week said the practice can set of a chain-reaction of job changes that cause qualified workers to be replaced with less-qualified people from other departments. The BGR backs the idea of limiting bumping, although it has suggested some changes to the Landrieu administration’s proposed rule revisions.

Source: The Associated Press / CityBusiness

Policy that lets laid-off New Orleans workers ‘bump’ those with less seniority up for debate today

2011-06-30T18:10:25+00:00

The president of the Bureau of Governmental Research, a watchdog group that in 2004 published a report that found that “bumping can wreak havoc with the city’s work force,” sent a letter Tuesday to the commission stating its strong support for the administration’s proposal.

Source: The Times-Picayune

State funding is the way to finance the Crescent City Connection bridge: A letter to the editor

2011-06-29T15:06:26+00:00

In a recent letter to the editor on the Crescent City Connection, Transport for NOLA stated that BGR and others had raised concerns “about the efficacy of independent bridge and ferry operations and maintenance, which they argue are better left to the state Department of Transportation and Development.”

I would like to clarify a few points.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Mapping the future of the Crescent City Connection toll: An editorial

2011-06-28T16:26:34+00:00

Bridge tolls are due to expire at the end of 2012, and audits that have found questionable spending as well as a report by the Bureau of Governmental Research, make a strong case for allowing that to happen. Crescent City Connection users have been paying for lots of things that have little or no benefit to them, and that’s unfair.

Source: The Times-Picayune

End policy that lets New Orleans laid-off workers “bump” other city employees: An editorial

2011-06-04T15:32:48+00:00

It’s no wonder that the Bureau of Governmental Research, which has long advocated for eliminating this policy, has called it “an incredibly messy process that wreaks havoc with the work force.” A consultant this year also cited the policy as a reason why City Hall is dysfunctional.

Source: The Times-Picayune

City Hall pushes to end policy where laid-off workers can ‘bump’ others with less seniority

2011-05-31T14:57:51+00:00

Elimination of the bumping rule has been urged for years by the watchdog Bureau of Governmental Research, which in a 2004 report called bumping “an incredibly messy process that wreaks havoc with the work force.”

Source: The Times-Picayune

BGR housing study was complemented, not contradicted, by UNO

2011-05-26T14:45:53+00:00

On May 24, The Lens posted an article from Sara Meadows Tolleson on a bill proposed by House Speaker Jim Tucker to consolidate three housing agencies into a new entity. After discussing the need for amendments, Ms. Tolleson attacked the accuracy of a study by the Bureau of Governmental Research on the supply of subsidized rental housing, calling it a “flawed report” and claiming that the study had been “rebutted” by research from the University of New Orleans.

Source: The Lens

Economic development leaders warn against state budget cuts

2011-05-24T15:33:05+00:00

The larger question about the effectiveness of the entire ecosystem will be around for awhile. But Hecht and Miller are getting their message down while positioning themselves as point men for specific geographies. Hecht successfully tried out a metaphorical line on an audience gathered this morning at the Chateau Bourbon for an event hosted by the Bureau of Governmental Research.

Source: The Newsroom, CityBusiness

Heads of local economic development groups air concerns about siphoning money away from “mega fund”

2011-05-24T15:24:30+00:00

Hecht and Miller were together Tuesday to deliver presentations during a breakfast meeting of the Bureau of Governmental Research.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Algiers Point, Canal Street ferry terminals being repaired

2011-05-12T14:40:20+00:00

Noting that 32 percent of toll revenue goes to the three Mississippi River ferries, the nonprofit Bureau of Governmental Research issued a report recently saying the tolls should be allowed to expire because they are paying for too many services unrelated to bridge operations.

Source: The Times-Picayune

Commentary: Crescent City Connection Dysfunction Needs Legislative Action

2011-05-04T15:00:41+00:00

The Bureau of Governmental Research, a New Orleans-based policy institute, has determined that only 19 percent of all toll revenues actually go towards policing and maintenance of the bridge. The remainder is allocated to unrelated expenditures, such as the three Mississippi river ferries which use 32 percent of the CCC’s toll revenue. Additionally, an audit last year by Steve Theriot, the state’s legislative auditor, found that the CCCD has managed to deplete half of a $61 million dollar reserve fund.

Source: The Pelican Post

For Whom the Bridge Tolls

2011-05-03T14:58:04+00:00

Last week, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) issued a report saying lawmakers should let the tolls expire at the end of 2012. BGR found that only 19 percent of the toll funds collected were used to maintain and police the bridge.

Source: Gambit