BUREAU OF GOVERNMENTAL RESEARCH INC
1055 ST CHARLES AVE NO 200, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130 www.bgr.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: 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 2019, BGR PUBLISHED A TOTAL OF 12 REPORTS AND RELEASES INCLUDING: THE LOST PENNY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE ORLEANS PARISH HOTEL TAX STRUCTURE; THE $1 BILLION QUESTION REVISTED; JEFFERSON PARISH CANDIDATE Q&A REPORTS; A LOOK BACK TO PLAN AHEAD: ANALYZING PAST NEW ORLEANS BUDGETS TO GUIDE FUNDING PRIORITIES; A FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING NEW ORLEANS' PROPOSED 2020 BUDGET; ASSESSING THE ASSESSOR: PROGRESS ON PROPERTY ASSESSMENT REFORM IN NEW ORLEANS; AND VARIOUS BALLOT PROPOSITIONS IN JEFFERSON, AND ORLEANS PARISHES. 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. (CONT'D ON SCH. O)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 EFFORTS AIMED AT THE PUBLIC, CITIZENS 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 AREAS OF KEY 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 2019, BGR WAS MENTIONED 128 TIMES IN THE PRESS. FOR THE 13TH YEAR IN A ROW, BGR WAS RECOGNIZED IN 2019 BY ITS NATIONAL PEERS. THE GOVERNMENTAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATION BESTOWED NATIONAL RECOGNITION ON BGR, HONORING ITS WORK IN TWO SEPARATE CATEGORIES. BGR RECEIVED AN OUTSTANDING POLICY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR WORK TO IMPROVE THE JEFFERSON PARISH SCHOOL BOARD'S EMPLOYEE PAY RAISE TAX PROPOSITION. JEFFERSON PARISH PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM OFFICIALS USED BGR'S CRITICISMS OF THEIR FAILED 2017 ATTEMPT AT A PAY RAISE TAX TO RETHINK THEIR PROPOSAL. THEY RETURNED IN 2019 WITH A MORE STRATEGIC, COST-EFFECTIVE TAX PROPOSAL THAT EARNED BGR'S AND VOTERS' SUPPORT. THE NEW TAX WILL HELP THE SCHOOL SYSTEM MEET ITS HIGHEST-PRIORITY PERSONNEL NEEDS. BGR ALSO EARNED THE AWARD FOR MOST DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH FOR ITS 2019 REPORT THE LOST PENNY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE ORLEANS PARISH HOTEL TAX STRUCTURE. THE REPORT PRESENTED A COMPREHENSIVE PICTURE OF THE SOURCES AND USES OF $200 MILLION IN HOTEL TAX DOLLARS IN ORLEANS PARISH. IT FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON THE SHARE FOR THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, WHICH HAD A 1% HOTEL TAX SUSPENDED BY STATE LAW FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS. THIS "LOST PENNY" OF HOTEL TAX DEPRIVED THE CITY OF $12.3 MILLION A YEAR. THE REPORT ALSO COMPARED THE ORLEANS PARISH HOTEL TAX STRUCTURE TO BEST PRACTICES FOR TAXATION AS WELL AS STATE AND NATIONAL NORMS. IN JUNE 2019, CONSISTENT WITH BGR'S RECOMMENDATION, THE LOUISIANA STATE LEGISLATURE ENDED THE SUSPENSION OF THE TAX, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2019.THE POPULATION SERVED BY THIS WORK INCLUDES JEFFERSON, ORLEANS, AND ST. TAMMANY PARISHES. BASED ON 2019 US CENSUS DATA ESTIMATE, THE POTENTIAL REACH OF BGR'S MONITORING AND REPORTING IS THE APPROXIMATELY 1,083,056 REGIONAL POPULATION.

BREAKFAST BRIEFINGS: BGR'S BREAKFAST BRIEFINGS ARE PUBLIC FORUMS WHERE CITIZENS CAN HEAR FROM EXPERTS AND DECISION-MAKERS ON MAJOR PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES. IN 2019, BGR PRESENTED FOUR BREAKFAST BRIEFINGS. THEY INCLUDED SHAUN FERGUSON, NEWLY APPOINTED SUPERINTENDENT THE NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT, DISCUSSING HIS VISION FOR A SAFER NEW ORLEANS; GHASSAN KORBAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SEWERAGE AND WATER BOARD OF NEW ORLEANS, DISCUSSING REBUILDING THE SEWERAGE AND WATER BOARD FOR A STRONGER FUTURE; TREY FOLSE, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE ST. TAMMANY PARISH PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, DISCUSSING THE PLAN TO LEAD THE WAY FOR STUDENT SUCCESS IN ST. TAMMANY PARISH; AND REAR ADMIRAL JOHN NADEAU, COMMANDER OF THE EIGHTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT, DISCUSSING THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF THE COAST GUARD IN NEW ORLEANS, AND ITS (CONTINUED ON SCH. O) IMPORTANCE BOTH LOCALLY, NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY. THIS SERIES BUILT UPON BGR'S CORE WORK OF MONITORING AND REPORTING, WHILE ENGAGING APPROXIMATELY 200 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 INCREASING THE PLATFORM AND PUBLIC AWARENESS OF THE ISSUES DISCUSSED AND OF BGR'S WORK.

NO EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT AWARDS IN 2019.

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