[StBernard] EDITORIAL: Thank you, Sen. Boasso - From The Times-Picayune

[Westley Annis]

EDITORIAL: Thank you, Sen. Boasso
Saturday, February 18, 2006

Some of his legislative opponents claimed that Sen. Walter Boasso's push for
a regional levee board was driven by ego. 

Come on. Who in the world would put himself through an exhausting
three-month battle simply out of ego? 

Sen. Boasso's motives were never in doubt. He wanted Southeast Louisianians
to be better protected from storms, and he knew that the multiple,
crony-filled levee boards currently in existence had to go. 

To achieve that, the senator proposed consolidating those small boards into
a single levee board run by people with expertise in flood protection. That
sounds more like common sense and than ego. 

Unfortunately, Sen. Boasso couldn't get the Legislature to create a single
board for the region. As a compromise to keep his bill alive, he agreed
Tuesday to form two boards, one for the Barataria Basin on the west bank of
the Mississippi and one for the Pontchartrain Basin on the east bank. That
is not ideal, but it is workable. 

It was better to give up on the idea of one board than to give up on the
ethical and professional standards in the legislation. Thankfully, Sen.
Boasso and his allies managed to fend off repeated attempts this week to
weaken those requirements. If voters statewide approve an enabling
constitutional amendment this fall, this metro area's levee agencies will be
more focused on public safety than ever before. 

Even with two boards instead of one super-board, Sen. Boasso managed to
bring about a dramatic change in levee management. Instead of cronies and
relatives of lawmakers, almost half of the board members will have
backgrounds in civil engineering, hydrology or other fields related to
flood-control. Others will be required to have legal, accounting or other
professional backgrounds. Also, the boards are required to include members
from outside the region to help limit political influence on their work.
Board members will be nominated by engineering, university and watchdog
groups rather than being hand-picked by influential lawmakers. 

In addition, members will be restricted from participating in political
campaigns and lobbying, and they and their family members will be prohibited
from doing board-related business. 

If these sound like basic protections for the public, they are. But they are
new territory for local levee boards. 

Not only will the boards be made up of experts, but all of the sidelines
taken up by the individual boards over the years will be jettisoned. No more
special levee police forces to roust parking offenders off of levee banks.
They will be disbanded, and city or parish law enforcement officers will
take over patrols. The boards will be out of the real estate, marina and
airport business as well. Those assets will be turned over the state's
Division of Administration, which will free the levee boards of costly
distractions from their mission. 

It took Sen. Boasso two special sessions to get his bill passed, and he had
to give up some ground to do so. Though initially cool to the idea, Gov.
Kathleen Blanco got behind his plan. He also was helped by New Orleans Rep.
Karen Carter, who handled the legislation in the House, and the thousands of
residents mobilized by Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans. 

The result isn't perfect, but the new system ought to lead to better flood
protection in the future. And residents in this storm-ravaged region have
Sen. Boasso to thank for that.