One reason Louisiana sticks to the bottom Tuesday, December 23, 2003 In March 1999, the Mayor Keith Hightower and City of Shreveport began a project to build a 350,000 square foot convention center. To date, the City has expended over $24 million (out of a projected budget of $105 million). The project has been hampered by delays, poor accountability, and a possible violation of the public bid law. A state government audit now reveals the dark side of how public economic development projects happen in Louisiana. The pivot point on this deal seems to have been the architect: Slack, Alost, Miremont, and Associates. They've been paid over $11 million...over twice the amount of a standard contract, according to the report. They have spread around some of this money to subcontractors (who, in turn, have the opportunity to spread it to...). One subcontractor was paid $300 per hour to "send out questionnaires and set up" community meetings. They also "refined" a database of minority contractors. (The database included 29 firms.) Total fee: $228,153. When asked about their time records, the principals of the firm noted that they kept track of their hours for billing purposes but discarded their records of their number of hours once the invoice was paid. (The consultant's equivalent of "the dog ate my homework".) Another subcontractor received $284,594 for compiling those 29 firms and for setting up meetings and lunches. According to the report, "Mr. Wimberly stated that though he did not track the number of hours he spent on each task, he spent an enormous amount of time on the convention center. He added that it took 100% of his time because he was always thinking about the project." A third received $210,463 to produce a business plan for the convention center, but he turned in no written work. (Apparently, the plan was virtual.) Using public projects to skim and funnel funds is not an uncommon practice in Louisiana. A few people end up fat and happy. The rest of the state pays the price. Outside perceptions of public corruption will sink all hope that the state can ever pull itself off the bottom. Add public denials and a newspaper that fails its public responsibility to investigate, and you have a recipe for failure. (From 1991 to 2001, Shreveport ranked 305 of 319 metro areas in average annual growth rate.) Download the audit. Go. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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