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. Read the four-part series:
In a November 28 letter to the City Council, BGR recommends that the council create a formal process to objectively evaluate S&WB funding proposals for the city’s water, sewer and drainage systems. BGR also recommends that the council develop a stronger framework for oversight that relies more on regular accountability, instead of the council’s control […]
This BGR NOW report urges the City of New Orleans and the Orleans Parish Sheriff to resolve a long-running disagreement over funding the jail. The dispute flared anew last fall when the City Council denied the Sheriff’s request for a $12.4 million funding increase. Voters subsequently rejected a Sheriff’s Office proposal to increase its property […]
OVERVIEW These On the Ballot reports inform New Orleans voters about three propositions on the October 14, 2023 ballot: the renewal of a property tax for public school facilities and charter amendments on code enforcement and the City budget process. The Orleans Parish School Board is seeking to renew a property tax of up to 4.97 […]
OVERVIEW Today, BGR sent a letter to the mayor and the New Orleans City Council urging greater planning and public reporting for the City of New Orleans’ use of its primary financial reserve. The City Council’s budget committee is meeting tomorrow, May 23, to consider more than $73 million in appropriations from this reserve, called […]
OVERVIEW This report connects the flawed governance structure of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (S&WB) to key problems affecting the city’s water, sewer and drainage systems and examines potential paths to long-term improvement.
OVERVIEW In this letter to the Jefferson Parish Council, BGR recommends ways in which the council can improve planning and public reporting for one-time spending made possible by the receipt of federal pandemic relief funds through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). In June 2022, the council allocated the Parish’s $84 million of ARPA funds […]
OVERVIEW In this report, BGR explores how the City of New Orleans has deployed pandemic relief funds it received through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, and what impacts this unprecedented one-time money had on City finances and budget priorities.
OVERVIEW In this release, Handle with Care: Public Planning and Accountability Must Guide Spending of Federal Relief Funds, BGR offers guidance to government entities on harnessing the opportunities presented by unprecedented federal funding to spur recovery from the pandemic’s economic, fiscal and health impacts.
OVERVIEW On the Ballot: New Orleans Property Tax Propositions, December 5, 2020 analyzes three propositions to replace several City of New Orleans property taxes that expire at the end of 2021. The replacement taxes would have the same combined rate of 5.82 mills as the existing taxes. However, the propositions would change the tax dedications. […]
OVERVIEW Welcome to the inaugural edition of PolicyWatch, a periodic newsletter that draws on BGR’s body of independent, nonpartisan research to address current public policy issues. This edition focuses on the City of New Orleans’ finances as it faces a pandemic-induced budget deficit. It discusses the City’s proposal to borrow up to $100 million as […]
OVERVIEW As the City Council reviews the proposed $722 million 2020 operating budget, BGR Now: A Framework for Assessing New Orleans’ Proposed 2020 Budget outlines key findings of BGR’s recent City budget study to help inform citizens and policymakers. BGR’s study, A Look Back to Plan Ahead, analyzes growth in revenues and changes in expenditures […]
Overview On the Ballot: New Orleans Bond and Tax Propositions, November 16, 2019 studies three propositions to let the City issue bonds for capital improvements, levy a new tax for maintenance, and levy a new tax on short-term rentals. If voters approve, the City of New Orleans would be able to: Issue up to $500 […]
Overview A Look Back to Plan Ahead: Analyzing Past New Orleans Budgets to Guide Funding Priorities reviews a decade of City General Fund budgets. It also lays a foundation for examining potential opportunities to reallocate revenue to critical needs.
Overview Questions for a New Parish Council is the second in a two-part 2019 Candidate Q&A Election Series providing the views of candidates for Jefferson Parish government on important public policy issues, such as tax dedications and contracting. Questions for a New Parish Council provides voters with the candidates’ answers to 16 questions developed from […]
Overview Questions for a New Parish President is the first in a two-part 2019 Candidate Q&A Election Series providing the views of candidates for Jefferson Parish president on important public policy issues affecting Parish government. Questions for a New Parish President provides voters with the candidates’ answers to 16 questions developed from BGR’s body of […]
OVERVIEW This On the Ballot report informs voters on a proposed City of New Orleans charter amendment to change the composition of the Sewerage & Water Board’s board of directors. On December 8, 2018, New Orleans voters will consider removing one citizen member and adding a City Council representative to the board, who may be […]
OVERVIEW This report is the latest installment in BGR’s Candidate Q&A Election Series. The new report consolidates and reissues the responses of the newly elected City of New Orleans mayor and councilmembers who completed BGR’s surveys last fall on important issues facing City government. We encourage citizens to revisit the issues by reviewing the BGR […]
OVERVIEW BGR’s release addresses a bill that would, among other things, allow a member of the New Orleans City Council to sit on the Sewerage & Water Board. BGR opposes the change in board composition for the S&WB and urges instead that policymakers focus on improving City Council oversight and regulation of the S&WB within […]
Overview BGR’s On the Ballot report examines the proposed amendment on the November 18, 2017, ballot to establish the Savings Fund of the City of New Orleans in the City’s home rule charter.
Overview For the October 14, 2017 primary elections in New Orleans, BGR provided voters with its 2017 Candidate Q&A Election Series. BGR submitted questions to all mayoral and City Council candidates on public safety, infrastructure and other important public policy issues facing the City of New Orleans government. BGR compiled the answers of the candidates who […]
Overview Paying for Streets: Options for Funding Road Maintenance in New Orleans explores ways to fund the routine maintenance necessary to safeguard the City’s $2 billion, once-in-a-lifetime capital investment in the street network.
Overview Beneath the Surface: A Primer on Stormwater Fees in New Orleans explores a funding mechanism for drainage that is expanding in usage nationwide as an alternative to ad valorem property taxes.
Overview BGR studies four dedicated taxes up for renewal on the December 10, 2016 in Jefferson Parish: a sales tax for parish sewerage, road and drainage projects, law enforcement and municipal governments in Jefferson; and three property taxes for parish drainage, recreation and public schools.
Overview BGR reviews two property tax propositions on the ballot in New Orleans on December 10, 2016: a tax increase for fire protection services for the City of New Orleans and a tax renewal for the Sewerage & Water Board’s drainage system.
Overview BGR explains and analyzes two tax propositions in New Orleans on April 9, 2016: one for street work and other improvements, and a second for the police and fire departments.
Overview This On the Ballot report informs voters in the October 24, 2015 election about a proposed quarter-cent sales tax for public safety in New Orleans’ French Quarter and a constitutional amendment allowing the State of Louisiana to invest in an infrastructure bank.
