Louisianna's disfunctional state government

My attention has been diverted from some other issues this morning by another Katrina fiasco underway in the great state of Louisianna.

With hundred of thousands of state residents spread throughout the country and living in shelters, the state money panel believes that a new sports complex and livestock facilities is a good use of taxpayer money.
[see article]
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Quote:

"Commissioner of Administration Jerry Luke LeBlanc, the governor's chief budget analyst and a member of the bond panel, said construction in other parts of the state can't grind to a halt because southern Louisiana was devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita."
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Well Jerry my friend, I doubt whether the rest of the nation that is funding your state's rebuilding efforts believe as you do. I'm sorry Jerry--but it appears that you and the other commission members along with Governor Blanco's staff need a reality check. Before you go off building any recreational facilities in your state--don't you think it would be wise to build some housing and facilities for your citizens who are staying at the Holiday Inn outside Houston, Texas?

[related article]_____________________________________________________________________________________
Bond Commission approves $45 million for construction work

BATON ROUGE — As Louisiana officials plead for federal hurricane relief aid, a state money panel agreed Thursday to spend nearly $45 million on construction projects ranging from health labs and water wells to a sports complex and livestock facilities.

A group of state senators not on the panel said the spending would damage Louisiana's attempts to secure federal cash for recovery efforts and would give the appearance that the state was focusing on nonemergency items while talking about employee layoffs and devastating health and education cuts.

"What you do in the next few minutes is going to reverberate throughout this country as to what Louisiana's priorities are," state Sen. Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge, told the Bond Commission, a panel made of Gov. Kathleen Blanco's representatives, many of her legislative allies and others.

The state's tax base is decimated, Blanco has ordered a spending and hiring freeze on many parts of the budget, and officials are grappling with a deficit expected to reach $1.5 billion in tax income alone.

Despite the concerns, the Bond Commission shuffled state construction spending, taking money from items that wouldn't be able to start on time and — rather than holding the cash — unanimously agreed to move it to new projects. Blanco's office chooses which items in the state construction budget get funded, and the list of projects was drawn up by her staff.

Commissioner of Administration Jerry Luke LeBlanc, the governor's chief budget analyst and a member of the bond panel, said construction in other parts of the state can't grind to a halt because southern Louisiana was devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Sen. Charles "C.D." Jones, D-Monroe, said many projects are vital needs in parishes that have been flooded with evacuees and have facilities stretched beyond capacity. He said starting new projects would send a signal to the country that Louisiana hasn't shut down.

"You know there are some boondoggles in here that shouldn't even be considered in the face of the massive budget problems we have," said Sen. Robert Barham, R-Oak Ridge, pointing to a horse arena in Morehouse Parish, part of his district. "Don't think they're not going to see you in Washington, D.C."

Originally published October 21, 2005
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Jerry--you really need to listen to some wise advice from state Senator Barham. I'm pretty sure that this news is going to reach nations capital as he duly noted--as it already has reached me in Arizona.

Louisianna can hardly expect a sympathetic ear when it comes to federal disaster funding if they lack any moral or common sense when it comes to stewarding state resources.When we read articles about corruption and outright illegal actions on the part of state and local authorities, actions like you are proposing only fuels the fires of suspicion.

The rest of the country is already concerned by your state and local governments actions and reactions up to this point in handling hurricane Katrina relief. By the way Jerry, has anybody rounded up and returned all those luxury cars stolen by the police from that New Orleans car dealer? Maybe your commission can come up with a post disaster plan for preventing future corruption rather than what you propose.