Overview
In Moonlighting: An Overview of Policies Governing Paid Police Details, BGR examines the New Orleans Police Departmentâs existing and proposed police detail policies and procedures, and evaluates their adequacy in light of best practices.
In Moonlighting: An Overview of Policies Governing Paid Police Details, BGR examines the New Orleans Police Departmentâs existing and proposed police detail policies and procedures, and evaluates their adequacy in light of best practices.
In this report, BGR examines three separate propositions on the November 15, 2025, ballot that would authorize the City of New Orleans to borrow a total of $510 million for capital improvements.
This Beyond the Ballot report enhances public transparency and accountability for the 2019 New Orleans bond authorization and helps residents understand its uses and impacts.
BGR’s Candidate Q&A reports ask the candidates for mayor, City Council and sheriff in the October 11, 2025 primary election to explain how they will address important public policy issues if elected. BGR developed the questions based on our body of research. Many of these issues have close ties to concerns that voters themselves have […]
This BGR NOW report analyzes a proposal in the spring legislative session to increase pension benefits for New Orleans firefighters. While the proposal will not move forward, BGR finds several concerns and risks for the City of New Orleans and taxpayers that any future attempt to change the pension plan should address.
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 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, 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, 2020Â 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 â set to expire at the end of 2020 â for […]
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 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 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 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 Boardâs drainage system.
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 BGR explains and analyzes two tax propositions in New Orleans on April 9, 2016: one for street work and other improvements, and a second for the police and fire departments.
Overview This On the Ballot report informs voters in the October 24, 2015 election about a proposed quarter-cent sales tax for public safety in New Orleansâ French Quarter and a constitutional amendment allowing the State of Louisiana to invest in an infrastructure bank.
Overview BGR reviews a proposed property tax for the upkeep of public school facilities in New Orleans and 11 propositions to amend the Jefferson Parish charter that voters will decide on December 6, 2014. The charter propositions relate to: Modifying the Jefferson Parish Council’s authority to investigate parish affairs Limiting the outside employment of the […]
Overview BGR examines two proposed amendments to the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, one Orleans Parish property tax proposition and two constitutional amendments on the ballot for November 4, 2014. One City charter amendment would incorporate certain professional services contracting reforms made in 2010. The other charter amendment would move the […]
Overview In Moonlighting: An Overview of Policies Governing Paid Police Details, BGR examines the New Orleans Police Departmentâs existing and proposed police detail policies and procedures, and evaluates their adequacy in light of best practices.
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 third […]
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.
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 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.
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) released two reports providing independent, nonpartisan analysis to New Orleans voters on propositions in the November 15 election. Early voting begins Saturday, November 1. On the Ballot: $510 Million New Orleans Capital...
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) released Beyond the Ballot: Analyzing Spending and Impacts of the 2019 New Orleans Bond Authorization. The report finds that the City of New Orleans raised a total of $589.6 million for capital improvements...
Candidates for sheriff are laying out plans to take charge of the Orleans Parish jail, offering their visions for financial planning, staff recruitment and the care of, and programming for, incarcerated people. While the May 16 jailbreak has loomed...
Day 2 of the MLB draft wrapped up Monday, and now several Louisiana college ballplayers know where theyâll be continuing their careers. Nine LSU prospects were selected along with three from Tulane, and a handful more from Southern, Southeastern...
Voters will head to the polls in October to decide New Orleans’ municipal elections, with the seats of the Mayor, City Council and Orleans Parish Sheriff being the major positions up for grabs. In our quest to remain a...
On May 16, ten inmates escaped from the Orleans Parish Prison through a hole cut in the wall. Even though they ran in front of a security camera, they were not immediately seen escaping because the deputy in charge...
* BGR released a report with recommendations on how to improve the New Orleans jail. Let’s break it down * Councilmember Joe Giarrusso on the big power outage Sunday and why Entergy was given barely...
Itâs good that Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson is now taking âfull accountabilityâ for the mass breakout from the jail she runs, and calling it what it is: an epic failure that played out on her watch. You know...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill toured the Orleans Justice Center jail on Wednesday (May 21) and laid out the scale of the facilityâs damaged or defective lock issues. âThereâs probably 160 of them – doors...
Sheriff Susan Hutson, who oversees the New Orleans jail from which 10 inmates escaped last week, suspended her reelection campaign Tuesday, hours after she apologized to the City Council amid mounting calls for her resignation and questions about her...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Amid the search for the remaining New Orleans jail escapees, a government watchdog released a new report urging the sheriff and the city to work together to address the jailâs needs. The Bureau of Governmental...
