The New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a public letter to Mayor Landrieu to present evaluators’ observations, based on a preliminary review, of the City’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. Evaluators observed the following: (1) the personnel responsible for implementing this program did not have a clear understanding of the applicable legal standards; (2) the certification procedure implemented did not have written rules or comply with open meeting laws; and, (3) the responsible office lacks sufficient staff and funding to carry out its intended functions.
