As she presented New Orleans' 2025 budget Tuesday, Mayor LaToya Cantrell vowed to remain focused on solving the city's problems as her administration winds down over the next year and faces federal scrutiny.
Cantrell told the City Council that her proposed $1.8 billion budget reflects a continued investment in her long-term priorities, even as the city faces a tighter fiscal picture with pandemic-era cash dwindling and costs rising. Those include improvements to the city's infrastructure, programs to address homelessness, and support for programs that aim to find the root cause of the city's crime problems.
"We have been investing our resources effectively, and we are seeing long lasting change," said Cantrell, who also used the meeting to briefly address "accusation after accusation" lobbed at her before she leaves office in January 2026.
Her comments came days after federal prosecutors charged the owner of an electrical inspection firm with a sweeping bribery scheme and showering Cantrell with gifts in the process, and months after Cantrell's former NOPD bodyguard and alleged lover was charged in a payroll fraud scheme. Cantrell has not been charged with a crime, but is featured prominently in both indictments.
After the mayor spoke, her Chief Administrative Officer, Gilbert Montaño -- also implicated in the bribery scandal but not charged -- told the council that the city is budgeting general fund revenue of just $776 million next year, about $124 million less than its departments asked for. The remaining $966 million in the budget, made up of grants and other money, is already dedicated to specific purposes.
Montaño would partly plug that gap with $40 million in surplus federal COVID aid. But that still leaves $84 million of the requests unfilled. Under his plan, departments would get about 5-7% less apiece than they want.
The council could grow or cut the budget further after hearing from various departments at public budget hearings and from residents at four council-led community meetings being held this year for the first time. The council must approve a final budget by Dec. 1.
Council Budget Committee Chair Joe Giarrusso said in a later interview that members are likely to scrutinize large cuts -- exceeding 40% -- to the safety and permits and code enforcement departments as its process unfolds.
"We ought to make sure we have enough people to do the things that need to be done, particularly with those agencies like code enforcement and safety and permits that are part of the public safety," Giarrusso said in an interview.
A conservative budget
Montaño said Tuesday the largest drop-offs in spending for city programs reflect departments running out of federal pandemic funds that were used to support one-time costs. The city's departments of economic development, safety and permits, and code enforcement face some of the largest cuts as those funds run dry.
He said that under the city's initial plan, some open positions would stay unfilled. Since agencies often spend less than they budget, the cuts may not affect services, he said in an earlier interview.
The conservative budget also does not account for additional cash expected from two major events coming to New Orleans in the coming months: Taylor Swift's three-run show later this month and Super Bowl LIX in February, both expected to fill the Caesars Superdome and the city with visitors. Montaño said those events could have a "significant impact" on city finances, but as both are happening just once, he has told departments not to create long-time expenses with the events in mind.
After the budget presentation, Council member Eugene Green noted the city's revenue was constrained by the council's decision not to raise taxes last year after citywide property assessments shot up 15%. Green said that was a "very responsible decision," given skyrocketing home insurance rates.
At the same time, he said, foregoing additional property taxes is "a challenge for government."
"There are always going to be desires to increase expenditures, because we have requests and because we have needs," he said.