Overview BGR reviews a proposed property tax for the upkeep of public school facilities in New Orleans and 11 propositions to amend the Jefferson Parish charter that voters will decide on December 6, 2014. The charter propositions relate to: Modifying the Jefferson Parish Council’s authority to investigate parish affairs Limiting the outside employment of the […]
Overview BGR examines two proposed amendments to the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, one Orleans Parish property tax proposition and two constitutional amendments on the ballot for November 4, 2014. One City charter amendment would incorporate certain professional services contracting reforms made in 2010. The other charter amendment would move the […]
On July 22, 2014, hundreds of citizens and a number of government officials turned up at a citywide meeting hosted by the Fix My Streets campaign and the Lakeview Civic Improvement Association to discuss options for addressing New Orleans’ bumpy street network. The dialogue centered on the need to determine the condition of city streets, […]
Overview In this release, BGR encourages qualified citizens to volunteer to serve on the newly constituted Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans.
Overview In On the Ballot: October 19, 2013, BGR explains, analyzes and takes positions on three tax propositions on the ballot in Jefferson Parish and two proposed charter amendments in New Orleans, one of which would reform the Sewerage & Water Board. The Jefferson tax propositions are renewals of property taxes for the Jefferson Parish […]
Overview In this release, BGR urges the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans to delay initiating the search for a new executive director until after voters decide on governance reforms.
Overview In an open letter to the Louisiana Legislature, BGR sets forth its positions on evolving legislation to reform the governance of the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans.
Overview In this release, BGR discusses possible amendments to the evolving governance reforms for the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans and recommends improvements.
Overview In this release, BGR discusses possible amendments to pending legislation to reform the governance of the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans, and makes recommendations to protect the nominating process.
Overview In this release, BGR looks at Mayor Landrieu’s proposed governance reforms to the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans, with specific attention to the board member nomination process.
Overview BGR reviews a proposal by the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans to raise water and sewer rates 10% a year for the next eight years. It examines the proposed water and sewer rate increases and their impacts on customers. It also examines the proposed uses of the additional funding and how far […]
Overview In this release, BGR calls on the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans to limit rate increases temporarily to those that are necessary to meet its obligations under the federal consent decree that governs the sewer system. It states that additional increases should be contingent on, and adopted after, the implementation of meaningful […]
Overview This edition of Now addresses the proposed funding increases for the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans in the context of necessary governance reforms.
Overview In Making the Waterworks Work: Fixing the Sewerage & Water Board’s Governance Problems, BGR examines how the governance of the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans has contributed to the agency’s problems, presents options for reforms and makes recommendations for change.
Overview In this letter to the members of the New Orleans Civil Service Commission, BGR supports the concept proposed by the City administration to amend the Civil Service rule related to layoffs, but raises concerns about certain aspects of the amendment.
Overview On November 24, BGR sent a letter to the Mayor and City Council on the proposed 2011 budget for the City of New Orleans. The letter contains suggestions that would free up millions of dollars.
Overview Inside Outsourcing: A Year in the Life of City Contracting builds from an analysis of hundreds of City contracts in effect during 2009 to provide a broad overview of City contracting and discuss key problem areas that require the attention of the current administration and the New Orleans City Council.
BGR analyzes 10 State constitutional amendments on the ballot for November 2, 2010. The amendments concern a wide variety of issues, including: Salary increases for elected officials Allocation of State of Louisiana severance taxes Property tax exemption for disabled veterans Limiting tax increases for non-elected taxing authorities Extending the period following a disaster for retaining […]
Overview BGR analyzes two Orleans Parish propositions and two State constitutional amendments on the ballot for October 2, 2010. The two Orleans Parish propositions would amend the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans to reconfigure the governance of City recreation services and facilities, and adjust the City Council membership on the Sewerage […]
Overview In The Price of Civilization: Addressing Infrastructure Needs in New Orleans, BGR provides information on New Orleans’ core infrastructure needs – including streets, the systems of the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans, schools and the Orleans Parish jail – and assesses the community’s capacity to fund those needs.
Overview Contracting with Confidence: Professional Services Contracting Reform in New Orleans presents a new model to improve contract administration in City government and restore faith in the contracting process.
Overview 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 […]
Overview BGR provides analysis of local propositions as well as amendments to the state constitution appearing on the ballot for November 4, 2008. A proposition in New Orleans would amend the city charter to make comprehensive changes to planning and land use decision making in the city. A proposition in Jefferson Parish would expand the permissible […]
Overview Street Smarts: Maintaining and Managing New Orleans’ Road Network provides an overview of street management systems in general and examines the challenges New Orleans faces in maintaining its streets. It concludes with recommendations to improve street maintenance and management in New Orleans.
Overview 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 remediation programs. Now, in Part II, BGR focuses on code enforcement and procedures for successful redevelopment.
Overview Mending the Urban Fabric: Blight in New Orleans is a two-part series analyzing blighted property programs and recommending reforms. Here, in Part I, BGR addresses the structure, goals and strategy of New Orleans’ blight remediation programs. In Part II, BGR focuses on code enforcement and procedures for successful redevelopment.
Overview BGR has been conducting extensive research on blighted property issues and blight remediation programs 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 […]
Overview This release calls on the City of New Orleans to conform to charter requirements in producing its capital budget, which is developed by the mayor and reviewed by the New Orleans City Planning Commission and City Council.
Overview This release raises concerns about proposed budget approvals for the New Orleans Office of Recovery Management’s plans in advance of a public vetting of those plans. New Orleans recovery planning process following Hurricane Katrina requires transparency and public input.
Overview 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 fiscal year following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Overview 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 protection, expropriation, the homestead exemption, and unfunded state mandates. In addition, BGR provides an expanded discussion of the proposed amendment on expropriation, […]
Overview As part of BGR Reports, a web-based series of reports BGR began publishing following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster, BGR comments on a $3 million contract for recovery planning in New Orleans awarded without inviting competition. BGR also provides links below to documents referenced in the report: 2004 Request for Statement of Qualifications 2004 […]
Overview BGR challenged New Orleans mayoral candidates to implement BGR’s model for professional services contracting reform within 90 days of assuming office.
Overview BGR and the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, Inc. (PAR) have issued a joint report calling for a full appraisal of financial options for local governments in fiscal crisis, including municipal bankruptcy.
Overview BGR comments on proposed legislation to create the Louisiana Housing and Land Trust. This report is part of a series of web-based reports BGR began publishing following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Overview BGR comments on a proposal to create a redevelopment authority for post-Katrina New Orleans. This report is part of a web-based series on the rebuilding of New Orleans that BGR began publishing after the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005. The creation of the authority has implications for the city’s ability to address blighted property.
