The faces of more than 120 million people are in searchable photo databases that officials in dozens of states have assembled to prevent driver's-license fraud but that increasingly are used by police to identify suspects, accomplices and even innocent bystanders in a wide range of criminal investigations. As The Washington Post reports, Louisiana is one of just 13 states in the country where the controversial technology is not being used by anyone, let alone law enforcement. Thirty-seven states now use facial-recognition technology in their driver's-license registries. At least 26 of those allow state, local or federal law enforcement agencies to search—or request searches—of photo databases in an attempt to learn the identities of people. Use of such facial searches by police is blurring the traditional boundaries between criminal and non-criminal databases, putting images of people never arrested in what amounts to perpetual digital lineups. The most advanced...
Despite a steady ridership at around 10,500 passengers a month, the LA Swift bus service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans will stop running at the end of this month, with the DOTD announcing it would not renew the service's contract.
A new audit says Louisiana may be on the hook to the federal government for more than $115 million in disaster relief aid that was misspent or awarded to ineligible recipients. The money was designed to help property owners recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The legislative auditor's review of the Office of Community Development was released today. The Office of Community Development oversees the Road Home program, the Small Rental Property Loan Program and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. In a response letter, OCD Executive Director Patrick Forbes says his department is being aggressive in recovering money from suspected fraud cases or duplicated benefits, but homeowner recovery is prioritized over "recapture" in other instances. He says federal officials support the strategy.
This weekend marks the beginning of a transformation on Government Street with the Better Block BR project. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on the two blocks between Bedford and Beverly drives, residents will get to see a model of what Government Street could look like if we push local and state officials to update the roadway to a safer, more “complete street” model.
Veteran Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville—who, as chairman of both the Senate Finance and Joint Legislative Budget committees, is one of the most powerful members of the Legislature—describes the recently unveiled 2013-14 state budget as “the most difficult budget we've ever had.”
Nearly three years after a deadly rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico triggered the nation's worst offshore oil spill, a federal judge in New Orleans is presiding over a high-stakes trial for the raft of litigation spawned by the disaster. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier will hear several hours of opening statements today by lawyers for the companies involved in the 2010 spill and the plaintiffs who have sued them. And the judge, not a jury, ultimately could decide how much more money BP and its partners on the ill-fated drilling project owe for their roles in the environmental catastrophe. BP has said it already has racked up more than $24 billion in spill-related expenses and has estimated it will pay a total of $42 billion to fully resolve its liability for the disaster that killed 11 workers and spewed millions of gallons of oil. But the trial attorneys for the federal government and Gulf Coast states and private plaintiffs hope to convince the judge that the company is liable...
It's full steam ahead for the people of Watson. Over the next few weeks, the Livingston Parish community north of Denham Springs will begin circulating a petition seeking a people's vote on whether to form their own incorporated city. If they are able to gather 3,000 certified signatures by July, the referendum could be on the Oct. 19 ballot. Gene Baker of Neighbors in Action—the grassroots organization behind the initiative—tells Daily Report nearly 300 people braved the rain to attend a community gathering last week, expressing a 3-to-1 consensus in favor of incorporation. Proposed city boundaries would incorporate roughly 35 square miles between Amite Church Road and the St. Helena Parish line, taking in 22,000 residents—twice as many as Denham Springs and three times that of Walker. Details as to how the municipal government would function and be funded will be hammered out after the vote. Baker says Neighbors in Action is opposed to upping taxes, instead...
Picture a busy surface street in the city you use frequently. How would you make it rightsized? By that, I mean, the street likely no longer meets the needs of the people who use it. The road doesn't have a middle turning lane or a median to control traffic flow. The area is frequented by pedestrians and cyclists, but the infrastructure doesn't allow safe crosswalks, bike lanes or even sidewalks in some areas. Maybe it needs additional lanes for heavy traffic, or less lanes because it no longer services many vehicles.
Congress almost certainly will address major tax reform in 2013, says John Kelly Jr., who directs tax policy work for Cornerstone Government Affairs. However, legislation may not reach President Barack Obama's desk this year. Reform will likely involve lower tax rates and fewer exemptions. Obama has proposed lowering the corporate rate to 28%, but beyond that it's hard to know where the president stands on specifics, Kelly says. The Senate confirmation hearings for Jack Lew, Obama's choice for Treasury secretary, could be instructive. Congress has other immediate fiscal concerns, such as the automatic spending cuts that were postponed in the "fiscal cliff" deal but are scheduled to take effect in March. But Sen. Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, and Rep. Dave Camp, the Michigan Republican who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means, both support "tearing the tax code out by the roots," Kelly says. He adds almost everyone on Capitol Hill...
Saltwater intrusion into the Southern Hills Aquifer via a southeast salt dome has been a concern among activists and the Baton Rouge Water Co. for decades, but no state authority has officially addressed the infiltration with a serious plan until now. About two weeks ago, the state Office of Conservation formally requested that the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation Commission—created in 1974 by the state Legislature to manage the aquifer—recognize that the aquifer is in an unsustainable condition and begin discussing possible solutions, starting March 19. "Yes, this is the most traction that it's ever had," says Eugene Owen, executive chairman of the Baton Rouge Water Co., regarding the issue of the aquifer's condition. At the same time, Owen says, the water company will begin building this year a "scavenger well" and pipeline to extract the denser saltwater from the freshwater aquifer and pump it to a discharge station on the Mississippi River north of Baton Rouge...
Louisiana is paying $108 million to get out of a deal that helped rebuild and upgrade the Superdome in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina but later exploded in interest costs. The State Bond Commission received the final details today of the debt refinancing for the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, which includes the termination payment to end the previous arrangement. The LSED is borrowing $361 million to restructure the bond deal from 2006 that became saddled with problems during the credit crunch and financial downturn two years after the deal was struck. The $108 million termination penalty will be rolled into the refinanced borrowing and paid off over decades with the rest of the debt. The arrangement also ends litigation with Merrill Lynch over the previous arrangement.
Two Jefferson Parish lawmakers lodged a legal challenge today against the state's $25 billion budget, asking a judge to declare its patchwork financing a violation of the Louisiana Constitution. Republican Reps. Kirk Talbot and Cameron Henry filed the lawsuit, which is the latest salvo in an ongoing dispute that conservative House Republicans have with Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal over his use of one-time funding to pay for ongoing programs and services in state government. Talbot says he hopes to get a ruling on the lawsuit before next year's 2013-14 budget is passed and the new fiscal year starts July 1. He says the lawsuit is being financed through campaign dollars and with assistance from politically active Baton Rouge businessman Lane Grigsby. The lawsuit says the budget is unconstitutional because it spends $240 million more from the state general fund than the amount recognized by the state's income-forecasting panel and because it doesn't follow constitutional limits on...
President Barack Obama demanded today that lawmakers raise the nation's $16.4 trillion federal debt limit quickly, warning that "Social Security benefits and veterans' checks will be delayed" if they don't and cautioning Republicans not to insist on cuts to government spending in exchange. "They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the economy," says Obama, who made the remarks at the 21st and final news conference of his first term. "The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip. And they better decide quickly because time is running short." Within minutes of Obama's remarks, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky responded by saying the president and his allies in Congress need to get serious about spending and that the debt-limit debate is the perfect time for it. House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, also released a statement, saying: "The American people do not support raising the debt ceiling without...
• Cassandra Bickham • Helena Cunnigham • James Gammel • Twahna Harris • Ryan Heck • Dalton Honore (Incumbent-eligible for reappointment) • Jared Loftus (Incumbent-eligible for reappointment) • Anthony Nelson • Kenneth Perret • Timothy Pickett • Mari Presedo • Dustin Puryear • Emmett Robbins • Deborah Roe (Incumbent-eligible for reappointment) • Ladonna Ward • Marla Williams (Incumbent-eligible for reappointment)
Every year, during the Christmas season, Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball says his customary cynicism gives way—albeit briefly—to idealistic hope. "This transformation of self is most likely attributable to the steady downing of eggnog, infused with multiple fingers of bourbon and brandy," Ball writes in his latest column. "Whatever the reason for my season of joyous thought, these feelings almost always dissipate shortly after the Epiphany. (The irony is, indeed, noted.)" Ball says his greatest hopes for the coming year include the following: that "whoever is responsible for estimating state revenues under Gov. Bobby Jindal does a better job of predicting just how much money is actually available for spending"; that "Tim Barfield, Stephen Moret and others in the Jindal administration tasked with developing a tax reform plan are truly interested in making real and systemic changes to how the state gets its revenue"; and that "the people of Louisiana care as...
Every year, during the Christmas season, my customary cynicism gives way—albeit briefly—to idealistic hope. This transformation of self is most likely attributable to the steady downing of eggnog, infused with multiple fingers of bourbon and brandy. Whatever the reason for my season of joyous thought, these feelings almost always dissipate shortly after the Epiphany. (The irony is, indeed, noted.)
With measured optimism, President Barack Obama said today he and House Speaker John Boehner are "pretty close" to a grand fiscal deal to avoid a first-of-the-year shock to the economy, but that congressional Republicans "keep on finding ways to say no as opposed to finding ways to say yes." Obama today cast a resolution to the "fiscal cliff" talks as a matter of political will. He also mentioned the recent massacre of schoolchildren in Connecticut in making the point, saying the nation deserves a compromise by its political leaders. "If this past week has done anything, it should just give us some perspective," he says, further urging lawmakers to "peel off the partisan war paint" and strike a deal. Obama spoke to reporters at the White House after announcing an administrationwide response to Friday's shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, which killed 20 first-graders and six adults. His comments came shortly after the White House threatened to veto Boehner's backup plan for...
Roll Call, a political magazine published in Washington, D.C., recently handicapped Sen. Mary Landrieu's 2014 re-election chances at 50-50. The odds against her were worse three years ago, when she was being vilified by Republicans here and nationwide for supporting President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. In those dark days, with conservative commentators labeling her a "prostitute" for wrangling funding for Louisiana, the unpopular new law was seen as the lodestone that would sink her career.
Too big to jail? When the Justice Department announced its record $1.9 billion settlement against British bank HSBC last week, prosecutors called it a powerful blow to a dysfunctional institution accused of laundering money for Iran, Libya and Mexico's murderous drug cartels. But to some former federal prosecutors, it is only the latest case in which the government stopped short of bringing criminal money-laundering charges against a big bank or its executives, at least in part on the rationale that such prosecutions could be devastating enough to cause such banks to fail. They're calling it "too big to jail." Read the full story here.
Gov. Bobby Jindal's chief financial adviser today announced a mix of cuts, one-time patches and hiring-freeze savings to close a nearly $166 million budget gap, with dollars slashed from hospice care, juvenile justice treatment, colleges, and domestic violence and abuse programs. Doctors and hospitals that care for the poor, disabled and elderly in the Medicaid program will be paid less for those services. Dental benefits to pregnant women through Medicaid will be suspended. Money for state parks' maintenance is being reduced. Public colleges will be hit with a $22 million reduction in state funding. The Jindal administration says the cut to schools should not be a problem because they brought in more tuition than expected and saved millions with a hiring freeze. Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols detailed the plans to lawmakers. The cuts and financing changes will rebalance the $25 billion budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30. It was the fifth year in a row that...
