BGR and HousingNOLA Clash Over New Orleans Housing Trust Fund Management

By Veronika Lee Claghorn

Source: Biz New Orleans

December 18, 2024

NEW ORLEANS (Dec. 18, 2024) — Yesterday, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) sent a five-page letter to Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the City Council, offering a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of the newly approved Housing Trust Fund. This fund, which was considered to be a major victory for affordable housing advocates, is set to allocate at least 2% of the city’s general fund—roughly $17 million annually—beginning in 2026. Voters approved the fund’s creation in November, responding to a growing housing crisis in the city.

In its letter, BGR highlighted several areas where the city’s current approach to managing the Housing Trust Fund could be strengthened. The research organization stressed the need for clear eligibility criteria for fund applicants, as well as more detailed performance metrics in annual and quarterly reports on the fund’s investments. BGR also emphasized the importance of regular independent evaluations to assess the effectiveness of trust fund programs and ensure that public dollars are being used transparently and efficiently.

Further, BGR advocates for enhanced accountability for the agencies overseeing the fund. Their letter calls for clear auditing measures for FNO and NORA, as well as greater coordination among the various city housing agencies to avoid duplication of efforts and maximize the fund’s impact. The organization also suggests that the City Council revise the Housing Trust Fund ordinance to ensure there is a robust mechanism for public and advisory committee involvement in the decision-making process.

Rebecca Mowbray, BGR’s President and CEO, expressed the organization’s concern that while the City has taken steps toward creating a framework for the fund, these additional measures are essential to ensure the fund meets the needs of New Orleans’ most vulnerable residents.

In response to BGR’s letter, HousingNOLA, a key advocate for affordable housing in New Orleans, issued its own statement. The group criticized BGR for what it sees as a biased and premature opposition to the Housing Trust Fund. According to HousingNOLA, BGR’s recommendations are redundant, as they largely restate existing elements of the proposal that have already been accounted for in the city’s plan. HousingNOLA argues that BGR’s critique reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the Housing Trust Fund’s goals and the intentions of the voters who overwhelmingly supported it in November.

The letter from Executive Director Andreanecia Morris is below:

In a bizarre show today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) released a set of “recommendations” regarding the implementation of the Housing Trust Fund that only serve to demonstrate how unmoored their condemnation was for the Housing Trust Fund. Had BGR done an honest assessment of the Trust Fund proposal, they would have known that everything in today’s “recommendations” was already included, envisioned or exists in the current housing eco-system. That knowledge could have led to them support it.

Instead, BGR allowed their biases around affordable housing to, once again, trigger negative, knee jerk opposition without a full review of the facts. That’s the only conclusion one can come to when you read their obvious attempt to restate the goals of the Trust Fund and misrepresent the will of the people as their idea of how good government should work. It’s disconcerting to see a non-partisan organization attempt to question the will of the voters in this way, given the fact that BGR also ignored the needs of those same voters when they offered their obviously biased opinion.

On election day, the people very clearly spoke about what needed to change, how they’re prepared to hold their leaders responsible and how they expect their leaders to respond given the crisis. We hope BGR can join us in supporting leaders’ efforts to meet those expectations instead of providing ammunition to those who would stand against the city’s progress.

We invite BGR to rejoin HousingNOLA in its ongoing efforts to ensure that “housing for all” is not just a slogan but reality in New Orleans.

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