Overview BGR comments on post-Katrina redevelopment strategy in this installment of a web-based series of reports that BGR began publishing following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Overview BGR analyzes two of four state constitutional amendments that will appear on the November 2, 2004, ballot. The two amendments would modify the homestead exemption and the veterans’ preference to apply for civil service positions. In addition, BGR provides voters in New Orleans with information on a proposed $260 million bond issue and Jefferson […]
Overview BGR examines the health of the civil service system in New Orleans’ City government. This report suggests a number of prescriptions to improve the management of human resources and reinforce merit principles.
Overview In this report, BGR predicts tight financial times ahead for Jefferson Parish Government. What can the Parish Council and Parish President do about it? This report offers an array of options for keeping the parish coffers filled.
Overview As discussed in this report, for more than a year and a half, the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (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 […]
Overview The new study reassesses the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (S&WB) selection process in light of developments over the past year and discusses certain critical issues with the S&WB’s proposed service agreement.
Overview 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 of New Orleans (S&WB) to enter into certain privatization contracts.
Overview 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.
Overview As a supplement to Public Contracting for Legal Services, this report provides information and analysis of contracting practices of local governments. Also available are appendixes summarizing 18 local government entities’ practices and the text of Louisiana laws. The Public Law Center (TPLC), the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana (PAR), and the Bureau of Governmental […]
Overview The Public Law Center (TPLC), the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana (PAR), and the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) prepared this study of contracting for outside legal services by state and local government entities at the request of the Kendall Vick Public Law Foundation. The objectives were to survey the laws and regulations […]
Overview This report examines the history and current state of the operating budget and compares revenues and expenditures, including salaries, for the City of Harahan, a municipality in Jefferson Parish. The report includes information on comparable Louisiana cities.
Overview This report analyzes the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans (S&WB) procurement process for private operation and management of its water and sewer systems. In this study BGR addresses two basic questions: (1) Is the S&WB’s proposed procurement structured in a way that maximizes competition and otherwise protects the interests of the citizens […]
Overview This edition of BGR’s Outlook series discusses the financial challenges facing the Jefferson Parish Public School System and the current academic performance of its schools.
Overview This report presents BGR’s analysis of ballot propositions to allow the issuance of general obligation bonds of $150 million by the City of New Orleans and $27 million by the Orleans Parish Law Enforcement District. Although the Criminal Sheriff governs the district, the bond proposal would raise funds for the sheriff, the district attorney […]
Overview In this report, BGR reviews the four proposed changes in the Louisiana constitution that voters will decide on November 7, 2000. The amendments would: (1) authorize the state to establish a corporation to be the state’s principal economic development organization (Louisiana Inc.) and to exempt it from civil service; (2) change state individual income […]
Overview This issue of the Outlook series examines the capital budget process of the City of New Orleans and critiques the implementation of the 1995 voter-approved building program.
In BGR Outlook on Orleans: Privatization of Sewerage and Water Board Operations, BGR reviews the concept of privatizing the operations of the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans. It discusses the S&WB’s structure, financial picture and other issues, and then identifies the issues that should be addressed in a privatization process. It does not take […]
Overview This issue of Outlook updates the financial status of the Jefferson Parish Public Schools with a focus on the revised fiscal year 1999 and the adopted fiscal year 2000 operating budgets.
Overview New Orleans International Airport: Governance, Regional Cooperation and Airport Expansion analyzes the airport’s conditions limiting its physical expansion and approaches to regional cooperation used by airports in similar geopolitical circumstances. Specifically, these circumstances include ownership and authority over the airport residing in one political jurisdiction, the location of airport in another, and a need […]
Overview This edition of Outlook provides an overview of Jefferson Parish Government and the Parish’s fiscal outlook, including final general government revenues and expenditures between 1988 and 1997, and an examination of the 1999 Jefferson Parish adopted budget.
In BGR Outlook on Orleans: The Sewerage and Water Board’s Fee Proposal, BGR examines two proposed fees in New Orleans – one for the sewerage system and another for the drainage system.
Overview This is the first report in BGR’s Outlook series on the Orleans Parish School Board. 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.
Overview In this issue of Outlook, BGR focuses on one specific area of Jefferson Parish Government—the public works function, which manages streets, water, sewer, drainage and other infrastructure. The purpose of this report is to provide a brief overview of how this department is organized, where it receives its funding and how it spends its […]
Overview This report reviews the City of New Orleans’ property service charge proposal on the ballot for December 5, 1998. The primary intended uses of the new revenues include pay raises for most City employees and for all Orleans Parish public school employees.
Overview This report provides a short analysis of the potential creation of three separate neighborhood-based special tax districts in New Orleans and a recommendation on two proposed amendments to the Louisiana Constitution relative to the governance of higher education. The neighborhood districts will provide additional funding for enhanced security and in some cases, beautification and […]
Overview This report provides a synopsis and short analysis of all 18 proposed amendments to the Louisiana Constitution on the October 3, 1998, election ballot. The topics include assessment freezes for senior citizens and properties undergoing restoration, as well as parish severance tax allocations and remediation of blighted property: Establishes community college system Increases parish […]
Overview This issue of the BGR Outlook on Jefferson examines the Jefferson Parish School Board’s finances. The 16-page report analyzes the factors leading to recent operating budget deficits and discusses potential solutions.
Overview This report analyzes professional services contracting practices by five area school boards in Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes.
Overview This report is the fourth in BGR’s program of governmental oversight and monitoring of Jefferson Parish governments. This report provides updated budgetary information on the Parish Council, District Attorney and Sheriff.
Overview This is the first in a new series of reports highlighting the finances of Jefferson Parish local government. It provides an overview of parish general-purpose government revenues and expenditures over the past ten years and comparison of current-year operating budget.
Today, BGR presented a Breakfast Briefing with Cynthia Lee Sheng, Jefferson Parish President, and Mark Drewes, Director of the Jefferson Parish Department of Public Works, who discussed upgrading aging infrastructure in Jefferson Parish. This event was free to the...
In early 2024, Gov. Jeff Landry formed a Task Force to review the billing, governing structure, and management and organizational structure of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans. Click the links below to access BGR’s comments to...
In a November 28 letter to the New Orleans City Council, BGR expressed concern that the council does not have a formal process to evaluate funding requests from the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (S&WB). The lack...
Election day is almost here. And there is more on the ballot than candidates running for office. Voters in many municipalities are also being asked to consider ballot measures related to local governance. In the city of New Orleans,...
There’s a changing of the guard at the Department of Public Works, Sarah McLaughlin-Porteous, who took over a little more than a year ago, resigned Sept. 6. “It was really a personal decision. I had a goal that when...
Orleans Parish School Board facilities millage renewal: Yes In the grueling recovery from Hurricane Katrina, the $1.8 billion lump sum settlement with FEMA to rebuild New Orleans schools was a high point. Saddled before the storm with facilities so...
Today, BGR presented “Rebuilding Our Infrastructure, Making New Orleans Resilient,” a Breakfast Briefing to discuss progress on New Orleans’ citywide street improvement program. Joseph W. Threat, Sr., and Sarah McLaughlin Porteous, public works leaders for the City of New...
