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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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

The proposition would renew the current 2.91 mills and increase the millage rate by a scant 0.59 mills — to a total rate of 3.5 mills. While renewal of the tax would produce a marginal property tax increase — literally pennies a day for a typical homeowner — failure to renew the measure would leave the Department of Juvenile Services without a dedicated funding source. The nonpartisan Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR), which supports this measure, noted that without it the department’s work would “fall to a thinly funded state office.”

Renewing the millage will translate to an upswing in tax bills for property owners. Over the years, the Parish Council has rolled the tax back from 5 mills to 3.6 mills. Approval Saturday would return the tax to 5 mills. The Bureau of Governmental Research estimates that the owner-occupants of a house valued at $150,000 would pay $10 more a year and a house at $250,000 would pay $24 more.

The Bureau of Governmental Research on Tuesday endorsed four tax renewals that Jefferson Parish voters will face on the April 30 ballot.

As of Wednesday, the commission’s latest draft resolution recommends lawmakers “be reminded” of “the problems created” by the homestead exemption, which is highest in the nation, according to the commission. Echoing the Bureau of Governmental Research, the commission also criticizes lawmakers for shortchanging a revenue sharing fund meant to offset the exemption’s impact.

NOLA.com reports that the Bureau of Governmental Research calculated for its study that “43 percent of the total assessed value of property in Orleans Parish is exempt from taxation, with nearly one-quarter of the exempt property escaping taxes because it is owned by nonprofit groups.”

About half of tax-exempt property in New Orleans is owned by the government, with the remainder split between property protected by state-authorized exemptions for homeowners and a broad range of nonprofits including universities, churches and cultural groups, according to a recent report by the Bureau of Governmental Research.

The constitutionally enshrined nonprofit tax exemption needs stricter focus and local jurisdiction, according to a new report by the Bureau of Governmental Research.

The veterans’ exemption didn’t pass the Legislature last year without opposition. The Bureau for Governmental Research argued that veterans’ benefits are a federal jurisdiction and that the state law unfairly excludes veterans who don’t own property and the families of service members killed in action.

With Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s Tax Fairness Commission continuing to examine New Orleans’ property and sales tax systems, a governmental research organization issued a report Tuesday urging major changes in the system of routinely awarding property tax exemptions to private schools and universities, churches, charities and other nonprofit organizations.

The Cowen Institute’s review draws from information in a recent report from the New Orleans watchdog group, Bureau for Governmental Research, as well as other studies. The institute does not agree, however, with BGR’s call to eliminate the homestead exemption in New Orleans, saying too many exemptions for nonprofits and too many unfairly assessed properties are the major issues.

Janet Howard of the Bureau of Governmental Research, a local watchdog, offered a critical assessment of several agency policies, among them a lack of consistent criteria for qualifying projects and the fact that the board does not need the blessing of local taxing bodies before it absolves developers from local taxes.

“Historically, there’s been a serious under-assessment of property and uneven assessment of property in this city,” said Janet Howard, President and CEO of the independent Bureau of Governmental Research.

The Bureau of Governmental Research, a longtime critic of the exemption, offers other suggestions should the administration wish to circumvent the legislature. They include asking nonprofits for voluntary “payments in lieu of taxes,” or PILOTs and parcel fees.

Janet Howard of the Bureau of Governmental Research, a critic of the exemption, told the group the waiver exempts not only major landowners like churches and universities, but much else as well, including property owned by nonprofit groups organized for “burial, charitable, health, welfare and fraternal” purposes.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s Tax Fairness Commission held its first meeting today, with presentations by the city’s chief economist, Jerome Lomba, and Bureau of Governmental Research CEO Janet Howard. The presentations and ensuing discussion offered a rare level detail about the city’s various tax systems.

The 11 a.m. meeting on the 8th floor of New Orleans City Hall will feature presentations by Jerome Lomba, the city’s chief economist, and Janet Howard of the Bureau of Governmental Research.

