Bureau of Governmental Research

Monitoring and reporting on local government issues: in 2023, bgr reported on many complex issues in local governance in 11 reports. Among the highlights: in 2023, bgr published four on the ballot reports to inform voters about important local propositions. These reports analyzed a proposed tax increase for the orleans parish sheriff's office, the renewal of an orleans parish school facilities tax, and two city charter amendments. Voters agreed with all four of bgr's positions. In may, bgr published a major report on sewerage & water board governance. We found that the current structure fails to support effective decision making, funding and accountability. In november, bgr followed up on two of recommendations in a letter (cont'd on sch o) asking the city council to improve its review of sewerage & water board funding requests and the council's oversight of the utility. In the spring, bgr wrote two letters on how the management of federal pandemic relief funds have led to transparency improvements: the city of new orleans expanded its online public reporting, while jefferson parish's inspector general planned to increase oversight of spending. Meanwhile, bgr's may 2023 webinar, "designing city governments for success," sparked local discussions on how to optimize the city of new orleans' form of government.in 2023, bgr Research staff monitored more than 70 state and local government agencies throughout the new orleans area, including the new orleans city council and its committees. Bgr also tracked the Louisiana legislature and any bills that were of particular importance to the local community.after Research is completed, bgr pursues proper implementation of their recommendations, sometimes over the course of many years. This is done through a series of follow-up publications and outreach to citizens groups, the media, decision-makers, and other key stakeholders in relevant policy areas. In terms of effectiveness, bgr has had successful positions on ballot results 81% of the time since 2014. Another measure of bgr's impact is its presence in the media and level of engagement with their content. In 2023, the news media cited bgr reports more than 100 times, a more than 50% increase from the previous year. For its work, bgr has received many awards and recognitions from the Governmental Research association. In 2023 bgr won the most distinguished Research award for our 2022 report on new orleans jail governance, and the most effective education award for our 2022 report on the city of new orleans' use of federal american rescue plan act pandemic relief funds. Bgr's work serves citizens across many localities including jefferson, orleans, and st. tammany parishes. Based on 2020 u.s. census data, the potential reach of bgr's monitoring and reporting is approximately 1 million people.

Breakfast briefings: bgr's breakfast briefings are public forums where experts and decision-makers are invited to share their thoughts on major public policy issues in the area. These events keep citizens informed and motivate civic engagement and an informed public policy dialogue, all of which are key components of bgr's mission and essential ingredients for effective government. In 2023, bgr hosted 4 breakfast briefings. Three briefings featured topics on the minds of many new orleanians. Dr. avis williams provided her outlook as the new superintendent of nola public schools, the city of new orleans public works leaders joseph threat and sarah mclaughlin porteous updated the progress of the roadwork nola street repair program, and on december 13, 2023, anne kirkpatrick, the new superintendent of (cont'd on sch o) the new orleans police department, shared her vision for nopd's future. The fourth breakfast briefing took place in st. tammany parish. It explored whether the parish should shrink its 14-member parish council, which is the largest among Louisiana's most populous parishes. Inspired by this discussion, the parish council voted in november to form a committee to study the parish charter and consider a possible reduction in the number of council members. The breakfast briefing events bring key policy issues to citizens and allows them to engage with policy leaders and decision-makers. Access to each of these events is increased by video recording the presentations and posting them online. The media coverage further magnifies awareness of the policy issues discussed and of bgr's work.