NEW ORLEANS — The Bureau of Governmental Research has published a report calling on the City of New Orleans and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office to resolve a long-running disagreement over funding for the parish jail. The dispute flared last fall...
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — As the New Orleans City Council prepares its 2024 budget, the Bureau of Governmental Research has released a report about a longstanding dispute over funding for the Orleans Parish Prison. According to the report, the...
The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) published a report today calling on the City of New Orleans and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office to resolve a long-running disagreement over funding for the parish jail. The dispute flared anew last fall...
Click here to watch the video, and here to visit the BGR webpage for this report.
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research: On Sept. 21, the Bureau of Governmental Research released three On the Ballot reports for the October 14 election. The reports are intended to help New Orleans voters make informed decisions...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases three On the Ballot reports for the October 14 election. The reports are intended to help New Orleans voters make informed decisions on three separate propositions: a property tax renewal for...
The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) won two awards from the Governmental Research Association (GRA) at its national conference July 24-26 in Worcester, Mass. BGR’s 2022 report calling for governance reforms for the Orleans Parish jail received the Most...
The Bureau of Governmental Research has published Spanish and Vietnamese translations of its recent report summaries on the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans in an effort to reach more residents concerned about the utility’s governance issues. This...
NEW ORLEANS — The Bureau of Governmental Research has released Spanish and Vietnamese translations of a new report about the future of the Sewerage and Water Board. BGR’s goal is to reach a broader audience of residents concerned about significant...
New Orleans residents concerned about the future of the Sewerage and Water Board, but whose primary language is Spanish or Vietnamese, can now access translated summaries of the Bureau of Governmental Research’s new report on this topic. BGR’s goal...
The New Orleans City Council on Thursday approved $32 million for a new affordable housing fund, nearly doubling the financing assistance available to developers planning large multifamily projects across the city. City officials say the additional subsidies are needed...
Becky Mowbray and Stephen Stuart join Tommy to talk about how the city is spending the money from the General Fund Reserve. Click here to listen to the interview.
The New Orleans City Council on Thursday (May 25) approved a city spending plan for more than $120 million — almost all of which comes from federal COVID pandemic relief funds. The money is going to a wide range...
There are wonders of the ancient world. There are wonders of the modern world. There are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are also Civil Engineering Historic Landmarks, a designation given by the American Society of Civil Engineers to recognize...
The New Orleans City Council is set to vote Thursday (May 25) on a plan to spend tens of millions in city surplus dollars on city vehicles, affordable housing and assorted other projects as well as the last $54...
Inevitably, impossibly, New Orleans lives with water. “With,” though, is a flexible term that, for more than 100 years, has been substantially informed by an engineering marvel: the city’s drainage system. Administered primarily by the Sewage and Water Board...
Joe Giarrusso joins Tommy to talk about the Sewerage and Water Board and the changes it’s going to see. Click here to listen to the interview. To access BGR’s report on the S&WB that they discuss in the interview,...
Click the video above to listen to the interview. To access BGR’s report, click here.
Rebecca Mowbray and Jamie Parker joins Newell to talk about (BGR) publishing a report earlier this week, called “Waterworks in Progress: Reassessing the Sewerage & Water Board’s Governance Problems and Potential Paths to Long-Term Improvement.’ Click here to listen...
Becky Mowbray and Stephen Stuart join Tommy to talk about the New Orleans S&WB and how their issues need changes. Click here to listen to the interview. To access BGR’s report, visit this page on our website.
NEW ORLEANS — On May 17, the Bureau of Governmental Research released a report that says the Sewerage & Water Board has got to change its ways. The entity’s current governance structure is preventing the S&WB from resolving the...
In a scathing new report, New Orleans watchdog group the Bureau of Governmental Research called for a complete overhaul of the governance structure of the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board. The report, released Wednesday (May 17), blames the...
NEW ORLEANS — The Bureau of Governmental Research, a nonpartisan independent research group, released a 52-page report outlining what they believe is coming between the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans and better service. But will the solutions...
The New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board is overseen by a board controlled by the mayor. Its funding is determined by the City Council, and it is regulated by the Louisiana Legislature’s laws. That serving of three masters is...
Click image to watch this report. Click here to access BGR’s report.
NEW ORLEANS — The Bureau of Governmental Research says the way that Sewerage and Water Board is governed is creating key problems for the city’s water, sewer and drainage systems. BGR’s latest report states that the S&WB’s current governance...
NEW ORLEANS — The Bureau of Governmental Research, a research nonprofit, released its findings on the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board, proposing a multitude of changes to the board’s governance and structure. BGR highlighted three key points in...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – The Sewerage and Water Board is hamstrung by bureaucratic inefficiencies and competing interests, and will continue struggling unless its “flawed” governance structure is reconfigured, a nonprofit analyst group said in a report issued Wednesday (May...
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases a new report that connects the flawed governance structure of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (S&WB) to key problems affecting the city’s water, sewer and drainage systems. Highlights...
Standing before a gymnasium full of angry residents at the Avondale Playground in October, Jefferson Parish Council member Byron Lee made a pledge. “If you need uniforms, call my office,” he said. “If you need playground equipment, call my...
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research: In an April 28 letter to the Jefferson Parish Council, BGR recommends ways in which the council can improve planning and public reporting for one-time spending made possible by the receipt of...
In an April 28 letter to the Jefferson Parish Council, BGR recommends ways in which the council can improve planning and public reporting for one-time spending made possible by the receipt of federal pandemic relief funds through the American Rescue Plan...
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans East is getting some much-needed funding for some big projects. Councilman Oliver Thomas announced on social media this weekend that extra cash from the American Rescue Plan Act will be heading to New Orleans...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – As residents complained about garbage left to rot on the streets for weeks, the company contracted to collect that trash in several neighborhoods was pleading with the city of New Orleans to fully pay the...
When the New Orleans City Council passed a massive, $262 million amendment to the 2023 budget in the waning hours before a Dec. 1 deadline, local activists were surprised. There’d been no formal notice that Mayor LaToya Cantrell and...
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research: On Dec. 13, BGR released a new report that shows how the City of New Orleans has used the first half ($194 million) of its federal relief funds to weather...
A new report from the local think tank the Bureau of Governmental Research analyzed how New Orleans has managed the $388 million in federal COVID relief funds it received through the America Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. The central...
The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) highlighted a new report on the City of New Orleans’ uses of its federal American Rescue Plan Act funds in a webinar on December 14 on Zoom. The federal government has provided state...
A new report from the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) takes a closer look at the impacts of the City of New Orleans’ federal pandemic relief funds on its finances and budget priorities. Managing the Windfall: Tracking the City of...