Hopes dimming for a wide-ranging bargain, the White House and many congressional Republicans appear to be setting their sights on a more modest deal that would extend current tax rates for most Americans, raise rates for top earners and leave other, vexing issues for the new year. President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met late Thursday for less than an hour at the White House, but there were few signs of progress. Both sides agreed to describe the talks as "frank," a less than optimistic assessment that suggested the president and the speaker stuck to their opposing positions. Boehner was sticking with his plans to leave for his home state of Ohio today, limiting opportunities for further in-person talks in the coming days. While Boehner took the lead in negotiations, a growing number of Senate Republicans were calling on their House colleagues to yield on their opposition to letting top tax rates increase on income over $250,000 for couples, while extending Bush-era...
The U.S. federal government's budget deficit widened in November compared to October, a sign that the nation is on a path to its fifth straight $1 trillion-plus deficit. The budget gap rose to $172 billion in November, up from $120 billion in October, the Treasury Department announced today. The November deficit was also 25% higher than the same month last year. Last month's deficit was pushed higher by a calendar quirk that pulled about $33 billion in benefits payments into November from December. The government finished the 2012 budget year with a deficit of $1.1 trillion. President Barack Obama and Congress are under pressure to curb the deficit as part of a budget deal to prevent tax increases and deep spending cuts from kicking in Jan. 1. The deficit, in the simplest terms, is the amount of money the government has to borrow when revenues fall short of expenses. Last year's deficit was lower than that of the previous year but still extremely high by historical standards. The...
Here's the trouble with calling for a tax reform package that dramatically reduces Louisiana's reliance on regressive sales taxes: People tend to actually like sales taxes, preferring them over pretty much all other forms of taxation.
I'm not one to casually throw out motivational quotes. But at the Smart Growth Summit in downtown Baton Rouge Wednesday, Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology said something I thought applied well to the many movers and shakers in the room (not to mention, y'know, to life in general). To paraphrase, “Great ideas, unlike fine wine, don't get better with age sitting up on a shelf.”
A longtime board member of the city-parish Planning Commission is termed-out and unable to retain her seat going forward next year. Audrey Nabors Jackson has served on the Planning Commission since 1994. But in 2006 the city-parish approved a new plan of government calling for two consecutive terms, or eight consecutive years—whichever is greater—for members of boards and commissions in the parish. However, the new plan allows members to serve a third term if they receive a three-fourths approval vote from the Metro Council. Then they are done. Jackson gained nine votes for a final term in January 2009. "She's exhausted that option," says EBR Council Administrator Brian Mayers. Since Jackson has served the BREC board via the Planning Commission, she will also lose her seat on the recreation and parks committee. "They plan on kicking me off," says Jackson. However, the Chaneyville community activist says she'll continue volunteering her time with the YMCA, the Kiwanis Club...
Metro Council member Joel Boé says by early next year it will be time to revisit and staff a committee formed in April 2011 to study the viability of consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office. "Sadly it made no progress," Boé says in a prepared statement released Monday. "I support police unification for Baton Rouge as a way to put more police on our streets." Councilman Chandler Loupe originally introduced forming the committee, although he had no intention of serving on it at the time and still doesn't. However, Loupe says he'll be supportive of choosing three council members to serve on the committee. Boé says the committee would also be served by representatives from BRPD and the sheriff's office, and should include a position for a representative of Mayor Kip Holden's administration, which it currently doesn't have. Boé says the committee would study what steps are needed to actually consolidate law enforcement. As he understands it,...
The state of Louisiana is suspending its increasingly controversial practice of towing in the Third Street parking garage in downtown Baton Rouge. A meeting called by Billy Wilson, director of the Office of State Buildings, is currently under way with Baton Rouge Chief Administrative Officer William Daniels and DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer to discuss the parking situation. Division of Administration spokesman Michael DiResto says the state wants to work with the city on a number of options for a long-term solution that balances the needs of the general public with those of the people and businesses who lease spaces. "We are exploring the possibility of ticketing parking violations, as well as the possibility of changing lease agreements so that leased spaces would be reserved only during the workday [between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays] and available for public use after hours and on weekends," DiResto says. "We have also taken steps, such as providing additional signage, to...
This November, I am proud to join the National Rifle Association in support of Amendment 2 to the Louisiana Constitution to protect the gun rights of law abiding citizens, let me tell you why.
In a year during which the city-parish government has already awarded nearly $500 million in construction contracts, the bidding process to install streetlights on Brightside Lane was no more extraordinary than any other project. The city-parish estimated the project would cost about $895,000. Four companies, accordingly, submitted their bids electronically. Diamond Electrical Co. was the lowest bidder. But due to a computer glitch in the bidding software, Diamond's final bid—which was an amendment to its first bid—wasn't acknowledged and the streetlight project went to Jack B. Harper Contractor Inc. Diamond brought their final bid of $649,000 to the city-parish's attention after Harper was awarded the project for $719,000. Diamond eventually was recognized as the lowest bidder. But it took the software developer 56 days to admit its system's error. "And now we're stuck with litigation," says Councilman Chandler Loupe. The Parish Attorney's Office says the software...
The oil in a slick detected in the Gulf of Mexico last month matched oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill two years ago, the Coast Guard confirmed Wednesday night, ending one mystery and creating another. "The exact source of the oil is unclear at this time but could be residual oil associated with the wreckage or debris left on the seabed from the Deepwater Horizon incident," says the Coast Guard, adding, "The sheen is not feasible to recover and does not pose a risk to the shoreline." One government expert says the thin sheen, just microns thick, was 3 miles by 300 yards as of Wednesday. Some oil drilling experts have said it's unlikely that BP's Macondo well, which suffered a blowout on April 20, 2010, is leaking again, given the extra precautions taken when it was finally sealed after spilling nearly 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf. BP declined to comment. But a BP internal slide presentation says the new oil sheen probably came from the riser, a long piece of pipe that...
In light of the Metro Council taking up Wednesday a proposal that would roll back a restriction on the hours alcohol can be sold on Sundays, Councilman Ulysses "Bones" Addison is adding an amendment to allow bars to operate until 4 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Addison was unavailable this morning to comment on the "new late-night permit," as it's called on the agenda. At the last council meeting in September, Councilwoman Alison Gary proposed repealing an ordinance restricting alcohol sales before 11 a.m. on Sundays, allowing retailers and bars to operate just like any other day of the week—without having to get permitted for showing more than half of gross sales are in food. Gary was unavailable to comment on Addison's proposal. Councilwoman Tara Wicker, who opposes Gary's amendment, says she has always known Addison to oppose leniency with regards to alcohol rules in the past and hopes his introduction is a strategy—a double-down, per se—to derail...
When you start talking about relaxing restrictions on alcohol sales, as the Metro Council is doing, the opposition typically comes in some form of moral argument. And as 225 blogger Slater McKay points out in his latest post, that's precisely the kind of argument that led to limits on Sunday alcohol sales in the first place. It's what's known as a "blue law." "The term 'blue law' is a colloquialism that generally refers to a law restricting commerce in some fashion in deference to religious tradition. For instance, many Christians view Sunday as a day of rest. Because of that, some businesses in Baton Rouge face restricted hours of operation (car dealerships) and/or limits to what kind of commerce they can conduct (restaurants selling or serving alcohol/beer during certain hours)," McKay writes. But as McKay also points out, lifting a ban on alcohol sales before 11 a.m. on Sundays at bars and liquor stores in the parish actually amounts to a small expansion of the hours in...
It was early Tuesday afternoon when bartender Ramona Arceneaux pondered aloud whether patrons at TJ's Lounge on Plank Road—north of metro airport—would be agreeable to the watering hole opening on Sundays. The patrons' replies were loud, emphatic, unprintable and in confirmation that they'd belly up to the bar this Sunday if they could. "They go to other places, across the river, that are open," Arceneaux says of her patrons' Sunday rituals. Councilwoman Alison Gary says the fact that East Baton Rouge Parish is surrounded by parishes where alcohol rules are relaxed on Sundays is part of the reason why she introduced an amendment to the Metro Council last month that would strip restrictions on bars opening and alcohol being sold before 11 a.m. on Sundays. Currently, restaurants can get permission to sell liquor and beer on Sundays if more than half of gross sales are from food or nonalcoholic products. "I just don't think that it's the government's responsibility to keep...
In 1926, Baton Rouge High School was built outside city limits—four blocks east of the boundary line at South 22nd Street. For 23 years the flagship school operated outside the city, and Baton Rouge had bigger dreams than its five square miles and 35,000 people.
Local businessman and political activist Lane Grigsby is planning to mount a campaign to reorganize city-parish government in Baton Rouge—specifically, to push for a merger of the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office with the Baton Rouge Police Department. Grigsby is not the first to suggest that a single, combined law enforcement agency would be more effective and efficient in combating Baton Rouge's growing crime problem. But he may be the first person to put financial and political muscle behind seriously trying to tackle the issue. "What we're going to look at in the spring, regardless of who gets elected mayor, is reorganizing our plan of government, specifically our law enforcement," says Grigsby, who is working with the Northshore consulting firm Innovative Advertising on research and strategy related to the campaign. Grigsby points to Charlotte, N.C., and Louisville, Ky., as cities that have successfully combined their municipal and county law enforcement agencies...
America's worst drought in decades was hurting the nation's economy in the spring—and the forecast for the rest of the year doesn't look much better—The Wall Street Journal reports. Earlier this month, the newspaper reported that despite some soothing rain from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac, some of the drought's economic damage had already been done. Michael Feroli, an economist at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., says the nation's growth in the second half of the year could take a small hit from America's most widespread drought since 1956. Turns out, American GDP is already suffering. The economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.3% in the second quarter, a steep drop from the first quarter's 2% and the fourth quarter's 4.1%—and significantly lower than the government's earlier estimates of 1.7% and 1.5%. One factor in the 0.4 percentage point revision:...
Mitt Romney might have been joking about accepting the role of "grandfather" of President Barack Obama's health care law, but when asked about it today, Gov. Bobby Jindal wasn't taking the bait, The Wall Street Journal reports. "I can't speak to the governor's sense of humor," says Jindal, who spoke during a conference call organized by the Romney campaign, in which he primarily talked about Obama's health care law and what a disaster it is. Romney "has consistently been against the national mandate," Jindal says. "He has consistently said that what works in one state … may not necessarily be right for other states." The Romney campaign is seeking to capitalize on a recent Congressional Budget Office report that shows nearly 6 million Americans—many of them in the middle class—will be subject to a tax penalty if they don't obtain insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Jindal expressed little concern that the Romney campaign must get back on message after a...
Last week, I pointed out two issues that should be cause for concern at the most recent friendly neighborhood Metro Council meeting: spending money without the benefit of a public hearing and an apparent lack of oversight over the boards and commissions of the Parish. This week, I wanted to delve a little more deeply into both of these issues for the public benefit.
When Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney spoke at a fundraiser about the 47% of Americans "who are dependent upon government—people who pay no income tax"—he could have been alluding to lots of Louisiana residents, reports The Times-Picayune. Except in one major respect, that is. Romney also told his supporters that such voters, who he said wouldn't benefit from his proposal to cut income taxes because they don't pay them, will vote for President Barack Obama "no matter what." But Louisiana voters are expected to overwhelmingly back Romney in the Nov. 6 election. By several important measures, Louisiana is in the top 10 of states in categories that measure the percentage of adults who don't pay taxes, or people who receive federal government benefits. And that's not even including the billions of dollars that flowed into the state after Hurricane Katrina. According to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, 39% of Louisiana residents who filed tax returns in 2008...
