2026-10-08 - City Council Budget Hearings

Summary

Based on auto-generated captions; names, numbers and attributions may be misheard (the health director's name and several council members' names are rendered inconsistently), and outcomes may be incomplete. The date is inferred from the upload date because the video states none; it matches the posted Day 5 agenda for Thursday, October 8, 2026, and the speakers' own references (the hearing day is called Thursday, and National Night Out Against Crime is described as two days earlier, which was Tuesday, October 6).

Time on topic (from transcript timestamps; approximate, includes side talk and public comment; counted from the call to order at 3:41 to adjournment at about 7:09, leaving out a break of about 7 minutes between 4:11:46 and 4:19:04 with no captioned speech):

Topic	Minutes	Share
Health Department 2027 Budget	132	32%
Office of Community Development 2027 Budget	89	21%
Office of Workforce Development 2027 Budget	37	9%
Office of Nighttime Economy 2027 Budget	30	7%
Office of Economic Development 2027 Budget	29	7%
Film Office 2027 Budget	28	7%
Emergency Medical Services 2027 Budget	18	4%
Mosquito Termite Rodent Control Board 2027 Budget	17	4%
Office of Cultural Economy 2027 Budget	16	4%
Office of Supplier Diversity 2027 Budget	13	3%
Transitions and setup between agencies	8	2%

Thursday, October 8, 2026, Day 5 of the 2027 proposed budget hearings, opening at 9:30 a.m. and running about seven hours with the community and economic development offices under Deputy Mayor Jeff Schwarz (economic development, community development, workforce, cultural economy, film, nighttime economy and supplier diversity), then the Health Department with homeless services, EMS and mosquito control.
Two threads dominated: funding for the eviction-defense Right to Counsel program (not in the proposed general fund budget) and the proposed cut of about $5 million for the Low Barrier Shelter inside a Health Department general fund cut that speakers put at roughly 60 percent.
Council members repeatedly said cuts cannot be avoided even with a millage roll forward, but that they would work to restore Right to Counsel, the shelter, Family Connects and violence prevention.
NORA and NOIC were moved to October 28.
No votes were taken beyond the motion to adjourn, and there was no closed session.

Office of Economic Development 2027 Budget

3:41-30:20, 32:11-34:33

Deputy Mayor Jeff Schwarz (spelling from captions) and the office's deputy director (name garbled in captions) presented a seven-person team with no turnover in over four years. Personnel is nearly flat; operating carries an 8.5 percent cut and will cover existing economic development agreements. Non-general fund spending falls from over $5 million (mostly expiring ARPA money) to almost $1 million, plus a $995,000 federal grant to study multimodal activity around Union Passenger Terminal with the New Orleans Building Corporation.
Efficiencies: bond funds used for catalytic projects, small outside grants, the deputy mayor serving in a dual role, furloughs and no non-required purchases.
Highlights: the New Orleans East jobs and innovation corridors, a $15 million Australian company headquarters with 30 jobs, Louisiana International Terminal permits, a $78 million 60-bed veterans health facility, the first state-certified site, about $1.5 million of ARPA for the regional business park, and a pending $7.2 million federal application for access improvements. Occupational license applications are reported up over 40 percent. Goals for 2027 include the Canal Street Renaissance with Satie Finkele, the Claiborne cultural district and small business programs.
The budget chair compared the office with Jefferson Parish's, which has two to three times the staff. Councilmember Willard asked whether road funding for the East corridor is secured; the answer was that it is still a work in progress, with public works doing exploratory work and the federal grant aimed at truck access.
Councilmember Green praised the office and local entrepreneurship. One speaker with lived homelessness experience asked for more workshops on building a proper business structure.

