Pentagon Barracks rent still unfair

On Aug. 1, I wrote about the legislators renting apartments at the newly renovated Pentagon Barracks in Baton Rouge at an unfair price. I sent letters to Gov. Blanco and Sen. Donald Hines, president of the Senate, but because of Katrina and Rita, I never received an acknowledgement.

Every taxpayer is going to paying for these two hurricanes for decades to come. It is fair and just for the people we elect to pay the market price of real estate. And, I guess I should remind them that 13 years ago the IRS intervened because of this same issue at the same apartments.

They agreed to pay $72,000 in back taxes, of our money I am sure, and raised the rent. Once again we find the rent needs to be raised to the tune of about $132,000 per year.

To make matters worse, an article in the paper said the legislators were "discouraged" from allowing anyone to stay year-round, but did not say if they were breaking the law or an ethical rule. Many are letting their kids stay year-round to go to college when I know families that are making loans and mortgaging their house to put their child through college.

Sen. Hines quipped that the Pentagon Barracks is "kind of a HUD project." I find nothing amusing about this situation.

What say you, Madam Governor? You were angry when Washington demanded accountability for our past history of corruption. Does the IRS need to be notified again, or are you going to make things right?

Business as usual.

Apartments at Pentagon rented at a loss to favored legislators

2theadvocate > News > Apartments at Pentagon rented at a loss to favored legislators 07/24/05 by Michelle Millhollon

For rent: Spacious apartments in historic buildings overlooking river. Close to Capitol. 1 to 3 bedrooms. Utilities included. $300-$565 a month. It's a great deal. But this offer is only for legislators and the lieutenant governor.
Apartments at the four-building Pentagon Barracks complex, across the street from the State Capitol, are assigned on the basis of seniority and favoritism.
For a few hundred dollars a month, selected officials get to bunk in the early 19th-century buildings. The state pays for utilities and upkeep.
And the rent hasn't gone up in more than a decade.

The rent is so low that the state is operating the $6.4 million brick apartments at a loss. Expenses are almost twice as much as the income from rent.
From July 1, 2004, to June 30, the state collected about $182,000 in rent. The cost for utilities, security, pest control and maintenance was $313,507.06.
"The pay for legislators is kind of low," Senate President Don Hines joked.
"This is kind of a HUD project," he quipped, referring to the federal agency that promotes affordable housing.
Hines and Speaker of the House Joe Salter decide which lawmakers get apartments.
There are 40 units and 144 legislators.
Even with some lawmakers sharing two-bedroom apartments, only an elite group of legislators gets to stay at the Pentagon. Landrieu didn't get an apartment until he became lieutenant governor despite serving in the Legislature for 16 years. Lawmakers who don't get units at the Pentagon have to make other arrangements. Some rent apartments near the Capitol. Others stay in hotels. A few buy houses.
As part of their pay, legislators received $113 a day during the recent session and for meetings leading up to the session.
Most lawmakers with apartments at the Pentagon could meet their monthly rent with two days worth of per diem.
Salter said he doesn't know if the rent could be considered low or not.
"I don't know what the rent rates are around here," Salter said. "Maybe that's something we need to look at."
Hines said he considered raising the rent when he became Senate president a year ago. He ultimately decided against it.
"I just decided to leave it alone," he said.
In a quarter of a century, the minimum rent has gone from $75 to $300. The most recent increase was in 1992, when the state raised the rent by $150 a month to appease the Internal Revenue Service.
The tax agency raised a red flag about the apartments being leased for less than their fair market value. The agency considered the cheap rent a form of indirect income and wanted lawmakers to pay taxes on that income.
The Legislature agreed to pay $72,000 in back taxes, and raised the rent for each unit. The rent has been stagnant since then.
The majority of the Pentagon apartments rent for $300 or $370 a month. Legislators who have to find their own housing generally pay substantially more. Staying at a hotel during the session can easily cost thousands of dollars.
House Clerk Alfred "Butch" Speer said the rent at the Pentagon is low because the apartments aren't supposed to be used as full-time residences.
"These are living accommodations provided to members for the limited time they're in Baton Rouge," he said.
Lawmakers have access to the apartments year-round, but they are discouraged from allowing family members to live there fulltime, Speer said.
It's more of a suggestion than a rule. Hines concedes that some lawmakers have allowed their children to live at the Pentagon while going to college.
"It's happened," Hines said. "I don't know of anybody now. In the past, some senators' family members that attended LSU lived there."
The 22 senators and 24 representatives who bunk at the Pentagon are responsible for their rent and furniture. Many bill their campaign funds for the expense.
In 2004, Rep. Danny Martiny, R-Kenner, spent $1,325.33 in campaign money to rent furniture and buy towels, sheets, pillowcases, a toaster and a coffee pot for his Pentagon apartment. He also used campaign funds to pay his monthly rent, cable bill and maid.
The bulk of Salter's decorating expenses are picked up by the state since his apartment is used for official gatherings.
He did spend thousands of dollars in campaign funds last year for apartment supplies and furniture.
The apartments date back to 1819, when they were built as barracks for Army troops and officers. The construction was part of an expansion of the military post in Baton Rouge. Fearful of an invasion of Spanish troops from Texas, officials beefed up operations. The signing of a treaty with Spain scrapped those concerns.
A pentagon is supposed to have five sides. The military built four buildings and constructed a wall and two wooden buildings on the fifth side. The wooden structures were poorly made and soon torn down.
For the next 100 years, the barracks served as communal living quarters for troops and, later, LSU coeds.
State government acquired the apartments in 1951. By 1966, a dozen state agencies had offices there.
In 1979, the state decided to convert the Pentagon into legislative apartments, allowing Louisiana lawmakers to have at least one thing in common with Abraham Lincoln, who once slept there.

Advocate staff photo by Arthur D. Lauck
Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu stands in the first-floor space allocated to him at the Pentagon Barracks.
Landrieu said the bottom floor is available to groups for meetings and parties.
The top floor is a three-bedroom apartment for Landrieu and his family.

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