A Thibodaux lawmaker was attempting to rally support today for a special legislative session to revisit budget decisions made in recent months by Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration. Rep. Jerome "Dee" Richard, an independent, sent a letter to House members asking them to call themselves into a special session, a long-shot effort to get the Republican-led chambers to challenge the authority of the GOP governor. Richard says lawmakers have been improperly left out of Jindal administration budget cut decisions that are shuttering health care facilities and a state prison. Legislators in the areas where facilities have been targeted for closure say they haven't been included in the decision-making. "I, as a legislator, feel like I owe it to my constituents that I need to be more involved in terms of some of the cuts that are being made," Richard says. "People are asking questions, 'Why is this happening?' And we can't answer." Richard's task to get lawmakers to call their own special...
A total of 173 state employees have been laid off in the first two months of the fiscal year that started July 1. Lindsay Ruiz de Chavez, with the state Department of Civil Service, tells The Times-Picayune that the latest figures show that from July 1, 2008, to Aug. 31 of this year, 2,373 jobs have been abolished. During the first two months of the present fiscal year, 448 job positions were abolished, including positions that were vacant. The largest number of jobs lost came at Forcht-Wade Correctional Center near Shreveport, where 158 positions were abolished and 76 individuals were laid off. The state has more than 51,000 employees on the payroll under Civil Service and about 33,000 employees outside of the system.
A change in how the federal government calculates royalties from offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico could cost Louisiana $2.81 million and Alabama $7.52 million. That prospect has led the two Gulf Coast states to file suit against the federal government to block the change. The Birmingham News reports Alabama's legal challenge was recently combined with Louisiana's similar complaint, and the cases are pending in federal court in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Department of the Interior last year notified the states it was correcting old errors that caused overpaid royalties dating back to the 1980s, and is demanding the money be paid back. A section of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act requires that all "bonuses, rents, royalties and other revenues" from federal leases in certain zones within three nautical miles of shore go into a special account with the U.S. Treasury, and a portion of those go to the Gulf Coast states each month, according to Alabama's lawsuit. The...
The pathetic state of what passes for a surface street grid in Baton Rouge was on full display Aug. 22 when a tanker truck leaking a toxic chemical not only closed Interstate 10 but effectively shut down much of the city. Absent I-10 to ferry commuters to their jobs, drivers had no choice but to use surface streets that were never designed to handle such volume.
Gov. Bobby Jindal says Hurricane Isaac has cost state and local government agencies in Louisiana more than $66 million so far, and notes the cost is expected to grow. Jindal told reporters today that state agencies have spent more than $56 million on preparation and response efforts—including for shelters, fuel, and food and water. Additionally, the governor says parish governments have reported spending at least $10 million. That figure is likely to rise, however, as some tallies haven't been updated, Jindal says. State Treasurer John Kennedy issued a statement today saying the Louisiana Department of the Treasury and the State Bond Commission stand ready to work with local governments across the state if they need to seek emergency short-term financing to pay for hurricane preparation and rescue/response efforts, or just to jumpstart Isaac recovery efforts in anticipation of delayed federal aid. Kennedy says disaster-modeling companies have issued preliminary public and...
For our family vacation to Maryland this year, I thought it would be a good idea to drive instead of fly. Two facts that could not escape notice during our eight-state-and-District-of-Columbia odyssey were: 1) the horrible condition of Louisiana's pothole-infused roads compared to every other state we traveled, and 2) Baton Rouge is the undisputed litter capital of the South.
In 2005, Raleigh, N.C. invested $10 million in redeveloping its downtown area. The plan wasn't popular, and urban planners had a hard time getting taxpayers to understand the wisdom behind it.
In his quest to take Mayor Kip Holden's job, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker has been campaigning largely on a platform of stemming violent crime. Meanwhile, two-term incumbent Holden has been pointing to his eight-year record, part of which includes creating Operation BRAVE—the crime-fighting initiative from which he accuses Walker of lifting ideas. At the end of June, the Metro Council passed an $11.1 million budget supplement Holden introduced that includes a police academy this fall for 32 new police officers. Walker, a Republican who is in his third and final term, says if he were mayor now he would immediately hire at least 60 new police officers. "Right now, the mayor knows where all the money is hidden," Walker says. Holden, a Democrat seeking his third term as mayor, contends the police academy doesn't have the training to hire 60 officers at once, and adds another 30 will be hired next year. He also shows little effort to hide his bemusement with Walker's notion that...
City-parish Chief Operations Engineer David Guillory has been named interim director of the Department of Public Works, replacing William Daniel, who was named chief administrative officer by Mayor Kip Holden. In late July, Daniel was named interim CAO following the departure of John Carpenter, who left to "pursue other interests," effective Aug. 3. Guillory will now serve in the interim position until a current reorganization of the department is complete, at which time a search will be conducted to fill the position permanently. Guillory has been with the department since 2003. "David has been a key team member on our largest DPW projects and has earned the respect of the engineers and contractors that we interface with on a daily basis," says Holden in a news release. "In his current position, he has been very involved in the reorganization plan that is being developed, and we feel he is a solid choice to serve as Interim Director."
Over the past day or so, something new has popped up on a pair of electronic billboards on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard and Coursey Boulevard: tweets. One message Thursday evening bid Baton Rougeans goodnight and reminded them to lock their doors (an earlier tweet, after all, had observed them that "Crime in EBR the #1 problem"). Another tweet appearing today offers the city a good morning and asks motorists to remember to watch out for school zones. The tweets aren't overtly political in nature, though they are coming from Buddy Amoroso, who's vying for a Metro Council seat in this fall's election. "This is just kind of an experiment, and I've kind of been keeping it under wraps because I don't really want everyone else jumping into it," says Amoroso. "I know in Baton Rouge, I've been told that I am the first candidate to ever try this sort of thing, but I can promise you I won't be the last." Read the full story here....
Over the past day or so, something new has popped up on a pair of electronic billboards on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard and Coursey Boulevard: tweets.
When Jeff Selingo, editorial director of The Chronicle of Higher Education and author of the forthcoming book The Future of Higher Education, visited Baton Rouge recently to speak to the LSU Board of Supervisors about trends in higher education and inevitable changes on the horizon, it conjured up the image of Paul Revere in the mind of board member and Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister. Selingo rode into town with "insights … and warnings," writes McCollister in his latest column. "He claimed higher education nationally is paying the price for the mistakes it made in what he calls the industry's 'lost decade,' from 1999 to 2009," McCollister says. "He said, while higher ed grew and flourished, it failed to prepare for the change ahead—including less government funding and less resources for families—and did not embrace technology, which stood ready to help. Selingo said, 'Instead, colleges continued to focus on their unsustainable...
East Baton Rouge Assessor Brian Wilson is sending out notices of property reassessments the week of Aug. 13, but homeowners will also have the opportunity to go online and inspect their assessments at ebrpa.org. It's unclear how soon this year's reassessments will be posted to the website, but they will be available on a permanent basis. For immediate information on a reassessment, Wilson says homeowners can call his office at 389-3920. Beginning Aug. 24, home and property owners can visit the assessor's office through Sept. 7 to view reassessments on the books. Wilson says owners can appeal their assessment if they believe it is unfair or does not include property damage. When appealing, residents go before the Metro Council, which serves as a midlevel appeals panel for challenges to tax assessments. Wilson has not made a preliminary estimate of how much the reassessment could net in tax revenue for municipalities. It's difficult to figure how taxes relate to certain properties,...
A bill that former Rep. Jane Smith co-authored in 2009 cost the job of one Jindal Cabinet member. It might also end up costing the state more than $200 million a year.
Local business executive Milton Graugnard is suing CATS over the 10.6-mill property tax that was passed in April by voters in a specially crafted taxing district. "It's a case about fairness, taxation and the Constitution," Graugnard tells Daily Report. "Nothing is more important than our basic constitutional rights. No bus system or government service, however well intentioned, is worth violating that." Graugnard declines to comment further except to say the petition speaks for itself. That petition, filed last Friday in the 19th Judicial District, is the first of what will likely be several lawsuits over the tax, and comes after months of controversy and criticism about the way the taxing district was created and the way the special election was held. The suit asks the court for a permanent injunction against the tax on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, noting that only voters residing within the city limits of Baton Rouge and Baker were able to vote on the tax, even...
One of the best-kept secrets in the Legislature is the amount of state dollars that are directed to local and municipal governments. It's not that the information doesn't exist; it just isn't tabulated in a single place that's easy to access. For years, fiscal conservatives have complained—but not too loudly, as sometimes those dollars flow into their districts—that while state dollars are being slashed in the name of budget shortfalls, no one really knows how much money goes to local projects. State Rep. Jerome Richard, a Thibodeaux independent, is trying to change that. Last week, Richard filed a formal request with the House Fiscal Staff asking for information on local spending by the state. "I want to see where the money goes," says Richard. "I have heard it could be as much as $1 billion, though I've heard it could be less. We just really have no idea." Richard says he isn't opposed to using state funds for local projects; rather, he wants the big picture revealed.
Gov. Bobby Jindal and Jack Blalock, senior business development manager for Tiburon Associates Inc., announced today that Tiburon will create 350 jobs and open a maintenance overhaul facility for transport vehicles at Camp Minden. The transport vehicles are used to move military equipment and personnel to the battlefront. According to LED, the project will result in 577 indirect jobs, for a total of more than 900 new direct and indirect jobs in the regional economy. Located in northwest Louisiana, Camp Minden is the newest training site for the Louisiana National Guard and was a former 15,000-acre U.S. Army ammunition site before the federal government deeded the property to Louisiana in 2005. Tiburon, based in Alexandria, Va., won a first-year $14 million contract with its Texas-based partner, White's Paint Blast, to overhaul and recondition combat tactical wheeled vehicles from the federal Red River Army Depot near Texarkana, Texas. As the successful contract bidder, Tiburon chose...
John Carpenter, Mayor Kip Holden's chief administrative officer, is leaving the mayor's office "to pursue other interests," Holden announced today. Public Works Director William Daniel will take over as CAO. The changes are effective Aug. 3.
East Baton Rouge Assessor Brian Wilson is sending out notices of property reassessments the week of Aug. 13, but homeowners will also have the opportunity to go online and inspect their assessments at www.ebrpa.org, where the reassessments will be posted on a permanent basis. It's unclear how soon this year's reassessments will be posted to the website. For immediate information on a reassessment, Wilson says homeowners can call his office at 389-3920. Beginning Aug. 24, home and property owners can visit the assessor's office through Sept. 7 to view reassessments on the books. Wilson says owners can appeal their assessment if they believe it is unfair or does not include property damage. When appealing, residents go before the Metro Council, which serves as a mid-level appeals panel for challenges to tax assessments. Wilson has not made a preliminary estimate of how much the reassessment could net in tax revenue for...
The Senate has debated, sniped and voted on the politically fraught issue of tax cuts, and next week the House is likely to do it all over again. Still, Americans won't know until after the November elections how much more of their paychecks will go to the government next year. House Speaker John Boehner says that his Republican-led chamber is "more than willing" to make Democrats vote on the President Barack Obama's plan to extend former president George W. Bush's tax cuts for all but the wealthiest Americans. He also is bringing up the GOP's proposal to extend the tax cuts for everyone. The outcome is almost certainly stalemated until the November elections, so leaders of both houses of Congress are turning the House and Senate into campaign stages on one of the defining issues of the presidential and congressional races. Obama signaled today he's ready to do his part to light a fire under lawmakers. "I would urge the House of Representatives to do the right thing," he told...
