Reports › Orleans Parish

With the primary on the way, BGR submitted questions to all mayoral candidates on topics in four areas: the city’s budget, city services, infrastructure and blight. Four candidates – Rob Couhig, John Georges, Mitch Landrieu and James Perry – responded. BGR is presenting the Q&A to the public in a web-only, four-part series, Questions for a New Mayor.

Press Release: BGR Begins Four-Part Q&A Series with 2010 Mayoral Candidates

As the campaign for the city’s soon-to-be consolidated assessor’s office begins, BGR releases In All Fairness: Building a Model Assessment System in New Orleans. The report explains what the new citywide assessor must do to create a fair, efficient and transparent assessment system in Orleans Parish.

In this report, BGR examines the New Orleans draft master plan’s proposal for citizen participation.

BGR’s report, In Search of the Master Plan: Making the New Orleans 2030 Draft Plan Work, provides analysis and recommendations on the draft of the New Orleans master plan that is currently before the public.

In this release, BGR calls on the City Planning Commission to delay public hearings on the master plan until the missing portions — including chapters on citizen participation and plan implementation — have been released to the public.

In this report entitled In the Private Interest: A Review of the Lake Forest Plaza TIF Proposal, BGR analyzes a tax increment financing (TIF) proposal by the owners of the former mall site to use public funds to clear up debts on the site and redevelop it.

On Feb. 3, BGR sent a letter to Councilman Arnold Fielkow, Chairman of City Council’s Special Projects and Economic Development Committee, on the use and operation of the city’s Economic Development Fund. The letter recommends that the city abandon the current practice of directing grants to a handful of individual business ventures or nonprofit activities. Instead, it urges the city to use the EDF funds to fund economic development functions and initiatives that benefit multiple businesses.

Today the Bureau of Governmental Research releases Rethinking the World Trade Center Building Transaction. The report reviews the New Orleans Building Corporation’s approach to redeveloping the World Trade Center tower and parking garage in downtown New Orleans. For more than 10 years, the city has unsuccessfully pursued redevelopment in partnership with the master tenant of the buildings. BGR recommends that the city abandon that approach, and instead seek to buy out the master tenant and sell the buildings.

On the Ballot: Jefferson, Orleans and State Propositions, November 2008 (10/14/08) provides analysis of local propositions as well as amendments to the state constitution appearing on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Street Smarts: Maintaining and Managing New Orleans’ Road Network provides an overview of street management systems and explores the challenges New Orleans faces in maintaining its streets.

BGR’s release, School Facilities Plan Leaves Financing Questions Unanswered (9/24/08), examines the financial component of the School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish.

In On the Ballot: New Orleans, October 2008 (9/16/08), BGR provides analysis and takes positions on two ballot propositions: one to issue bonds for criminal justice facilities and another to protect the newly created Office of Inspector General.

On the Ballot: Orleans Parish School Tax Renewals provides an overview of four New Orleans property tax millages up for voter renewal on July 19.

BGR has sent a letter to members of the New Orleans City Council expressing concerns about certain aspects of the proposed redevelopment of the World Trade Center property downtown (6/19/08).

Mending the Urban Fabric: Blight in New Orleans is a two-part series analyzing blighted property programs and recommending reforms. In Part I, BGR addressed the structure, goals and strategy of New Orleans’ blight programs. In Part II, BGR focuses on code enforcement and procedures for successful redevelopment.

The City of New Orleans is working on a draft policy governing tax increment financing. BGR submitted comments on the February 2008 draft at the request of the City Council’s Special Development Projects and Economic Development Committee. The letter recommends that the City look to San Antonio’s TIF policy for guidance. In November, BGR submitted a letter commenting on a City TIF policy report.

This is the first in a two-part series analyzing New Orleans’ blighted property programs and recommending reforms.

BGR has been conducting extensive research on blighted property issues in New Orleans and is preparing a study for future publication. Drawing on that research, it is also responding to current developments. On December 11, BGR sent a letter to the City’s Office of Recovery Management recommending changes to local blighted property programs. The week before, it sent a letter to the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority regarding its proposal to the Louisiana Recovery Authority for the properties the State is acquiring through the Road Home program.

This release calls on the City of New Orleans to conform to charter requirements in producing its capital budget.

In the face of mounting developer requests for subsidies, this release calls for the City of New Orleans and the Industrial Development Board of New Orleans to stop approving subsidies until they have implemented promised policies and procedures.

