Metro Council holds hearing on 2010 budget

The Metro Council held its first hearing today on Mayor Kip Holden's proposed 2010 budget for East Baton Rouge Parish. Holden calls for $701 million in spending, an increase of just under 1% from the 2009 budget, which is nearly $695 million. While a 1% increase in sales tax revenues is projected for 2010, Holden says the first six months of the year will be very critical. Sales tax revenues have been falling short of 2008 levels for the past six months, and Holden says if the numbers don't pick up, the city-parish will have to look at midyear budget cuts. In preparation, Holden says he's asking department heads to look for savings and fill vacancies on an "as needed" basis. Despite the caution, Holden says Baton Rouge should give thanks, in that there hasn’t been a need to layoff city-parish workers or cut services. The Metro Council is set to vote on the budget at its Dec. 9 meeting.

Dean reviewing offers for B.R. properties

Bob Dean is reviewing the results of an auction of some of his Baton Rouge holdings and he'll decide by Friday if he will accept the high bids. Amanda Viles, a spokeswoman for Williams & Williams, the firm that handled the auction last week, says Dean has until the end of the week to decide if he'll accept the bids. Viles says Williams & Williams was pleased with the auction activity and that bids were placed on every one of Dean's properties. The nominal bid of $500,000 was placed on the Dean Tower on Florida Boulevard, the Regions Bank building downtown and the Commerce Building on Laurel Street. Dean was selling those properties, along with two warehouses on Choctaw Drive, 77 acres of undeveloped land in Zachary and a house downtown. Two of Dean's nursing homes, in Lake Charles and Opelousas were listed at absolute auction. If Dean accepts the high bids, it will take about 30 days to close on the sales. Dean is also reviewing bids on some properties in Natchez, Miss., which Williams & Williams also auctioned last week.

Maginnis: Higher ed commission showing the way

The Postsecondary Education Review Commission isn't getting the headlines that a governmental streamlining commission is getting, even though that panel could make the biggest change, says John Maginnis. "On just about everybody's list of what is most screwed up with state government is that it runs too many four-year colleges, 14 in all," he says. While the commission won't take on the politically difficult task of closing a college, it could vote to tighten admission standards or cut back on degree programs. "This quietly hard-working commission is showing the way that we would be fools not to follow," Maginnis says. Read the full column here.

(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)

Simpson named interim director at La. school for blind

Former Mayor Bobby Simpson has been named interim director at the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired. Simpson, a former dean of students at the school, was appointed to the post today by the Louisiana Special School District. Simpson has been chief operations officer for JTS Interests since January 2007; he joined the firm shortly after he left the mayor's office in early 2005. Janet Ford, the former director of LSVI, resigned in October, after being put on non-disciplinary leave while the state education department investigated allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct between two students. The Special School District is conducting a national search for a permanent director.

Learning Sciences gets two new contracts

Learning Sciences, a local company that provides customized worker training programs, has been awarded contracts with H&E Equipment and PSC Nitrogen. Learning Sciences will help implement SAP ERP software training at H&E, tracking employee participation and competence levels. The company will develop an eight-course health and safety library with PSC Nitrogen. The values of the contracts were not disclosed.

'Real Estate Weekly' has news on Spanish Town

Real Estate Weekly is out with news about potential zoning changes for Spanish Town, a big deal involving a high-profile attorney, a look at the Baton Rouge home price index and the latest column from Brian Andrews. To read the newsletter, click here.

News roundup: Shoppers expected to spend less on presents this Christmas ... Saab future unclear as sale to Swedish firm fails

Bah humbug: U.S. households expect to spend an average of $390 on Christmas presents this season, down from the estimate of $418 from last year. The Conference Board, which issued the report, says households in the West South Central region, which is made up of Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, will spend an average of $374. Households in New England will be the most generous, averaging $534 on holiday gifts, while the Rocky Mountain states are the most frugal, with $332 estimated for holiday spending.

Wanna buy a car company? A Swedish specialty automaker has backed out of a deal to buy Saab from General Motors Co., casting serious doubt on the future of the troubled brand. Koenigsegg Group AB says it has decided to end the deal, which was announced in June. GM did not disclose financial details of the acquisition. The Detroit automaker had been trying to unload the Swedish brand as it restructured under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. The collapse of the Saab sale is the third GM deal to fall through this year for a variety of reasons. A person briefed on the deal today says Koenigsegg informed GM of the decision on Monday, and Saab's future is now unclear. GM's board will have to decide the company's next move, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the decision has not been made.

Nominations open for Business Awards and Hall of Fame

Nominations are being accepted for the 2010 Business Awards and Hall of Fame banquet. The event is presented annually by the Business Report and Junior Achievement. The categories include: Business Hall of Fame Laureate (for a lifetime of achievement), Company of the Year (under 100 employees), Company of the Year (100 or more employees), Young Business Person of the Year (40 or under) and Business Person of the Year. To nominate your company, yourself, a client, vendor or friend, click here or call 928-7008. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 31. The banquet, which will be held April 20 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, is sponsored by Franklin Press Direct Mail & Printing and Capital One Bank.