You know that feeling… when someone says or does something (and it's usually pretty small) that totally rearranges the context of a discussion or activity. For me, it happened last night during the meeting of the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council.
The Metro Council is considering a few costly decisions tonight that it deferred from its meeting at the end of June. The council will take up one proposal to roll forward some millage rates, and another to increase the minimum pay of the next library system director by at least $43,200. The following six taxing districts have millage rates the council is considering rolling forward: Baton Rouge Municipal Fire Salaries & Benefits, Alsen Fire Protection District No. 9, Brownsfield Fire Protection District No. 3, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Protection District No. 1, and Pride Fire Protection District No. 8. Increasing all millages would net roughly $790,521 more in revenue, the city-parish estimates, for about a 3.5% increase in the roughly $22.5 million annually collected. Meanwhile, the library system, which has been without a director since David Farrar resigned in December, proposes to the Metro Council to increase the next director's pay range to $115,588 and $160,000, from...
Woody Jenkins, the head of the East Baton Rouge Republican Party, has a logic problem when it comes to his varied stances on the rolling forward of property tax millage rates by local taxing authorities, says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball in his latest column. "Sometimes he believes this action is a backdoor tax hike without the approval of voters," Ball writes. "Other times he believes this action is perfectly acceptable." Jenkins decried a proposal from BREC in late June to roll forward its property tax millage rate to generate an additional $1.5 million next year for the department, Ball notes. "It's his view—and mine—that rolling tax rates forward to generate higher tax revenue is nothing more than a tax increase that sidesteps a vote of the people," Ball writes. But less than two weeks after celebrating his victory over BREC, Ball says, Jenkins did a 180: supporting the unilateral decision by Sheriff Sid Gautreaux to roll that department's millage...
If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, get ready for your blood pressure to rise. You probably have already read President Barack Obama's recent comments discrediting all those who have worked hard to achieve the American dream of owning a business. He actually said, “If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.”
Woody Jenkins, the head of the East Baton Rouge Republican Party, has a logic problem when it comes to the rolling forward of property tax millage rates by local taxing authorities. Sometimes he believes this action is a backdoor tax hike without the approval of voters. Other times he believes this action is perfectly acceptable.
The antidote to Baton Rouge's traffic woes has been on the books for decades. It's called the Major Street Plan and is the backbone of the Green Light Plan, which has six projects under way and 26 already completed.
The CATS Board of Directors convened a special board meeting this morning to sign off on "a piece of paperwork" that it had missed in June when the board requested permission from the state Bond Commission to seek a $3 million bond loan to keep buses running through the end of the year, says Chairman Jared Loftus. Though voters in April approved a 10.6-mill property tax to bolster and improve CATS, collection doesn't begin until December and this year's budget had faced a deficit of $2.1 million. Loftus says the loan will be paid back with future tax collections. "This basically is borrowing against the revenue on the tax we'll receive next year," Loftus says. CATS officials have said in the past the deficit stems from a loss of state and federal grants, along with the increasing cost of fuel and maintenance. The new tax is expected to generate about $16 million annually. CATS' current budget is around $12 million. —Adam Pearson
In a letter released today, PAR President Robert Travis Scott highlights the Department of Revenue's failure to create a list of vehicles eligible for an alternative fuel vehicle tax credit until this April, three years after the law was passed. The April ruling has been rejected by Gov. Bobby Jindal, and the Revenue Department has not yet issued new rules explaining the scope of the credit. An outside estimate pegs the possible cost of the credit at $200 million annually; the fiscal note prepared in 2009 projected a five-year cost of $907,000. "We do not know how much of the spike in the cost was due to the April publication of the vehicle list, or whether the program all along was running more expensively than the public knew," Scott says. "[I]t appears that neither the Legislature nor the governor's office asked to see proposed rules for the program, and they did not follow up to revisit the program's impact." The lack of accurate numbers, he says, "could be a symptom of a state...
A New Orleans City Councilman says he will plead guilty to a federal criminal charge involving the misuse of federal money intended to help a nonprofit organization after Hurricane Katrina. In a statement released by his attorney today, Jon Johnson says he made the decision after meeting with federal officials. He also says he will resign from the council. Johnson's statement came moments after a court filing emerged showing that he would be charged with conspiracy to commit theft of government funds and to submit false documents. The 63-year-old Johnson is accused of diverting money intended for the Ninth Ward Housing Development Corp. for personal use, including expenses for his failed 2007 campaign for a seat in the Louisiana Senate. The documents say Johnson controlled the finances of the housing development group, which obtained Federal Emergency Management Agency grants for house gutting and mold remediation after the August 2005 storm and resulting flood. Prosecutors say...
A leading bond ratings agency has taken note of Louisiana's loss of as much as $859 million in Medicaid financing, calling the budget hit a "credit negative" for the state. As The Times-Picayune reports, the notation from Moody's Investors Service does not yet affect the state government bond rating—currently high investment grade and stable—but denotes for investors a significant change in the state's balance sheet. The agency issued the notation before the state unveiled $551 million in spending cuts to the Medicaid insurance program that provides coverage to about 1.2 million Louisiana residents, most of them children. The cuts include $193 million in state general fund reductions, with the balance accounted for by lost federal matching money. Michael DiResto, a spokesman for the Louisiana Division of Administration, says Gov. Bobby Jindal believes state finances, including its debt scores, are on firm ground. "As we have in the past, we are acting swiftly to...
Republican Sen. Dan Claitor of Baton Rouge has asked Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell for his office to issue an official opinion on whether or not the 10.6-mill property tax that Baton Rouge and Baker voters approved in April for CATS funding is legal under Louisiana's constitution. In a five-page letter sent to Caldwell on July 5, Claitor argues that the election was not necessary and is "at odds with earlier, more constitutionally sound proposals for CATS funding." As approved by voters, Claitor says, "the CATS tax forces people owning property within the city limits of Baton Rouge and Baker to pay for services provided to untaxed parties outside the city limits and elsewhere in the parish." Claitor cites a 1974 case argued before the Louisiana Supreme Court as precedent "that a tax of this sort violates the constitutional right to equal protection." Read Claitor's complete five-page request for the opinion
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on health care last month shook the nation, but what Congress did the day before rocked Louisiana, for better and worse.
Humans have the amazing capacity to ignore root causes and focus strictly on the symptoms. For example, instead of dealing with the underlying reasons for Baton Rouge's horrendous traffic (decades of poor planning decisions, the lack of a working street grid and an over-reliance on the automobile), we prefer instead to attack the symptom of roads disguised as parking lots by simply making those roads wider.
In 2010, St. Tammany Parish officials asked the state Bond Commission for an “emergency” tax renewal election. Their requested date fell on the Saturday before Christmas, current Secretary of State Tom Schedler says.
The Supreme Court's health care ruling has been very good for one politician in particular: Gov. Bobby Jindal. At least, that's what the The Washington Post's Rachel Weiner says in a blog post today. "In conference calls and public appearances, Jindal has become the most prominent Republican critic of Obamacare. That could make him a powerful surrogate for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney," Weiner says. "On Friday, Jindal warned that the government could soon force Americans to eat tofu and drive hybrid cars. He said his state would not implement the health care law; instead, he would work to elect Romney and have the law repealed." Weiner says the role is one for which Jindal is uniquely suited. After all, he became secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals in 1996 "at the ripe old age of 24." He turned a $400 million deficit into a multiyear surplus. Two years later, he was appointed executive director of a bipartisan commission on the future of...
BREC is considering a proposal to raise taxes, without a vote of the people, during a meeting at 5 p.m. today, reports Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball. The officials at BREC will argue this is not a tax increase; instead, they will suggest that tonight's vote to roll forward the property tax millage to 14.463 mills, from 14.038 mills, is simply a way to generate more revenue from taxes already approved by voters. If approved by a two-thirds vote of commissioners, the millage hike will generate an additional $1.488 million for BREC's budget next fiscal year. BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight says the increase is necessary due to increasing costs and inflation. The easy response to McKnight's position is that all of us, including taxpayers, are struggling to keep our financial books balanced, and perhaps BREC should look to cut expenses—and eliminate money-losing programs—rather than forcing taxpayers to dig deeper into their own pockets. The more probing...
Officials with BREC will meet this afternoon to consider raising taxes without a vote of the people. If this matters to you, then it would be wise to attend the commission meeting at 5 p.m. at BREC's headquarters on Florida Boulevard.
Congressional Republicans are pressing the Obama administration to say whether a new interagency task force focused on natural gas drilling will push new federal regulations on top of existing state mandates. The Houston Chronicle reports 11 Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee also want to know more about how the working group is coordinating with the Environmental Protection Agency, as the EPA prepares new studies, regulations and guidance for hydraulic fracturing techniques used to extract natural gas. In a letter sent to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House adviser Heather Zichal on Tuesday, the GOP lawmakers took issue with the presidential order establishing the task force on April 13. President Barack Obama's executive order instructs the working group to "facilitate coordinated administration policy efforts to support safe and responsible unconventional natural gas development." However, the Republicans pointed out, the same order also says...
La. among 13 states where police not using facial-recognition system
The faces of more than 120 million people are in searchable photo databases that officials in dozens of states have assembled to prevent driver's-license fraud but that increasingly are used by police to identify suspects, accomplices and even innocent bystanders in a wide range of criminal investigations. As The Washington Post reports, Louisiana is one of just 13 states in the country where the controversial technology is not being used by anyone, let alone law enforcement. Thirty-seven states now use facial-recognition technology in their driver's-license registries. At least 26 of those allow state, local or federal law enforcement agencies to search—or request searches—of photo databases in an attempt to learn the identities of people. Use of such facial searches by police is blurring the traditional boundaries between criminal and non-criminal databases, putting images of people never arrested in what amounts to perpetual digital lineups. The most advanced...
Swift exit
Despite a steady ridership at around 10,500 passengers a month, the LA Swift bus service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans will stop running at the end of this month, with the DOTD announcing it would not renew the service's contract.
Audit says La. may owe feds for misspent storm aid
A new audit says Louisiana may be on the hook to the federal government for more than $115 million in disaster relief aid that was misspent or awarded to ineligible recipients. The money was designed to help property owners recover from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The legislative auditor's review of the Office of Community Development was released today. The Office of Community Development oversees the Road Home program, the Small Rental Property Loan Program and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. In a response letter, OCD Executive Director Patrick Forbes says his department is being aggressive in recovering money from suspected fraud cases or duplicated benefits, but homeowner recovery is prioritized over "recapture" in other instances. He says federal officials support the strategy.
A better block is upon us
This weekend marks the beginning of a transformation on Government Street with the Better Block BR project. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on the two blocks between Bedford and Beverly drives, residents will get to see a model of what Government Street could look like if we push local and state officials to update the roadway to a safer, more “complete street” model.
Budget blues
Veteran Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville—who, as chairman of both the Senate Finance and Joint Legislative Budget committees, is one of the most powerful members of the Legislature—describes the recently unveiled 2013-14 state budget as “the most difficult budget we've ever had.”
