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 research and the elected officials’ responses presented in the report. For convenience, issue-specific excerpts of the report are presented below. Where the officials express positions that clearly affirm or align with BGR’s recommendations, we strongly urge them to identify – and take action on – the steps necessary to achieve those goals.
Read the full report:
From Answers to Action: Post-Election Policy Making
Read report excerpts on these issues:
Employee Compensation and Pensions
Professional Services Contracting
Tax Exemptions and the Tax Base
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 This On the Ballot report studies the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s proposed property tax increase that New Orleans voters will decide on April 29, 2023.
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 On the Ballot report, BGR analyzes a new 7-mill, 10-year property tax for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office on the April 30, 2022 ballot.
OVERVIEW This report is intended to help New Orleans voters make an informed decision on whether to approve a new 5-mill, 20-year property tax dedicated to programs and capital investments that provide childcare and educational opportunities for children who have not yet entered kindergarten.
OVERVIEW On the Ballot: New Orleans Library and Housing Taxes, December 11, 2021 provides New Orleans voters with independent analysis of the library and housing property tax propositions on the December 11 ballot citywide. Both taxes would take effect in 2022 and run for 20 years. Each would replace an existing property tax that expires […]
OVERVIEW In August, the New Orleans City Council excluded hotel room rentals from a new sales tax for enhanced public safety in the French Quarter despite questions about whether the exclusion is permissible under state law. While BGR has not taken a position on the legal issues, this BGR NOW report identifies several compelling policy […]
OVERVIEW BGR’s report, A Retreat on Pension Reform: City of New Orleans Reverses Steps to Rein in Sharply Rising Pension Costs by Increasing Benefits, analyzes the City’s little-publicized decision last fall to reverse pension benefit reductions intended to address a steady weakening of the pension system’s finances and a steep rise in the public’s costs.
OVERVIEW BGR’s report, On the Ballot: French Quarter Sales Tax, April 24, 2021, is intended to help French Quarter voters make an informed decision on a proposition for a 0.245% sales tax to pay for supplemental police patrols and other public safety services. The tax would take effect July 1 and remain in place for […]
OVERVIEW On the Ballot: French Quarter Sales Tax Renewal, December 5, 2020 is intended to help French Quarter voters make an informed decision on a proposition to renew a 0.2495% sales tax to pay for supplemental public safety services. The proposition would extend the tax – set to expire at the end of 2020 – for […]
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 With the public getting its first look at this year’s property tax assessment rolls beginning July 15, 2020, this edition of PolicyWatch re-urges BGR’s recommendations on property valuation practices in New Orleans. It also revisits an unusual funding formula that generates large surpluses for the Orleans Parish Assessor’s office at the expense of other […]
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 Conventional Wisdom: Pausing the Convention Hotel Deal to Assess the Pandemic’s Impact and Reduce Public Costs calls for reassessing the hotel project’s feasibility and reducing the cost of the public’s contributions.
OVERVIEW Assessing the Assessor: Progress on Property Assessment Reform in New Orleans evaluates whether and to what extent New Orleans’ property assessment system has improved under the single parish assessor since he replaced the seven-assessor system in 2011.
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 On the Ballot: Housing Tax Exemptions in New Orleans, October 12, 2019 reviews Constitutional Amendment No. 4, which would allow the City of New Orleans to exempt from taxation properties with up to 15 residential units located within Orleans Parish to promote affordable housing. This report is the latest in BGR’s On the Ballot series, […]
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 The $1 Billion Question Revisited: Updating BGR’s 2015 Analysis of Orleans Parish Tax Revenues breaks down 2019 projected local tax revenue by recipient and by purpose to help assess current funding priorities and identify options to redirect tax revenues to needs.
Overview The report analyzes a May 4, 2019 tax proposition in New Orleans to replace three existing taxes for parks and recreation totaling 6.31 mills with a single tax at the same rate. Voter approval would not result in a tax increase. The three existing taxes fund the Audubon Zoo (0.32 mills), the Audubon Aquarium […]
Overview On March 30, 2019, New Orleans voters will decide whether to approve a new property tax for elderly services, programs and other assistance. If approved, the tax will be levied citywide at a rate of 2 mills for five years, beginning in 2020. The tax would generate $6.6 million in the first year. BGR’s […]
Overview In this report, BGR compares Orleans Parish hotel taxes to best practices for taxation as well as state and national norms, focusing primarily on the share of revenue available for general municipal purposes.
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 Today BGR releases three reports on Jefferson Parish tax renewals for drainage works, juvenile services, and animal shelter and health services that voters will consider on November 6, 2018. If approved, each tax would be renewed for 10 years, from 2021 to 2030. On the Ballot: Jefferson Drainage Property Tax Renewal Voters in Jefferson […]
OVERVIEW This On the Ballot report reviews a constitutional amendment on the November 6, 2018 ballot that would allow eligible homeowners to phase in an increase in property taxes resulting from a reappraisal. The four-year phase-in process would apply only to residential properties subject to the homestead exemption that increase in assessed value by more […]
Overview Today, BGR releases an open letter to the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The letter sets forth BGR’s concerns about a Convention Center consultant’s recent analysis of the feasibility and economic impact of a proposed 1,200-room convention hotel. The letter seeks to reconcile the consultant’s findings with the analysis in BGR’s July 19 […]
OVERVIEW In this report, BGR provides an analytical framework for evaluating the necessity and size of a private development team’s requested public contributions to design, build and operate a 1,200-room hotel attached to the New Orleans Ernest N Morial Convention Center. BGR estimates the proposed contributions – some of which would remain in place for 40 […]
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 analyzes the proposed 10-year renewals of three existing property taxes for New Orleans public schools that voters will decide on October 14, 2017.
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 Reducing the Cost of Tomorrow: A Practical Guide to Pension Reform in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany Parishes explores the changes to public pension benefits policymakers can make to reduce the costs and risks associated with the pension plans. The report is the fourth installment in a series of BGR pension reports.
Overview BGR analyzes a November 8, 2016 proposition that would amend New Orleans’ charter to allow for the permanent separation of the Independent Police Monitor from the Office of Inspector General.
Overview In Convention Center Bill Highlights Need to Rethink Local Taxation, BGR addresses a bill that would grant taxing authority to the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s economic development district. The release calls for a comprehensive re-evaluation of Orleans Parish taxes, with an eye toward aligning tax revenues with the city’s most pressing needs.
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 In The $1 Billion Question: Do the Tax Dedications in New Orleans Make Sense? BGR presents a comprehensive picture of where local tax dollars are going in Orleans Parish. The report provides breakdowns of tax dedications by entity and by purpose, and gives examples of problems that can arise when tax dedications are established […]
Overview BGR analyzes two property tax propositions meant to sustain west bank flood protection systems and three proposed St. Tammany charter amendments before voters on November 21, 2015. The tax propositions include a new tax for the West Jefferson Levee District and a tax renewal for the Algiers Levee District in New Orleans. Both levee […]
Overview In It’s the Law: Land Use Decision Making and the Master Plan, BGR provides clarity to recent public planning dialogue in New Orleans over the extent to which the Master Plan has the force of law.