Over on Webster Street, Ellis Arjmand can’t drive to his house without going the wrong way down the one-way road thanks to a giant hole in the middle of the intersection at Webster and Perrier. He’s been watching the...
Today, Governor John Bel Edwards joined the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) for a Virtual Breakfast Briefing to discuss his key priorities for 2022 and the potential impacts of new federal funding for Louisiana. Click here or on the...
The City of New Orleans has received its first portion of federal pandemic relief funds through the American Rescue Plan. This historic federal investment will influence the City’s budget for the next few years. BGR recently discussed the need...
NEW ORLEANS – The City of New Orleans has received its first portion of federal pandemic relief funds through the American Rescue Plan. This historic federal investment will influence the City’s budget for the next few years. BGR recently...
NEW ORLEANS – The Bureau of Governmental Research has released guidance for government entities planning how to spend federal pandemic relief funds. The nonprofit watchdog said governments have “substantial flexibility” in spending the federal dollars, which creates a “rare...
The Bureau of Governmental Research today releases Handle with Care: Public Planning and Accountability Must Guide Spending of Federal Relief Funds. This BGR NOW offers guidance to government entities on harnessing the opportunities presented by unprecedented federal funding to...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) hosted a virtual Breakfast Briefing featuring Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng. She discussed “Leading Jefferson Parish Today and Tomorrow: Reflections on 2020, Managing the Pandemic, and Future Priorities.” Following her presentation,...
Today, BGR releases this BGR NOW supporting three policy changes up for consideration by the Orleans Parish School Board that would strengthen NOLA Public Schools’ financial accountability measures and support the district’s financial sustainability. The changes address financial oversight...
We find ourselves in the uncomfortable, but necessarily so, position of having to start this week’s Commentary with an apology. In late November, Gambit endorsed Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s millage proposals, most notably her controversial library millage plan. This was...
The voters in Orleans Parish spoke quite clearly Saturday when they rejected three millage proposals that Mayor LaToya Cantrell strongly pushed. I suspect the mayor isn’t hearing what they’re saying, at least not yet. There were plenty of complaints...
In Orleans Parish, multiple property tax measures were on the Dec. 5 ballot. New Orleans overwhelmingly rejected Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s near-term fiscal strategy Saturday when they voted down three property tax dedication changes as well as a French Quarter...
New Orleans voters roundly defeated all three of Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s tax proposals just days after she had warned that their failure could lead to the city implementing layoffs instead of the proposed furloughs that already figure to dramatically...
New Orleans voters on Saturday rejected a package of ballot propositions put forward by Mayor LaToya Cantrell that would have changed how the city spent roughly $23 million a year in property taxes. The plan would have cut roughly...
NEW ORLEANS — City leaders in New Orleans are calling on residents to approve three propositions on Saturday, which all deal with taxes set to expire at the end of next year. The first deals with funding infrastructure and...
ORLEANS PARISH, LA. — Orleans Parish voters will have to decide on three millage propositions at the polls. These propositions focus on infrastructure, housing and economic development, and early childhood education. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell says voters need...
NEW ORLEANS — Facing significant opposition to her proposed cut to public libraries and to separate tax increases for infrastructure and economic development, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Friday that if three propositions on Saturday’s ballot fail, she may have...
There are three parish-wide millage propositions on the ballot for Orleans Parish residents this weekend. One has to do with maintenance and infrastructure, another has to do with library funding and early childhood education. A third has to do...
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell threatened to lay off city employees unless voters extend three property taxes Saturday. If the millages are not renewed, she said during a virtual town hall meeting Thursday evening, City Hall would “immediately have...
In Orleans Parish, multiple property tax measures are on the Dec. 5 ballot. Proposition 1 funds infrastructure, including roadwork. A yes vote for Proposition 1 would replace two existing property taxes with a new special tax. The existing millage...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Mayor LaToya Cantrell says there is a lot riding on three millages this Saturday. Proposition One is a renewal of a infrastructure and maintenance fund tax. Proposition Two is a restructured library tax which would...
Dr. Gabriel Morley, the director of the New Orleans Public Library, said at a Wednesday morning press conference that he had seen no written plan for how the library would adjust to a 40 percent budget cut being proposed...
NEW ORLEANS— In addition to deciding the next district attorney, voters in Orleans Parish will decide issues that affect their wallets. There are three propositions the city is asking voters to renew. In an exclusive interview with WGNO News,...
The future of New Orleans’ publicly funded childcare program is now tied to a controversial tax proposal that slashes the library’s budget by 40 percent. Proposition 2 reduces the existing property tax dedicated to the city’s public library system,...
Newell talks to Research Director Stephen Stuart about what voters will see on their ballots in the Dec 5 election. The discussion focuses on the New Orleans property tax propositions on the ballot.
In recent weeks, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has ramped up her campaign to convince voters to approve a plan to reallocate millions of dollars in property taxes, which will appear as three separate ballot propositions on the Dec....
New Orleans voters will be asked to reconfigure five soon-to-expire taxes into four new ones on the Dec. 5 ballot, leaving the overall tax rate the same but altering how much funding various city services and functions receive. The...
Mayor LaToya Cantrell is asking New Orleans voters to approve three interrelated millages on Dec. 5 that wouldn’t increase residents’ total tax bills, but would reallocate the proceeds for 20 years. The first would increase a combined streets and...
The diverse group of parents, librarians and concerned citizens that make up the Save Our Libraries coalition got a boost this week when the Bureau of Governmental Research added their voice to those opposing Proposition 2 which is on...
NEW ORLEANS — Early voting begins Friday across Louisiana for the Dec. 5 election, which includes the runoff for Orleans Parish District Attorney, as well as several judicial runoffs and important tax issues across the metro New Orleans area....
NEW ORLEANS – In a new report, the Bureau of Governmental Research – a private, nonprofit government watchdog – analyzes three separate propositions to replace several property taxes that will expire at the end of 2021. BGR said the...
In a report released Monday, the Bureau of Governmental Research, a local nonpartisan think tank, came out against a package of proposed property tax changes backed by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. Cantrell’s tax plan is being put to...
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases On the Ballot: New Orleans Property Tax Propositions, December 5, 2020. The report is intended to help New Orleans voters make an informed decision on three separate propositions to replace several City...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) hosted a virtual Breakfast Briefing featuring New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. She discussed “Looking Ahead to 2021: New Orleans’ Budget, Infrastructure and Policy Priorities” and then answered questions from the audience. BGR...
Despite a local law requiring the city of New Orleans to post all of its contracts on its website, the city’s public facing contract database hasn’t worked since December 2019, when the local government was hit with a cyber...
Today, BGR released the inaugural edition of PolicyWatch, a periodic newsletter that draws on BGR’s body of independent, nonpartisan research to address current public policy issues. This edition focuses on the City of New Orleans’ finances as it faces a...
