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 & Water Board. BGR opposes the change in board composition for the S&WB and urges instead that policymakers immediately focus on improving City Council oversight and regulation of the S&WB within the existing structure. In the longer term, stronger council oversight and regulation may not be sufficient to address the multitude of organizational and technical problems plaguing the S&WB. However, it is a better interim approach than changing the board’s composition until policymakers can determine the best long-term solutions to the S&WB’s problems.
Read the release here.