State Treasurer John Kennedy isn’t the only one who disputes the veracity—or the political motives—of administration claims of a $178.5 million budget surplus for the fiscal year that ended on June 30.
There are a couple of Kristy Nichols’ predecessors, former commissioners of administration and a former state budget officer who have been there, done that and got the T-shirts, who are genuinely perplexed and skeptical of the whimsical claims.
Bobby Jindal (R-Iowa, R-New Hampshire, R-Anywhere but Louisiana), aka Booby Jindini, through Commissioner of Administration Nichols, is claiming the implausible “discovery” of some $360 million, dating back to 2002 that pulls the state from the jaws of a $141 million deficit in favor of the surplus explained thus far only as Immaculate Discovery.
LouisianaVoice, meanwhile, has learned that the true “discovered” money is more like $500 and that it actually goes back as far as 1998, near the end of Gov. Mike “the Jindal Creator” Foster’s second term. But, says Kennedy, the money has already been spent, which would make the real deficit more like $200 million, instead of the mere $141 hole claimed by Kennedy.
But the devil, as they say, is in the details and the details have not been readily forthcoming from the administration. And members of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget (JLCB) sat mutely Friday morning as committee Chairman Rep. Jim Fannin (D/R-Jonesboro) proclaimed that the committee would not be discussing the matter until it received a report from the Legislative Auditor’s office, probably sometime in December.
“What?!!!!!!!” legislators should have sputtered, shouted and otherwise protested.
Sorry, guys, you should have stood as one and protested that the time to discuss this little matter is now and the place is right here. Right here, right now. We want, no, demand an explanation, an accounting of where this money suddenly came from and how it is that the administration did not know of its existence for the past seven years.
And while we’re at it, why is it that Fannin sudden decided to exercise his power to disallow a request by Rep. James Armes (D-Leesville) that a non-member of the JLCB, Rep. Kenny Havard (R-Jackson), be allowed to sit in on the committee as his proxy. Legislative observers cannot recall a time when such a request was denied. Was Fannin afraid Havard might ask some embarrassing questions about the budgetary procedure?
Or was it that Havard was not among the members who had been called in a few at a time in advance of Friday’s meeting to be reminded by the administration that capital outlay projects in their respective districts could suddenly face a lack of funding for their implementation?
Regardless, it is quite obvious from our perspective that the fix is in.
Instead, committee members sat mutely as one as Fannin, desperate to hang onto his chairmanship and reportedly considering a run at the State Senate seat currently held by Sen. Bob Kostelka (R-Monroe), allowed that rather than demanding details and explanations from the administration, there was no urgency to the issue that could not wait until December.
Retired state budget officer Stephen Winham said that in his 21 years in that office, nothing of this magnitude ever occurred.
“The hidden piles of money is a myth,” he said. “There may have been hidden pockets of money before modern accounting and information technology, but it is impossible to hide money in the state treasury today.
“This has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen happen with regard to the state’s financial condition and its reputation,” he said. “How can $500 million simply have been hiding in the state treasury? Do Ms. Nichols and others have any idea how her contention totally undermines the integrity of our financial system? It makes a mockery of our accounting system and our annual Comprehensive Financial Reports for the past 16 years, if not longer, and of our state itself. People already routinely suspected the numbers they were given. Now there is no reason to believe anything.
“I cannot overstate how horrible this is.”
Raymond Laborde and Stephanie Laborde agree.
Raymond Laborde (Stephanie Laborde’s uncle) served as commissioner of administration from 1992 to 1996 under former Gov. Edwin Edwards. Before that, he served five terms in the Louisiana House, serving as Speaker Pro Tem from 1982-1984 and also served as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
He was re-elected without opposition to a sixth term in 1991 but immediately resigned to become Commissioner of Administration during Edwards’ fourth and final term as governor. In 2003, Raymond Laborde was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.
“I haven’t seen any details yet and neither, apparently has John Kennedy,” he said.
“We had surpluses each year during my tenure, but they were legitimate surpluses. If the money was there, it should have been seen. If Kennedy’s approach is correct, there is a heck of a difference between what the administration says and what he says.”
Reminded that Kennedy has said any money found from prior years has already been spent, Raymond Laborde said, “It should have been spent.”
Stephanie Laborde served as commissioner of administration during Edwards’ third term (1984-1988) when she was Stephanie Alexander.
Her observations were supportive of Winham’s and were equally critical of the administration.
“If the surplus is real, where were those dollars when the budget was being developed 15 months or so ago?” she asked, perhaps not so rhetorically.
“That is not to say when there was not extra money,” she said. “There were times when there were more taxes collected than anticipated or when the price of oil was higher than expected but for this much in surplus funds to be lying around for years? That just didn’t happen.”
She also said the sources of such revenue would have been considered one-time money and not recurring revenue. “There is a difference of philosophy, a difference of opinion with the character of funds found in the past.
“But it still comes down to where was this money during the budget writing process, where was it, in fact, for all these years?
“If it was there, it speaks to the administration’s competence, its ability—or inability—to give us an accurate budget.
“If the money was not there as is being claimed, it speaks to something else entirely,” she said.
Louisiana Voice 
Fannin is considering a run at the Senate?? And he thinks stonewalling is going to get him elected?? or more Chairman appointments? Guess he knows, now, what “boots” taste like!! Although, it’s my guess he already does. Nor does he care about state workers.
So will any of this make our lame stream media? I doubt it.
Lill booby and Kristy Kreme have zero credibility. And it seems that Fannin has zero in the scruples or ethics department.