This release (9/5/07) raises concerns about proposed budget approvals for the Office of Recovery Management’s plans in advance of a public vetting of those plans.

Cementing Imbalance: A Post-Katrina Analysis of the Regional Distribution of Subsidized Rental Housing is the latest in a series of BGR reports on affordable housing issues. It includes parish by parish data and maps showing the distribution of subsidized housing in the most populous parishes.

BGR provided this piece for publication in Gambit Weekly, explaining the ways in which significantly increased assessments can be about fairness and the common good.

In UNOP Revisited: An Analysis of the Revised Citywide Plan, BGR follows up on its previous report on the Unified New Orleans Plan citywide product, focusing on the revised plan. It offers recommendations to the City Planning Commission for further revisions.

In Budgeting in a Time of Crisis: A Review of the City of New Orleans’ 2007 Budgets, BGR examines the City’s operating and capital budgets for 2007, the second post-Katrina fiscal year.

In Public Investment, Private Developers: How Louisiana Deployed Its GO Zone Housing Tax Credits, BGR analyzes the unit production and geographic distribution of developments awarded $1.7 billion worth of Gulf Opportunity Zone Housing Tax Credits. In addition, it analyzes the financing and costs of projects that received tax credit awards in December 2006. Developments in that group were eligible to “piggy-back” the tax credits with loans of federal Community Development Block Grant funds made available through a Louisiana Recovery Authority program.

In a follow-up to Protecting New Orleans’ Tax Base: Which PILOTs Should Fly? BGR raises concerns about requests for local property tax subsidies to housing developments that have already received subsidies through state and federal programs.

In Protecting New Orleans’ Tax Base: Which PILOTs Should Fly? BGR addresses New Orleans’ system for handling property tax subsidies through the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) mechanism. This report comes at a time when requests for such subsidies are increasing.

BGR provides an analysis of the nearly 600-page draft Citywide Plan, the centerpiece of the Unified New Orleans Plan process.

In September 2006, members of the New Orleans City Council introduced an ordinance to establish an Office of Inspector General. Read BGR’s letter to the City Council as well as the version of the ordinance introduced on October 19 and the final version approved by City Council on November 2.

On the Ballot is an analysis of proposed constitutional amendments of particular significance to the New Orleans region. This issue covers amendments that went before voters on November 7, 2006 — including consolidation of assessors.

On September 30, Louisiana voters were asked to approve 13 constitutional amendments. This report focuses on those that are amendments relevant to Greater New Orleans in four arenas: coastal restoration and flood/hurricane protection, expropriation, the homestead exemption, and unfunded state mandates.

BGR’s report on the Louisiana Recovery Authority’s Road Home rental housing program raises serious concerns about the implications of the program in New Orleans.

In this follow-up to its October 2003 report Runaway Discretion, BGR sets forth proposed charter amendments to reform planning and land use decision making in New Orleans.

BGR challenged New Orleans mayoral candidates to implement BGR’s model for professional services contracting reform within 90 days of assuming office. To read the model and the accompanying press release, click on the links below.

BGR and PAR have issued a joint report calling for a full appraisal of financial options for local governments in fiscal crisis.

Part of a series of web-based reports BGR began publishing following the 2005 disaster.

Part of a series of web-based reports BGR began publishing following the 2005 disaster.

Part of a web-based series of reports on the rebuilding of New Orleans BGR began publishing after the disaster of 2005.

Part of a web-based series of reports on the rebuilding of New Orleans following the 2005 disaster.

Part of a web-based series of reports BGR began publishing following the 2005 disaster.

Part of a web-based series of reports BGR began publishing following the 2005 disaster. These documents offer detailed suggestions on how to enhance citizen participation in the Commission’s planning process.

The Times-Picayune carried an Op-Ed piece by BGR’s President Janet Howard on the issue of public subsidies for high-end condominiums

In New Orleans, too many property owners pay little or no taxes on their properties; exemptions are granted regardless of need; and, as a result of inconsistent assessments, properties of similar value bear widely different tax burdens. In this report, BGR illustrates the impact of under-assessments and excessive exemptions on local governments and taxpayers in Orleans Parish. It also briefly reviews pending legislation that would exacerbate inequities and further limit the revenue base of local governments.