The City Council subsequently approved tax-increment financing, which would divert tax revenue to developers. But the council conditioned its approval on a matching agreement from the state, which remains under consideration. The controversial TIF arrangement drew opposition from the Bureau of Governmental Research and divided community and business leaders in eastern New Orleans.

The Bureau of Governmental Research has settled the lawsuit it filed against the Orleans Parish Board of Assessors last month for what it said was the assessors’ failure to turn over public records at a reasonable price.

The Bureau of Governmental Research has settled a lawsuit filed in December against the Orleans Parish Board of Assessors for what the group called a failure to turn over property tax records at a reasonable price.

The consolidation of assessors in New Orleans is “only a first step toward reform,” said Janet Howard, president of the watchdog Bureau of Governmental Research.

The Bureau of Governmental Research watchdog group issued a report on raising the exemption in 2009 that also criticized the tax break in general. The report noted that proposals to elevate the covered amount also likely would come with tax rate increases to ensure the plans are revenue-neutral to public services, amounting to a major tax increase for businesses and the affluent.

“The part of concern is taking two of the former assessors and putting them as key members of the administration,” said Janet Howard of the Bureau of Governmental Research. “I think that’s where the question of whether it’s too much of the old culture.”

New Orleanians have had to push most city assessors toward more equitable and fair assessments — and the Bureau of Governmental Research has played an important role in championing reform.

In response to threatened litigation by the Bureau of Government Research, the Orleans Parish Board of Assessors issued a statement saying that it had attempted work with BGR on its request for property records dating back to March.

The nonprofit Bureau of Governmental Research has sued New Orleans’ assessors, saying the group has refused to turn over the city’s 2010 tax roll “at a reasonable price.”

“They have got a lot of work to do,” Bureau of Governmental Research CEO Janet Howard said. “You are going to have to have some hard numbers, and that’s very difficult to come by.”

The nonprofit Bureau of Governmental Research has sued New Orleans’ assessors, saying the group has refused to turn over the city’s 2010 tax roll “at a reasonable price.”

Calling thousands of dollars in fees for public records “unreasonable,” the Bureau of Governmental Research filed suit Tuesday against the Orleans Parish Board of Assessors.

The Bureau of Government Research is filing a lawsuit against the Orleans Parish Board of Assessors after repeated requests for the 2010 property tax roll, dating back to March, were unheeded at a reasonable price, the group said in a price release.

Janet Howard, who heads up BGR, applauds the creation of the commission.

“The tax structure in New Orleans is terribly flawed. It is a problem when it comes to providing adequate services and meeting our infrastructure needs,” Howard said. “We still have a problem with assessments being fair and equitable. That’s something that has to be straightened out and then you have the question of exemptions, and whether they’re too broad or they’re being too broadly interpreted, and how they impact the base.”

According to the Bureau of Governmental Research, only about 35 percent of New Orleans property owners actually pay taxes. That’s what the mayor wants to address.

Mayor Landrieu says his spending plan includes two mills dedicated to NORD, which should provide over $5 million to recreation. The Bureau of Governmental research says while the Saturday meeting is unusual, it’s not taking a position on the tax increases.

Landrieu said the idea of a parking fee increase, which was proposed recently by Bureau of Governmental Research President Janet Howard, “had some merit” but he “would have had to exercise a very small veto” if the council had passed it.

Bureau of Governmental Research President Janet Howard said such a plan is almost finished and the council should consider whether the water board’s need for more money is in fact greater than the city’s.

But while Bureau of Governmental Research director Janet Howard warned against the council’s decision to freeze the Sewerage & Water Board taxing rate, Gentilly homeowner Steve Donahue challenged the city’s right to take more money from homeowners who chose to return to the city after Hurricane Katrina. Donahue, who is disabled and lives on a fixed income, said that he is making sacrifices to pay his own bills while also “bearing the burden of supporting the city.”

While the non-profit, independent Bureau of Governmental Research doesn’t have an official stance on rolling millage forward, it did send an open letter to Landrieu suggesting ways the city can tighten its budget and bring in revenue instead of rolling forward millage rates.

