Tryfon Boukouvidis/Manship School News Service
Despite record-breaking year for tourism, the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism warned will not be able to sustain that volume with any more cuts in funding.
The Office of Lieutenant Governor told House Appropriations subcommittee it, too, is a hardship case.
Lt. Gov. William "Billy" Nungesser, who also serves as commissioner of the Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, said his office has been cut over 50 percent in the last decade and additional cuts will cause great harm. Since 2015, he said, the department has laid of 120 people and out of his office’s 24 employees, only seven remaining.
Nungesser remarked that he is working on a “very tight budget.”
On top of cuts, the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism lost significant revenue last year as the August floods affected some of its most profitable sites.
Mark Antoon, budget analyst for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, said he understands the imperative need for reductions across state agencies, but believes the agency would not be able to operate in case news cuts emerge.
Additional cuts would “absolutely devastate the tourism department,” he said.
Nungesser added that tourism cannot sustain that kind of hit and maintain the partnerships it has developed.
Rep. Walt Leger, D-New Orleans, commented that the Legislature has decimated (the tourism department) over and over.”
“We need to keep operating the department of tourism at optimum level,” he said. “I think our state needs to offer museums and historic sites to the people who live here,” as well as people from other countries and states.
House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government Tuesday discussed appropriations of nearly $7.2 million to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and about $88 million to the Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism. The latter budget is inflated because revenue from tourism promotion tax districts funds was overestimated.
Rep. Larry Bagley, R-Stonewall, congratulated Nungesser for his agency’s efficiency and innovative methods to generate revenue amid cuts.
Rep. Blake Miguez, R-Erath, said the Legislature wants to “help (the department) continue operating efficiently.”