The New Orleans Saints and the State of Louisiana are in the midst of negotiations that will determine whether the Saints remain in New Orleans. Sports subsidies present communities with difficult political and financial decisions. In this report, BGR seeks to provide policymakers and the public with background information relevant to current negotiations with the Saints.

To provide citizens and government with a better understanding of their investment, BGR presents in this report an overview of economic development expenditures in New Orleans.

In this report, BGR analyzes two of four state constitutional amendments that will appear on the November 2 ballot. The two amendments would modify the homestead exemption and the veterans’ preference. In addition, BGR provides voters in New Orleans with information on a proposed $260 million bond issue and Jefferson Parish voters with information on two ballot propositions that would exchange one set of property tax dedications for a different set of dedications.

BGR examines the health of the merit system in New Orleans’ City government. This report suggests a number of prescriptions to improve the management of human resources and reinforce merit principles.

In a ground-breaking report, BGR tests the City’s claims of economic benefits in the World Trade Center hotel conversion. The report digs deep beneath the surface to unearth the fiscal imprudence of the lease deal for the City.

This highly popular report reveals deep flaws in New Orleans’ land use decision making process, its approach to zoning, and its interaction with businesses and citizens. It suggests legal changes in the City’s approach to land use decisions, placing neighborhoods and citizens at the center of reform.

This report describes the propositions on the October 2003 ballot, provides background information, and analyzes the propositions, presenting the arguments for and against them. The report also includes BGR’s positions on the issues.

BGR issued a study on the use of tax increment financing (TIF) in New Orleans. The study reviews the use of TIF in general and in New Orleans in particular.

For more than a year and a half, the Sewerage & Water Board (“S&WB”) has actively pursued a procurement for the private management, operation, and maintenance of the S&WB’s water and wastewater systems. This week the S&WB is scheduled to take a critical step in the process: deciding whether or not to contract out (privatize) these large and vitally important segments of it operation.

The new study reassesses the S&WB’s selection process in light of developments over the past year and discusses certain critical issues with the S&WB’s proposed service agreement.

On March 2, 2002, Orleans Parish voters will be asked to decide whether the City Charter should be amended to require voter approval of decisions by the Sewerage & Water Board (S&WB) to enter into certain privatization contracts.

On February 2, 2002, the voters of New Orleans will consider a proposition to authorize the extension of the property tax millage for the New Orleans Business and Industrial District (“NOB&ID” or the “District”).

BGR presents its new Professional Services Contracting Model along with a pledge for current mayoral candidates in New Orleans to sign, promising to implement these specific and fundamental reforms.

Follow links for eighteen government entities, written contracts, and text of cited Louisiana Laws.

A collaborative effort by Bureau of Governmental Research, Public Affairs Research Council, and The Public Law Center. For additional information on state legal services, please see the PAR website.

With this report BGR provides an analysis of the arguments for and against the proposed charter amendment allowing a third consecutive term and provides BGR’s position.

Follow this link to read the full report.

This report presents BGR’s position on the ballot for April 7, 2001.

This report presents BGR’s positions on ballot propositions to allow the issuance of general obligation bonds of $150 million by the City of New Orleans and $27 million by the Law Enforcement District.

This issue of the Oulook series examines the capital budget process of the City of New Orleans and critiques the implementation of the 1995-approved building program.

This report examines property tax exemptions for nonprofit organizations, and analyzes assessment administration in Orleans Parish.

An overview and status report on the school board’s new management information system and the computer networking project to bring the internet and other educational resources to the classroom.

An analysis of conditions limiting the physical expansion of New Orleans International Airport (NOIA); approaches to regional cooperation used by airports in similar geopolitical circumstances (with ownership and authority over the airport in one political jurisdiction, the airport in another, and a need to expand in a third); and recommendations for changes by NOIA.

This is the first report in BGR’s Outlook series on the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB). The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the Board’s fiscal outlook with a focus on the FY 1999 (July 1, 1998 through June 30, 1999) operating budget.

On December 5, voters in the City of New Orleans defeated a proposal to levy a property service charge on real estate. This report reviews the property service charge proposal.

This report provides a short analysis of the potential creation of three separate neighborhood-based special tax districts and a recommendation on two proposed amendments to the State Constitution.

This report provides a short analysis of the proposal to levy a one-mill ad valorem tax to fund the offices of the Orleans Parish Assessors.

A report with recommendations on the value and assessment of real estate exempt from property taxation in New Orleans.