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| Your Alternative Newsletter News, Arts, Culture & Entertainment
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| Saturday, May 9, 2015 |
For Immediate Release |
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The presentation of the The Africa Economy Builders Award to Ambassador Harold E. Doley, Jr.
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| Ambassador Harold E. Doley, Jr. (l) receives the Africa Economy Builders Award. |
ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST -Ambassador Doley was honored for his role in structuring the tripling of capital of the African Development Bank, which occurred some 30 years ago. Upon presenting his plan to the then VP and CFO, Babacar Ndiaye, Mr. Ndiaye reached into his file and pulled out a document with the same schematics for a capital increase. This tripling of the capital of the African Development Bank had to be sold to stakeholders of the bank who felt that this was too much and too soon. Suffice it to say, the tripling of the capital occurred after a great deal of jawboning. Further, during Ambassador Doley's tenure as the first U.S. Executive Director to the Bank, he played a support role in the Bank's credit rating process, by which the AfDB received an AAA rating.
This AAA rating was the first for the African continent. Today, this process has opened the door for all sovereign nations of Sub-Saharan Africa to have internationally recognized credit ratings. Many nations are now in a position to issue bonds as a result of these initiatives.
Ambassador Doley was involved in the first $100 million placement of AfDB bonds as the U.S. Executive Director and, upon his return to his family investment banking firm, he was the lead banker on the second $100 million placement. Subsequently, Ambassador Doley has been the lead banker for his firm in billions of dollars of AfDB bond offerings.
That is why tonight, we honor Ambassador Harold E. Doley, Jr.
In accepting the award, Ambassador Doley said he was prepared for the trials and tribulations that he, along with Babacar Ndiaye, had endured throughout this process. He recalled the story his father told, over his mother's vehement objections, of the Greek mythological figure Prometheus (whose name means Forethought), who brought fire, light and heat to humanity. The result of Prometheus's enlightening of man was to be condemned by Zeus for the theft of fire from Mount Olympus. As a result, Prometheus was chained to the Caucasus Mountains (the derivation of Caucasian comes from the people of the Caucasus Mountains). Everyday, Prometheus's organs were eaten by birds, but because he was a Titan, each night they grew back, a daily torture until his escape. Ambassador Doley further recalled the Black man's trails and tribulations through The Old Testament, which tells the story of Noah and his sons, Ishmael, whose descendants are present-day Muslims and Ham, whose descendants are Black and cursed to always be the servant of servants. The New Testament teaches that there were only two people that carried Jesus's cross to Calvary, Jesus and Simon of Cyrene. Simon was pulled from the crowd by a Roman Centurion to carry Jesus's cross after falling for the third time.
Ambassador Doley stated that with this foreknowledge of what the Black man must bear, he was aware that life would always have special challenges.
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Mayor Landrieu proposes two police pay raises on heels of strong revenue forcast
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| Mayor Mitch Landrieu, City of New Orleans |
NEW ORLEANS - Today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced the City will exceed its 2014 revenue forecast by $14.6 million - ending at $536.1 million - as a result of responsible budgeting and aggressive economic development. The City will also revise its 2015 revenue forecast upwards from $536.9 million to $549.1 million. Landrieu said he will use the additional revenue to propose two pay raises for New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officers of all rank, beginning with a five percent pay raise on July 1, 2015, and another five percent pay raise for officers on January 1, 2016. The two pay raises follow a five percent pay raise proposed by Landrieu and authorized by the City Council last year, which went into effect on January 1, 2015. In total, when compounded, the net increase is about 16 percent, bringing NOPD pay in line with the Louisiana State Police. The raises are intended to impact both officer retention and recruitment.
"When I took office, we faced a dire fiscal crisis on the verge of bankruptcy. By cutting, reorganizing, and investing in key priorities like retail growth, we've been able to turn around the budget and will now be able to give NOPD what it needs to grow and keep our streets safe, which is my top priority," said Landrieu. "We're not completely out of the woods yet, though, as the City is far short of an adequate reserve fund and we still face substantial looming liabilities, such as the firefighter pensions and consent decree mandates for the police and jail. However, as our economy and budget strengthen, we'll keep investing in residents' top priorities, which include public safety, job creation, parks and recreation and street repairs. None of this, however, would have been possible without the hard work and shared sacrifice of the New Orleans people over the last five years - especially our dedicated public servants. For that, I'm eternally grateful."
