New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell will be grounded for the next two months after the New Orleans City Council on Thursday (Feb. 27) unanimously passed a temporary ban on non-essential travel for most city employees, including the Mayor’s Office.
Councilmembers brought the proposal after Cantrell earlier this month decided to back out of a deal with the Orleans Parish School Board that would have simultaneously settled a long-running lawsuit against the city and provided New Orleans schools, which are facing a deficit estimated up to $50 million, some much-needed cash.
The Mayor’s Office had cried poverty, saying it couldn’t afford the settlement due to a host of financial challenges facing the city budget, though other city officials have said the city’s finances will remain relatively stable.
“So, the reason why we’re here today is because on two occasions, we were told by the administration, by the head of finance, that we are in a haphazard spending situation where our expenditures are beyond what is being generated by revenue,” Council President JP Morrell said Thursday.
In addition to prohibiting non-essential travel, the ordinance also restricts reimbursements for meals and alcohol and prohibits city employees from leasing any passenger vehicles. This blanket prohibition applies to all city employees and elected officials, except for members of the Aviation Board, whose travel costs do not come from the general fund.
“Since that money does not impact the general fund, it’s outside the scope of what we’re trying to address in the overall amendment,” Morrell said.
Cantrell has come under fire during her time as mayor for her regular and costly travel. But at Thursday’s meeting, Morrell insisted that the action was not punitive.
“This is not punitive,” Morrell said. “This is in response to representations made by the head of the finance department that our budget is in crisis, and that spending is out of control.”
A spokesperson for Cantrell did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.
The question of whether city finances are actually in peril has been hotly contested over the past month. Chief Financial Officer Romy Samuel has claimed that “financial instability is imminent” for the city – citing a host of factors, including lost traffic camera revenue and millions of dollars owed in overtime pay.
But both City Council Budget Chair Joe Giarrusso and Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño have maintained that the city passed a balanced budget just months ago and is prepared to handle the coming challenges.
The ordinance will remain in effect until the end of April, when the council is set to host the next revenue estimating conference, where greater clarity on the state of the city’s budget is expected.
Still, Morrell warned that further cuts may be imminent.
“This will not be the last thing we probably have to do to cut costs,” he said before the vote.
Recent Stories
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
