FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Committee for a Better New Orleans/Metropolitan Area Committee
Position Paper on Local Government Efficiency and Consolidation
December 15, 2005

In the aftermath of the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, many new realities must be faced in New Orleans and southeast Louisiana, including that fact that now and for the foreseeable future, our city and parish are no longer the largest governmental jurisdictions in the state. At the same time, many opportunities present themselves. In moving the city and the region forward, the Committee for a Better New Orleans/Metropolitan Area Committee (CBNO/MAC) encourages all citizens, stakeholders and policy-makers to recognize the changes in context and the opportunities before us.One arena that demands substantial change is the configuration and operation of local government. The overlap, inefficiency, turf wars, and patronage of the past are simply not acceptable in the post-Katrina environment. With fewer citizens to serve, a significantly reduced tax base and the intense scrutiny of the rest of the nation upon us, New Orleans and southeast Louisiana must reinvent government in substantial ways. In addition, it is time to bring New Orleans government structure more into alignment with the rest of Louisiana. Therefore, CBNO/MAC makes the following recommendations, and calls for their rapid implementation:

- Consolidate all southeast Louisiana levee boards into a single entity, with equitable representation from each parish and a singular focus on flood protection at the highest possible levels.
- Consolidate all duplicative police jurisdictions in the city of New Orleans under the authority of the New Orleans Police Department.
- Consolidate all seven elected assessors in Orleans Parish into a single, elected office.
- Consolidate the offices of the Orleans Parish Civil Sheriff and constables into a single elected office.

Levee Boards

At a minimum, the levee boards of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, and St. Tammany parishes should be combined into a single entity, with equitable representation from each parish. The resulting entity should have a singular focus on ensuring the highest possible levels of flood protection for all citizens living within its jurisdiction; other functions for which the present levee boards are responsible should be assigned appropriately to other existing entities within each parish. The new levee agency should have a top-notch professional staff, thoroughly protected from political influence. All processes and meetings conducted by this agency should done with the highest degree of transparency and accountability to the public. Channels of communication between this agency and other governmental bodies with flood control responsibilities, such as the Army Corps of Engineers, should be clearly delineated, with memorandums of understanding drawn to state explicitly what each entity’s roles and responsibilities entail. Lastly, detailed reports on new construction and on maintenance of the levee system should be published on a regular basis, and should be subject to both scientific and public review and comment.There is no other acceptable or viable alternative to ensure that the citizens of southeast Louisiana are afforded the highest possible levels of hurricane and flood protection. The recovery of this area is entirely dependent on achieving such levels of protection; therefore, the creation of this single flood protection agency should be the number one priority of the Louisiana State Legislature when it next convenes.Police JurisdictionsThe number of individual law enforcement jurisdictions in New Orleans is fundamentally absurd. While recognizing that communication and cooperation among many of them has increased substantially in recent years, there remains no justification whatsoever for the continued fragmentation of resources, manpower and responsibilities. Therefore, duplicative police jurisdictions within the city of New Orleans must be consolidated under the authority of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). This includes the Levee Board Police, Dock Board Police, Crescent City Connection Police, City Park Police, and Housing Authority Police.As part of this process, all officers presently employed by the other jurisdictions should be screened for employment by NOPD and, assuming they meet the Department’s requirements, be placed in an accelerated training program so that they can strengthen the force as soon as possible. Civilian employees of these jurisdictions should also be given priority for available NOPD openings. Furthermore, revenues accruing to the other agencies and used for the personnel, equipment, etc. of the other jurisdictions should be redefined and redirected to NOPD. At the same time, NOPD must accept and discharge the policing responsibilities of the other entities.CBNO/MAC recognizes that this will require multiple actions at both the local and state levels, and that several of the agencies involved will hesitate to be the first to take appropriate action. The fact remains that this step is long past due. NOPD will unquestionably benefit from the addition of experienced law enforcement personnel; the other agencies will benefit from increasing their focus on their core tasks and not having to provide resources for the policing arms; and the citizens of New Orleans will benefit from a more cohesive law enforcement system not fragmented by resource depletion, communications challenges and cross-jurisdictional issues.To the degree that state-level action is required, this too should be a top priority at the next session of the State Legislature. Locally, the various agencies themselves should act upon this at their first opportunity; and the New Orleans mayor and City Council should exert their applicable influence to ensure that this essential public safety step is taken as rapidly as possible.