Billions at stake for BP as Gulf oil spill trial opens
Nearly three years after a deadly rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico triggered the nation's worst offshore oil spill, a federal judge in New Orleans is presiding over a high-stakes trial for the raft of litigation spawned by the disaster. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier will hear several hours of opening statements today by lawyers for the companies involved in the 2010 spill and the plaintiffs who have sued them. And the judge, not a jury, ultimately could decide how much more money BP and its partners on the ill-fated drilling project owe for their roles in the environmental catastrophe. BP has said it already has racked up more than $24 billion in spill-related expenses and has estimated it will pay a total of $42 billion to fully resolve its liability for the disaster that killed 11 workers and spewed millions of gallons of oil. But the trial attorneys for the federal government and Gulf Coast states and private plaintiffs hope to convince the judge that the company is liable...
Petition started for Watson incorporation
It's full steam ahead for the people of Watson. Over the next few weeks, the Livingston Parish community north of Denham Springs will begin circulating a petition seeking a people's vote on whether to form their own incorporated city. If they are able to gather 3,000 certified signatures by July, the referendum could be on the Oct. 19 ballot. Gene Baker of Neighbors in Action—the grassroots organization behind the initiative—tells Daily Report nearly 300 people braved the rain to attend a community gathering last week, expressing a 3-to-1 consensus in favor of incorporation. Proposed city boundaries would incorporate roughly 35 square miles between Amite Church Road and the St. Helena Parish line, taking in 22,000 residents—twice as many as Denham Springs and three times that of Walker. Details as to how the municipal government would function and be funded will be hammered out after the vote. Baker says Neighbors in Action is opposed to upping taxes, instead...
Rightsizing Baton Rouge streets
Picture a busy surface street in the city you use frequently. How would you make it rightsized? By that, I mean, the street likely no longer meets the needs of the people who use it. The road doesn't have a middle turning lane or a median to control traffic flow. The area is frequented by pedestrians and cyclists, but the infrastructure doesn't allow safe crosswalks, bike lanes or even sidewalks in some areas. Maybe it needs additional lanes for heavy traffic, or less lanes because it no longer services many vehicles.
Lobbyist sees momentum for federal tax reform
Congress almost certainly will address major tax reform in 2013, says John Kelly Jr., who directs tax policy work for Cornerstone Government Affairs. However, legislation may not reach President Barack Obama's desk this year. Reform will likely involve lower tax rates and fewer exemptions. Obama has proposed lowering the corporate rate to 28%, but beyond that it's hard to know where the president stands on specifics, Kelly says. The Senate confirmation hearings for Jack Lew, Obama's choice for Treasury secretary, could be instructive. Congress has other immediate fiscal concerns, such as the automatic spending cuts that were postponed in the "fiscal cliff" deal but are scheduled to take effect in March. But Sen. Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, and Rep. Dave Camp, the Michigan Republican who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means, both support "tearing the tax code out by the roots," Kelly says. He adds almost everyone on Capitol Hill...
Conservationists pumped about government focus on B.R. aquifer
Saltwater intrusion into the Southern Hills Aquifer via a southeast salt dome has been a concern among activists and the Baton Rouge Water Co. for decades, but no state authority has officially addressed the infiltration with a serious plan until now. About two weeks ago, the state Office of Conservation formally requested that the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation Commission—created in 1974 by the state Legislature to manage the aquifer—recognize that the aquifer is in an unsustainable condition and begin discussing possible solutions, starting March 19. "Yes, this is the most traction that it's ever had," says Eugene Owen, executive chairman of the Baton Rouge Water Co., regarding the issue of the aquifer's condition. At the same time, Owen says, the water company will begin building this year a "scavenger well" and pipeline to extract the denser saltwater from the freshwater aquifer and pump it to a discharge station on the Mississippi River north of Baton Rouge...
Louisiana to pay $108M to end Superdome bond deal
Louisiana is paying $108 million to get out of a deal that helped rebuild and upgrade the Superdome in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina but later exploded in interest costs. The State Bond Commission received the final details today of the debt refinancing for the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, which includes the termination payment to end the previous arrangement. The LSED is borrowing $361 million to restructure the bond deal from 2006 that became saddled with problems during the credit crunch and financial downturn two years after the deal was struck. The $108 million termination penalty will be rolled into the refinanced borrowing and paid off over decades with the rest of the debt. The arrangement also ends litigation with Merrill Lynch over the previous arrangement.
Lawsuit filed challenging Jindal budgeting tactics
Two Jefferson Parish lawmakers lodged a legal challenge today against the state's $25 billion budget, asking a judge to declare its patchwork financing a violation of the Louisiana Constitution. Republican Reps. Kirk Talbot and Cameron Henry filed the lawsuit, which is the latest salvo in an ongoing dispute that conservative House Republicans have with Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal over his use of one-time funding to pay for ongoing programs and services in state government. Talbot says he hopes to get a ruling on the lawsuit before next year's 2013-14 budget is passed and the new fiscal year starts July 1. He says the lawsuit is being financed through campaign dollars and with assistance from politically active Baton Rouge businessman Lane Grigsby. The lawsuit says the budget is unconstitutional because it spends $240 million more from the state general fund than the amount recognized by the state's income-forecasting panel and because it doesn't follow constitutional limits on...
Obama demands quick action to raise debt limit
President Barack Obama demanded today that lawmakers raise the nation's $16.4 trillion federal debt limit quickly, warning that "Social Security benefits and veterans' checks will be delayed" if they don't and cautioning Republicans not to insist on cuts to government spending in exchange. "They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the economy," says Obama, who made the remarks at the 21st and final news conference of his first term. "The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip. And they better decide quickly because time is running short." Within minutes of Obama's remarks, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky responded by saying the president and his allies in Congress need to get serious about spending and that the debt-limit debate is the perfect time for it. House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, also released a statement, saying: "The American people do not support raising the debt ceiling without...
New year, new opportunities
With the beginning of 2013, we get a new team with new ideas, new goals—and new challenges.
Life after Stelly
“One of these days the people of Louisiana are going to get good government, and they aren't going to like it.” –Huey Long
Nominees for CATS board
• Cassandra Bickham
• Helena Cunnigham
• James Gammel
• Twahna Harris
• Ryan Heck
• Dalton Honore (Incumbent-eligible for reappointment)
• Jared Loftus (Incumbent-eligible for reappointment)
• Anthony Nelson
• Kenneth Perret
• Timothy Pickett
• Mari Presedo
• Dustin Puryear
• Emmett Robbins
• Deborah Roe (Incumbent-eligible for reappointment)
• Ladonna Ward
• Marla Williams (Incumbent-eligible for reappointment)
Editor: My hopes for 2013
Every year, during the Christmas season, Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball says his customary cynicism gives way—albeit briefly—to idealistic hope. "This transformation of self is most likely attributable to the steady downing of eggnog, infused with multiple fingers of bourbon and brandy," Ball writes in his latest column. "Whatever the reason for my season of joyous thought, these feelings almost always dissipate shortly after the Epiphany. (The irony is, indeed, noted.)" Ball says his greatest hopes for the coming year include the following: that "whoever is responsible for estimating state revenues under Gov. Bobby Jindal does a better job of predicting just how much money is actually available for spending"; that "Tim Barfield, Stephen Moret and others in the Jindal administration tasked with developing a tax reform plan are truly interested in making real and systemic changes to how the state gets its revenue"; and that "the people of Louisiana care as...
The season of hope
Every year, during the Christmas season, my customary cynicism gives way—albeit briefly—to idealistic hope. This transformation of self is most likely attributable to the steady downing of eggnog, infused with multiple fingers of bourbon and brandy. Whatever the reason for my season of joyous thought, these feelings almost always dissipate shortly after the Epiphany. (The irony is, indeed, noted.)
Obama says he and Boehner are 'pretty close' to a budget deal
With measured optimism, President Barack Obama said today he and House Speaker John Boehner are "pretty close" to a grand fiscal deal to avoid a first-of-the-year shock to the economy, but that congressional Republicans "keep on finding ways to say no as opposed to finding ways to say yes." Obama today cast a resolution to the "fiscal cliff" talks as a matter of political will. He also mentioned the recent massacre of schoolchildren in Connecticut in making the point, saying the nation deserves a compromise by its political leaders. "If this past week has done anything, it should just give us some perspective," he says, further urging lawmakers to "peel off the partisan war paint" and strike a deal. Obama spoke to reporters at the White House after announcing an administrationwide response to Friday's shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, which killed 20 first-graders and six adults. His comments came shortly after the White House threatened to veto Boehner's backup plan for...
The politics of Medicaid expansion
Roll Call, a political magazine published in Washington, D.C., recently handicapped Sen. Mary Landrieu's 2014 re-election chances at 50-50. The odds against her were worse three years ago, when she was being vilified by Republicans here and nationwide for supporting President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. In those dark days, with conservative commentators labeling her a "prostitute" for wrangling funding for Louisiana, the unpopular new law was seen as the lodestone that would sink her career.
News roundup: HSBC execs avoid laundering charges … Developers worry about new rules for phone apps … Google launches online Dead Sea Scrolls library
Too big to jail? When the Justice Department announced its record $1.9 billion settlement against British bank HSBC last week, prosecutors called it a powerful blow to a dysfunctional institution accused of laundering money for Iran, Libya and Mexico's murderous drug cartels. But to some former federal prosecutors, it is only the latest case in which the government stopped short of bringing criminal money-laundering charges against a big bank or its executives, at least in part on the rationale that such prosecutions could be devastating enough to cause such banks to fail. They're calling it "too big to jail." Read the full story here.
Jindal administration makes budget cuts across agencies
Gov. Bobby Jindal's chief financial adviser today announced a mix of cuts, one-time patches and hiring-freeze savings to close a nearly $166 million budget gap, with dollars slashed from hospice care, juvenile justice treatment, colleges, and domestic violence and abuse programs. Doctors and hospitals that care for the poor, disabled and elderly in the Medicaid program will be paid less for those services. Dental benefits to pregnant women through Medicaid will be suspended. Money for state parks' maintenance is being reduced. Public colleges will be hit with a $22 million reduction in state funding. The Jindal administration says the cut to schools should not be a problem because they brought in more tuition than expected and saved millions with a hiring freeze. Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols detailed the plans to lawmakers. The cuts and financing changes will rebalance the $25 billion budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30. It was the fifth year in a row that...
No decision yet on La. passport requirement for domestic flights
Narrow 'fiscal cliff' bargain looks likely
Hopes dimming for a wide-ranging bargain, the White House and many congressional Republicans appear to be setting their sights on a more modest deal that would extend current tax rates for most Americans, raise rates for top earners and leave other, vexing issues for the new year. President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met late Thursday for less than an hour at the White House, but there were few signs of progress. Both sides agreed to describe the talks as "frank," a less than optimistic assessment that suggested the president and the speaker stuck to their opposing positions. Boehner was sticking with his plans to leave for his home state of Ohio today, limiting opportunities for further in-person talks in the coming days. While Boehner took the lead in negotiations, a growing number of Senate Republicans were calling on their House colleagues to yield on their opposition to letting top tax rates increase on income over $250,000 for couples, while extending Bush-era...