The Bureau of Governmental Research, a government watchdog group, estimated about 2,500 veterans would qualify for the extra exemption across Louisiana. O’Brien estimated the number at 3,000 to 4,000, which he argued would result in a negligible loss of revenue for tax-collecting agencies. O’Brien and Pope also emphasized that local voters will get the chance to decide whether they want to participate.

Another watchdog group, the Bureau of Governmental Research, said it usually criticizes state limitations on local financial decisions, but it took no position on this amendment because the case for such limits is stronger when applied only to appointed officials.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu is appointing a commission that will study tax exemptions in the city. The group will take a hard look at non-profits like universities and churches to identify situations where they may be exempt, but shouldn’t be.

Janet Howard, President and CEO of the Bureau of Governmental Research, or BGR, applauds the move.

Sales tax collection has been “identified as an area of weakness” in city government, Bureau of Governmental Research CEO Janet Howard said. An upcoming BGR report on city contracts shows that Nagin, before he left office, invested $225,000 in 115 additional audits that obtained an additional $2.1 million in sales tax revenues, Howard said.

Analyses of all the constitutional amendments are available on the websites of the Public Affairs Research Council, www.la-par.org, and the Bureau of Governmental Research, www.bgr.org. PAR takes no position on any of the amendments. BGR opposes No. 5 and supports Nos. 7 and 8.

Quoting from a report by the Bureau of Governmental Research, Landrieu offered these dire observations: “The city of New Orleans faces a fiscal crisis. The future is here. General fund expenditures have gone up to support current services, meet urgent needs and clean up after the hurricane. … Long-accumulating cost pressures have broken through.”

Under a little-known provision in the state Constitution, the state is supposed to reimburse parishes, cities and other local agencies for the money lost due to the exemption, but in 2009 the state provided only $90 million for that purpose — just 12.5 percent of the $716 million lost statewide because of the exemption, the Bureau of Governmental Research said in a report.

But officials with the New Orleans-based Bureau of Governmental Research, a watchdog group, take a dim view of TIFs. Janet Howard, BGR’s president, didn’t speak to Kenner’s plan specifically but said part of the concern with TIFs is that they could be a “zero-sum gain from a regional point of view,” meaning that the revenue is just moving from one area to another. TIFs sometimes are unnecessary subsidies for big businesses and could hurt smaller businesses, she said.

If Williams hires any of the current district assessors, there is sure to be an outcry from the reform-minded wing that supported Lemle’s candidacy, and from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Bureau of Governmental Research, which has closely tracked the assessors’ performances. Williams cannot make a fresh start if he retains the most visible faces of the old system, said BGR’s president and CEO Janet Howard.

But keep in mind, as Janet Howard, president and chief executive officer of the Bureau of Governmental Research, points out someone has to pay for the services government provides.

“When it’s assessed at use value, it’s assessed at a lower level than it would be for fair market value,” said Janet Howard, president and chief executive officer of the non-profit Bureau of Governmental Research watchdog group.

The Bureau of Governmental Research, a watchdog group, echoes the sentiment.

“The Tax Commission’s ratio studies do not always paint an accurate picture of assessor performance,” according to a recent BGR report on changing property-assessment practices in New Orleans. “The Tax Commission often includes assessments that have already been adjusted to the sale. This undermines the validity of the studies.”

Speaking at a Bureau of Governmental Research breakfast Tuesday, Williams defended Mauberret’s assessment of the W Hotel, adding more fuel to the speculation that the outgoing 2nd District assessor would have a place in Williams’ office.

Newly elected citywide assessor Erroll Williams raised eyebrows at a recent Bureau of Governmental Research meeting when he launched into an unprompted defense of 2nd District Assessor Claude Mauberret’s appraisal of the W Hotel in the French Quarter.

Janet Howard, head of the New Orleans based Bureau of Governmental Research, said there is concern over how Williams will build the new office and whether he’ll use current assessors. The existing seven assessor model, which dates back to the 1870s, has established a sort of coziness between the public and assessors, according to Howard.