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 analyzes proposed property taxes for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Law Enforcement District, the New Orleans Public Library system and the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District in St. Bernard Parish. Voters in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish will decide the propositions on May 2, 2015. The Lake Borgne Basin Levee District is governed […]
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 In A Trojan Horse in the Draft CZO: Article 5 Puts Years of Planning at Risk, BGR describes the article on New Orleans’ Planned Development Standards in the draft comprehensive zoning ordinance and the problems it poses.
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 […]
Overview In this letter to the New Orleans City Planning Commission, BGR focuses on Article 5 of the draft comprehensive zoning ordinance, which would allow a wide array of exceptions to the zoning rules under vague circumstances in various neighborhoods across the city. BGR argues that, as written, Article 5 creates an Achilles’ heel in […]
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 examines a 2013 legislative proposal to authorize a hotel assessment in New Orleans. For hotel guests, the assessment would be the functional equivalent of a new hotel tax.
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 Sound the Alarm, BGR examines the New Orleans Fire Fighters’ Pension and Relief Fund – which has become a major financial burden for the public – and relevant bills under consideration by the Legislature in 2013.
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 The Rising Cost of Yesterday: Metro Area Pension Costs and the Factors that Drive Them, BGR examines 18 defined benefit pension plans available to local government workers in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes (the Plans). The report tallies the costs the Plans impose on local government entities in the three parishes, and […]
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 In On the Ballot: November 6, 2012, BGR examines three proposed constitutional amendments, two propositions pertaining to multiple parishes in the New Orleans area, a proposed change to the City of New Orleans charter and two local tax propositions. The three constitutional amendments would strengthen gun rights, provide an additional homestead exemption to spouses […]
In a letter to the New Orleans City Planning Commission, BGR examines its draft Neighborhood Participation Program for Land Use Actions. The letter calls for changes to enhance the integrity of the process.
Overview Understanding Pensions: A Primer on Public Employee Pension Plans is the first in a series of reports on the public pension plans in which local governments in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes participate.
Overview This edition of Now looks at the issue of public pension costs. In the coming months, BGR will release reports digging deeper into public pension costs, with a particular focus on the retirement systems in the New Orleans area. We will examine public pension plans in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes, compare the […]
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 this letter to the New Orleans City Planning Commission, BGR suggests ways to make New Orleans’ draft comprehensive zoning ordinance easier for the public to use and understand. BGR enclosed with the letter a copy of a map showing how zoning changes might be better illustrated. CZO Map_showing_changes_-_example
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 BGR examines charter amendments, tax propositions and state constitutional amendments on the October and November 2011 ballots. The October 22 ballot includes a Jefferson Parish charter amendment to establish the Office of Inspector General and an Ethics and Compliance Commission, as well as a related property tax to fund both entities. It also includes […]
Overview In Moonlighting: An Overview of Policies Governing Paid Police Details, BGR examines the New Orleans Police Department’s existing and proposed police detail policies and procedures, and evaluates their adequacy in light of best practices.
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 the Ballot: Jefferson Parish, April 30, 2011 examines four proposed tax renewals. One is a sales tax renewal for the Jefferson Parish Public School System. The other three are property tax renewals that support Jefferson Parish drainage, juvenile services, and a combination of the Parish’s animal shelters and public health facilities and the […]
Overview The Bureau of Governmental Research made presentations before the New Orleans Tax Fairness Commission on February 3, 2011 and February 23, 2011. The first presentation, Taxation in New Orleans, examines the City’s tax picture, with particular emphasis on property taxes. It provides an overview of the tax structure and discusses issues related to exemptions […]
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.
Overview In Rolling Forward: The Complete Picture, BGR provides a composite picture of citywide property tax rates in New Orleans, the capacity of various taxing entities to increase those rates, and the potential cost to property owners. The report also explains the “roll forward” process following a property assessment.
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 In Forgotten Promises: The Lost Connection Between the Homestead Exemption and the Revenue Sharing Fund, BGR examines the decline of the State of Louisiana’s funding mechanism for compensating local taxing bodies for the costs of the homestead exemption. The report provides date on compensation for New Orleans, Jefferson Parish and St. Tammany Parish.
Overview In A Need for Clarity: The Revised New Orleans 2030 Draft Plan, BGR continues its work to improve the draft master plan. While the report recognizes limited improvements from the previous draft, it finds that the revised draft does not live up to its mission in key areas. The report provides specific recommendations for […]
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 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 property tax assessment system in Orleans Parish.
Overview In this report, BGR examines the draft master plan’s proposal for citizen participation, a key element of the planning process in New Orleans.
Overview 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. It provides key insights on this fundamental planning document for the city.
Overview In this release, BGR calls on the New Orleans 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.
Overview 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 in eastern New Orleans to use public funds to clear up debts on the site and redevelop it.
Overview This BGR release deals with proposed legislation that would require a referendum for approval of the city’s Master Plan. It focuses on three bills, all introduced by New Orleans legislators, that attempt to undermine a charter change approved by New Orleanians seven months ago that clarified and strengthened the planning process in New Orleans.
Overview On February 3, 2009, BGR sent a letter to Councilman Arnold Fielkow, Chairman of the New Orleans 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 […]
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 In On the Ballot: New Orleans, October 2008, BGR provides analysis and takes positions on two ballot propositions: one to issue bonds through the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement District for Orleans Parish criminal justice facilities and another to protect the newly created Office of Inspector General in New Orleans.
Overview Look Before You Leap: Tax Increment Financing in Jefferson Parish provides an overview of tax increment financing (TIF) and describes four TIF districts proposed in Jefferson Parish. It also reviews the perceived benefits of TIF, as well as the pitfalls and potential abuses of the mechanism. It concludes with recommendations to the Jefferson Parish […]
Overview On the Ballot: Orleans Parish School Tax Renewals provides an overview of four New Orleans school property tax millages up for voter renewal on July 19, 2008. The taxes support basic operations and maintenance, among other needs.
Overview 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 […]
Overview The Bureau of Governmental Research analyzes four proposed amendments to the State constitution and one proposed amendment to the St. Tammany Parish home rule charter. The report covers amendments that will go before voters on October 20, 2007. Two of the proposed constitutional amendments deal with State supplemental pay for local public safety employees. The […]
Overview 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.
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 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 New Orleans City Planning Commission for further revisions.
Overview In Seeking Subsidies on Top of Subsidies, BGR raises concerns about requests for local property tax subsidies through the Industrial Development Board of New Orleans to housing developments that have already received subsidies through state and federal programs intended to support recovery following Hurricane Katrina. These include some redevelopments of public housing sites of […]
Overview BGR analyzes three tax propositions to go before voters in Jefferson Parish on March 31, 2007. The propositions would renew property taxes levied parishwide or in large portions of the parish that provide funding for the public schools, recreation and drainage.
