Rev. Freddie Lee Phillips stresses what he contends are “inflated figures” by the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology (LSBC) in its quest for a $1 million a year license fee increase.
When we published episode one of the LSBC’s quest for $1 million a year, we got feedback from a number of former colleagues with whom Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns worked who excel at accounting concepts. The comments we received entailed an “unparallelled lack of knowledge” of even the most basic of fundamental accounting concepts by folk representing the LSBC.
One former colleague said the video of the prior feature was “unbelievably comical” that a State Board could be expected to be taken seriously given the “clownish, amateurish, and completely embarrassing” performance that those affiliated with the LSBC put on.
On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, an encore performance was necessitated after the Senate Commerce Committee instructed those folk to return with actual numbers of what matters like building repairs and computer technology upgrades would actually cost.
Amazingly, those “estimated costs” (and we’ve made public records requests to obtain the documentation provided to the Senators), just so happen to total (almost to the dime) the available cash that the LSBC holds. That is to say, the technology components of $700,000, when combined with an estimated $1,050,000 in building repairs (on a facility not worth anywhere near that much), just so happen to barely exceed the LSBC’s available cash on hand.
We consulted with two (2) IT experts, both of whom informed us that the LSBC should absolutely outsource that function to one of many license-management vendor products. One of the two said, “This is not the business that the Cosmetology Board should be in. It’s hard for me to fathom why nobody has apparently even explored outsourcing the management of their license responsibilities!”
Regarding the building repairs, that estimated cost came in at $1,050,000. In addition to Burns being an inactive CPA for 35 years, he was also a real estate broker for 10 years from 2003-2013. Even without that real estate broker designation, however, common sense would dictate that nobody possessing any financial management skills whatsoever (of which the LSBC appears to possess none) can justify spending $1,050,000 on a building worth nowhere near that much!
We made a few calls to current commercial real estate brokers to obtain information relevant on the LSBC’s building. Here are our findings:
11622 Sun Belt Ct, Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Office
6,000
Sq Ft
Year Built
1984
Land Use
Store/Office (mixed use)
Multi Parcel
No
APN / Tax ID
257311
And here is a recently-sold available comp:
Property Information
Recently Closed 3/6 Closed / Public Record • Sold Date: 3/6/2025, Public Record
Closed Price
$702,505
Closed Date 3/6/2025
Office
Type
6,458
Sq Ft
SOUTHERN EARTH SCIENCES INC
Type
Office
Year Built
1985
Land Use
General Use
Stores/Mixed Use
Overall Use
MIXED USE
Multi Parcel
No
Tenants Count
Tenants Avg. Days In
Business
20 years and 26 days
APN / Tax ID
257303
So, we have a slightly larger comp which sold for $702,205 on March 6, 2025, so a ball park figure of the LSBC’s building’s market value should approximate $650,000 – $675,000, yet here is a state agency, with the full blessing of an entire membership of the Louisiana Senate Commerce Committee, ready to charge full steam ahead and spend over $1 million on such a facility! Un-freaking-believable! Only in government are such grossly-irresponsible investment decisions made!
Once those improvements are complete (which we contend should never be made and the building instead sold after the LSBC does what most state agencies do and lease, not own, its office space), the assessor should substantially increase its valuation, leading to an astounding increase in the LSBC’s annual property tax bill!
With all that in mind, lets provide the highlights of today’s Edition Two of the three-ring-circus of a Louisiana Senate Commerce Committee meeting of May 21, 2025 entailing this massive fee increase being sought by the LSBC (it should, if nothing else, provide yet more comic relief):
May 21, 2025 Louisiana Senate Commerce Committee meting pertaining to the LSBC’s massive $1 million a year license fee increase. CLICK HERE to see Chris Guidry’s commentary on the LSBC and CLICK HERE to watch his presentation to the LSBC.
So, that’s it folks! All that’s left to see is if the full Louisiana Senate gives its blessing to this measure, particularly under these conditions!
This is absolutely embarrassing. Most 10-year-olds do a better job of justifying their allowance than these folks. The senate may not be able to dictate intelligence, but they should demand honesty. When senators ask simple questions like what do you need the money for and how much cash do you have now, they should receive honest, clear answers. There is a reason Louisiana has so many problems and it starts with a lack of accountability in the legislature.
This is what happens when politicians, in this case the cosmetology board, allow politics to rule the day over using sound financial judgment.
Please update this feature to include the documentation they provided to the senators as I very much want to see what they looked at.
This sure appears to be as the preacher said these senators giving the board a blank check. Very sad indeed.
Well, I see they didn’t take you up on your challenge to bring a CPA to the table to rebut your arguments. Wonder why????????????????