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NEW ORLEANS - City Council Budget Committee Chair Jared C. Brossett has released the following statement announcing that the Council will still hold its scheduled Mid-Year Budget Hearings:
"It is of the utmost importance that we remain transparent in all of our fiscal management decisions during this public health emergency and recovery. In order to assess the fiscal needs and possible limitations that are currently facing city agencies, the City Council is preparing to hold its first installment of Mid-Year Budget Hearings for the year 2021. To continue moving New Orleans forward, the Council needs the Mayor’s Administration to provide a clear understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the City's recovery efforts as well as the budget.
In the 2021 Budget proposed by the Mayor and ultimately passed by the Council, City departments were required to take a 20% reduction. Some departments took a larger cut, but the Council still does not know if the Administration plans to propose a restoration of these budget cuts in the current year, even as the 2022 budget process is fast approaching.
The Administration is required by the City’s Home Rule Charter to have a Revenue Estimating Conference quarterly, but the first hearing conducted this year will be held in the third quarter on July 23. This creates an urgent need for transparency. As the City’s legislative body, co-equal and separate from the Administration, the Council makes all appropriations for the operation of our City government. However, that can only be done if we receive an update on the Administration’s fiscal management decisions and there is a transparent discussion regarding the City’s financial status. As I stated in my June 28, 2021, letter and reiterated in my letter today to the Administration, it is essential that the City Council has the information necessary to uphold its Charter responsibility.
As elected officials, the members of the City Council are accountable to the people. It is imperative that we remain transparent in all fiscal management decisions, so all the City’s public servants can most effectively serve our constituents.
The hearing will include information pertaining to the planned American Rescue Plan Act appropriations for each agency as well as a list of COVID-19 related expenses the City has incurred year-to-date.”
Mid-Year Budget Hearings will proceed as follows:
DAY 1 - MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 9 AM - 6 PM
- CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE
- DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
- DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL SERVICE
- FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL PLAN
- CAPITAL BUDGET
- CAO – OFFICE OF CAPITAL PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
- DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
- SEWERAGE AND WATER BOARD OF NEW ORLEANS
- DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY AND PERMITS
- DEPARTMENT OF SANITATION
- NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT (NOPD) & CONSENT DECREE COMPLIANCE
- NEW ORLEANS FIRE DEPARTMENT
- NEW ORLEANS OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
DAY 2 – TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 9 AM - 6 PM
- OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
- NEW ORLEANS PUBLIC LIBRARY
- MAYOR’S OFFICE
- OFFICE OF YOUTH AND FAMILIES
- OFFICE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE COORDINATION
- JUVENILE JUSTICE INTERVENTION CENTER
- ORLEANS PARISH JUVENILE COURT
- ORLEANS PARISH CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT
- ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
- ORLEANS PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE
- CLERK OF CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT
For additional information, please visit council.nola.gov.
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