The coronavirus outbreak and the efforts to slow its spread are set to levy a massive toll on the New Orleans economy, with the hospitality sector already seeing a sharp downturn in business and officials warning about likely cuts...
BGR President and CEO Amy Glovinsky and Vice President & Research Director Stephen Stuart talked about the 2020 Excellence in Government Awards program and a variety of issues related to local government in a live interview with Oliver Thomas...
Deputy clerks at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court can breathe a sigh of relief — at least for now. Clerk of Court Arthur Morrell said Monday that he has shelved his plan to furlough nearly all of his office’s...
The City Council has made a request to cut tax rates for property owners, and an agreement is under consideration. The plan is to move some individual millages around to prioritize infrastructure and public safety dollars over areas of...
Citizens in New Orleans who plan to vote in Saturday’s election can inform their decisions with BGR’s report, On the Ballot: New Orleans Bond and Tax Propositions, November 16, 2019. The report examines three separate propositions that would authorize...
Since taking office in May 2018, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has searched far and wide for more money to fund the city’s pressing infrastructure needs, winning a big victory this spring when state officials and the tourism industry...
The topic of the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans is a contentious one. In the past two years, people have lost their homes and their vehicles due to the flooding of portions of the town. Yet, when...
As the New Orleans City Council reviews the proposed 2020 budget for the City of New Orleans, BGR presents here a collection of resources to help citizens understand the proposal in the context of recent City budget trends and...
November 16th, New Orleans residents will vote on three different propositions, all that would allow the city to use those dollars to improve local infrastructure. “This touches basic civics services, and if we want a better quality of life...
Today, BGR releases BGR Now: A Framework for Assessing New Orleans’ Proposed 2020 Budget, which outlines key findings of BGR’s recent City budget study and connects them to the current 2020 budget process to help inform citizens and policymakers....
In a report released Tuesday, the non-partisan Bureau for Governmental Research (BGR) has endorsed three ballot propositions that would collectively generate millions of dollars in both annual and one-time funding, most of which would be spent on infrastructure projects....
Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s top public works aides offered a roadmap Tuesday for the hundreds of millions of dollars they plan to spend on streets, drainage, parks and other infrastructure in coming years, even as they cautioned that much of...
In 2-1/2 weeks New Orleans voters will be asked to consider three new tax measures that city officials say, would generate more than $520 million a year for capital improvements and infrastructure needs. The Bureau of Governmental Research came...
The Bureau of Governmental Research is backing three ballot initiatives aimed at increasing city funding for infrastructure that Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration is putting before the voters on Nov. 16. Cantrell is asking voters to impose a new sales...
Today BGR releases On the Ballot: New Orleans Bond and Tax Propositions, November 16, 2019. The report analyzes three separate propositions that would authorize the City of New Orleans (City) to: Issue up to $500 million in bonds for...
Citizens in Orleans and Jefferson parishes who plan to vote in tomorrow’s election can inform their decisions with three BGR reports: On the Ballot: Housing Tax Exemptions in New Orleans, October 12, 2019 examines Constitutional Amendment No. 4, which...
Today, BGR releases A Look Back to Plan Ahead: Analyzing Past New Orleans Budgets to Guide Funding Priorities. The report reviews the City’s General Fund budgets from 2010 to 2019, focusing on growth in revenues and changes in expenditures. As...
The race to replace Ricky Templet in the Jefferson Parish Council’s District 1 seat is between two candidates who would be new to parish government, though only one could be considered a political outsider. Retired postal worker Sheldon Vincent...
Today BGR releases Questions for a New Parish Council, the second in a two-part report series providing the views of candidates for Jefferson Parish government on important public policy issues. Yesterday, BGR released the responses of the candidates for...
Today BGR releases Questions for a New Parish President, the first in a two-part series of reports providing the views of candidates for Jefferson Parish government on important public policy issues. Tomorrow, BGR will release the responses of the...
New Orleans will receive tens of millions of dollars to replace antiquated sewage pipes, fix faulty drainage pumps and mend pothole-filled roads, mostly by levying higher taxes on visitors, after the state Senate on Sunday gave final approval to...
NEW ORLEANS — The year was 1919. The rotary telephone hit the market, the Grand Canyon became a national park, prohibition was the law of the land and most of the pipes under New Orleans’ streets were brand new....
The Sewerage & Water Board has released a new interactive map that shows the location and age of underground water pipes across New Orleans. The map, published on the Sewerage & Water Board’s website, comes with a search function...
In his first detailed public remarks since city officials wrung millions of dollars for New Orleans infrastructure out of the state and the tourism industry, Sewerage & Water Board Executive Director Ghassan Korban on Tuesday laid out his initial plans...
Today, Ghassan Korban, executive director of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, presented at a BGR Breakfast Briefing on the state of the utility. BGR expresses its appreciation to Mr. Korban and to our attendees for their...
Three new directors have joined the 11-member panel tasked with overseeing the Sewerage & Water Board. The additions follow a recent law change that called for vacating nearly all board seats this year along with adding a New Orleans City Council member. The new...
Less than a month away from the start of the 2019 legislative session, Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s legislative agenda is being shaped by her push to divert millions of tax dollars from state-sponsored tourism and sports agencies to helping meet New...
Two groups — one created by the mayor and the governor, the other consisting of tourism and business leaders working behind the scenes — are zeroing in on sources of money that could help address the New Orleans Sewerage & Water...
With the Louisiana Legislature convening in exactly one month, the first proposals focused on raising more money for New Orleans road and Sewerage & Water Board repairs have begun to take shape. The chances for major success, though, appear slim at this point,...
This year agencies in New Orleans charged with overseeing the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, running the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and promoting tourism in the city will do so with the help of more than $160 million in tax dollars....
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has signaled she wants $75 million for city infrastructure repairs straight from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s reserve account, tapping money from hotel tax revenues that Gov. John Bel Edwards, key state lawmakers and tourism industry leaders have said should be...
Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Thursday gave the clearest outline yet of her vision for plugging budget holes at the cash-strapped Sewerage & Water Board, a plan that banks heavily on the city’s tourism and sports industries providing an upfront...
The New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board is in desperate need of money for critical infrastructure projects and should start charging a new stormwater fee to pay for longer-term upgrades to the city’s drainage system, a report from a...
Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser doesn’t think New Orleans hotel tax revenue should be redirected from state marketing, tourism and sports-related organizations to deal with the city’s drainage issues. His perspective, which he shared with the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday...
In her push to find money to improve New Orleans’ decrepit infrastructure, Mayor LaToya Cantrell is targeting a share of the $160 million in sales and hotel taxes that are collected each year to promote the tourism industry. The...