Office of Community Development 2027 Budget

34:33-2:03:29

Mostly grant funded: about $130 million of non-general fund money (roughly $20 million of annual federal entitlements plus Gentilly resilience, state disaster recovery and bond funds) that cannot backfill general fund gaps. Efficiencies include eliminating some positions, recovering over $10 million in reimbursements and consolidating office space.
Right to Counsel: the $1.3 million eviction-defense contract with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services is not in the proposed general fund budget. It was covered in 2026 by about $750,000 of one-time council money and about $575,000 of expiring federal funds. Councilmember McCarron (name as rendered in captions) suggested using the short-term rental nightly fee as a recurring source, and Council President Morrell said the program is codified as a right and committed to finding the cut elsewhere to fund it fully.
About a dozen speakers backed the program, citing a full cost of $2.5 million, a 98.5 percent success rate, 2,798 adults and children kept from eviction in the first eight months of 2026, about $380 per tenant, and the contrast with the period before the program, when about 6 percent of tenants had lawyers.
Housing Trust Fund: fully operational, with NORA and Finance New Orleans as administrators of a roughly $16 million annual obligation. The proposed 2027 plan directs about $9 million to $10 million to stalled multifamily projects because no notice of funding availability has been possible since 2023; the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance objected that the fund was meant for homeowners and small landlords, while an advisory committee member said about 370 units are ready to start and $10 million goes to homeownership over two years.
Federal cutbacks: a federal court stay on homelessness funding, the cancelled PRIME 4 round that left Lower Ninth Ward and other projects without a path, and FEMA-related reimbursement delays. Also covered: the soft second mortgage program (at least $3 million a year), fortified roof matching funds, and a working group on adjudicated properties, with over 700 of about 7,800 Lower Ninth Ward parcels adjudicated to the city.
Nelly Katzson of the Committee for a Better New Orleans said about $1.3 million of 2026 general fund revenue is missing from the 2027 budget book, and DeLarge had told her it was not included. Wy Frank Southall of Jane Place spoke for Right to Counsel. Several homeowner and tenant speakers described mold, repair and tax problems; staff offered to follow up with one.

Office of Workforce Development 2027 Budget

2:04:16-2:41:44

Five staff, mostly grant funded; the Job One career center is run by a contract operator. The $500,000 general fund payment to YouthForce NOLA (about 200 in-school internships) is eliminated. Non-general fund spending drops sharply as grants end in December 2026, and the 2026 figure included about $9 million not managed by the office.
This summer's Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program enrolled over 1,000 young people, with another 1,000 or so through NORD; DeLarge put the general fund cost at about $1.8 to $1.9 million. Library outreach draws 20 to 30 people per visit.
Councilmember McCarron said YouthForce alumni outcomes justify the partnership and urged union apprenticeship ties. Councilmember Willard asked for a career-readiness and return-on-investment review. Council President Morrell and Councilmember Green said they would try to bring the program as close to whole as possible.
Kate Swinburn of YouthForce NOLA said the city's contract is about a third of the internship budget, a 41 percent cut last year already forced a 25 percent enrollment drop, and elimination would cut enrollment by up to half again. Other speakers asked about accessibility in the Job One listings, closed libraries and community benefit agreements for hotels with tax breaks.

Office of Cultural Economy 2027 Budget

2:42:38-2:58:44

Director Frederick Delusi (known as Wood; spelling from captions) said the office has lost 67 percent of its staff and now has three employees. State appropriations of about $335,000 (later cited as $375,000), including support for social aid and pleasure clubs, were vetoed, and the cultural economy grants, Embrace the Culture initiative and poet laureate program were suspended.
Wins cited: three Katrina memorial monuments restored, an honorary intersection, help keeping a cultural square in community hands, and 31 of 36 second lines attended.
Council President Morrell said the mayor is open to revisiting the New Orleans Tourism and Culture Fund for more flexibility; Councilmember McCarron asked about a possible Gallier Hall fund source. Speakers noted the culture, nighttime and film offices together have less money than a recently announced e-bike rebate grant.

Film Office 2027 Budget

2:58:44-3:26:25

Director Carol Morton said the film office is now its own office under economic development. The general fund pays only her salary; a $125,000 annual allocation from the Tourism and Culture Fund pays the production manager and the rest of the operation.
Film revenue was $56 million last year and $185 million since January, against a peak near $1 billion; Georgia is at $2 billion. She cited slow state credit monetization (about two and a half years), no state or city marketing, and industry mergers.
Permits cost $275 per block; the ordinance to raise film permit fees passed about two years ago but is not implemented pending a permitting system upgrade. The budget chair suggested raising fees to fund marketing. Councilmember Green pressed on state and federal credits; Morrell warned that publicly pushing the state credit invites legislative attack and said it now roughly breaks even. The director expects a federal 20 percent credit to pass.