Overview 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 to the Industrial Development Board of New Orleans are increasing.
Overview BGR provides an analysis of the nearly 600-page draft Citywide Plan, the centerpiece of the Unified New Orleans Plan. The report is part of BGR’s monitoring of New Orleans’ recovery planning process following Hurricane Katrina.
Overview This On the Ballot report analyzes proposed constitutional amendments of particular significance to the New Orleans region. This issue covers amendments before voters on November 7, 2006. This report focuses on five amendments that address issues relevant to the New Orleans area. These amendments deal with property taxes, the juvenile court system, and assessors. […]
Overview 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.
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 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 offers detailed suggestions for enhancing citizen participation on the Bring New Orleans Back Commission’s planning process. This report is the first installment of a web-based series of reports that BGR began publishing following the 2005 disaster. BGR also issued a letter to the commission.
Overview The New Orleans Saints, the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, 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 […]
Overview On the Right Track? New Orleans Economic Development in Perspective provides an overview of economic development expenditures in New Orleans to give citizens and government with a better understanding of their investment. The report takes a comprehensive look at the actors in New Orleans economic development in 2004, including: the City of New Orleans […]
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 Quality of life problems, traffic congestion, chaotic growth patterns, and environmental degradation are plaguing St. Tammany. Slip-Sliding Away? serves as a no-nonsense planning guidebook for a greener, cleaner, more people-friendly parish.
Overview Runaway Discretion: Land Use Decision Making in New Orleans 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 planning, placing neighborhoods and citizens at the center of reform.
Overview BGR studies the use of tax increment financing (TIF) in general for economic development and in New Orleans in particular, and makes recommendations.
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 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. The district has since been renamed the New Orleans Regional Business Park.
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 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 report presents BGR’s analysis of the Downtown Development District’s tax and bond proposal on the ballot for April 7, 2001 in New Orleans.
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 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 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 BGR examines four dedicated property tax millages on the ballot for renewal in Jefferson Parish. Voters will decide the proposed renewals on March 27, 1999. All four of the propositions provide for the continuation of basic services such as public transit, recreation and fire protection at existing authorized millage levels.
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 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 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 short analysis of the proposal to levy a one-mill ad valorem property tax in New Orleans to fund the offices of the Orleans Parish Assessors.
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 provides an analysis and recommendations on consolidation of the six major police forces operating in New Orleans. It recommends measures short of full-scale consolidation of all forces.
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...
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...
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson’s proposal to double her office’s property tax millage didn’t just go down to defeat on April 29. Voters opposed her proposition by the largest margin in memory — 91% voted against it. That’s more...
New Orleanians of every stripe can all agree on maybe just a few things. Crawfish are good. Potholes are bad. The refs have it in for the Saints. Saturday’s election results may add another item to the list. More...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Voters in Orleans and St. Tammany parishes overwhelmingly rejected property tax hikes Saturday (April 29) that had been championed by Sheriff Susan Hutson and Coroner Dr. Charles Preston, respectively. A measure to nearly double the...
New Orleans on Saturday delivered a nearly unanimous rejection of a proposal from Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson to nearly double a tax her office collects, the latest in a series of setbacks for Hutson that comes almost a...
Voters are going to the polls across Southeast Louisiana today consider tax issues and a handful of races. Elections got underway this morning in Orleans, St. Tammany, Plaquemines, and St. John the Baptist parishes. New Orleans voters are deciding...
New Orleans voters will decide the fate Saturday of a tax proposition that would nearly double the tax collected by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office. The tax call in New Orleans highlights an otherwise slim ballot across the metro...
Tomorrow is the first Saturday of Jazz Fest. It’s also Election Day in New Orleans — but we doubt very many voters will queue up to cast a ballot. That’s too bad, because Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson is...
PW Law Enforcement District5.5 Mills In-Lieu – Sheriff – 10 Yrs.Shall the Law Enforcement District of the Parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana (the “District”), levy a tax of 5.5 mills on all property subject to taxation in the...
On April 21, 2023, BGR President and CEO Rebecca Mowbray and Research Analyst Paul Rioux discussed BGR’s report, On the Ballot: Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office Tax, April 29, 2023, with Dr. Torin Sanders on The Good Morning Show on...
The International Association of Chiefs of Police has been conducting meetings across New Orleans this week to receive public comment on what citizens want to see in their next police Chief. NOLA Messenger queried more than a dozen residents...
NEW ORLEANS — On April 29, property owners in Orleans Parish will have to decide on a millage that would increase property taxes to better staffing and conditions at the Orleans Parish jail. If approved, the millage would increase...
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— May 2 will mark one year since Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson took office and Thursday, she reflected on her first year. “In the first week, we had an officer-involved shooting. We had a fake escape,...
Newell speaks with Rebecca Mowbray and Paul Rioux of BGR about Sheriff Susan Hutson’s push for higher property taxes to increase her agency’s budget being too vague. Click this WWL Radio link to listen to the segment. Click here...
Independent watchdog group Bureau of Governmental Research says they are against the millage to increase property taxes to fund jail.
NEW ORLEANS — The Bureau of Governmental Research has issued a report that does not support the recent proposed tax increase from the Orleans Parish Sheriff. Voters will decide whether or not to nearly double a $2.8 million tax...
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research: On April 19, BGR released a report intended to help Orleans Parish voters make an informed decision on whether to nearly double a 2.8-mill tax for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office by...
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson’s proposal to nearly double a tax her office collects is premature, skirts the practices of other large parishes and remains short on details just 10 days ahead of the April 29 referendum, an independent...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Sheriff Susan Hutson’s push for higher property taxes to increase her agency’s budget should be rejected by voters because her plans for spending the windfall are too vague, a non-partisan New Orleans policy research group...
ORLEANS PARISH, La. (WGNO) — “What is the timeline for all these investments? Why are they priorities? Which ones are the biggest priorities on here? I don’t really know,” questioned Becky Mowbray. She’s the president and CEO of the...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases a new report, On the Ballot: Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office Tax, April 29, 2023. The report is intended to help Orleans Parish voters make an informed decision on whether to nearly...
Just a few months after the New Orleans City Council rejected Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson’s request for a $13 million budget hike, Hutson is again seeking millions in new funding. This time, the proposal has flown below the...
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...
The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s management is making a renewed push for a riverfront hotel, arguing that a strong rebound in the hospitality sector this year helps underpin the project’s prospects for success. The center on Monday made...
After more than a year of negotiations, the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Board has a development agreement for River District Neighborhood Investors LLC to move forward on a $1 billion mixed-use development and entertainment district...
A headquarter hotel for the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, planned prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and shelved as a shutdown of the city began, will be revived for discussion at a Sept. 21 board meeting, according...
