Bureau of Governmental Research

This BGR release deals with proposed legislation that would require a referendum for approval of the city’s Master Plan. It focuses on three bills, all introduced by New Orleans legislators, that attempt to undermine a charter change approved by New Orleanians seven months ago.

Building on prior BGR research, The House that Uncle Sam Built provides numbers on the existing and projected subsidized rental housing supply in the city. It also provides projections at the metropolitan level.

In Who’s Behind the Tree? The Homestead Exemption and Taxpayers in the New Orleans Area, BGR examines the impacts of a proposed increase in Louisiana’s homestead exemption on taxpayers in Jefferson, Orleans, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes.

In On the Ballot: Jefferson Parish, April 4, 2009, BGR examines two transit taxes up for renewal by voters.

On Feb. 3, BGR sent a letter to Councilman Arnold Fielkow, Chairman of City Council’s Special Projects and Economic Development Committee, on the use and operation of the city’s Economic Development Fund. The letter recommends that the city abandon the current practice of directing grants to a handful of individual business ventures or nonprofit activities. Instead, it urges the city to use the EDF funds to fund economic development functions and initiatives that benefit multiple businesses.

Today the Bureau of Governmental Research releases Rethinking the World Trade Center Building Transaction. The report reviews the New Orleans Building Corporation’s approach to redeveloping the World Trade Center tower and parking garage in downtown New Orleans. For more than 10 years, the city has unsuccessfully pursued redevelopment in partnership with the master tenant of the buildings. BGR recommends that the city abandon that approach, and instead seek to buy out the master tenant and sell the buildings.

Street Smarts: Maintaining and Managing New Orleans’ Road Network provides an overview of street management systems and explores the challenges New Orleans faces in maintaining its streets.