New U.S. budget deficit figures point to $1 trillion in red ink once again
The U.S. federal government's budget deficit widened in November compared to October, a sign that the nation is on a path to its fifth straight $1 trillion-plus deficit. The budget gap rose to $172 billion in November, up from $120 billion in October, the Treasury Department announced today. The November deficit was also 25% higher than the same month last year. Last month's deficit was pushed higher by a calendar quirk that pulled about $33 billion in benefits payments into November from December. The government finished the 2012 budget year with a deficit of $1.1 trillion. President Barack Obama and Congress are under pressure to curb the deficit as part of a budget deal to prevent tax increases and deep spending cuts from kicking in Jan. 1. The deficit, in the simplest terms, is the amount of money the government has to borrow when revenues fall short of expenses. Last year's deficit was lower than that of the previous year but still extremely high by historical standards. The...
Give me shelter
The rush is on.
Sales taxes 'R' us
Here's the trouble with calling for a tax reform package that dramatically reduces Louisiana's reliance on regressive sales taxes: People tend to actually like sales taxes, preferring them over pretty much all other forms of taxation.
Big ideas
I'm not one to casually throw out motivational quotes. But at the Smart Growth Summit in downtown Baton Rouge Wednesday, Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology said something I thought applied well to the many movers and shakers in the room (not to mention, y'know, to life in general). To paraphrase, “Great ideas, unlike fine wine, don't get better with age sitting up on a shelf.”
Term limits prevent Jackson from extending her Planning Commission service
A longtime board member of the city-parish Planning Commission is termed-out and unable to retain her seat going forward next year. Audrey Nabors Jackson has served on the Planning Commission since 1994. But in 2006 the city-parish approved a new plan of government calling for two consecutive terms, or eight consecutive years—whichever is greater—for members of boards and commissions in the parish. However, the new plan allows members to serve a third term if they receive a three-fourths approval vote from the Metro Council. Then they are done. Jackson gained nine votes for a final term in January 2009. "She's exhausted that option," says EBR Council Administrator Brian Mayers. Since Jackson has served the BREC board via the Planning Commission, she will also lose her seat on the recreation and parks committee. "They plan on kicking me off," says Jackson. However, the Chaneyville community activist says she'll continue volunteering her time with the YMCA, the Kiwanis Club...
Boé calls for consolidating law enforcement
Metro Council member Joel Boé says by early next year it will be time to revisit and staff a committee formed in April 2011 to study the viability of consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office. "Sadly it made no progress," Boé says in a prepared statement released Monday. "I support police unification for Baton Rouge as a way to put more police on our streets." Councilman Chandler Loupe originally introduced forming the committee, although he had no intention of serving on it at the time and still doesn't. However, Loupe says he'll be supportive of choosing three council members to serve on the committee. Boé says the committee would also be served by representatives from BRPD and the sheriff's office, and should include a position for a representative of Mayor Kip Holden's administration, which it currently doesn't have. Boé says the committee would study what steps are needed to actually consolidate law enforcement. As he understands it,...
State suspends towing in Third Street garage
The state of Louisiana is suspending its increasingly controversial practice of towing in the Third Street parking garage in downtown Baton Rouge. A meeting called by Billy Wilson, director of the Office of State Buildings, is currently under way with Baton Rouge Chief Administrative Officer William Daniels and DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer to discuss the parking situation. Division of Administration spokesman Michael DiResto says the state wants to work with the city on a number of options for a long-term solution that balances the needs of the general public with those of the people and businesses who lease spaces. "We are exploring the possibility of ticketing parking violations, as well as the possibility of changing lease agreements so that leased spaces would be reserved only during the workday [between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays] and available for public use after hours and on weekends," DiResto says. "We have also taken steps, such as providing additional signage, to...
A fundamental right
This November, I am proud to join the National Rifle Association in support of Amendment 2 to the Louisiana Constitution to protect the gun rights of law abiding citizens, let me tell you why.
Project bids tied up in software glitch
In a year during which the city-parish government has already awarded nearly $500 million in construction contracts, the bidding process to install streetlights on Brightside Lane was no more extraordinary than any other project. The city-parish estimated the project would cost about $895,000. Four companies, accordingly, submitted their bids electronically. Diamond Electrical Co. was the lowest bidder. But due to a computer glitch in the bidding software, Diamond's final bid—which was an amendment to its first bid—wasn't acknowledged and the streetlight project went to Jack B. Harper Contractor Inc. Diamond brought their final bid of $649,000 to the city-parish's attention after Harper was awarded the project for $719,000. Diamond eventually was recognized as the lowest bidder. But it took the software developer 56 days to admit its system's error. "And now we're stuck with litigation," says Councilman Chandler Loupe. The Parish Attorney's Office says the software...
Oil in new Gulf slick matches that of 2010 spill
The oil in a slick detected in the Gulf of Mexico last month matched oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill two years ago, the Coast Guard confirmed Wednesday night, ending one mystery and creating another. "The exact source of the oil is unclear at this time but could be residual oil associated with the wreckage or debris left on the seabed from the Deepwater Horizon incident," says the Coast Guard, adding, "The sheen is not feasible to recover and does not pose a risk to the shoreline." One government expert says the thin sheen, just microns thick, was 3 miles by 300 yards as of Wednesday. Some oil drilling experts have said it's unlikely that BP's Macondo well, which suffered a blowout on April 20, 2010, is leaking again, given the extra precautions taken when it was finally sealed after spilling nearly 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf. BP declined to comment. But a BP internal slide presentation says the new oil sheen probably came from the riser, a long piece of pipe that...
Addison introduces rule to allow bars to operate until 4 a.m.
In light of the Metro Council taking up Wednesday a proposal that would roll back a restriction on the hours alcohol can be sold on Sundays, Councilman Ulysses "Bones" Addison is adding an amendment to allow bars to operate until 4 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Addison was unavailable this morning to comment on the "new late-night permit," as it's called on the agenda. At the last council meeting in September, Councilwoman Alison Gary proposed repealing an ordinance restricting alcohol sales before 11 a.m. on Sundays, allowing retailers and bars to operate just like any other day of the week—without having to get permitted for showing more than half of gross sales are in food. Gary was unavailable to comment on Addison's proposal. Councilwoman Tara Wicker, who opposes Gary's amendment, says she has always known Addison to oppose leniency with regards to alcohol rules in the past and hopes his introduction is a strategy—a double-down, per se—to derail...
Lifting a B.R. 'blue law' could have some in community seeing red
When you start talking about relaxing restrictions on alcohol sales, as the Metro Council is doing, the opposition typically comes in some form of moral argument. And as 225 blogger Slater McKay points out in his latest post, that's precisely the kind of argument that led to limits on Sunday alcohol sales in the first place. It's what's known as a "blue law." "The term 'blue law' is a colloquialism that generally refers to a law restricting commerce in some fashion in deference to religious tradition. For instance, many Christians view Sunday as a day of rest. Because of that, some businesses in Baton Rouge face restricted hours of operation (car dealerships) and/or limits to what kind of commerce they can conduct (restaurants selling or serving alcohol/beer during certain hours)," McKay writes. But as McKay also points out, lifting a ban on alcohol sales before 11 a.m. on Sundays at bars and liquor stores in the parish actually amounts to a small expansion of the hours in...
Bar owners support alcohol amendment allowing Sunday sales
It was early Tuesday afternoon when bartender Ramona Arceneaux pondered aloud whether patrons at TJ's Lounge on Plank Road—north of metro airport—would be agreeable to the watering hole opening on Sundays. The patrons' replies were loud, emphatic, unprintable and in confirmation that they'd belly up to the bar this Sunday if they could. "They go to other places, across the river, that are open," Arceneaux says of her patrons' Sunday rituals. Councilwoman Alison Gary says the fact that East Baton Rouge Parish is surrounded by parishes where alcohol rules are relaxed on Sundays is part of the reason why she introduced an amendment to the Metro Council last month that would strip restrictions on bars opening and alcohol being sold before 11 a.m. on Sundays. Currently, restaurants can get permission to sell liquor and beer on Sundays if more than half of gross sales are from food or nonalcoholic products. "I just don't think that it's the government's responsibility to keep...
Puzzling puzzle
In 1926, Baton Rouge High School was built outside city limits—four blocks east of the boundary line at South 22nd Street. For 23 years the flagship school operated outside the city, and Baton Rouge had bigger dreams than its five square miles and 35,000 people.
Grigsby organizing push to consolidate sheriff's office, police department
Local businessman and political activist Lane Grigsby is planning to mount a campaign to reorganize city-parish government in Baton Rouge—specifically, to push for a merger of the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office with the Baton Rouge Police Department. Grigsby is not the first to suggest that a single, combined law enforcement agency would be more effective and efficient in combating Baton Rouge's growing crime problem. But he may be the first person to put financial and political muscle behind seriously trying to tackle the issue. "What we're going to look at in the spring, regardless of who gets elected mayor, is reorganizing our plan of government, specifically our law enforcement," says Grigsby, who is working with the Northshore consulting firm Innovative Advertising on research and strategy related to the campaign. Grigsby points to Charlotte, N.C., and Louisville, Ky., as cities that have successfully combined their municipal and county law enforcement agencies...
Behind the numbers: How drought dragged down America's spring GDP
America's worst drought in decades was hurting the nation's economy in the spring—and the forecast for the rest of the year doesn't look much better—The Wall Street Journal reports. Earlier this month, the newspaper reported that despite some soothing rain from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac, some of the drought's economic damage had already been done. Michael Feroli, an economist at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., says the nation's growth in the second half of the year could take a small hit from America's most widespread drought since 1956. Turns out, American GDP is already suffering. The economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.3% in the second quarter, a steep drop from the first quarter's 2% and the fourth quarter's 4.1%—and significantly lower than the government's earlier estimates of 1.7% and 1.5%. One factor in the 0.4 percentage point revision:...
Jindal assails Obama health care, defends Romney in conference call
Mitt Romney might have been joking about accepting the role of "grandfather" of President Barack Obama's health care law, but when asked about it today, Gov. Bobby Jindal wasn't taking the bait, The Wall Street Journal reports. "I can't speak to the governor's sense of humor," says Jindal, who spoke during a conference call organized by the Romney campaign, in which he primarily talked about Obama's health care law and what a disaster it is. Romney "has consistently been against the national mandate," Jindal says. "He has consistently said that what works in one state … may not necessarily be right for other states." The Romney campaign is seeking to capitalize on a recent Congressional Budget Office report that shows nearly 6 million Americans—many of them in the middle class—will be subject to a tax penalty if they don't obtain insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Jindal expressed little concern that the Romney campaign must get back on message after a...
Proper Procedure: The Follow-Up
Last week, I pointed out two issues that should be cause for concern at the most recent friendly neighborhood Metro Council meeting: spending money without the benefit of a public hearing and an apparent lack of oversight over the boards and commissions of the Parish. This week, I wanted to delve a little more deeply into both of these issues for the public benefit.
Proportion of La. residents who don't pay income tax ranks near the top
When Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney spoke at a fundraiser about the 47% of Americans "who are dependent upon government—people who pay no income tax"—he could have been alluding to lots of Louisiana residents, reports The Times-Picayune. Except in one major respect, that is. Romney also told his supporters that such voters, who he said wouldn't benefit from his proposal to cut income taxes because they don't pay them, will vote for President Barack Obama "no matter what." But Louisiana voters are expected to overwhelmingly back Romney in the Nov. 6 election. By several important measures, Louisiana is in the top 10 of states in categories that measure the percentage of adults who don't pay taxes, or people who receive federal government benefits. And that's not even including the billions of dollars that flowed into the state after Hurricane Katrina. According to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, 39% of Louisiana residents who filed tax returns in 2008...
