NGO funds face vetoes
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Jindal’s approach to what he once called “slush funds” is likely to be aggressive.
Legislators packed $53 million in projects — called “nongovernmental organizations,” or NGOs, in state government lingo — into House Bill 1, the budget bill. As governor, Jindal can remove any project from the bill.
HB1 is the state operating budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.
A number of Baton Rouge-area projects are on the line, including funding for the McKinley High School Alumni Association and the balloon festival.
Many lawmakers expressed worry that the governor would cut deeply into funding for community organizations, parks and festivals. Others said Jindal was clear about his position on the projects.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t go after some of the NGOs,” said state Sen. John Alario, D-Westwego.
Jindal has until midnight to act on the bill. His staff spent weeks scrutinizing the projects that legislators stuffed into the budget measure.
The governor’s press secretary, Melissa Sellers, said the vetoes would be announced Monday.
Through the years, NGOs have been called “pork” and “pet projects.” Jindal characterized them as “slush funds” during the campaign and vowed to do away with a number of them.
In a supplemental budget bill, he purged funding for laptop computers, the elderly and Habitat for Humanity.
Legislators counter that many NGOs serve the poor, the elderly and the handicapped.
State Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, said he talked to the administration after Jindal vetoed funding for the Louisiana Center Against Poverty from the supplemental budget bill.
The center is based in Lake Providence, one of the poorest areas of the state. It provides community services to residents in six parishes.
Thompson said he gave the administration detailed information about the center to illustrate its importance to the community.
He said he is confident the governor would recognize the error of vetoing NGOs such as the Louisiana Center Against Poverty.
“Politically, it’s not a good move and that’s the least thing I worry about is the politics of it,” Thompson said. “It’s just the right thing to do. It’s the Christian thing to do to assist these programs.”
Other lawmakers are uneasy about what the governor will do today.
“These are all worthy projects in my opinion,” said state Sen. Dale Erdey. “We’re (not) trying to create programs that are going to help my brother-in-law’s sister.”
Erdey, R-Livingston, said he requested funding in the state budget to build a park for the handicapped in Denham Springs.
The budget simply describes the funding as “park improvements,” which is misleading, he said.
Erdey said he is alarmed that the governor cut funding for a parish Council on Aging from another budget bill.
He said he does not understand why Jindal targeted money for the elderly.
State Rep. Pat Smith is pushing money for projects, including the McKinley High School Alumni Association.
McKinley is designated to receive $370,000 in state dollars, largely to provide youth outreach services.
Like many NGOs, McKinley probably would not exist without funding from the state.
A budget filed last year with the state Treasury shows the organization’s sole source of funding was the state. The group expected to spend nearly half of its $125,000 budget on salaries and benefits. About $33,000 was budgeted for contract services, primarily tutors.
Smith, D-Baton Rouge, said McKinley is a cornerstone in an impoverished area that has little in the way of community organizations.
The Baranco/Clark branch of the YMCA is scheduled to receive $25,000 in HB1.
Inner-city communities would die without organizations like the YMCA, Smith said.
The state often is the only possible source of funding, she said.
“It’s a push at looking at what so many individuals call pork, slush fund,” she said of the governor’s stance. “When you look at the organizations that receive money, they are doing very worthwhile things.”
Some governors use the projects as a bartering tool, exchanging the dollars for votes on their agenda.
The governor took an adversarial approach to the projects from the outset.
Jindal told legislators in April that projects would have to meet his criteria. He said projects:
- Must have a statewide or substantial regional impact.
- Must have been presented or openly discussed during the legislative session.
- Must be a state agency priority.
- Must have the proper disclosure form published online prior to consideration for funding.
Local projects
At least $3.8 million in the state budget for nongovernmental organizations — called NGOs — would fund Baton Rouge-area projects. They include:
- Achieve to Succeed, $25,000.
- Advance Baton Rouge, $50,000.
- ALS Association, $150,000.
- Baton Rouge City Constable’s Office, $50,000.
- Baton Rouge Detox Center, $25,000.
- Capital Area Legal Services Corp., $100,000.
- City at Peace, $15,000.
- Denham Springs animal shelter, $10,000.
- East Side Fire District, $20,000.
- Glen Oaks High School Security Dads, $15,000.
- Greenwell Springs-Airline Economic Development District, $10,000.
- Hot Air Balloon Festival, $25,000.
- Knock Knock Children’s Museum of Baton Rouge, $250,000.
- Leadership Seminars of America, $30,000.
- Livingston Activity Center, $35,000.
- Livingston Outdoors Sports Association, $80,000.
- Livingston Parish Council on Aging, $10,000.
- Louisiana Arts and Science Museum, $25,000.
- Louisiana Assistive Technology Access Network, $600,000.
- Louisiana Association of Museums, $50,000.
- Louisiana Leadership Institute, $100,000.
- Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, $50,000.
- McKinley High School Alumni Association, $370,000.
- North Baton Rouge Community Center, $150,000.
- Options Inc., $10,000.
- Park improvements in the city of Denham Springs, $75,000.
- Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana, $125,000.
- Progress 63, $400,000.
- Recreation facility improvements in Ascension Parish, $20,000.
- Recreation facility improvements in the city of Gonzales, $20,000.
- RIZ UP!, $160,000.
- Scotlandville Community Development Corp., $15,000.
- Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church Charitable Foundation, $30,000.
- The Hope Group, $55,000.
- Urban Restoration Enhancement Corp., $505,000.
- VSA Arts of Louisiana, $75,000.
