Monday morning at 9:30 a.m., the New Orleans City Council will begin its budget hearings in council chambers. The public is encouraged to attend and participate in the hearings, which will be used in part to determine how the city is going to make up a $68 million deficit. No easy task, and in order to get the citizenry geared up for this undertaking, Gambit gives an early running of its commentary for the upcoming edition.

Get in the Game

It’s budgeting for Ray Nagin to skedaddle on May 3, 2010 — and dump this entire mess on the next mayor and council.

It’s time to crash the party. With less than a month remaining for the New Orleans City Council to adopt a balanced budget (the charter-mandated deadline is Dec. 1) and with the city facing a projected $68 million shortfall, New Orleanians need to let their elected officials know what their priorities are and demand accountability. It may seem we’re encouraging citizens to join the budget fray late in the game, but remember that we are the ones footing the bill. Until now, most citizens have watched this game from the sidelines, but bear in mind that politics in a democracy is a participatory undertaking, not a spectator sport.

According to Mayor Ray Nagin’s 2010 proposed budget, this is the third year the city has used the process known as Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO). Essentially, BFO seeks to determine how much money is available, prioritize the results taxpayers want, allocate resources toward those results, identify performance measures and then monitor performance. The Government Finance Officers Association considers the process a “recommended practice.” On paper, BFO includes a lot of public input — but not the way the Nagin administration has used it.

To ensure the public’s involvement throughout the BFO process, a “results team” of community leaders, City Councilmembers and department heads is supposed to prioritize and format outcomes the public wants most. By the proposed budget’s timeline, that group began meeting in April, but, as pointed out in the recent Office of Inspector General’s report on the city’s 2009 budget process, there were no community leaders or councilmembers on the team in 2008 or 2009. Thus, as the budget process progresses — the city has paid $2.5 million to Public Financial Management Inc. to implement BFO — the administration alone has decided “what the public wants.” That is not budgeting for outcomes — unless the desired “outcome” is less transparency, which, of course, is a hallmark of the Nagin administration.

So what should the public expect from the mayor’s 2010 budget? The Nagin administration ranks as priorities public safety, the city’s recovery and rebuilding, opportunities for youth and high-performing government. While that last one sounds like an oxymoron, the first three are certainly chief concerns of most New Orleanians. The mayor proposes to fund public safety (police, fire and emergency services) with $191 million; recovery and quality-of-life agencies with $80.6 million; and “high-performing government” (which includes debt service) with $180 million. Meanwhile, programs for youth get a pitiful 2 percent of the city’s $483 million general fund.

BFO also requires that each department establish key performance measures so the public can gauge successes and failures. Unfortunately (and this would be funny if it weren’t so tragic), under “Result Area: High Performing Government,” the two most common measures cited are “Measures not available” and “To be determined in 2010.”

Finally, when the entire BFO process was concluded, one of the mayor’s chief recommendations for reducing the $68 million deficit was a 10 percent cut across all departments. That means every city agency will suffer regardless of where it stands on the ladder of public priorities or whether it is achieving its stated goals. Again, this is not budgeting for outcomes. Rather, it’s budgeting for Ray Nagin to skedaddle on May 3, 2010 — and dump this entire mess on the next mayor and council.

The process isn’t over, however. New Orleans deserves better. The council’s budget hearings begin this week with at least eight scheduled thus far: the first on Monday, Nov. 9. That means there’s still time for civic engagement. Councilwomen Shelley Midura and Stacy Head are hosting town hall meetings this Wednesday and next (Nov. 11 and 18) in the Council Chamber to discuss the budget hearings. They invite residents to monitor the council meetings and speak out on major issues.

We warn our readers that budget hearings are not the most exciting spectacle. But, as the Inspector General’s report notes, “The budget is the single most important municipal document affecting the lives of citizens.” If you have the time (we hope to have given you the inclination), here’s your chance to play in city government’s version of the Super Bowl.

