Bureau Of Governmental Research Inc

THE BUREAU OF GOVERNMENTAL RESEARCH IS A PRIVATE, NONPROFIT, INDEPENDENT (CONT'D ON SCH. O) RESEARCH ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO INFORMED PUBLIC POLICY MAKING AND THE EFFECTIVE USE OF PUBLIC RESOURCES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF GOVERNMENT IN THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS METROPOLITAN AREA.

MONITORING AND REPORTING ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT ISSUES: IN 2021, BGR REPORTED ON COMPLEX POLICY ISSUES INCLUDING: PROVIDING VOTERS WITH INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS OF PROPERTY TAX RENEWALS FOR JEFFERSON PARISH'S WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS AND HOW THEY FIT INTO THE PARISH'S ABILITY TO FINANCE LONG-TERM SYSTEM NEEDS; ANALYZING THE NEW FRENCH QUARTER SECURITY TAX, HIGHLIGHTING CONCERNS ABOUT SPENDING PLANS AND THE EXCLUSION OF HOTEL ROOM RENTALS FROM THE TAX; AND UNCOVERING PENSION BENEFIT INCREASES BY THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS DURING THE PANDEMIC. BGR'S REPORT, 'A RETREAT ON PENSION REFORM' IDENTIFIED THE IMPACTS AND RISKS OF THESE CHANGES ON THE PENSION SYSTEM AND TAXPAYERS. BGR ALSO ISSUED GUIDANCE FOR POLICYMAKERS AS THEY MAKE SPENDING DECISIONS FOR FEDERAL PANDEMIC RELIEF FUNDS FLOWING INTO OUR REGION. (CONTINUED ON SCH. O) BGR CONTINUES TO CLOSELY MONITOR THIS ISSUE, REITERATING BGR'S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VISIONARY STRATEGIES TO OPTIMIZE THE USES OF THESE ONE-TIME FUNDS. BGR ALSO PROVIDED GUIDANCE TO VOTERS INCLUDING: INFORMING VOTERS ON THE NOVEMBER 13 SALES TAX PROPOSITION IN ST. TAMMANY PARISH TO FUND THE JAIL, COURTHOUSE AND OTHER PARISH RESPONSIBILITIES; AND THE DECEMBER 11 PROPOSITIONS TO EXTEND LIBRARY AND HOUSING TAXES IN NEW ORLEANS. IN 2021, BGR'S RESEARCH STAFF MONITORED MORE THAN 70 STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, INCLUDING THE NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL AND ITS COMMITTEES. BGR ALSO MONITORED THE LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE TO IDENTIFY BILLS OF LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE. ONCE RESEARCH IS COMPLETED, BGR PURSUES IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS, SOMETIMES OVER THE COURSE OF MANY YEARS. IT DOES SO BY REVISITING ISSUES IN FOLLOW-UP PUBLICATIONS AND THROUGH OUTREACH AIMED AT THE PUBLIC, CITIZEN GROUPS, THE MEDIA AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS. BGR'S MOST RECENT ASSESSMENT OF ITS EFFECTIVENESS CONCLUDED THAT, OVER THE PRECEDING DECADE, POLICYMAKERS IMPLEMENTED BGR'S RECOMMENDATIONS TO SOME DEGREE IN 13 OUT OF 16 KEY AREAS OF CONCERN. ADDITIONAL INDICATORS OF BGR'S IMPACT INCLUDE NEWS ARTICLES AND REPORTS SPECIFICALLY MENTIONING BGR; NEWS ARTICLES AND REPORTS ON A TOPIC THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO THE PUBLIC'S ATTENTION BY BGR; HITS TO A REPORT ON BGR'S WEBSITE; SHARING AND COMMENTARY ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS; AND REQUESTS TO SPEAK OR COMMENT ON A SUBJECT. IN 2021, BGR WAS MENTIONED 70 TIMES IN THE PRESS. SINCE 1938, BGR HAS BEEN HONORED BY THE GOVERNMENTAL RESEARCH ASSOCATION (GRA) FOR ITS WORK. IN 2021 BGR WAS RECOGNIZED BY ITS NATIONAL PEERS FOR THE 15TH YEAR IN A ROW, WHEN THE GRA BESTOWED NATIONAL RECOGNITION ON BGR, HONORING ITS UNIQUE FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING TAX PROPOSITIONS ON THE BALLOT, AND FOR BGR'S IMPACT IMPROVING THE INSPECTOR GENERAL SEARCH PROCESS. IN 2021, BGR WAS HONORED FOR DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH ON NEW ORLEANS' UNIQUE PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING FRAMEWORK AND FOR HOLDING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS FISCAL STEWARDSHIP DURING THE PANDEMIC. THE POPULATION SERVED BY THIS WORK INCLUDES JEFFERSON, ORLEANS, AND ST. TAMMANY PARISHES. BASED ON 2020 U.S. CENSUS DATA ESTIMATE, THE POTENTIAL REACH OF BGR'S MONITORING AND REPORTING IS APPROXIMATELY 1,083,348 PEOPLE.