Office of Nighttime Economy 2027 Budget

3:27:25-3:57:50

Director Mike Ants (surname approximate) leads a team of three after the policy manager left. The 2026 one-time TuneUp noise grant is gone. Highlights: first nightlife business resource guides, the Districts After Dark series (five events, 28 businesses visited, over 640,000 impressions, no cost), a downtown discount parking program for service workers now piloted for musicians on Frenchman Street, Safe Bar Network training (17 venues and 246 workers so far), St. Claude Avenue safety work and 311 noise mediation. He said Safety and Permits improvements have helped.
The chair and Councilmember McCarron praised the office. Council President Morrell asked about night parking and towing enforcement now under NOPD, and about the office's role with short-term rental platforms once the commercial short-term rental policy is set; the director said liability would be a concern. A Bike Easy speaker described the office as a partner on St. Claude safety.

Office of Supplier Diversity 2027 Budget

3:58:18-4:11:46

Director Sean Charles said the office has gone from 13 staff to six (with one vacancy) and other operating falls from $25,915 to $17,815. It oversees over $133 million in awards to small and disadvantaged businesses, 400-plus contracts and 345 certified firms, and certification submissions rose 35 percent. Goals: streamline certification in the B2Gnow system, institutionalize post-award compliance training and rebuild outreach (previously over 50 seminars reaching nearly 1,000 businesses).
Four speakers from the business collaborative and the community urged the council to rebuild the office, noting the program is required by law and recertification is now slower. Council members asked no questions.

Health Department 2027 Budget

4:19:04-6:31:16

The health director (rendered Vegno, Agno and similar in captions; Dr. Vegno) presented for the department, which absorbed several offices last year after a roughly 30 percent cut. The proposal cuts about $338,000 of personnel (three to four positions, including homeless response field staff) and reduces operating by about 87 percent once the Low Barrier Shelter is counted, leaving the department about 90 percent grant funded. Speakers put the general fund cut at over $10 million, or about 60 percent.
Low Barrier Shelter: the roughly $5 million proposed cut would displace close to 300 people. Taylor Dials leads homeless services; Ed Carlson of Odyssey House, which runs the shelter, cited an economic study estimating about $40 million in avoided costs against $5.8 million spent, 930 guests with case management and 379 moved to permanent housing. About 45 percent of guests come from New Orleans. The council wants to move the shelter to a better building.
Other items: community violence intervention (the Ubuntu contract was left out of the budget ordinance, which the department called an error), Family Connects postpartum home visits (praised by Councilmember McCarron and Councilmember Willard; the state is copying it), mobile crisis, a child cash-transfer pilot for New Orleans East, domestic violence AIR program, WIC and a $4 million federal one-stop maternal child health grant.
Council President Morrell said outside funders must make multi-year commitments, that legislators' letters of support are meaningless without money, and that the council will spread cuts to restore key services. The budget chair said she and others are in contact with possible funders, including New Orleans and Company and the downtown development district. Councilmember Green said the whole council wants the shelter to continue.
Dozens of speakers followed, most for the shelter (current and former guests, case managers, nonprofit leaders), plus Family Connects nurses, violence prevention and trauma recovery programs, the New Orleans Family Justice Center, public defender mental health staff and youth advocates. A budget coalition member suggested taking about $10 million from NOPD overtime; speakers also objected to reports of a detention center as a relocation site.

Emergency Medical Services 2027 Budget

6:33:44-6:51:38

Chief Bill Sron (spelling from captions) said EMS runs about 72,000 calls a year with 30 percent response-time compliance against a 90 percent standard, 119 full-time equivalents against a target of 157 and 38 vacancies. Proposed total is $16.1 million against $18.7 million, mostly lower personnel cost from unfilled positions that are filled through real-time budgeting; other operating is flat.
He estimated EMS loses about $9 million a year to the Acadian surge contract. Billing is about $53 million gross and $20 million net; uniform pay increases took effect last pay period; the prehospital blood program passed its 400th patient. Councilmember Green asked about billing and technology; no cuts were discussed.