Awards The Bureau of Governmental Research has received two research awards from the Governmental Research Association. BGR received a Certificate of Merit for Distinguished Research on a Local Government Issue for its method of analyzing local tax propositions in its “On...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) hosted a Breakfast Briefing in Jefferson Parish about “Preparing Jefferson for Future Storms: What Hurricane Ida Taught Us About Response, Recovery and Resiliency.” This event, which was held at Copeland Tower Living...
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research: BGR received two research awards from the Governmental Research Association at a national conference held last month in Philadelphia. In addition, BGR recently welcomed Melanie Bronfin as a new member of its...
The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) recently received two research awards from the Governmental Research Association (GRA) at its national conference held last month in Philadelphia. In addition, BGR recently welcomed Ms. Melanie Bronfin as a new member of...
Recruiting and keeping police officers remains a huge challenge for area law enforcement agencies, and will continue to be a problem until the perception of the job changes, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto and New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun...
As residents throughout the New Orleans area have expressed concern about crime, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) presented a special Breakfast Briefing Series on Public Safety to help residents come together and explore effective steps to make New...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) presented its first in-person Breakfast Briefing in more than two years. The event, made free to the public by First Horizon Bank and held in downtown New Orleans, featured New Orleans Superintendent...
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...
Voters in New Orleans on Saturday approved a property tax measure aimed at creating 1,000 or more early childhood seats for low-income children. Support for the 20-year, 5-mill tax ran at 61% to 39% with all 351 precincts reporting,...
Jefferson Parish residents voted Saturday to approve a 7-mill property tax increase that will generate an additional $28 million for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Joe Lopinto had pitched the tax increase as a way to bring in...
New Orleans voters will see just one item on Saturday’s ballot: a millage proposal to fund early childhood education. We break down what you need to know before you head to the polls. Dates, times and locations to knowElection...
Rebecca Mowbray and Paul Rioux of the Bureau of Government Research joined Newell to discuss why the JPSO tax proposition is something voters should support. Click here to listen: https://www.audacy.com/wwl/podcasts/newell-normand-20323/researchers-back-jpso-tax-proposition-1384034328 Click here for BGR’s report on the Jefferson Parish...
On the ballot for the April 30 election is a tax proposal from Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. “We were very eager to look at the proposal from the JPSO because Jefferson is the most populous parish in our region,”...
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research: BGR has released a new report titled “On the Ballot: Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Tax, April 30, 2022.” The report is intended to help Jefferson Parish voters make an informed...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) presented the second session of its special Breakfast Briefing series on public safety. This event, “Beyond Law Enforcement: Exploring Community-Based Strategies to Make New Orleans Safer,” featured local and national experts discussing...
NEW ORLEANS — On Friday, April 22, the Bureau of Governmental Research will host a virtual “breakfast briefing” on the topic of public safety. Scheduled from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., the event titled “Beyond Law Enforcement: Exploring Community-Based...
When Jefferson Parish voters head to the ballot box on Saturday, April 30, they’ll decide on a potential millage increase put forward by Sheriff Joseph Lopinto to fund the hiring of nearly 250 positions and pay raises for sheriff’s...
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto’s proposed 7-mill property tax to fund employee raises has picked up the backing of the Bureau of Governmental Research, which agreed with Lopinto’s assertion that increasing salaries is needed to help the agency keep...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases a new report, On the Ballot: Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Tax, April 30, 2022. The report is intended to help Jefferson Parish voters make an informed decision on whether to approve...
New Orleans voters are being asked this month to approve a property tax to create 1,000 or more early childhood seats for low-income children under age 4. Supporters cast the April 30 ballot proposition as a transformational plan to...
Voters in three area parishes are being asked to enact new taxes on April 30; early voting begins Saturday. We understand that it might seem odd to ask voters to raise taxes in 2022, when governments are bulging with...
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research: BGR has released a new report intended to help New Orleans voters make an informed decision on whether to approve a new 5-mill, 20-year property tax dedicated to programs and capital investments...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases a new report, On the Ballot: Early Childhood Education Property Tax, New Orleans, April 30, 2022. The report is intended to help New Orleans voters make an informed decision on whether...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research kicked off its special Breakfast Briefing Series on Public Safety. Session 1 of the series, “Lessons from the Data: Current Public Safety Trends and Factors that Influence Them,” featured Jeff Asher, co-founder of...
A preliminary agreement between the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and the master developer selected to transform 39 acres upriver from the facility into a mixed-use neighborhood could be finalized in the next few months. Michael Sawaya, president of...
CINCINNATI — It would be difficult to prove the Cincinnati Bengals’ Super Bowl run had a positive impact on the local economy. But Chris Rose has receipts to prove its impact at Sinners & Saints Tavern on Riverside Drive....
A local property tax dedicated to affordable housing and blight reduction is set to expire at the end of the year, after a majority of New Orleans voters rejected a ballot proposition to renew it earlier this month. The...
When Marlin Gusman was elected to the New Orleans City Council more than two decades ago, Oliver Thomas was already there. Their paths would diverge, with Gusman moving up to run the city’s jail for 17 years as sheriff...
New Orleans voters approved a ballot measure to fund the Public Library system on Saturday, but a second tax proposition — to pay for an affordable housing and blight elimination fund — was narrowly defeated. Property owners have already...
New Orleans voters on Saturday narrowly rejected the renewal of a 0.91-mill property tax housing programs that had been in effect since 1991. The “no” vote prevailed with less than 51%, and the 940-vote difference amounted to 1.7% of...
New Orleans voters will head to the polls on Saturday with four City Council seats at stake along with a hotly contested race for Orleans Parish sheriff. Live election results: New Orleans sheriff, St. Tammany casino and more In...
Public library millage renewal: Yes In 2020, voters soundly rejected a complicated property tax swap that would have cut deeply into the New Orleans Public Library system’s bottom line. We too were skeptical that this vital institution could do...
New Orleans voters will decide Saturday whether to renew a tax that largely funds the city’s public library system, roughly a year after they rejected a tax plan that would have cut library funding. The 4-mill tax on Saturday’s...
New Orleans residents will head to the polls on Saturday to decide whether to renew two existing property taxes that expire at the end of the year — one that brings in roughly $10 million per year for the...
New Orleans voters will decide Saturday whether to continue paying a $4 million property tax for housing assistance. The 0.91-mill levy is relatively small compared to other citywide property taxes, but housing advocates say it provides important financing to...
New Orleans voters will consider two property tax proposals Saturday, one dedicated to the city’s library system and the other for a key housing fund. Both are intended to replace existing millages that expired at the end of the...
The Bureau of Governmental Research has published its report on two tax propositions under consideration in the New Orleans city elections taking place on December 11th. One proposition would help fund the New Orleans Library System, and the other...
Last year, New Orleans voters soundly rejected a complicated property tax swap that would have cut deeply into the New Orleans Public Library system’s bottom line. We too were skeptical that this vital institution could do more with less....