Since his first few weeks on the job as executive director of the Sewerage & Water Board, Ghassan Korban has sought to warm New Orleanians to the idea that the floundering agency needs more of their money. It’s apparently...
New Orleans Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer warned this week that she would not support any new fee levied on residents and businesses to raise money for the city’s drainage system unless it’s paid fairly by everyone in the city and nixes exemptions...
New Orleans voters have chosen to slightly reel back a change they made five years ago to the makeup of the Sewerage & Water Board. After removing three City Council members in 2013, a proposal approved Saturday (Dec. 8) with...
To change who oversees the Sewerage & Water Board or not to change it? That question is on the ballot for New Orleans voters to decide Saturday (Dec. 8). The matter depends on whether to add a New Orleans City Councilmember or designee back...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Drainage issues, boil water advisories and complaints about inflated water bills have thrust the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board into the headlines. On Saturday, voters will cast ballots on a proposed City Charter amendment...
New Orleans voters will decide Saturday whether to approve a City Charter change that would return City Council representation to the Sewerage & Water Board and strengthen rules surrounding reports the agency is supposed to make to elected officials....
The Sewerage and Water Board oversees most of the water and drainage in the city. It’s faced lots of problems in recent years, including the floods in the summer of 2017, which revealed that many of the pumps and...
NEW ORLEANS — Tensions were already running high in mid-August when the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board resumed shutting off water service to some customers who had not paid their bills. The Board indicated it had no choice...
In a Dec. 2 editorial titled, “No on adding a council representative to S&WB,” the Times-Picayune editorial board quotes a recent Bureau of Governmental Research report. The BGR says, “The council has recently taken steps to strengthen its regulatory oversight of the...
New Orleans City Council members had some surprising answers at a panel discussion hosted by the Bureau of Governmental Research last week when they were asked what they have been most surprised by in city government. “People lie,” first-year...
The Times-Picayune Editorial Board makes the following recommendation for the Dec. 8 election. SEWERAGE & WATER BOARD PROPOSITION To amend New Orleans’ Home Rule Charter to change the membership of the Sewerage & Water Board to remove one citizen member and add...
This Saturday, Dec. 8, is Election Day in Louisiana. The ballot includes a statewide runoff for Secretary of State and many local runoffs and referenda. In New Orleans, voters will decide the fate of a proposed City Charter amendment...
We hosted our first BGR Social at The Shop @ the CAC, where young professionals and New Orleans City Council members Williams, Giarrusso, Palmer, Nguyen, and Banks gathered for a public policy conversation. The event was sponsored by Corporate...
Early voting begins Saturday, Nov. 24 and runs through Dec. 1 for the Dec. 8 elections across Louisiana, including several runoffs. Early voting is available every day except Sunday, Nov. 25. Voting hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m....
A proposal voters will consider next month to restore a City Council representative to the Sewerage & Water Board’s governing board has rustled up a familiar opponent: the Bureau of Governmental Research. The nonpartisan watchdog group said adding any...
Gov. John Bel Edwards on Monday said definitively that he will not support a plan by Mayor LaToya Cantrell to move some of the city’s hotel tax to the Sewerage & Water Board’s drainage system, which agency leaders recently...
A charter amendment on the Dec. 8 ballot would make changes in the membership of the group that oversees the aging and ailing infrastructure of the Sewerage and Water Board. We urge voters to reject the proposal, although it...
New Orleans voters will decide next month whether to return a New Orleans City Council member to the Sewerage & Water Board’s 11-person board of directors. Ahead of that vote, the watchdog Bureau of Governmental Research issued a report Thursday (Nov. 14) reiterating its position...
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases a report to inform voters on a proposed City of New Orleans charter amendment to change the composition of the Sewerage & Water Board’s board of directors. On December 8, 2018,...
A plan by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell to ask state lawmakers to shift some hotel taxes from tourism to the ailing infrastructure of the Sewerage & Water Board was dealt a major, and likely fatal, blow on Tuesday...
Let New Orleans drown in water and red ink or stop giving special interests money to finance their real-life Monopoly game? It should be a no-brainer for Louisiana lawmakers. Earlier this month, Mayor LaToya Cantrell executed a campaign promise...
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell built her political career by being a disruptor, and she won election with 60 percent of the vote, so clearly that’s a quality her constituents wanted in their new leader. Her disruptive side was...
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is poised to meet with hotel and tourism industry leaders this week to broach potential tweaks to the existing occupancy tax dedication structure amid a funding shortfall for city drainage infrastructure improvements. Tens of millions of dollars flow to a handful of tourism,...
Louisiana state Senate President John Alario on Friday threw cold water on Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s tentative plan to try to shift tax revenue away from local tourism agencies to help pay for improving New Orleans’ antiquated drainage, water and sewerage systems....
Mayor LaToya Cantrell outlined tentative plans Thursday to shift some tax revenue away from various local tourism, sports and marketing agencies to improve New Orleans’ crippled drainage and water systems. Cantrell said she would ask state lawmakers, presumably during...
Mayor LaToya Cantrell says she held private conversations with Sewerage & Water Board members just to keep them informed after controversial pay raises for top officials became public. The conversations were “independent calls” that were “very intentional only to inform, but...
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Tuesday (Sept. 18) defended her decision to hold at least one private phone call with members of the Sewerage & Water Board’s board of directors about pay raises for top utility officials — a call that some local attorneys...
The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) won two awards from the Governmental Research Association (GRA) at its national conference July 30 to August 1 in Detroit. BGR received the Outstanding Policy Achievement award for the 2016 report Reducing the...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases From Answers to Action: Post-Election Policy Making. The report is the latest installment in BGR’s Candidate Q&A Election Series, which surveyed the mayoral and City Council candidates last fall about their positions on...
The start of hurricane season always raises our collective anxiety level a bit. South Louisianians have to be on guard between June 1 and Nov. 30 — it’s a fact of life this close to the Gulf of Mexico....
Awards Insurance Business America has released its Top Producers 2018 report and Beth Carter-Drury, CIC, Zachary Fanberg and Marcus Eagan of Eagan Insurance Agency, Inc. were recognized as one of the best producers in the industry. Louis Armstrong New...
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell held a news conference on Tuesday (May 22) to level with the public about the city’s flood risk and to outline how her administration is trying to “unclog” funding sources to mitigate risk. Cantrell said she...
NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) – Fixing the Sewerage and Water Board may be one of the toughest jobs in the city. Friday’s heavy rain and flooding was a reminder of the importance of effective pumps and drainage. Monday residents...
NOTE: Gov John Bel Edwards signed this bill on May 20. A bill that would return New Orleans City Council representation back to the Sewerage & Water Board breezed through the 2018 state legislative session and is on the desk of Gov. John Bel Edwards for his signature. Sponsored...
NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) – A bill in the State Legislature to place a member of the New Orleans City Council back on the troubled Sewerage and Water Board moves closer to final approval. But the Bureau of Governmental...