(Every Friday afternoon [we're late today 'cause of Jazz Fest] Gambit will be posting a story from the upcoming week’s print edition as a Web extra “early edition” for our Internet readers. This week: Noah Bonaparte Pais takes a look at the upcoming Ponderosa Stomp music festival, which will nicely fill those long days between the first and second weeks of Jazz Fest.)

TWIST AND STOMP
By Noah Bonaparte Pais

Ira “Dr. Ike” Padnos curates his Ponderosa Stomp music festival the way most people cue up their stereos. For the 2009 edition, he dug up ’60s psychobilly trailblazer and David Bowie treasure the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, aka 61-year-old Californian Norman Carl Odam. What prompted the excavation? “I’ve been wanting to hear (his 1968 single) ‘Paralyzed’ again,” Padnos says casually, as if calling in a request to a radio station DJ.

  Welcome to the good doctor’s musical dollhouse, where latent rock ‘n’ roll cravings often lead to career revivals. Now in its eighth year (and fourth venue), the Ponderosa has evolved into more than just the anesthesiologist-by-day’s moonlighting plaything; it’s a time warp, a cultural preserve and a seemingly nonstop, 36-hour concert all rolled into one. Soul singer Howard Tate, rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson and a reunion of the Flamin’ Groovies’ Cyril Jordan and Roy Loney headline this year’s twin bill, which has been known to bleed together into one long jukebox-sprung-to-life bender.

  ”Nowadays, it’s not going until 6 in the morning; it’s kind of ending at 3:30, 4 (a.m.),” Padnos says. “More people are actually making it. We probably had 500, 600 people pogoing to Question Mark (and the Mysterians) at the end of his set last year.”

  The Mid-City Rock ‘N’ Bowl might have ceded to the House of Blues out of necessity, but the spirit of those raucous, early years lives on. Even its creator expresses surprise at the exponential growth rate of the festival, which was launched in 2002 as a curio for record collectors with “10 to 15″ hand-plucked obscurities per night. It now garners dozens of rare performers and glowing reviews in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone….

Read more

(Every Friday afternoon, Gambit will be posting a story from the upcoming week’s print edition as a Web extra “early edition” for our Internet readers. This week: Jeremy Alford continues his multi-part series about the finances of Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Part 1, “Jindal’s List,” is here; Part 2, “Deep Pockets,” is here.)

HEY, BIG SPENDER!

In his first year in office, Gov. Bobby Jindal outraised and outspent the two previous Louisiana governors in their freshman years combined — and despite his ‘Buy Louisiana’ campaign,” less than one-third of his expenditures went to Louisiana vendors.

By Jeremy Alford

If you want to run for public office in Louisiana, you need a campaign finance account. It’s like a political ATM, except it holds other people’s money. Best of all, when you leave office, you don’t necessarily have to give up the perks that go with the account.

   Just consider the recent spending habits of former Gov. Mike Foster, R-Franklin. He left office in 2004, but Foster still spent some $16,000 in campaign cash last year. He paid more than $860 for half a year’s worth of dues to the Camelot Club and the City Club, two of Baton Rouge’s swankiest private gathering spots. Foster, who has considerable personal wealth, might have used his account to pay dues for the second half of the year as well, but his campaign kitty is officially, finally, out of money.

  Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, D-Lafayette, likewise tapped her campaign finance account last year — to pay for Internet fees, office expenses and political contributions to other candidates. But Blanco, who exited the mansion in January 2008, surpassed Foster and spent more than $240,000 last year. In fact, Blanco’s campaign donors are still supporting a full-fledged office for the former governor, including a personal assistant, Aprill Springfield of Lafayette, who was paid more than $55,000 in 2008.

   Meanwhile, current Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-Baton Rouge, spent nearly $725,000 from his campaign account last year — a figure that jumps off the page when put in perspective. Jindal spent more than three times what Blanco spent in her first 12 months and 10 times more than Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu raised in 2008. (Landrieu raised $70,000 in campaign contributions last year; Blanco spent $225,000 during her first year.)