Early voting in the Dec. 11 runoff elections for New Orleans City Council, Sheriff and Clerk of Criminal Court begins Saturday, and voters will also weigh in on tax propositions for the New Orleans Public Library and housing. The...
Early voting for the Dec. 11 municipal runoff begins Nov. 27 in the (thankfully) final election of the year. Voter turnout tends to be pitifully low in December elections, even when the stakes are high. This year’s election will...
New Orleans voters will find themselves inside a voting booth for the second month in a row this December, with two millages and six runoff races to decide on. The quick turnaround from the Nov. 13 election coupled with...
A prominent government watchdog group is recommending New Orleans voters renew one expiring property tax on the Dec. 11 ballot but reject another. In a report published Monday, the Bureau of Government Research supports renewing a 4-mill tax for...
The nonpartisan think tank the Bureau of Governmental Research released a new report on Monday with a split decision on the two property tax renewals that New Orleans voters will decide on during the Dec. 11 election. BGR is...
A nonpartisan policy group is split on its opinion of two tax proposals New Orleans voters will consider Dec. 11. The Bureau of Governmental Research issued a report Monday in which it supports a 20-year property tax that benefits...
BGR has released a new report that analyzes proposed 20-year property taxes for public libraries and housing that New Orleans voters will decide in the Dec. 11 election. The report is intended to help voters in New Orleans make...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases a new report that analyzes proposed 20-year property taxes for public libraries and housing that New Orleans voters will decide in the December 11 election. Each tax would replace an existing...
After years of doing taxes the same way, Louisiana voters beginning Saturday are being asked to decide if the state should head in a different direction. Forty-three parishes, like Orleans, are choosing local leadership or deciding propositions, like East...
For years, St. Tammany Parish voters have been hearing about the looming financial plight the parish will face if a new revenue source isn’t secured for the jail and courthouse. A pair of quarter-cent sales taxes that funded those...
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research: BGR has released a new report titled “On the Ballot: St. Tammany Parish Sales Tax, Nov. 13, 2021.” The report is intended to help voters in St. Tammany make an...
The Bureau of Governmental Research has endorsed the proposed sales tax that St. Tammany Parish government will put before voters next month, according to a report released by the agency on Thursday. BGR, a New Orleans-based non-profit watchdog group,...
A tax agreement signed Thursday with the French Quarter Management District marked the final step toward resuming enhanced police patrols in the Vieux Carré and seemingly ended a contentious process over the past 1½ years. But the agreement includes...
NEW ORLEANS – From the Bureau of Governmental Research: Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) published a new report raising concerns about the New Orleans City Council’s recent decision to exclude hotel room rentals from the sales tax...
In August, the New Orleans City Council excluded hotel room rentals from a new sales tax for enhanced public safety in the French Quarter despite questions about whether the exclusion is permissible under state law. While BGR has not...
A special sales tax to fund supplemental police patrols in the French Quarter will be reinstated starting in October after expiring at the end of 2020. The tax was approved by voters in an April ballot measure and was...
The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s plans for a riverfront hotel crumbled in October when its financial backers pulled out, citing worries about the long-term health of the city’s tourism industry amid the pandemic. Less than a year later,...
Orleans Parish voters will decide in November whether to renew two property taxes that expire at the end of the year — one for the public library system and another for affordable housing and blight initiatives. It appears likely...
A quarter-cent sales tax in the French Quarter, approved by residents of the historic neighborhood earlier this year through a ballot measure, was meant to go into effect on July 1. But that date has come and gone. And...
A recent hike in pension benefits for New Orleans municipal employees will cost taxpayers millions and is fiscally irresponsible, a nonprofit think tank said in a report Wednesday. The Bureau of Governmental Research took aim at the city’s move...
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases a new report, A Retreat on Pension Reform: City of New Orleans Reverses Steps to Rein in Sharply Rising Pension Costs by Increasing Benefits. The report examines the City’s decision last...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – In order to fund the “Blue Light Patrols” in the Quarter, the reinstatement of the quarter-cent sales tax is back on the ballot after the initial renewal failed in December. Because of pandemic losses, the...
NEW ORLEANS – The Bureau of Governmental Research is weighing in against a proposition for a 0.245% sales tax to pay for supplemental police patrols and other public safety services in the French Quarter. The measure will go before...
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)– For our viewers heading to the polls this weekend, there’s a new report out that you should know about before casting your ballot. The French Quarter Sales Tax is on Saturday’s ballot and the report from the Bureau of Governmental...
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases On the Ballot: French Quarter Sales Tax, April 24, 2021. The report is intended to help French Quarter voters make an informed decision on a proposition to authorize a new 0.2495% sales...
NEW ORLEANS – On March 23, the Bureau of Governmental Research kicked off its 2021 Breakfast Briefing Series with “The Vision for St. Tammany Parish,” a conversation among three parish leaders about balancing economic development and quality of life....
Yesterday, the Bureau of Governmental Research kicked off its 2021 Breakfast Briefing Series with “The Vision for St. Tammany Parish,” a conversation among three parish leaders about balancing economic development and quality of life. Speaking via Zoom webinar were...
Earlier this week, Mayor Cantrell’s Director of Strategic Initiatives Joshua Cox had a press conference wherein he accused the French Quarter Management District of not being able to administer their task force program, and of mismanaging funds. Newell invited...
The battle over security patrols in the French Quarter continues, with Mayor Cantrell’s administration remaining at odds with the French Quarter Management District (FQMD) on how previously-collected tax monies should be spent. The FQMD is currently responsible for funding...
A New Orleans City Council committee was set to consider Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s most recent nominee for the New Orleans Public Library Board of Directors on Thursday, but after an outpouring of public criticism, the nomination was put on...
NEW ORLEANS — A member of the New Orleans Public Library Board of Directors blasted the city’s library director at a board meeting Tuesday, accusing him of “spreading misinformation … and basically lies” about Proposition 2, Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s...
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,...
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...
NEW ORLEANS — Saturday’s tax proposition in the French Quarter just picked up a heavyweight endorsement from one of the neighborhood’s most well-known residents. New Orleans entrepreneur Sidney Torres is financing a last-minute media campaign in support of the...
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...
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases On the Ballot: French Quarter Sales Tax Renewal, December 5, 2020. The report is intended to help French Quarter voters make an informed decision on a proposition to renew a 0.2495%...
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 the Morial Convention Center’s pandemic-related money challenges, tourism chief Stephen Perry said during a Biz New Orleans podcast interview this week that it’s more important than ever to continue with the center’s planned improvements and developments. “We have...
The financial backer of the 1,200-room hotel at the upriver end of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has pulled out of the project, putting the future of the development in doubt as the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc...
The New Orleans Police Department superintendent spoke on the future of policing in the city Wednesday morning. Superintendent Shaun Ferguson took questions from Kenneth Polite, the former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The two talked about...
The Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center has spent $49 million of its large cash reserves to cover deep budget shortfalls caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has ground the convention industry to a near-complete halt and starved...
NEW ORLEANS – The Bureau of Governmental Research will present a virtual breakfast briefing about the future of New Orleans policing at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30 on Zoom. Featured guests are Kenneth Polite, the former U.S. Attorney of...
At the request of Mayor LaToya Cantrell, the New Orleans City Council on Thursday gave final approval to a long-anticipated 6.75 percent tax on short-term rental bookings. Thursday’s ordinance codifying the new tax into city law comes more than...
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...
Members of the New Orleans City Council on Thursday initiated the process to renew a quarter percent sales tax in the French Quarter that has funded Louisiana State Police patrols in and around the French Quarter for the past...
Today, BGR published a new PolicyWatch newsletter, focusing on property assessment issues in New Orleans. Last year’s incomplete property reassessment in New Orleans led citizens and policymakers to question the progress made by the Orleans Parish Assessor on assessment system...
The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is facing unprecedented challenges. In April, a watchdog report critical of its hotel expansion plans cautioned against it in the near term. At its May board of commissioners meeting, the financial...
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 New Orleans City Council will consider a resolution to formally oppose the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s publicly subsidized hotel development at a Thursday meeting. The resolution, which appears in the agenda for the council’s meeting on Thursday,...
The governing board of the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center is pressing pause on behind-the-scenes negotiations with a private development team over a publicly subsidized, $702 million hotel development. The announcement followed weeks of criticism from public officials and...
The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s oversight board on Wednesday approved a donation of $1 million to support programs for “needy hospitality workers due to COVID-19,” which will be split equally between The United Way of Southeast Louisiana and...
The Communications Workers of America, the largest communications and media labor union in the country, is threatening to pull its August 2021 convention if the center doesn’t negotiate with local groups demanding the center provide $100 million in relief...
Three developers have been selected as finalists for a mixed-use entertainment district on 39 acres adjacent to a new headquarters hotel planned for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The selected teams are The Domain Companies; River District Neighborhood...
The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center will delay plans to develop a new, 20-acre “entertainment district” on some of its upriver land, according to the new chairman of its oversight board, as the finances of the massive facility continue...
Over the past week, officials with the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center have sent a clear message: They will push forward a trio of interconnected developments worth over $1 billion, despite the known and unknown economic impacts...
A new 1,200-room hotel at the Morial Convention Center downtown is a risky proposal now that the coronavirus has disrupted New Orleans’ tourism industry and its major business meeting schedule. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the...
The Bureau of Governmental Research says a proposed headquarters hotel at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center needs reconsideration now that tourism and conventions have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. A report released Thursday by the public policy organization also...
The Bureau of Governmental Research, a public policy watchdog, has called on leaders of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to rethink plans to build a large hotel, saying it is an especially bad use of taxpayers’ money at...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research releases a report calling on the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to pause its 1,200-room convention headquarters hotel project to assess the coronavirus pandemic’s impacts on tourism and conventions, and to...
A coalition of 21 local unions, advocacy organizations and other groups are calling on the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center to release $100 million out of its unrestricted cash reserves to support hospitality industry workers who are...
The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has presented a proposal to Mayor LaToya Cantrell to settle a yearlong dispute with the Regional Transit Authority over millions in tax dollars split between the two agencies and the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation....
Having your car broken into via smashed windows has become the new normal in New Orleans. On Tuesday, Jan. 14, a group of neighborhood associations hosted a community meeting at the Jewish Community Center to “discuss the recent uptick...
If you’re really lucky, at least once in your life you cross paths with someone truly extraordinary. I was very blessed to spend time with Bill Borah during his last years. He was an exceptionally intelligent, talented and personable...
Large portions of Convention Center Boulevard are closed for the entire month of December. It’s just the latest in a series of intermittent closures on the Central Business District thoroughfare as the street is permanently converted from four lanes...
Newell talks to BGR Vice President and Research Director Stephen Stuart and research analyst Jamie Parker about what’s changed since 2011, when New Orleans replaced the seven-assessor system with just one.
The governing body of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center set its 2020 budget at its Wednesday meeting. The Convention Center board was also expected to approve a contract with Populous, a Missouri-based architecture firm, to be...
Property tax assessments in Orleans Parish have come a long way from the days when seven assessors with a mishmash of policies determined the value of properties across the city. And while Orleans Parish Assessor Erroll Williams has built...
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...
Today, BGR releases Assessing the Assessor: Progress on Property Assessment Reform in New Orleans. The report evaluates whether and to what extent New Orleans’ property assessment system has improved under the single parish assessor since he replaced the seven-assessor...
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...
On Friday, The New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, a public municipal entity, provided some of the first details into what it will look like once the majority of its staff, mission and funding are absorbed by the private nonprofit...
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...
One of the reasons you love Think504 is that we keep you informed about important political and civic decisions you have to make. So when you go into the voting booth (Early voting Nov 2-9 Election Day Nov 16) to elect...
The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center reached a deal last week with a consortium of private developers to build a new 1,200-room hotel on the center’s upriver side, with public subsidies amounting to an estimated $114 million,...
At a public meeting Monday night, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s governing body touted its plans for a $557 million hotel as a project that would bring jobs and tourism dollars to the city. But a few residents...
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...
Today, BGR releases On the Ballot: Housing Tax Exemptions in New Orleans, October 12, 2019. The report analyzes Constitutional Amendment No. 4, which voters will consider on October 12. It would allow the City of New Orleans to exempt from...
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...
The hospitality industry in New Orleans brings in $8.7 billion per year, according to a report commissioned by the city in 2018. But while the industry thrives, many of the city’s cooks, servers and bartenders must walk a financial tightrope trying...
The controversial 1,200-room hotel proposed for the upriver end of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center passed a major milestone on Friday, when a hard-fought legislative bill laying out the terms of the project was signed by Gov. John Bel...
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...
For generations, the mayor of New Orleans was supposed to be a native, a smooth political operator and, it almost goes without saying, a man. In her history-making 2017 campaign, Mayor LaToya Cantrell bet that New Orleans was ready...
The city of New Orleans’ crumbling infrastructure will receive an infusion of tens of millions of dollars under a deal announced Monday by Gov. John Bel Edwards and Mayor LaToya Cantrell after weeks of hard-fought negotiations between their aides...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – New Orleans voters approved a measure to consolidate taxes for the parish’s Parks and Recreation services Saturday (May 4). With 91 percent of precincts reported around 10:30 p.m., 76 percent voted to create the 20-year...
New Orleans voters approved a consolidation of soon-to-expire taxes for New Orleans parks and recreation organizations Saturday (May 4). The 20-year property tax will be split four ways among two city agencies and two park operations, including the first-ever local tax...