Thibodaux lawmaker trying to call special session
A Thibodaux lawmaker was attempting to rally support today for a special legislative session to revisit budget decisions made in recent months by Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration. Rep. Jerome "Dee" Richard, an independent, sent a letter to House members asking them to call themselves into a special session, a long-shot effort to get the Republican-led chambers to challenge the authority of the GOP governor. Richard says lawmakers have been improperly left out of Jindal administration budget cut decisions that are shuttering health care facilities and a state prison. Legislators in the areas where facilities have been targeted for closure say they haven't been included in the decision-making. "I, as a legislator, feel like I owe it to my constituents that I need to be more involved in terms of some of the cuts that are being made," Richard says. "People are asking questions, 'Why is this happening?' And we can't answer." Richard's task to get lawmakers to call their own special...
La. continues to shed state government jobs
A total of 173 state employees have been laid off in the first two months of the fiscal year that started July 1. Lindsay Ruiz de Chavez, with the state Department of Civil Service, tells The Times-Picayune that the latest figures show that from July 1, 2008, to Aug. 31 of this year, 2,373 jobs have been abolished. During the first two months of the present fiscal year, 448 job positions were abolished, including positions that were vacant. The largest number of jobs lost came at Forcht-Wade Correctional Center near Shreveport, where 158 positions were abolished and 76 individuals were laid off. The state has more than 51,000 employees on the payroll under Civil Service and about 33,000 employees outside of the system.
Louisiana, Alabama sue U.S. agency over drilling royalties
A change in how the federal government calculates royalties from offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico could cost Louisiana $2.81 million and Alabama $7.52 million. That prospect has led the two Gulf Coast states to file suit against the federal government to block the change. The Birmingham News reports Alabama's legal challenge was recently combined with Louisiana's similar complaint, and the cases are pending in federal court in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Department of the Interior last year notified the states it was correcting old errors that caused overpaid royalties dating back to the 1980s, and is demanding the money be paid back. A section of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act requires that all "bonuses, rents, royalties and other revenues" from federal leases in certain zones within three nautical miles of shore go into a special account with the U.S. Treasury, and a portion of those go to the Gulf Coast states each month, according to Alabama's lawsuit. The...
Loop not the answer
The pathetic state of what passes for a surface street grid in Baton Rouge was on full display Aug. 22 when a tanker truck leaking a toxic chemical not only closed Interstate 10 but effectively shut down much of the city. Absent I-10 to ferry commuters to their jobs, drivers had no choice but to use surface streets that were never designed to handle such volume.
Isaac costs to La. agencies: $66M and rising
Gov. Bobby Jindal says Hurricane Isaac has cost state and local government agencies in Louisiana more than $66 million so far, and notes the cost is expected to grow. Jindal told reporters today that state agencies have spent more than $56 million on preparation and response efforts—including for shelters, fuel, and food and water. Additionally, the governor says parish governments have reported spending at least $10 million. That figure is likely to rise, however, as some tallies haven't been updated, Jindal says. State Treasurer John Kennedy issued a statement today saying the Louisiana Department of the Treasury and the State Bond Commission stand ready to work with local governments across the state if they need to seek emergency short-term financing to pay for hurricane preparation and rescue/response efforts, or just to jumpstart Isaac recovery efforts in anticipation of delayed federal aid. Kennedy says disaster-modeling companies have issued preliminary public and...
CPEX quick hits
The Baton Rouge Center for Planning Excellence will hold its Smart Growth Summit at the end of the month. Some of the scheduled events:
Let's clean up our act
For our family vacation to Maryland this year, I thought it would be a good idea to drive instead of fly. Two facts that could not escape notice during our eight-state-and-District-of-Columbia odyssey were: 1) the horrible condition of Louisiana's pothole-infused roads compared to every other state we traveled, and 2) Baton Rouge is the undisputed litter capital of the South.
How planning can pay
In 2005, Raleigh, N.C. invested $10 million in redeveloping its downtown area. The plan wasn't popular, and urban planners had a hard time getting taxpayers to understand the wisdom behind it.
Holden, Walker lay out differing plans for police staffing
In his quest to take Mayor Kip Holden's job, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker has been campaigning largely on a platform of stemming violent crime. Meanwhile, two-term incumbent Holden has been pointing to his eight-year record, part of which includes creating Operation BRAVE—the crime-fighting initiative from which he accuses Walker of lifting ideas. At the end of June, the Metro Council passed an $11.1 million budget supplement Holden introduced that includes a police academy this fall for 32 new police officers. Walker, a Republican who is in his third and final term, says if he were mayor now he would immediately hire at least 60 new police officers. "Right now, the mayor knows where all the money is hidden," Walker says. Holden, a Democrat seeking his third term as mayor, contends the police academy doesn't have the training to hire 60 officers at once, and adds another 30 will be hired next year. He also shows little effort to hide his bemusement with Walker's notion that...
Guillory named EBR interim DPW director
City-parish Chief Operations Engineer David Guillory has been named interim director of the Department of Public Works, replacing William Daniel, who was named chief administrative officer by Mayor Kip Holden. In late July, Daniel was named interim CAO following the departure of John Carpenter, who left to "pursue other interests," effective Aug. 3. Guillory will now serve in the interim position until a current reorganization of the department is complete, at which time a search will be conducted to fill the position permanently. Guillory has been with the department since 2003. "David has been a key team member on our largest DPW projects and has earned the respect of the engineers and contractors that we interface with on a daily basis," says Holden in a news release. "In his current position, he has been very involved in the reorganization plan that is being developed, and we feel he is a solid choice to serve as Interim Director."
Metro Council candidate taking tweets to bigger, public screens
Over the past day or so, something new has popped up on a pair of electronic billboards on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard and Coursey Boulevard: tweets. One message Thursday evening bid Baton Rougeans goodnight and reminded them to lock their doors (an earlier tweet, after all, had observed them that "Crime in EBR the #1 problem"). Another tweet appearing today offers the city a good morning and asks motorists to remember to watch out for school zones. The tweets aren't overtly political in nature, though they are coming from Buddy Amoroso, who's vying for a Metro Council seat in this fall's election. "This is just kind of an experiment, and I've kind of been keeping it under wraps because I don't really want everyone else jumping into it," says Amoroso. "I know in Baton Rouge, I've been told that I am the first candidate to ever try this sort of thing, but I can promise you I won't be the last." Read the full story here....
Metro Council candidate taking tweets to bigger, public screens
Over the past day or so, something new has popped up on a pair of electronic billboards on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard and Coursey Boulevard: tweets.
Publisher: LSU can best its national competitors—in academics and football
When Jeff Selingo, editorial director of The Chronicle of Higher Education and author of the forthcoming book The Future of Higher Education, visited Baton Rouge recently to speak to the LSU Board of Supervisors about trends in higher education and inevitable changes on the horizon, it conjured up the image of Paul Revere in the mind of board member and Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister. Selingo rode into town with "insights … and warnings," writes McCollister in his latest column. "He claimed higher education nationally is paying the price for the mistakes it made in what he calls the industry's 'lost decade,' from 1999 to 2009," McCollister says. "He said, while higher ed grew and flourished, it failed to prepare for the change ahead—including less government funding and less resources for families—and did not embrace technology, which stood ready to help. Selingo said, 'Instead, colleges continued to focus on their unsustainable...
Rough cuts to LSU hospitals
Even more so than political corruption, what has set Louisiana apart from other states is its extensive network of state-run charity hospitals.
Assessments online
East Baton Rouge Assessor Brian Wilson is sending out notices of property reassessments the week of Aug. 13, but homeowners will also have the opportunity to go online and inspect their assessments at ebrpa.org. It's unclear how soon this year's reassessments will be posted to the website, but they will be available on a permanent basis. For immediate information on a reassessment, Wilson says homeowners can call his office at 389-3920. Beginning Aug. 24, home and property owners can visit the assessor's office through Sept. 7 to view reassessments on the books. Wilson says owners can appeal their assessment if they believe it is unfair or does not include property damage. When appealing, residents go before the Metro Council, which serves as a midlevel appeals panel for challenges to tax assessments. Wilson has not made a preliminary estimate of how much the reassessment could net in tax revenue for municipalities. It's difficult to figure how taxes relate to certain properties,...
Follow the money
A bill that former Rep. Jane Smith co-authored in 2009 cost the job of one Jindal Cabinet member. It might also end up costing the state more than $200 million a year.
Executive files suit over CATS tax
Local business executive Milton Graugnard is suing CATS over the 10.6-mill property tax that was passed in April by voters in a specially crafted taxing district. "It's a case about fairness, taxation and the Constitution," Graugnard tells Daily Report. "Nothing is more important than our basic constitutional rights. No bus system or government service, however well intentioned, is worth violating that." Graugnard declines to comment further except to say the petition speaks for itself. That petition, filed last Friday in the 19th Judicial District, is the first of what will likely be several lawsuits over the tax, and comes after months of controversy and criticism about the way the taxing district was created and the way the special election was held. The suit asks the court for a permanent injunction against the tax on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, noting that only voters residing within the city limits of Baton Rouge and Baker were able to vote on the tax, even...
Flow of money between state and cities a mystery
One of the best-kept secrets in the Legislature is the amount of state dollars that are directed to local and municipal governments. It's not that the information doesn't exist; it just isn't tabulated in a single place that's easy to access. For years, fiscal conservatives have complained—but not too loudly, as sometimes those dollars flow into their districts—that while state dollars are being slashed in the name of budget shortfalls, no one really knows how much money goes to local projects. State Rep. Jerome Richard, a Thibodeaux independent, is trying to change that. Last week, Richard filed a formal request with the House Fiscal Staff asking for information on local spending by the state. "I want to see where the money goes," says Richard. "I have heard it could be as much as $1 billion, though I've heard it could be less. We just really have no idea." Richard says he isn't opposed to using state funds for local projects; rather, he wants the big picture revealed.
Jindal, Tiburon announce 350 new jobs at Camp Minden
Gov. Bobby Jindal and Jack Blalock, senior business development manager for Tiburon Associates Inc., announced today that Tiburon will create 350 jobs and open a maintenance overhaul facility for transport vehicles at Camp Minden. The transport vehicles are used to move military equipment and personnel to the battlefront. According to LED, the project will result in 577 indirect jobs, for a total of more than 900 new direct and indirect jobs in the regional economy. Located in northwest Louisiana, Camp Minden is the newest training site for the Louisiana National Guard and was a former 15,000-acre U.S. Army ammunition site before the federal government deeded the property to Louisiana in 2005. Tiburon, based in Alexandria, Va., won a first-year $14 million contract with its Texas-based partner, White's Paint Blast, to overhaul and recondition combat tactical wheeled vehicles from the federal Red River Army Depot near Texarkana, Texas. As the successful contract bidder, Tiburon chose...
News Alert: Carpenter to leave Holden administration
John Carpenter, Mayor Kip Holden's chief administrative officer, is leaving the mayor's office "to pursue other interests," Holden announced today. Public Works Director William Daniel will take over as CAO. The changes are effective Aug. 3.