“The whole point of consolidating assessors was to institute a new system, to reform the system, to ensure that everyone is paying on the same basis,” said Janet Howard, president and CEO of the Bureau of Governmental Research, a nonpartisan think tank. “One of the questions voters need to pose is, when someone claims they are going to adopt reform is, why didn’t they do it before?”

“Further, I will seek the assistance and advice of respected civic groups like the Bureau of Governmental Research, Public Affairs Research Council, Council for a Better Louisiana, etc., to form a watch committee, similar to Court Watch. This committee will have full access to the methods used and the information obtained by the Assessor’s Office and will have my full cooperation in answering any questions regarding the performance of my office.”

Gressett explained that if elected assessor, he’ll structure the staff, and make other changes, along the recommendations of the city’s most prominent good government group. “I believe the Bureau of Governmental Research has outlined in their December report ‘In All Fairness’, a blueprint for the organizational structure of the new office into three main offices: appraisal, administration and technology.”

The New Orleans mayor’s race will hold the main spotlight in the upcoming elections, and rightfully so as the voters’ choice could largely determine the outside world’s perception of the city for decades to come.

The Bureau of Governmental Research says the current seven-assessor system has been grossly inefficient and has produced inaccurate assessments, depriving the city of needed revenue. But the move to a one assessor system is not guaranteed to make things better.

Some New Orleans homeowners in Lakeview are taking 7th District Property Assessor Henry Heaton to task.

Replacing New Orleans’ seven elected tax assessors with a single assessor was a triumph of civic activism, a sign that New Orleanians were determined not just to rebuild their city but to reform its government.

The Bureau of Governmental Research issued a report Monday urging the eventual winner of New Orleans’ first citywide assessor’s election to hire an expert staff and adopt the latest computer technology to correct a “grossly inefficient” system.

The Industrial Development Board of New Orleans is expected to get an earful today at a public hearing about a property tax break given to the developers of the Hyatt hotel last month even though the board’s own advisers say it was excessive.

It’s a tool that could help bring new businesses to Terrebonne. But it also could mean higher taxes for shoppers and business owners.

After more than two hours of debate that divided longtime allies and created some of the strangest political bedfellows in memory, the New Orleans City Council voted 6-1 Thursday to authorize millions of dollars in tax breaks for a team of businessmen hoping to redevelop the mostly empty site of the former Lake Forest Plaza mall in eastern New Orleans.

A controversial tax break to fund the redevelopment of an eastern New Orleans mall won approval from the New Orleans City Council today, even thought the council member in whose district the mall resides voted against it.

After hours of apparently tense closed-door negotiations, the leader of an effort to redevelop the site of the former Lake Forest Plaza mall in eastern New Orleans said late today that he expects the New Orleans City Council to vote Thursday to approve a significant tax break for the project.

The council will once again take up the issue of a high-profile tax break. It would help a developer who says his vision will dramatically transform what used to be the Lake Forest Plaza.

Before New Orleans City Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis supports a tax break for the former Lake Forest Plaza mall, developers and the city are going to have to answer some questions — quickly.

Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis, a major supporter of efforts in her district to redevelop the defunct Lake Forest Plaza into a modern lifestyle mall, has asked Mayor Ray Nagin to get more detailed information on the proposal and more assurances that the project will move forward as pitched.

Before New Orleans City Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis supports a tax break for Lake Forest Plaza mall, the developers and the city are going to have to answer some questions.

Over the objections of developer Cesar Burgos, the City Council deferred action Thursday on a tax break that Burgos has said he needs to redevelop the mostly vacant site of the former Lake Forest Plaza mall in eastern New Orleans.

The rebuilding of eastern New Orleans is vital to the city’s ongoing recovery, and city officials are right to look for ways to spark economic development there. But the deal being proposed by developers who want to use a portion of sales tax revenues to remake Lake Forest Plaza isn’t a smart way to achieve that goal.

