New Orleans Public Library 2027 Budget

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions that may contain errors.

What: the New Orleans Public Library presented a 2027 proposed budget of $32.2 million, funded entirely by two dedicated millages.
Where it stands: budget hearing presentation on October 22, 2026; no vote.
Next: council budget deliberations before adoption.

Budget relies on about $22 million of millage revenue plus about $10 million drawn from reserves (down from about $18.5 million four years ago); the library says it is down 12 staff this year and loses workers to Jefferson Parish, which has no residency requirement and annual raises.
Facilities: roof and HVAC replacements at several branches (about $1.7 million of millage funds this year), a main library elevator and HVAC project budgeted at $8 million whose bids came in roughly $2 million over, further HVAC needs (including about $2 million at Keller), and a feasibility study for the city archives, which sit in a second basement about 6 inches from flooding in Katrina.
Lesli D. Harris asked about repeated outages at the Central City branch (the Ally May center) and archives storage. A millage roll forward would help the library; see 2027 Property Tax Millage Ordinances.

2026-10-22 - City Council Budget Hearings - Presentation and questions from the Budget Committee.