The City exceeded its 2014 forecast by $14.6 million largely due to continued cuts and reorganization in City government and a very strong third and fourth quarter sales tax growth that showed the impact of the Outlet Collection at Riverwalk, the two additional Walmarts and numerous other new and expanded retailers. In 2014, the City saw general sales tax revenues grow by 9.0 percent, on top of the 9.5 percent growth in 2013. The City also saw a 94.4 percent increase over last year in EMS collections led by a new vendor, Intermedix. Also, since 2010, unemployment has declined in New Orleans from 8.7 percent in 2010 to 6.9 percent as of April 2015.
With the additional revenues, Landrieu said he will propose two pay raises for NOPD officers of all rank: a five percent pay raise on July 1, 2015, and another five percent pay raise on January 1, 2016. When fully implemented, the Landrieu Administration will have raised police salaries 15.8 percent since taking office in 2010, which means a police officer making $45,000 in 2010 will be making $52,093 in 2016.
Since 2010, Mayor Landrieu has dedicated more than $41 million to rebuild and improve NOPD facilities, including new 5th and 7th District stations. He has pledged to fully fund the five-year, $55 million consent decree for better training, equipment and police. He has purchased more than 500 body worn cameras, 400 new police cars and 50 motorcycles. He has also funded another 150 police recruits for 2015 and dedicated more than $300,000 for an aggressive NOPD recruitment campaign.
"We asked for help to make the NOPD a better place to work and the Mayor has delivered," said NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison. "Combined with major investments made in new technology and equipment, these pay raises show that the City is committed to investing in the men and women of the NOPD. Now I'm calling on the New Orleans community to step up and join our ranks. Together, we will rebuild the NOPD and make it the best department in the country."
Landrieu said the City will use most of the additional revenue to build up the City's reserve fund that will help strengthen its credit rating and prepare for unforeseen major events, such as a hurricane. Credit ratings agencies require cities to have 10 percent of its budget for reserves, or about $55 million for the City of New Orleans. Currently, the City only has about $17 million in its reserve fund - a fund that had no money when Landrieu took office in 2010 and was in deficit following the 2010 budget year. The City must also prepare for looming liabilities that could be costly, such as the firefighter pension, consent decree mandates and the jail.
"When we took office, every decision we made was one between bad and worse; now, we're in a much better position and can start making decisions between good and better," said First Deputy Mayor and CAO Andy Kopplin. "We are making great progress, but there are still a number of major challenges and looming liabilities that remain and, of course, any number of unforeseen events that could occur at any time. We will continue to budget cautiously, but intelligently, and invest in key priorities that help us become a better, stronger and more resilient city - helping to ensure every person in every community can take part in the City's growth and prosperity."
Landrieu said the City is beginning to prepare its 2016 budget, which will be built on input from residents across New Orleans. The City intends to hold its annual series of community meetings in each council district later this summer to discuss budget priorities. The meetings are designed to gather input as part of the Budgeting for Outcomes process. Exact dates and locations will be announced in the coming weeks.
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Bob Brown Named President of the New Orleans Public Library Foundation Board of Directors
NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Public Library Foundation Board of Directors has named long-time university, community and business leader Robert W. Brown as its president, replacing Ronald Markham who has resigned from the board.
Brown said his top priority is to maintain the public's confidence in the city's library system and the Foundation, which has donated nearly $4 million to the public library through gifts since Hurricane Katrina. "In accepting this appointment, I am representing interests ranging from the library's executives and staff to the Foundation, including Ronald Markham, who has done an outstanding job in establishing this viable organization," said Brown.
Brown said that recent news reports have called several issues into question, and his first priority will be to work through those issues and misperceptions with the other members of the board. He will act immediately to reassure voters about last Saturday's decision to endorse the additional 2.5 mills. All millage funds go directly to the New Orleans Public Library. The Foundation, as a private entity, has no role in the management nor distribution of those funds. "The vote on Saturday was an overwhelming 75 percent in favor, and I will do everything possible to maintain that level of confidence among our citizens," he said.