The search for six escaped inmates in New Orleans has entered its fourth day after a total of 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Parish Jail early Friday. Four of the 10 have been captured. The Orleans Parish Justice...
With the outcome hinging on just two votes, on May 3, 2025, Orleans Parish voters narrowly approved the renewal of a critical 10-year property tax for the Sheriffâs Office. The final tally stood at 12,715 in favor and 12,713...
By an almost surreal, historically close margin, Orleans Parish voters appeared to hand Sheriff Susan Hutson a huge reprieve Saturday, approving what Hutson described for months as a critical renewal of a tax that funds around a fifth of...
When Congress passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in March 2021, it allocated $350 billion in assistance to state and local governments â providing the largest infusion of cash to local governments since the start of...
Signs saying âNo New Taxesâ and calling for New Orleans residents to vote against a tax renewal have been popping up around the city…but theyâre inaccurate. Tommy talks with Rebecca Mowbray and Nate Pabon-Trinidad from the Bureau of Government...
Voters in about half of Louisianaâs parishes will go to the polls Saturday to elect officials and decide on various ballot proposals. Several parishes will hold runoff elections from municipal or special primaries held in March. Others will vote...
Voters in Orleans and Jefferson parishes head to the polls Saturday to make selections on local races and determine how some property tax dollars get spent. Why it matters: Turnout is traditionally pretty low for these hyperlocal elections, so...
Mysterious campaign signs have cropped up around New Orleans that falsely attack a tax renewal from the Orleans Parish Sheriffâs Office, leaving Sheriff Susan Hutson scrambling to correct the record before the referendum goes to a vote next Saturday....
On May 3, New Orleans voters face a critical decision: Will we invest in making our city safer, more just, and more humane OR allow vital public safety systems to collapse under the weight of political theater? The ballot...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson held a press conference flanked by supporters to urge New Orleans voters to approve a proposed millage renewal, even as signs positioned around the city suggest opposition. No one has...
Voters in New Orleans are being asked on the May 3 ballot to extend a millage collected by the Orleans Parish Sheriffâs Office for 10 years. We recommend a âyesâ vote. The millage is a renewal, so unlike the...
NEW ORLEANS â If you live or work in New Orleans, youâve probably seen signs saying, âNo New Taxesâ and urging city voters to reject a property tax on May 3. Those signs and their message are a lie....
Orleans Parish Ballot MeasuresPW Law Enforcement District2.46 Mills Renewal â Sheriff â 10 Yrs. Shall the Sheriff of Orleans Parish, as the governing authority of the Law Enforcement District of the Parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana (the âDistrictâ),...
The name âOrleans Parish Prisonâ still stirs outrage in New Orleans, even after its rebranding as the Orleans Justice Center. From the abandonment of inmates during Hurricane Katrina to the federal consent decree still in place today, the jail...
NEW ORLEANS â The Orleans Parish Sheriff is urging voters to renew a current tax mileage on the May 3 ballot. Sheriff Huston says the money from the millage will go toward critical programs, maintenance and staffing. The law...
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson is asking voters in the May municipal elections to renew a 10-year-old tax that provides a significant chunk of the budget for her overcrowded and understaffed jail. Hutson has been attempting to raise more...
On April 24, 2024, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) published Altering New Orleans Firefighter Benefits Demands Careful Analysis and Justification. The report analyzed a proposal in the spring legislative session to increase pension benefits for New Orleans firefighters....
This radio interview with Newell Normand and BGR President and CEO Rebecca Mowbray is no longer available online. Click here to read BGR’s report.
Eight years after a landmark legal settlement quelled a bitter public feud between New Orleans firefighters and City Hall, a controversy is stirring again over the cityâs woefully underfunded fire pension. Unlike the 2016 spectacle, in which former Mayor...
This interview with BGR President and CEO Rebecca Mowbray is no longer available online. Click here to read BGR’s report.
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) released a new report, Altering New Orleans Firefighter Pension Benefits Demands Careful Analysis and Justification. It was prompted by BGRâs concerns about state legislation to reverse pension benefit cuts from a landmark 2016...
Itâs Thursday, which means itâs time to catch up on the week in politics. The Time- Picayune/The Advocateâs editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace joins us to discuss newly-sworn in police chief Anne Kirkpatrickâs efforts to combat crime, recruit...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick wants Louisiana State Police to play a bigger role in protecting the city. On Wednesday, Kirkpatrick told community members at a Bureau of Governmental Research event that she has...