BREAKFAST BRIEFINGS: BGR'S BREAKFAST BRIEFINGS ARE PUBLIC FORUMS WHERE CITIZENS CAN HEAR FROM EXPERTS AND DECISION-MAKERS ON MAJOR PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES. THESE EVENTS FOSTER CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT AND AN INFORMED PUBLIC POLICY DIALOGUE, KEY COMPONENTS OF BGR'S MISSION AND ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS FOR EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT. IN 2021, BGR PRESENTED FOUR VIRTUAL BREAKFAST BRIEFINGS. THEY INCLUDED SUSAN BONNETT BOURGEOIS, PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE NORTHSHORE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION; MIKE COOPER, ST. TAMMANY PARISH PRESIDENT, AND CHRIS MASINGILL, CEO OF ST. TAMMANY CORPORATION, PROVIDING INSIGHTS ABOUT BALANCING QUALITY OF LIFE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ST. TAMMANY PARISH. THE SECOND EVENT FEATURED NEWLY ELECTED CONGRESSMAN TROY CARTER OF LOUISIANA'S 2ND DISTRICT, FOLLOWED BY A FALL EVENT WITH PANELISTS MICHAEL (CONTINUED ON SCH. O) HECHT, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF GREATER NEW ORLEANS, INC; KIMBERLY J. LEWIS, SECRETARY OF REVENUE FOR THE STATE OF LOUISIANA; AND DR. JAMES RICHARDSON, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY. PANELISTS GAVE THEIR PERSPECTIVES ON LOUISIANA CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AND WHAT SALES AND INCOME TAX CHANGES MEAN FOR RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES AND GOVERNMENT. THE FINAL EVENT FEATURED GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS, WHO DISCUSSED KEY PRIORITIES FOR 2022 AND THE IMPACT OF NEW FEDERAL FUNDING. THIS SERIES BUILT UPON BGR'S CORE WORK OF MONITORING AND REPORTING, WHILE ENGAGING MORE THAN 250 CITIZENS AT EACH EVENT. THE BREAKFAST BRIEFING SERIES BRINGS PRESSING ISSUES DIRECTLY TO THE CITIZENS OF THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA AND ALLOWS THEM TO ENGAGE WITH LEADERS AND DECISION-MAKERS. BGR INCREASES ACCESS TO THE EVENTS BY VIDEO RECORDING THE PRESENTATIONS AND POSTING THEM ONLINE FOLLOWING EACH BREAKFAST BRIEFING. THESE EVENTS ATTRACT MEDIA COVERAGE, FURTHER MAGNIFYING THE PLATFORM AND PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE ISSUES DISCUSSED AND OF BGR'S WORK.

THE EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT EVENT IS HELD EVERY OTHER YEAR. NO EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT AWARDS WERE GIVEN IN 2021.