Ron Markham added "New Orleans' rate of adult illiteracy is almost twice the national average. The Foundation recognized it could play a supporting role to the Library in addressing this challenge by proactively expanding its reach to underserved communities and implementing programs that removed barriers to literacy outside the borders of the existing infrastructure. Piloting a satellite library with a suite of literacy programs at the Jazz Market is an opportunity to test this strategy. We are excited to see this project's impact once fully installed. That being said, the Foundation first and foremost remains loyal to its core charter, directly supporting the public library; approximately 80% of funds of the foundation since Katrina have and will continue to fund the New Orleans Public Library."
Brown reiterated that the New Orleans Public Library Foundation is a privately funded organization that operates separately from the New Orleans Public Library, which relies on public funding for its operations.
"The foundation places a high value on growing the knowledge base of the community, expanding the concept of literacy to cultural literacy, the preservation of literary resources, and the provision of dynamic, impactful and interactive literacy programs to underserved communities, like Central City," said Brown.
The Foundation's financial donation to the Jazz Market represents a pilot satellite literacy effort with both infrastructure and programmatic investments. The market was ideal as it is located in a community currently without a dedicated public library branch and the organization was willing to take on ongoing costs to sustain the program. Because the Jazz Market has just opened, there are programs currently available but the majority were not planned to be completed until September.
Currently Available
Free Wi-Fi access to public
Opening through summer with completion date of September 15
1. Construction of dedicated NOPL branded space (representing approximately ΒΌ of the building's structure) which will house:
a. 8 state of the art interactive touch screen monitors with a direct portal to the Library system, an onsite digital Jazz archive co-curated by NOJO and NOPL. The public will be able not only to read but also to listen to a comprehensive Jazz archive via individual headsets.
b. NOJO and NOPL co-curated children and adult book collection on Jazz and New Orleans culture, approximately 200 books planned for 2015
2. Suite of free programs available to the public targeting both adults and children
a. Story-time for families: Weekly readings of family friendly, NOPL selected books in a comfortable environment by professional readers
b. Free public access to computers and I-pads with free Wi-Fi
c. Ongoing library membership recruitment and marketing efforts including ability to sign up for a Public Library card
d. Ongoing maintenance as well as continued and expanded delivery of programming after 2015, which will be provided through separate funding by NOJO, not the Foundation
e. Science, Technology, Arts and Math zone separately funded by private donations to NOJO
Brown asked for the public's patience during the transition. "There is a tremendous amount at stake here. We're talking about the steps that were taken to establish a world-class center for jazz with a public library component in an underserved community. We just need to make sure that all those steps were taken in proper order, without skipping any."
About Robert Brown
Robert Brown is the founder and Managing Partner for Paradigm PLUS LLC, a firm providing comprehensive consulting services to corporations and government agencies as well as to higher education institutions, their boards, faculties and staffs. Prior to this position, he was Managing Director of the Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region, responsible for coordinating and managing relationships with elected officials and governmental bodies and civic groups, developing the initiatives of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors, and analyzing research aimed at supporting the organization's goals and priorities. He was Vice Chancellor for Governmental, Community and Diversity Affairs at the University of New Orleans. He serves on numerous community and civic boards and is a trustee for the Greater New Orleans YMCA. He is also a trustee for the Greater New Orleans Foundation and is the Chairman of the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation. He has been honored with a Role Model Award from the Young Leadership Council, and was selected as a Community Hero/Olympic Torch Bearer for the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 2007 he was honored with the Times Picayune Loving Cup for community service. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree (Magna cum Laude) from Park College (Parkville, MO) in 1975 and a Master of Arts degree in Human Resource management from Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA) in 1979. He is a member of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Public Policy Committee and is the Louisiana representative on the ACCT State Coordinators Network. Brown has been appointed to serve as a representative of the 2nd Congressional District, as required by statute.
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Your Alternative Newsletter
News. Arts, Culture & Entertainment
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Vincent T. Sylvain, Publisher
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The New Orleans Agenda
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Opinions expressed on this mailing are not necessarily the views of The New Orleans Agenda or that of POLICAMP, Inc. unless explicitly stated.
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