New Orleans voters on Saturday roundly endorsed a new financial plan for parks and recreation in the city that will boost services but not taxes. The overwhelming approval — about 76 percent — means the property taxes that benefit...
Voters in much of the New Orleans area will head to the polls Saturday to consider mainly requests involving taxes, as a parks and recreation tax in Orleans Parish, a teacher pay tax in Jefferson Parish and a school...
A measure to replace and redistribute expiring taxes for New Orleans parks and recreation organizations will be put to voters Saturday (May 4). If approved, the proposed 20-year property tax would be split four waysamong two city agencies and two park operations....
The closing of a deal to secure millions of dollars in immediate and continuing money for the city’s drainage infrastructure and the Sewerage & Water Board appears imminent for Mayor LaToya Cantrell. The negotiations in some respects could put more money in the hands of the...
Some very critical tax measures go before the voters on Saturday. Teacher pay raises and commitments to public greenspace and facilities in both Jefferson and Orleans. Even on the second Saturday of Jazz Fest, these millages are worthy of...
The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, a major player in the New Orleans tourism industry, is sitting on some $200 million in tax money — funds generated for a center expansion that was scrapped after Hurricane Katrina. Some critics, including...
America faces a crisis at home more urgent than any before — other than Pearl Harbor and 9/11. That crisis is our crumbling and badly managed infrastructure. Some may call me an alarmist, but I don’t expect many New Orleanians...
New Orleans developer and hotelier Joe Jaeger announced Saturday that he is withdrawing from the team seeking to build a heavily subsidized and thus controversial hotel at the upriver end of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Earlier in...
Four years after calling for a comprehensive review of New Orleans’ tangle of tax dedications, the watchdog Bureau of Governmental Research has a new report that points out officials have done little to fix the problem. The nonprofit published...
The Bureau of Governmental Research is once again calling for changes in the way taxes are distributed in New Orleans, issuing a new report just as Mayor LaToya Cantrell and representatives of the tourism and hospitality industry are battling...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – The Bureau of Governmental Research has released a report with updated estimates of how much money the City of New Orleans will generate from tax revenue this year. BGR released the report Thursday morning detailing...
Today, BGR releases The $1 Billion Question Revisited: Updating BGR’s 2015 Analysis of Orleans Parish Tax Revenues. With New Orleans facing billions of dollars in costs to improve infrastructure and public services, this report updates key figures from a 2015...
In a hardball move against the hospitality industry, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell took her fight for tourism tax dollars to the Louisiana Legislature Monday, with members of her administration testifying in favor of a series of bills to...
The Times-Picayune Editorial Board makes the following recommendation for the May 4 ballot. ORLEANS PARISH PARKS AND RECREATION TAX PROPOSITION To replace three existing property taxes for parks and recreation totaling 6.31 mills with a single tax at the...
Five years ago, with his request for a tax hike decisively rejected by voters, Ron Forman stood in an Audubon Commission conference room and promised to someday make taxpayer funding of “world-class attractions” like the Audubon Zoo easier for...
While it involves no new taxes, a proposition on the May 4 ballot will renew some existing property millages totaling 6.31 mills for parks and recreation in New Orleans. The three existing taxes will be renewed but distributed differently...
VOTERS IN NEW ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON PARISH WILL GO TO THE POLLS ON MAY 4 — during Jazz Fest — to consider several important property tax millages. In New Orleans, the sole item on the ballot is the proposed renewal...
The sole item on the May 4 ballot in New Orleans is a citywide referendum often referred to as “Parks and Rec.” The ballot proposition could just as easily be cast as a vote on the future of New...
On April 9, 2019, the independent Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) released a report on the May 4 tax proposal that would replace three existing property taxes for parks and recreation with a single property tax at the same rate....
A nonpartisan research group is urging New Orleans and Jefferson Parish voters to support two tax measures that will be on the May 4 ballot. The private Bureau of Governmental Research announced Tuesday that it has endorsed a measure...
An independent New Orleans research group is backing the proposal to replace three existing property taxes into one millage for citywide parks and recreation. But there’s a caveat: If passed, the city is urged to monitor the park agencies’...
The Bureau of Governmental Research gave its blessing Tuesday (April 9) for a ballot proposal in New Orleans aimed at maintaining the current amount of property taxes charged for local parks and recreation services and a new split of...
Today, BGR releases On the Ballot: New Orleans Parks and Recreation Tax Proposal, May 4, 2019. The report analyzes a May 4 tax proposition in New Orleans to replace three existing taxes for parks and recreation totaling 6.31 mills with...
Hear WWL Radio’s Tommy Tucker talk with Amy Glovinsky, President/CEO BGR (Bureau of Governmental Research), about the City’s efforts to get a greater share of the tax revenue from the tourism industry. Click here to read BGR’s report on...
The contentious debate over how to use New Orleans tourism tax dollars that has rumbled along largely behind closed doors spilled out in public Wednesday at The New Orleans Advocate’s tourism summit. A high-level panel that included Mayor LaToya...
An expert panel on tourism brought together a host of important industries and ideas Tuesday morning in downtown New Orleans. The forum, hosted at The New Orleans Advocate, delved into several subjects integral to the city’s tourism future and...
A 14-year-old and 16-year old were killed March 20 when the car they were in crashed into a Broadmoor beauty salon and supply store, setting it on fire after New Orleans police say the car’s driver evaded a traffic...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – A last-ditch effort at the polls for a property tax to benefit elderly services fell flat Saturday (March 30). City Councilman Jason Williams sponsored the measure and posted on his Facebook page in the days...
New Orleans voters overwhelmingly rejected a new tax to pay for services for senior citizens Saturday in an election that doubled as a test of political might between Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the City Council. The more than 2-1...
New Orleans voters rejected a new property tax Saturday (March 30) to support elderly services, money the Council on Aging intended to use to shorten waitlists for its Meals on Wheels and housekeeping services programs. Unofficial results showed 12,335...
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...
A property tax proposal on Saturday’s (March 30) ballot to support elderly services in New Orleans has given Mayor LaToya Cantrell a platform to call for more accountability and transparency from agencies not under City Hall control. Yet the...
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson is laying out his plans for the police department’s future after taking over the helm earlier this year. Ferguson said his main objective is to get more officers on the...
In a video posted to Facebook earlier this week, Mayor LaToya Cantrell continued to urge New Orleans residents to vote “NO” on a new property tax. The proposed tax increase would be sent to the Council on Aging, a...
New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson delivered an optimistic assessment Wednesday of the department he’s led since mid-January. Chief Ferguson told the nonprofit Bureau of Governmental Research that he expects the department to complete reforms outlined in the 2013...
The Times-Picayune Editorial Board makes the following recommendation for Saturday’s election (March 30). ORLEANS PARISH Elderly Services Tax Proposition To levy a 2-mill property tax for five years for services for senior citizens No It’s clear that New Orleans...