Adding a New Orleans City Council member back to the Sewerage & Water Board could “create a false sense of security” along with conflicts of interest for the struggling utility, according to a report released Monday (April 9) by the Bureau of Governmental Research....
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases City Council Members Should Regulate, Not Govern, S&WB. The release addresses a bill that would, among other things, allow a member of the New Orleans City Council to sit on the Sewerage &...
The Bureau of Governmental Research has come out against a proposal to restore representation from the New Orleans City Council on the Sewerage & Water Board. Instead, the nonpartisan think tank recommended in a lengthy statement released Monday that the...
On some days, you need nerves of steel to drive down Louisiana Avenue during rush hour. It’s one of several arteries torn up under a $2 billion effort to improve drainage in Orleans and Jefferson parishes under the Southeast...
The Sewerage & Water Board will open the new year facing both a federal audit of its post-Hurricane Katrina spending and a $56.6 million deficit in its funding for drainage projects. Though unrelated, the two new revelations show continuing...
There are several issues and races on the ballot throughout south Louisiana for today’s election, including a statewide contest to pick the next treasurer and a high-profile race for mayor in New Orleans. We urge everyone to go to...
New Orleans voters have agreed to create a safety net for the city’s finances, establishing a “rainy day” fund with a charter change that gained citywide approval Saturday (Nov. 18). The city will be required to set aside for emergencies...
In 7 1/2 years, together with the City Council and the people of New Orleans, we have righted the ship of government. Today, our financial house is stronger, going from a budget deficit to a budget surplus, and our...
NEW ORLEANS, LA (WVUE) – The unexpected July and August outraged many people in the city and revealed deficiencies in the drainage system. Come 2018, either Latoya Cantrell or Desiree Charbonnet will have a lot of say at the...
When Mayor Mitch Landrieu and a new City Council took office in May 2010, New Orleans was broke. The mayor and council took drastic measures to put the city’s fiscal house in order, and those tough choices have, for...
NEW ORLEANS — The city’s traffic cameras became a hot-button issue after their numbers nearly doubled over the past year. The big question for mayoral candidates during WWL-TV’s televised debate on Oct. 11 was if the revenue justified the...
Saturday is Election Day, and in virtually every race, candidates are attacking and counter-attacking with a vengeance. It’s ironic that so much information is available online these days, yet so many voters say they don’t know much about the...
WDSU-TV’s New Orleans mayoral debate on Tuesday (Oct. 3) was a careful, plodding affair with almost no friction between the candidates, and a list of boilerplate questions that did little to differentiate the candidates from one another. Anchorman Scott Walker, the...
Six leading New Orleans mayoral candidates vowed this week to keep the troubled Sewerage & Water Board under city management, but said they would appoint expert overseers or modernize the agency so that crises like this week’s 24-hour boil-water...
We’re now less than two weeks away from early voting in the New Orleans citywide elections, and so far no mayoral candidate has captured voters’ imagination or articulated a message that resonates. In fact, most voters’ reaction to the...
Everybody is looking for answers from the crowded field of candidates for the New Orleans mayoral race. The nonprofit watchdog Bureau for Governmental Research took its crack at it, calling on each of the 18 candidates to answer questions...
In the midst of new concerns about the reliability of the Sewerage & Water Board’s drainage system and longstanding complaints about broken streets and other infrastructure, City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell is proposing to direct $84 million a year toward...
Mayor Mitch Landrieu is in the early stages of a plan to put a stormwater management fee proposal before the New Orleans City Council to help pay for improvements to the city’s troubled drainage system. Similar fees are in place in 39...
An emergency management team led by former Louisiana Recovery Authority director Paul Rainwater took over the Sewerage & Water Board last week. In addition to Mr. Rainwater, who helped get the state’s post-Katrina recovery on track, the team includes experts in...
As state Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, has watched the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board endure withering accusations of being asleep at the switch as the city’s drainage system crumbled, his frustration has grown. At the center of the storm are revelations...
Kevin Dolliole, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport’s new Director of Aviation, spoke at a BGR Breakfast Briefing sponsored by IBERIABANK. Mr. Dolliole discussed the continued growth of the Louis Armstrong International Airportin terms of passengers and flights. He...
The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) won two awards from the Governmental Research Association (GRA) at its national conference July 16-18, 2017, in Salt Lake City. BGR won the Outstanding Policy Achievement award for the 2013 report Sound the...
Though he’s only a few weeks into the job, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport’s new boss is working in familiar territory. “I’m a native New Orleanian,” Aviation Director Kevin Dolliole told a packed room Thursday at a breakfast briefing hosted...
New Orleans’ ambitious plan to pour billions of dollars into fixing its crumbling streets is already behind schedule before it has really gotten started. The city had expected to accept bids by the end of July on the first 30...
A new report from the Bureau of Government Research says New Orleans isn’t using ANY traffic camera money to fix the streets. Our guest, Amy Glovinsky, President of the Bureau of Governmental Research says, “on the issue of traffic...
This week on All Things New Orleans, we chat with Stand with Dignity’s lead organizer, Toya Lewis, about a series of song story workshops. Then, we’ll discuss a report on street maintenance and how to pay for it with...
NEW ORLEANS — According to a new report, the City of New Orleans is only spending $3.8 million on street maintenance and none of that is coming from traffic camera fines. Ask any New Orleans driver, our city streets...
NEW ORLEANS – BGR released “Paying for Streets: Options for Funding Road Maintenance in New Orleans,” yesterday, Tuesday, May 9. With the city embarking on a $2 billion program for capital repairs to its street network, the report explores...
The city of New Orleans only spends an average of $3.8 million annually on street maintenance tasks like pothole repairs — a fraction of the $30 million to $35 million officials say they need to cover the costs of maintaining...
New Orleans property owners are venting their frustration after finding a second property tax bill for 2017 in their mailboxes this week. The reason: Voters on Dec. 10 approved a new property tax millage for fire protection and renewed a tax...
This week on All Things New Orleans, we spoke with representatives of the Global Livingston Institute about their annual iKnow Concert Series in Uganda. Dr. Andrew Ward and Tom Larson, Chairman and Musical Director, both urge New Orleans artists...
The New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board should consider levying usage fees to pay for the upkeep of its drainage system rather than relying on the property taxes that now fund the system, according to a new report from...
Tuesday (Jan. 31) was the deadline for New Orleans property owners to pay their 2017 taxes, but they can expect another bill in the coming months. The reason: Voters on Dec. 10 approved a new property tax millage for...
BGR won two awards from the Governmental Research Association (GRA) at its national conference in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Tuesday, July 26, 2016. BGR won the award for Outstanding Policy Achievement for the report The Accidental Steward: The Orleans Parish School...