- Young Men’s Christian Association of Baton Rouge-Baranco/Clark branch, $25,000.
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Louisiana Center Against Poverty? I can save them thousands-GET A JOB!
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Go get 'em Jedi! Every voter in the state should review the entire list and the "justification" for each bucket of slop proposed for the trough. I live in Baton Rouge and even like a couple of the intended recipients but they should all be vetoed. If Jindal applies his own stated criteria, none of them would be approved. A great number of the applications make no sense-the writers could benefit from a bit of literacy tutoring themselves. I may be a cynic but I have my doubts that these programs will make the kids smarter, sky bluer, grass greener, and cause God's light to shine upon the staff and especially upon the sponsoring legislator. Over $370,000 for a high school alumni association? Are there no alumni who are willing to contribute for their own association? Capital Area Legal Services 100 grand? This is complete idiocy! Most of the jobs created by these noble endeavors are for friends of the legislator who submitted the earmark. Governor, this is important-don't worry about legislators who are mad. They think that charity is giving away other people's money to help with their re-election. Do it right and we will back you and woe to the legislators who try for pay back.
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URBAN RESTORATION ENHANCEMENT CORP. $505,OOO.00 WHAT?
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Good Job GOV.
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Some of these projects could be called "Let's make taxpayer funds magically disappear projects"
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It looks like many of these projects need to obtain funding of their own. Why would a high school alumni assoc. be asking for state funding, for example?
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I think all of these programs are great investment but only if their is accountability of how they are spending the money. With social services so poor in Louisiana, NGO's and non-profits are some of the only organizations who are researching poverty issues and providing services and education to poor communities. These organizations are necessary to community improvement and development. All I ask is that there is some evaluation of these programs. There must be some report submitted to the legislature that details how each dollar is spent, otherwise it can turn into nothing but pork. Don't be so quick to cast off NGO's. Advance Baton Rouge, an organization who is receiving $50,000 will be educating over 500 students through their take-over of failing schools, schools are school board and government failed to improve for years. Investment in education and community organizing that encourages civic engagement will improve quality of life and, if provided long enough, save the government tons of money on social services such as welfare and food stamps.
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I think very few will should make the cut based on the first criterial (Must have a statewide or substantial regional impact). Many of the 337 listed NGO's are nothing more than providing some city effort to do something. The reason cities incorporated is to provide a better quality of live to it's residents but not at the expense of the parish or states budget. These should be funded thru the city's budget either thru sales or property tax or admission. As far as the local charitable organizations, the should be funded thru charity such as churches or contributions like the United Way. Sara, Although I think I understand what you are say ing I have to disagree. I continually here advertisements to come and buy an item and SAVE like a automobile, furniture, flooring, etc. I have no need for the item, don't think I should be paying for it either directly or thru the government, so would somebody show me how I am SAVING.
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It does not take long to figure out once you look at the individual NGO's as listed. Louisiana Center Against Poverty (500K, 191K in salaries). McKinley High School Alumni Assc (180.5K, 61.1K in salaries) etc.
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In the politcal briefs today you have a nice story of how the workers at the governor's mansion have to keep working on recipies to finally get Governor (er King) Jindal's favorite chocolate chip cookie baked. How much does that cost the state? Why should we pay for his cookies? Meanwhile, he is chopping out cancer centers, tutorial programs and poverty centers that are trying to keep people off the welfare roles and out of the DHH health budgets. I guess Marie Antoinette has come back and is living in Jindal's mind. To the rest of us I guess he figures, "let them eat cake (er cookies)". What a joke on us!!!!!!!!
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I am not in favor of pork myself. I think what gets lost in the feel good aspect of many programs is the acutal benefit derived from the investment. That much for a HS alum society? Please I don't care who went there if they can't flip the bill themselves they shouldn't exist. As for educating 500 kids what are we already paying the public school systems to do? Why is that money not enough already? You can study the poor till we are all poor. There will always be poor people we are to plentiful to all be rich and if we were you wouldn't be considered wealthy any longer. Quit making us all poor in the process of trying to fix things.
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RIZ UP is a scam. So is Glen Oaks Security Dads this should be a volunteer organization. and need to see if they are license since they are calling themselves security officers. UREC, RIZ UP, Glen Oaks Security Dads are all the pork projects of PAY RAISE BROOME and PAY RAISE BARROW. They both are unemployed State Legislators who live off of taxpayers hard earn money.
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Inside Info., your are right. I hope Jinda veto them 3 for sure because if RIZUp was helping anybody, it should have been Barrow's son. All they want to give the Detox center is 15k is terrible when that is the major problem linked to crime especially in glen oaks. Payraise B & B is a poor example of a politician when they did not think of the McDonald workers, Piccadilly workers, cooks at school, and DPW workers - that all vote for them and they did not think enough to try to increase their wages.
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RIZ up is run by a very prominent woman who is related to an ex-senator (or at least used to be run by her). I assume her salary is public info? I hope the Gov vetoes this one and many others. John Alario is the worst about getting TONS of money for pork projects.
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Jindal is being to hasty with the veto pen and he is not really taking consideration of what he is cutting. A good example is LA Habitat for Humanity who has built close to 800 homes in LA since the hurricanes, all from donated monies from other states and people from accross the country to the tune of $100 million plus. How much did our state give 0, so how could $100,000 split between the 16 Habitats accross this state to build affordable homes that are bought by the homeowners not fit the criteria. Come on Jindal Habitat for Humanity!
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