The New Orleans Police Department’s new superintendent, Shaun Ferguson, presented at a BGR Breakfast Briefing on his vision and goals for improving public safety in the city. BGR expresses its appreciation to Supt. Ferguson and to our attendees for...
NEW ORLEANS — Suppose we had an election and almost no one showed up? That could happen this Saturday in New Orleans — and it could raise your taxes. That’s the topic of this week’s commentary by Eyewitness News Political...
VOTE YES in the upcoming 2 Mills, Senior Services Property Tax Special Election on March 30. Funding for senior services has collapsed in Orleans Parish post-Katrina, and the dollars allocated out of the General Fund proved pretty anemic prior to...
It’s 2019, but looking at some of the city’s old and antiquated infrastructure, it doesn’t feel like it. We have a pumping system that includes parts that are over a hundred years old, and a water and sewer system...
Build it and they will come. That’s the rosy forecast by officials from the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, who are in the beginning stages of a $1.1 billion spending plan that they say will bring hordes of...
Before the fish plates were served Friday at the senior center on the edge of Pontchartrain Park, Joyce Rawlins and Rose George were on opposite sides of a debate. Rawlins, 73, supported giving the organization that manages the center...
We don’t want to disrespect our elders, but a proposal to levy a new 2-mill property tax in New Orleans for elderly services is not the show of respect that our seniors deserve. The proposition is the only item...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – On March 30th voters in New Orleans will decide whether to pass a property tax to benefit senior services — a measure that has not been as well-received as some had hoped. According to the...
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...
The Great Hall of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center was a bustle of activity the day before 18,000 cardiologists from all over the world were set to arrive for their annual gathering. Electricians tinkered with video...
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...
The political appeal of a tax for services to the elderly is obvious. For one thing, members of the New Orleans City Council can tell you, the elderly vote in larger numbers. But the Bureau of Governmental Research has...
There are relatively few items on ballots in the New Orleans area for the March 30 election, as statewide races and several legislative seats won’t be decided until this fall. But for those who can’t make it to the...
NEW ORLEANS MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL HAS DRAWN HER FIRST ELECTORAL BATTLE LINES since taking office last year. She opposes a new 2-mill property tax for senior services while she leads the effort to renew an existing 6.31-mill levy for parks...
The Bureau of Governmental Research is urging New Orleans voters to reject a proposed property tax hike to fund services for senior citizens, saying that city officials have not properly detailed how the money would be used. In a...
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Orleans Parish tax assessor says he’s told convention center officials that a $558 million hotel they’re proposing probably would not be exempt from property taxes — something some center board members say is essential....
New Orleans voters should reject a new tax later this month dedicated to senior services because it gives city officials spending authority that is too broad and poorly planned, according to a Bureau of Governmental Research report. The report,...
A new report by the Bureau of Governmental Research urges New Orleans residents to vote against a new property tax that would raise money for services and programs for the elderly. While the report, released Tuesday, agrees that there is a...
Today, BGR releases On the Ballot: New Orleans Elderly Services Tax Proposal, March 30, 2019. The report analyzes a March 30 tax proposition in New Orleans to fund elderly services, programs and other assistance. If approved, the property tax will...
Community activism is alive and well in New Orleans at the grassroot level. One group, The New Orleans Peoples’ Assembly (NOPA), is in the vanguard of addressing social injustice and human rights violations by people with both political and...
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,...
Erroll Williams, the Orleans Parish tax assessor, is complicating plans for a hotel that officials of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center want to build with tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies. Williams told Convention Center officials...
A respected investment banker has a plan that he says could save the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center hundreds of millions of dollars in its controversial deal to build a 1,200-room hotel. So far, the response from the center’s...
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...
What was originally meant to be a temporary move to ease the construction of the Superdome may still be costing the city an estimated $12 million dollars in 2019, according to a recent report. A recent report from the...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Mayor LaToya Cantrell wants millions of dollars from the Convention Center and said the city is not getting its fair share of hotel tax money, when compared with other major cities. “I have recommended a...
The old idiom that nothing is certain but death and taxes remains true, with the possible addition of Roger Goodell’s loathing of the Saints to round out the list. The certainty surrounding taxes, however, is in the paying of...
Amy Glovinsky and Paul Rioux of the Bureau of Governmental Research joined Newell to talk about the tourism dollar to the state budget.
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...
New Orleans City Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer is calling for an end to a longtime arrangement that diverts about half of the Regional Transit Authority’s hotel tax revenues to the tourism industry. A one-percent sales tax — approved in...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) -The City of New Orleans wants to spread the wealth from hotel tax funding. The Bureau of Governmental Research will share its findings Tuesday on how the tax money could be used to improve city services....
Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s effort to get more of New Orleans’ hotel-motel taxes into the city’s general fund got a boost when the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR), a nonpartisan good government group, made the case that the city should increase hotel-motel...
The Bureau of Governmental Research has waded into the big-dollar tax dispute between Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the tourism industry with a recommendation that would deliver more dollars to the city of New Orleans – as Cantrell is seeking....
NEW ORLEANS The New Orleans government’s share of taxes from hotel rooms in the tourism-dependent city should increase by more than $12 million a year, an independent research group said in a report released Wednesday. Reviving a debate involving city...
Restoring a 1 percent sales tax on New Orleans hotels would be a step too much for the city’s tourism industry to bear, leading industry representatives said Wednesday (Jan. 30), responding to a new watchdog report that called for the extra...
A new report by a nonprofit group says the city of New Orleans should get to keep more tax dollars then it’s currently getting. That report came from the Bureau of Governmental Research. View video here.
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – A leading local research group published a comprehensive report on New Orleans hotel-motel taxes, which shows the city lagging far behind when it comes to using hotel tax revenues to help fund city services. Since...
A new report from the Bureau of Governmental Research released on Wednesday found a lack of accountability and transparency when it comes to New Orleans hotel tax revenue, and recommended that the city get at least $12 million more per year,...
A one-percent tax on New Orleans hotel sales should return to city coffers, as it was decades ago before that local tax was halted to let the state collect its own tax revenue to build the Superdome, says a new report...
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...
The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, the state entity with oversight of Mercedes-Benz Superdome and Smoothie King Center, raked in an additional $2.6 million in hotel taxes in 2017, pushing its revenue from tourist-related taxes to a record high,...
Amid new pressure from unions and an ongoing debate over whether the city’s hospitality and tourism industry is doing enough to support its mostly low-wage workers, a local nonprofit research group has released a report estimating that the industry’s...
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...
Facing political pressure to share some of their hotel tax revenue with city agencies, New Orleans tourism leaders on Thursday proposed an alternative: a new hotel tax that would generate $6.7 million a year for municipal infrastructure projects. But...
New Orleans hospitality industry and business representatives are pitching a plan to raise $81 million in one-time money to plan and undertake fixes to drainage and other city infrastructure. Mayor LaToya Cantrell panned the proposal shortly after it was made public...
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...