Assessors

It is no longer valid to argue that Orleans Parish has a distinctly larger population and therefore deserves to have a system of multiple assessors that is unique in the entire state. Moreover, numerous cities around the country of similar and often greater size than New Orleans – especially post-Katrina – have highly efficient and effective single assessor systems.While casting no aspersions on any of the present office-holders, the assessor positions have often been viewed as bastions of patronage and family succession. With city government more dependent than ever on accurate property assessments in light of its vastly decreased revenues following the hurricane, the need for timely, professional property assessments is undeniable. The assessors themselves make an argument for consolidation: they claim to lack the resources and manpower to keep the assessment rolls up to date. An effective, streamlined, single assessor’s office would be able to devote a far higher percentage of its manpower and resources to the task of property assessments. Lastly, consolidating to a single assessor would help bring Orleans Parish government into alignment with the rest of Louisiana.CBNO/MAC recommends that a single assessor position be established, elected citywide, with a requirement for the office-holder to possess clearly defined professional credentials, based on nationally recognized standards.As merging the current seven assessors down to a single elected official will require a constitutional amendment, this too must be on the agenda for the next legislative session, and be put to statewide vote at the earliest opportunity. CBNO/MAC also recommends that consideration be given to changing all assessor positions statewide from elected to appointed offices.

Civil Sheriff and Constables

Although of less impact and import than the above recommendations, CBNO/MAC feels strongly that these offices, with limited responsibilities that are frequently duplicative and that could easily be merged, should be so consolidated. Again, with fewer citizens to serve and fewer tax dollars available to support government operations, there is no justification for overlap or inefficiency. Indeed, the entire criminal – civil systems statewide should be subject to thoughtful, independent, expert review with the objective of establishing a uniform system for all Louisiana. However, an obvious and simple first step is to turn the duties of the Criminal Court and Civil Court Constables over to the Civil Sheriff. This too requires an act of the legislature – though not a constitutional change – and should be accomplished in the next session.ConclusionGovernment efficiency – in terms of service delivery and cost-effectiveness – are of paramount importance as we all work together to rebuild our city after Katrina. Many aspects of government in New Orleans date to the 1973 Constitutional Convention, meaning that they were created in and for circumstances that are now greatly changed. None of the ideas mentioned above are new; all were the subject of frequent discussion before the storm, but none had reached the point of action. Now the situation has changed, creating an unprecedented opportunity to implement these good government measures as well as extreme urgency to do so. They were good ideas before the storm; they are imperatives in its wake – not just to ensure the best possible government at the local level, but to demonstrate to the country and particularly the federal government that its investment in the future of our city will be used wisely, honestly and effectively.CBNO/MAC does recognize that jobs will be lost as part of these consolidations. Therefore, we urge that any workers displaced during these processes be given priority in terms of placement elsewhere within government; at the very least, they should be given immediate access to job training and career counseling. In short, every effort should be made to utilize their skills and experience in ways that benefit the public and that minimize the disruptions in the lives of people who have, like all of us, already experienced the immense disruption of Hurricane Katrina.The organization also recognizes that it is calling for the elimination of no small number of elected positions, which may require federal review under the Civil Rights Act. CBNO/MAC emphasizes that these recommendations are proposed solely for the purpose of creating a better government for all New Orleanians. In no way is this an attempt to quiet the voice or dilute the voting rights of the community, or any segment of the community. Indeed, we hope that citizens will be given every opportunity to have a voice in how government is reinvented in the weeks and months ahead, and that all New Orleanians will make a much greater effort to vote in future elections. Our best hope for good government is strong citizen participation.

Along with great suffering, Hurricane Katrina did bring New Orleans great opportunity. CBNO/MAC believes wholeheartedly that the best way to honor those who suffered and perished in the storm is to take full advantage of the opportunities before us. Therefore, we call on the appropriate entities to implement these reforms immediately and without delay.