New Orleans’ new police chief has asked for a Louisiana State Police troop based in the French Quarter. Why it matters: The city has a longstanding partnership with LSP, but the proposal, if approved, could mean changes for how the city’s...
In the sunlit atrium of a New Orleans skyscraper, a group of business leaders and policymakers sat shoulder-to-shoulder on Wednesday morning, lobbing questions at a virtual unknown in town: the city’s new police chief. Anne Kirkpatrick, the first true...
Today, BGR presented a Breakfast Briefing with Anne E. Kirkpatrick, new Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. Thanks to our sponsor, First Horizon Bank, this event was free to the public. Click below to watch the full video...
BGR President and CEO Rebecca Mowbray discussed BGR’s renewed call for the City of New Orleans and the Orleans Parish Sheriff to develop a cooperative agreement to fund the Orleans Justice Center, the parish jail. Audio recording is not...
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...
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...
Jefferson Parish residents voted Saturday to approve a 7-mill property tax increase that will generate an additional $28 million for the Jefferson Parish Sheriffâs Office. Sheriff Joe Lopinto had pitched the tax increase as a way to bring in...
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 Sheriffâs Office. âWe were very eager to look at the proposal from the JPSO because Jefferson is the most populous parish in our region,â...
NEW ORLEANS â From the Bureau of Governmental Research: BGR has released a new report titled âOn the Ballot: Jefferson Parish Sheriffâs Office Tax, April 30, 2022.â 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 â On Friday, April 22, the Bureau of Governmental Research will host a virtual âbreakfast briefingâ on the topic of public safety. Scheduled from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., the event titled âBeyond Law Enforcement: Exploring Community-Based...
When Jefferson Parish voters head to the ballot box on Saturday, April 30, theyâll decide on a potential millage increase put forward by Sheriff Joseph Lopinto to fund the hiring of nearly 250 positions and pay raises for sheriffâs...
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 Sheriffâs Office Tax, April 30, 2022. The report is intended to help Jefferson Parish voters make an informed decision on whether to approve...
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...
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 â From the Bureau of Governmental Research: BGR has released a new report titled âOn the Ballot: St. Tammany Parish Sales Tax, Nov. 13, 2021.â 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 CarrÊ and seemingly ended a contentious process over the past 1½ years. But the agreement includes...
NEW ORLEANS â From the Bureau of Governmental Research: Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) published a new report raising concerns about the New Orleans City Councilâs 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...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – In order to fund the âBlue Light Patrolsâ 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 â 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)â For our viewers heading to the polls this weekend, thereâs a new report out that you should know about before casting your ballot. The French Quarter Sales Tax is on Saturdayâs 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...
Earlier this week, Mayor Cantrellâs 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 Cantrellâs 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...
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 â Saturdayâs tax proposition in the French Quarter just picked up a heavyweight endorsement from one of the neighborhoodâs most well-known residents. New Orleans entrepreneur Sidney Torres is financing a last-minute media campaign in support of the...
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%...
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...
NEW ORLEANS â 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...
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...
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 âdiscuss the recent uptick...
Today, BGR releases A Look Back to Plan Ahead: Analyzing Past New Orleans Budgets to Guide Funding Priorities. The report reviews the Cityâs General Fund budgets from 2010 to 2019, focusing on growth in revenues and changes in expenditures. As...
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 carâs driver evaded a traffic...
NEW ORLEANS â 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...
New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson delivered an optimistic assessment Wednesday of the department heâs 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 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...
To provide New Orleans police officers with a pay raise starting in 2018, former Mayor Mitch Landrieu tapped into an initial lease payment to the city from the team redeveloping the former World Trade Center. Over the next two years, the...
Covington Police Chief Tim Lentz has been selected to receive the Bureau of Governmental Researchâs Excellence in Government 2018 Innovation Award for his work in initiating and implementing the Operation Angel Program, which allows complying drug addicts to seek...
Covington Police Chief Tim Lentz has received the Excellence in Government 2018 Innovation Award from the Bureau of Governmental Research for his leadership in establishing the Operation Angel Program to combat drug addiction in St. Tammany Parish. Lentz, Covington’s police chief...
The $40 million public safety plan proposed recently by Mayor Mitch Landrieu and being considered by other New Orleans officials depends on having the bulk of its upfront costs covered by the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The $23...
A massive expansion of the New Orleans Police Department’s surveillance capabilities, in both the French Quarter and 20 “hot spots” around the city, was unveiled Monday afternoon. The 20 “hot spots” for more cameras include Hollygrove, Mid-City, Hoffman Triangle,...