Leading by example

John Kennedy keeps telling us there are 400 ways to cut fat out of the budget before we have to raise any revenue.  He should know since he's one of them.

Kennedy’s been on TV, radio and written op-eds about the wasteful contracts that have harmed the state’s budget.

But Kennedy’s office has at least one contract of its own that has been questioned repeatedly.

Since 2011, the Treasurer’s Office has leased office space at One City Plaza on North Boulevard in Baton Rouge. Currently, that site is home to the Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property, Audit and Compliance and Investments sections.

According to information from the Division of Administration, about 22 employees work out of the 11,954-square-foot space. The cost to taxpayers: $369,597 a year.

Hey there's always room in the Benson Tower.

Legislators on the House Appropriations Committee lost some of their spirit for their NFL team this week when they learned the state is paying owner Tom Benson almost $2 million more than the market value of 323,000 square feet of space the state leases in Benson Tower, including an entire floor that's unoccupied.

Shove Kennedy’s people in there and we solve two problems at once, right? Just 398 more to go.