In response to claims that the city is facing a financial crisis, the New Orleans City Council took action Thursday by voting unanimously to suspend all non-essential travel for city employees and officials. Additionally, the council approved a freeze on all new passenger vehicle leases as part of a broader effort to address the budget shortfall.
Council President J.P. Morrell emphasized that the city’s deficit stems from the administration’s failure to honor a previous $20 million settlement with the school board for children’s education.
“The only reason why a deficit exists is because the administration does not want to honor the school board settlement for children,” Morrell stated.
The travel ban was passed with little debate, though Council member Oliver Thomas raised concerns, questioning whether the ban was in response to travel violations. Mayor Cantrell has faced scrutiny for her frequent domestic and international trips.
“Is this punitive?” Thomas asked. “Did someone violate the travel policy or is this just from the alert we’ve been put on with the budget?”
Morrell clarified that the travel ban was solely in response to the city’s claim of being unable to fulfill its financial commitments to the schools. He noted that the school board had recently acknowledged its budget shortfall was due to a major accounting error.
While the school board and council believed a resolution was in place, the city administration later balked at the agreement. Morrell criticized the lack of transparency, pointing out that the administration had not provided detailed information on its budget issues.
“In a traditional functioning government, the executive would say here are the cuts we make to meet the crisis,” Morrell remarked. “We’ve had radio silence from the administration.”
Morrell warned that, without further clarity from the city on its budget situation, more drastic measures may be needed. “We might have to go in and fire people,” he said. “We might have to go in and say we’re going to suspend hiring in different departments.”