A formal report by the Bureau of Governmental Research says that the proposed Lake Forest Plaza tax increment financing district that will be considered by the City Council Thursday is “fraught with problems.”

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Governmental Research released a report blasting the subsidy, saying tax dollars would be used to “pay for private problems.”

A plan to use taxpayer money to develop a new mall at the site of the old Lake Forest Plaza, while touted as an effort to benefit New Orleans East residents, is actually a plan to benefit the property owners, according to the non-partisan Bureau of Governmental Research.

If the defunct Lake Forest Plaza shopping mall is transformed into a modern lifestyle center, it will have a positive effect on sales and property tax collections in the city as it recaptures retail spending from other parishes, according to an economic impact study commissioned by the developers.

When the developers of Lake Forest Plaza mall go before the New Orleans City Council this week to request a subsidy to refurbish the shuttered site, they have a new economic impact study to support their request.

Developers who plan to overhaul Lake Forest Plaza mall, an 81-acre eastern New Orleans shopping venue that has been shuttered since Hurricane Katrina, envision a sparkling new mall complete with big-box retail, restaurants, a police substation and an amphitheater.

On Thursday, the New Orleans City Council is expected to consider a proposal to use future tax revenue to help transform the site of the defunct Lake Forest Plaza mall into a modern shopping center called the New Orleans East Marketplace.

Unveiling the most detailed plans yet for their proposed redevelopment of the mostly vacant site of the former Lake Forest Plaza mall in eastern New Orleans, developers Cesar Burgos and Ashton Ryan appeared to win several City Council members’ endorsement Tuesday for a tax break needed to let them move forward.

After three years of study and discussion, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said Friday that he has issued an executive order establishing a city policy on use of tax increment financing.

Lake Forest Plaza moved a stop closer to revival on Friday, when a public agency agreed to use sales tax collections to help redevelop the eastern New Orleans shopping center, located in an area largely bereft of retail since Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans City Councilwoman Stacy Head wants to tweak a city program that gives property tax breaks to developers upgrading outdated properties, but a key development official says more significant changes are needed to make the incentive worthwhile.

The owner of Lake Forest Plaza agreed Friday to repay a delinquent loan he and his former business partners owe the city, while persuading Mayor Ray Nagin to pour additional public money into redeveloping the former shopping center.

Louisiana’s $75,000 homestead exemption is already the nation’s most generous, but that hasn’t stopped some misguided lawmakers from trying to increase it.

After investigating what some called outrageous expenses at the offices of some Orleans Parish tax assessors, the WDSU I-Team looked into how money is spent at the largest of the parish’s seven tax districts.

Eyewitness News found that a Gentilly home owned by one of the city’s most powerful political families, the Morrells, is also on the city of New Orleans’ list for delinquent property taxes.

Attorney and Regional Transit Authority Chairman Cesar Burgos told a neighborhood group this month that he has stepped in as developer of Lake Forest Plaza, a former shopping center whose longtime owners were delinquent on a debt they owe the city.

There are certain things you can count on in the spring in Louisiana — a lovely golden coat of pollen on your automobile, severe thunderstorms to wash it off and a funky smokescreen from state lawmakers in advance of the legislative session.

Everyone wants a free lunch — but everyone also should know such a thing does not exist.

Proposals to amend the state Constitution to more than double the homestead exemption are a bad idea, a local nonpartisan research and policy organization said Monday.

Wading knee-deep into troubled waters, the New Orleans City Council has called on the city’s seven assessors to take a new look at land and buildings exempted from paying property taxes because they are owned by nonprofit organizations such as schools or churches.

East Baton Rouge Parish stands to gain an additional $1.2 million a year from one of seven constitutional
amendments facing voters on the Nov. 4 ballot.

A government watchdog group is urging Jefferson Parish to apply more structure to tax incentive districts it has created to pay for infrastructure repair and blight eradication before public money is steered to these areas.

An independent watchdog group warned Tuesday that Jefferson Parish’s plans to use special tax districts to spur economic development could starve surrounding businesses and the government’s sales tax base.