I happen to know Jim Fannin personally, and for you to question his integrity would be laughable were it not offensive. You’d have more credibility if you seek out a little intestinal fortitude and start posting under your big boy name, especially if you plan on attempting to assassinate the character of one of the finest men I know.
I stand by my comments when he does something like this:
This is my big-boy name. Get over it.
And your reply is what is majorly wrong. “Intestinal fortitude”? “Big boy name”? Grow up. Aren’t we “adults” here? Good Lord. And I mean it. May the Good Lord help us.
I have to agree with Fredster. His behavior at disallowing Rep. Havard to sit in as proxy at the JLCB is inexcusable. Also, if you will go back and listen to the House Appropriations meeting of September 25, you will hear Rep. Fannin refer to Rep. Havard as Rep. HaZard when he called him to the witness stand.
Sorry, but these are NOT displays of “integrity” in my book.
I am sorry to inform the people of this state but integrity has never and never will be practiced by this administration.
What is truly is a shame is there is only one writer, investigator, news reporter, who has what it takes to pull the curtain back on the deception of the peon we are paying to be our governor.
What should set off alarms all through our state and country is Jindal will not grant a single one-on-one question and answer session with some one like Clancy Dubos! The only time we see his face on local TV is to declare an emergency for bad weather! This from a person who would never pass up a chance to get in front of a microphone or camera six years ago. Oh how things change.
OH, WHAT AN ASS I WAS VOTING FOR SUCH A KNUCKLE HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, Matthew. If that’s one of the finest you know, I’d suggest you keep looking.
Right on Fredster. Ol’ Jimmy’s been in BJ’s pocket for 7 years. If he’s one of the finest men this clown knows, he must associate exclusively with major sleezeballs!
Thank-ye Can’t say! 🙂 When the pulls a stunt as Tom described, then as he said, something was up.
I seem to recall Mr. Walton’s name from another post on this blog. Can’t recall which post and what about, but his name seems familiar from here.
Immaculate Discovery? You are too kind. How about the Immaculate Deception?
Wow!! SO glad to see past “Budgeteers” coming out and speaking up!! I’m actually surprised that more haven’t come forth. Keep up the great job!!
When are the indictments gonna start dropping? There’s no doubt in my mind Jindal is a criminal, along with Kristi Kreme!
Amen to that. Instead of measuring the drapes for the White House, which Jindal must have already done in his mind, what we need in reality is for Jindal to be measured for his orange jump suit.
I worked for the La. legislature for 25 years and just retired last Friday, so now I am free to say whatever I want. Matthew Walton I believe lives in Rep. Fannin’s district and is associated with a nursing home. So Fannin is taking care of him. Now, regarding the Greenstein CNSI indictment, if this governor is not indicted, I will be surprised. The co-founders of CNSI are from you guessed it, India, Jindal’s stomping ground, As for Kristy Nichols, she does not know the meaning of the word “truth”.
I leave the legislature with an enormous amount of knowledge that I plan to use in a positive way.
Music to my ears
I think the only question to resolve is whether Jindal is going to sue the Legislative Auditor’s Office when Mr. Purpera refuses to sign off on the “surplus.” My guess is yes,
I think I will go to the bank Monday and tell them I found $250.000 in my closet. I will ask them to add it to my account until I can show them the money in December.
These people are starting to believe their own lies. Once you tell one lie you have to cover that one with another.
When will it blow up in their faces?
Thanks Tom and crew
If I was John Kennedy and Kristy Nichols was my wife, I would envision the following scenario and subsequent conversation: The state deposits my retirement check into our checking account the last day of each month. Our $1500 house note comes out on the 5th of each month. One month, our house note check is returned for insufficient funds. After reviewing our finances, I discover Kristy withdrew, then spent $1500 from our checking account 2 days before the house note was due. Her excuse would have been, “I discovered an extra $1500 in our account! I can’t believe you have been so dishonest as to have hidden it from me all of these years!”
Regarding our “mute” legislators: The only way the majority of our legislators will stick their necks out for the citizens they were elected to represent is when their political careers are at risk. They remain silent hoping the mess du jour will go away so they can get back to the business of being a legislator – ya know, hanging out with lobbyists, flirting with staffers, going to LSU games, drinkin’, speeding along highways with immunity, being a pompous fat cat in general with all requisite perks. Kudos to the few good men and women who still have their character intact. And to the rest of you bozos, we will remember your staunch support of Jitler come election time. Your inaction implies complicity and agreement with the little weasel. Trying to disassociate through “invisibility” is not going to work. It may be comfortable and safe to take this approach, but it sure seems cowardly when you won’t even ask important questions at very important meetings.
Great comments!
“Your inaction implies complicity and agreement …”
“Trying to disassociate through ‘invisibility’ is not going to work …”
” … we will remember your staunch support of Jitler come election time …”
We must start taking names and keeping numbers!
If you are one of these legislators, read this and think again. Your reelection is soon.
I agree totally. Blind acceptance of whatever your legislators do, or do not do, is no longer an option. People are beginning to wake up. The classic line from the classic movie, NETWORK, may become a true refrain, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!!!”
Thanks!
Trying to reply to M. Walton. Not “Fredster”. Don’t know what’s wrong with this site now. But reply is to Walton. I agree with Fredster. And I certainly do NOT wish Fredster intestinal issues!!!!!
I really wonder if Jindal and his cronies even know when they are lying any more. There’s an old adage among cocaine dealers to “Never snort your own stash.” The same thing applies to believing your own bull$hit. I believe we call that becoming delusional.