   While getting and spending all that money boosts Jindal’s political capital, his aggressive fundraising efforts have also drawn criticism. Columnists and bloggers wonder if he is spending too much time on the road campaigning and not enough back home working on Louisiana’s mounting challenges. Just last week, the governor visited New York and Boston for private fundraisers. Since January, he has taken fundraising junkets to Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas — sometimes attending multiple fundraising events per trip….

Read the rest of the story here.

(Every Friday afternoon, Gambit will be posting a story from the upcoming week’s print edition as a Web extra “early edition” for our Internet readers. This week: Jeremy Alford continues his multi-part series about the finances of Gov. Bobby Jindal. Part 1, “Jindal’s List,” is here.)

DEEP POCKETS

By Jeremy Alford

The first person to benefit from economic development aid under Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration was Gary Chouest, owner of Edison Chouest Offshore and C-Logistics in Lafourche Parish. The announcement came last year during Jindal’s second special session. During the governor’s opening remarks, he identified a group of “real people,” including Chouest, and asked them to stand.

  The bayou mogul obliged and gave a nod to the new Republican governor. Chouest was a happy man that day, sporting a smile ear to ear. Who could blame him? After all, Jindal had just announced that the state was prepared to invest $10 million into the Port of Terrebonne to accommodate LaShip, an Edison Chouest subsidiary.

  That’s big bucks, even for a man like Chouest. Luckily for Jindal, Chouest believes in investing in politicians with whom he agrees. Over the past two years, Chouest’s businesses and closest family members have given Jindal’s campaign at least 18 donations totaling $85,000.

  Did that money help Jindal make his decision to back the LaShip project? Kyle Plotkin, Jindal’s press secretary, calls that a ridiculous notion. “Contributors to Gov. Jindal support his agenda for reforming Louisiana and moving our state forward, not the other way around,” Plotkin says. “In fact, the governor has more than 21,000 contributors representing all different types of people and organizations.”

  Still, Jindal has made such an issue of his own ethical purity that when he does what other governors have routinely done — reward campaign contributors with state work or appointments — it raises eyebrows. And make no mistake: Jindal has used the power of his office to reward friends as much as any of his predecessors.

  Based on a review of Jindal’s 2007 and 2008 campaign finance reports and the state’s vendor payment list for the current fiscal year alone, the governor’s critics could easily claim that campaign contributions play a significant role in helping companies land state work and/or assistance. Since he took office in January 2008, the state has awarded tens of millions of dollars of work and incentives to various Jindal donors….

Read the rest of the story here.

(Every Friday afternoon, Gambit will be posting a story from the upcoming week’s newspaper as a Web extra “early edition” for our Internet readers. This week it’s a profile of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, which will be honored Monday night at the Big Easy Music Awards, where they’ll receive the Music Heritage Award.)

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band will receive the Big Easy Foundation’s Music Heritage Award

By Will Coviello

Even if the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is not doing anything special to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its first release, My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now, the album still marks some of the elements that have propelled the band through more than three decades together: dedication to practice and trying new things.

  ”In the beginning, we came together to learn music,” Gregory Davis says. “There weren’t any gigs. They were rehearsals.”

  The group included Roger Lewis and Charles Joseph, who were students at Southern University. Joseph brought his younger brother Kirk to play sousaphone. Davis was a student at St. Augustine High School. Drummer Benny Jones was in a band and had some connections to get gigs with social aid and pleasure clubs. The members agreed to work on any type of music.

  ”Whatever you were exposed to, you could bring,” Lewis says. “If you were interested in be-bop, avant garde, blues, rock — you could do it with the Dirty Dozen.”

  By the time the group released Feet in 1984, some of those modern jazz strains were part of its repertoire.

  ”On Feet [the song], you’re listening to Charlie Parker — from a piece called ‘Dexterity’ — and by the end of it, we’re playing Horace Silver and ‘Tripping,’” Lewis says.

  Through experimentation, heavy touring and collaborations with artists in other genres, the Dirty Dozen opened the door for a new approach and a new generation of New Orleans brass bands. The Dozen literally showed the world what could be done with a brass band setup….

Read the rest.