EBR property reassessments going online
East Baton Rouge Assessor Brian Wilson is sending out notices of property reassessments the week of Aug. 13, but homeowners will also have the opportunity to go online and inspect their assessments at www.ebrpa.org, where the reassessments will be posted on a permanent basis. It's unclear how soon this year's reassessments will be posted to the website. For immediate information on a reassessment, Wilson says homeowners can call his office at 389-3920. Beginning Aug. 24, home and property owners can visit the assessor's office through Sept. 7 to view reassessments on the books. Wilson says owners can appeal their assessment if they believe it is unfair or does not include property damage. When appealing, residents go before the Metro Council, which serves as a mid-level appeals panel for challenges to tax assessments. Wilson has not made a preliminary estimate of how much the reassessment could net in tax revenue for...
Debate on tax cut extension likely to last through election
The Senate has debated, sniped and voted on the politically fraught issue of tax cuts, and next week the House is likely to do it all over again. Still, Americans won't know until after the November elections how much more of their paychecks will go to the government next year. House Speaker John Boehner says that his Republican-led chamber is "more than willing" to make Democrats vote on the President Barack Obama's plan to extend former president George W. Bush's tax cuts for all but the wealthiest Americans. He also is bringing up the GOP's proposal to extend the tax cuts for everyone. The outcome is almost certainly stalemated until the November elections, so leaders of both houses of Congress are turning the House and Senate into campaign stages on one of the defining issues of the presidential and congressional races. Obama signaled today he's ready to do his part to light a fire under lawmakers. "I would urge the House of Representatives to do the right thing," he told...
When the Other Shoe Drops
You know that feeling… when someone says or does something (and it's usually pretty small) that totally rearranges the context of a discussion or activity. For me, it happened last night during the meeting of the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council.
Council to take up millages, library director's pay
The Metro Council is considering a few costly decisions tonight that it deferred from its meeting at the end of June. The council will take up one proposal to roll forward some millage rates, and another to increase the minimum pay of the next library system director by at least $43,200. The following six taxing districts have millage rates the council is considering rolling forward: Baton Rouge Municipal Fire Salaries & Benefits, Alsen Fire Protection District No. 9, Brownsfield Fire Protection District No. 3, Emergency Medical Services, Fire Protection District No. 1, and Pride Fire Protection District No. 8. Increasing all millages would net roughly $790,521 more in revenue, the city-parish estimates, for about a 3.5% increase in the roughly $22.5 million annually collected. Meanwhile, the library system, which has been without a director since David Farrar resigned in December, proposes to the Metro Council to increase the next director's pay range to $115,588 and $160,000, from...
Editor: Jenkins' inconsistent logic on rolling millage rates forward
Woody Jenkins, the head of the East Baton Rouge Republican Party, has a logic problem when it comes to his varied stances on the rolling forward of property tax millage rates by local taxing authorities, says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball in his latest column. "Sometimes he believes this action is a backdoor tax hike without the approval of voters," Ball writes. "Other times he believes this action is perfectly acceptable." Jenkins decried a proposal from BREC in late June to roll forward its property tax millage rate to generate an additional $1.5 million next year for the department, Ball notes. "It's his view—and mine—that rolling tax rates forward to generate higher tax revenue is nothing more than a tax increase that sidesteps a vote of the people," Ball writes. But less than two weeks after celebrating his victory over BREC, Ball says, Jenkins did a 180: supporting the unilateral decision by Sheriff Sid Gautreaux to roll that department's millage...
Obama discredits American entrepreneurs
If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, get ready for your blood pressure to rise. You probably have already read President Barack Obama's recent comments discrediting all those who have worked hard to achieve the American dream of owning a business. He actually said, “If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen.”
Milling around on taxes
Woody Jenkins, the head of the East Baton Rouge Republican Party, has a logic problem when it comes to the rolling forward of property tax millage rates by local taxing authorities. Sometimes he believes this action is a backdoor tax hike without the approval of voters. Other times he believes this action is perfectly acceptable.
Stalled progress
The antidote to Baton Rouge's traffic woes has been on the books for decades. It's called the Major Street Plan and is the backbone of the Green Light Plan, which has six projects under way and 26 already completed.
CATS signs off on missing paperwork for loan
The CATS Board of Directors convened a special board meeting this morning to sign off on "a piece of paperwork" that it had missed in June when the board requested permission from the state Bond Commission to seek a $3 million bond loan to keep buses running through the end of the year, says Chairman Jared Loftus. Though voters in April approved a 10.6-mill property tax to bolster and improve CATS, collection doesn't begin until December and this year's budget had faced a deficit of $2.1 million. Loftus says the loan will be paid back with future tax collections. "This basically is borrowing against the revenue on the tax we'll receive next year," Loftus says. CATS officials have said in the past the deficit stems from a loss of state and federal grants, along with the increasing cost of fuel and maintenance. The new tax is expected to generate about $16 million annually. CATS' current budget is around $12 million. —Adam Pearson
PAR blasts Dept. of Revenue on tax credits
In a letter released today, PAR President Robert Travis Scott highlights the Department of Revenue's failure to create a list of vehicles eligible for an alternative fuel vehicle tax credit until this April, three years after the law was passed. The April ruling has been rejected by Gov. Bobby Jindal, and the Revenue Department has not yet issued new rules explaining the scope of the credit. An outside estimate pegs the possible cost of the credit at $200 million annually; the fiscal note prepared in 2009 projected a five-year cost of $907,000. "We do not know how much of the spike in the cost was due to the April publication of the vehicle list, or whether the program all along was running more expensively than the public knew," Scott says. "[I]t appears that neither the Legislature nor the governor's office asked to see proposed rules for the program, and they did not follow up to revisit the program's impact." The lack of accurate numbers, he says, "could be a symptom of a state...
N.O. councilman to plead guilty in post-Katrina fraud
A New Orleans City Councilman says he will plead guilty to a federal criminal charge involving the misuse of federal money intended to help a nonprofit organization after Hurricane Katrina. In a statement released by his attorney today, Jon Johnson says he made the decision after meeting with federal officials. He also says he will resign from the council. Johnson's statement came moments after a court filing emerged showing that he would be charged with conspiracy to commit theft of government funds and to submit false documents. The 63-year-old Johnson is accused of diverting money intended for the Ninth Ward Housing Development Corp. for personal use, including expenses for his failed 2007 campaign for a seat in the Louisiana Senate. The documents say Johnson controlled the finances of the housing development group, which obtained Federal Emergency Management Agency grants for house gutting and mold remediation after the August 2005 storm and resulting flood. Prosecutors say...
Moody's notes 'negative' potential of Louisiana's Medicaid cuts
A leading bond ratings agency has taken note of Louisiana's loss of as much as $859 million in Medicaid financing, calling the budget hit a "credit negative" for the state. As The Times-Picayune reports, the notation from Moody's Investors Service does not yet affect the state government bond rating—currently high investment grade and stable—but denotes for investors a significant change in the state's balance sheet. The agency issued the notation before the state unveiled $551 million in spending cuts to the Medicaid insurance program that provides coverage to about 1.2 million Louisiana residents, most of them children. The cuts include $193 million in state general fund reductions, with the balance accounted for by lost federal matching money. Michael DiResto, a spokesman for the Louisiana Division of Administration, says Gov. Bobby Jindal believes state finances, including its debt scores, are on firm ground. "As we have in the past, we are acting swiftly to...
Official AG opinion sought on constitutionality of CATS tax
Republican Sen. Dan Claitor of Baton Rouge has asked Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell for his office to issue an official opinion on whether or not the 10.6-mill property tax that Baton Rouge and Baker voters approved in April for CATS funding is legal under Louisiana's constitution. In a five-page letter sent to Caldwell on July 5, Claitor argues that the election was not necessary and is "at odds with earlier, more constitutionally sound proposals for CATS funding." As approved by voters, Claitor says, "the CATS tax forces people owning property within the city limits of Baton Rouge and Baker to pay for services provided to untaxed parties outside the city limits and elsewhere in the parish." Claitor cites a 1974 case argued before the Louisiana Supreme Court as precedent "that a tax of this sort violates the constitutional right to equal protection." Read Claitor's complete five-page request for the opinion
La. is center stage in D.C.
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on health care last month shook the nation, but what Congress did the day before rocked Louisiana, for better and worse.
The politics of want
Humans have the amazing capacity to ignore root causes and focus strictly on the symptoms. For example, instead of dealing with the underlying reasons for Baton Rouge's horrendous traffic (decades of poor planning decisions, the lack of a working street grid and an over-reliance on the automobile), we prefer instead to attack the symptom of roads disguised as parking lots by simply making those roads wider.
Election overkill
In 2010, St. Tammany Parish officials asked the state Bond Commission for an “emergency” tax renewal election. Their requested date fell on the Saturday before Christmas, current Secretary of State Tom Schedler says.
Jindal using Supreme Court ruling to boost national profile
The Supreme Court's health care ruling has been very good for one politician in particular: Gov. Bobby Jindal. At least, that's what the The Washington Post's Rachel Weiner says in a blog post today. "In conference calls and public appearances, Jindal has become the most prominent Republican critic of Obamacare. That could make him a powerful surrogate for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney," Weiner says. "On Friday, Jindal warned that the government could soon force Americans to eat tofu and drive hybrid cars. He said his state would not implement the health care law; instead, he would work to elect Romney and have the law repealed." Weiner says the role is one for which Jindal is uniquely suited. After all, he became secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals in 1996 "at the ripe old age of 24." He turned a $400 million deficit into a multiyear surplus. Two years later, he was appointed executive director of a bipartisan commission on the future of...
Editor: BREC wants to raise taxes
BREC is considering a proposal to raise taxes, without a vote of the people, during a meeting at 5 p.m. today, reports Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball. The officials at BREC will argue this is not a tax increase; instead, they will suggest that tonight's vote to roll forward the property tax millage to 14.463 mills, from 14.038 mills, is simply a way to generate more revenue from taxes already approved by voters. If approved by a two-thirds vote of commissioners, the millage hike will generate an additional $1.488 million for BREC's budget next fiscal year. BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight says the increase is necessary due to increasing costs and inflation. The easy response to McKnight's position is that all of us, including taxpayers, are struggling to keep our financial books balanced, and perhaps BREC should look to cut expenses—and eliminate money-losing programs—rather than forcing taxpayers to dig deeper into their own pockets. The more probing...
Two Cents: BREC wants to raise your taxes
Officials with BREC will meet this afternoon to consider raising taxes without a vote of the people. If this matters to you, then it would be wise to attend the commission meeting at 5 p.m. at BREC's headquarters on Florida Boulevard.
Republicans press White House to explain natural gas task force
Congressional Republicans are pressing the Obama administration to say whether a new interagency task force focused on natural gas drilling will push new federal regulations on top of existing state mandates. The Houston Chronicle reports 11 Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee also want to know more about how the working group is coordinating with the Environmental Protection Agency, as the EPA prepares new studies, regulations and guidance for hydraulic fracturing techniques used to extract natural gas. In a letter sent to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House adviser Heather Zichal on Tuesday, the GOP lawmakers took issue with the presidential order establishing the task force on April 13. President Barack Obama's executive order instructs the working group to "facilitate coordinated administration policy efforts to support safe and responsible unconventional natural gas development." However, the Republicans pointed out, the same order also says...