Mosquito Termite Rodent Control Board 2027 Budget

6:51:38-7:08:45

Director Claudia Regal and assistant director Carrie Katone (spelling from captions) reported 44 employees (34 general fund positions with 3.75 vacancies), a personnel increase of just under $300,000 as furloughs are reversed, and flat operating. Grants and fee-for-service work fund most insecticide, interns and research.
2025 was among the most active West Nile seasons, with three human cases; two have occurred this year, with more positive mosquito sites found that day. The board must prioritize disease-carrying mosquitoes over nuisance mosquitoes. Councilmember Green asked about termites in public trees (call 311). The chair adjourned the hearing at about 7:09 after thanking staff.

Agenda

Budget hearings for city departments and agencies. Topics heard at the session, from 2026-10-08 - City Council Budget Hearings:

Sources

Video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=va3siyMo0p0

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Transcript

These are auto-generated captions; names and numbers may be misheard.

Transcript

03:41It is 9:30. Let's go ahead and get

03:43started. I know it's going to be a long

03:44day. [clears throat]

03:45First up is economic development. I

03:47think we're going in order of the

03:48agenda. So, we'll start with the Office

03:50of Economic Development.

03:52>> Good morning.

03:53>> Good morning, Council Member.

03:56Um

03:57uh my name is Jeff Schwarz. I am the uh

04:00deputy mayor for community and economic

04:02development. I'm joined here by uh

04:04deputy director of economic development

04:06Courtney Stuckwish Wong. Um and before

04:09we jump into uh the office of economic

04:12development presentation, I just wanted

04:13to share a couple of really high level

04:15remarks. Um uh personally, I'm I'm

04:18incredibly grateful uh to be working

04:20with an amazing team of departments that

04:22are presenting their budgets this

04:24morning. Um uh in in I take this work uh

04:28extremely seriously because uh as you

04:30know council member uh these are the

04:33departments that are about how we grow

04:36as a city, how we invest in our

04:38neighborhoods, how we grow jobs in uh

04:41all of our neighborhoods. Um how we see

04:44investment in housing and in small

04:46businesses and in quality of life. And

04:49so, you know, from economic development

04:50to community development to workforce

04:52supplier diversity, uh, cultural

04:54economy, the nighttime economy, the film

04:56office, um, you know, these are this

04:58this is really about how we want to grow

05:00as a city and as a set of communities.

05:02And so, um, I'm really excited to be

05:05able to talk about our budgets and how

05:07this uh, not only reflects where we've

05:09been and how we're dealing with the the

05:11budget uh, situation that we're facing

05:13now, but also about where we're going.

05:15So, uh, grateful for the opportunity to

05:17be able to present today. Um,

05:20uh, just a couple of, uh, quick, uh,

05:22initial remarks on, uh, the economic

05:24development, uh, budget and then I'm

05:26going to kick it over to Good morning,

05:27Council Member McCann. Uh, kick it over

05:29to, uh, Courtney, uh, to run through the

05:31the presentation. Um, in a lot of ways,

05:34it truly has been a banner year for

05:36economic development in the city. Um,

05:38the work of the office continues from,

05:41uh, the really amazing work that it's

05:42been doing. All of these teams uh that I

05:45get to work with are uh small but mighty

05:48teams. Um but it truly has been a banner

05:50year for economic development in so many

05:52ways with our focus on New Orleans East

05:54uh but also you know uh throughout the

05:56city um and in our priority industries.

05:59And so um I don't want to steal any

06:01thunder. So uh at that I will let uh

06:03Courtney jump into it and um I'm here

06:05for obviously any any Q&A and and uh

06:08further explanations. Thank Thank you.

06:11>> Great.

06:13So, uh, we have a small but mighty team

06:15in the Office of Economic Development,

06:17obviously led by Deputy Mayor Jeff

06:18Schwarz. Um, and as he said, I'm

06:20Courtney Stwish Wang. Uh, we also have

06:23special projects manager Andrew Bagnado.

06:26Um, our incentives manager Tracy

06:28Jackson, policy and program manager Ruda

06:31Pollard, office manager Charlene

06:33Charlene Dorsy, and business services

06:36manager Margaret McGee. And Margaret

06:38McGee is on her 29th year with the city

06:41of New Orleans. I think she's worked for

06:42five mayors. So, um we have a a very

06:46deep bench. So, um moving on to our

06:49general fund budget. Um the personnel,

06:54uh and operating you see here, uh I

06:58guess we can go to the the next slide

07:00just to share a little bit about so

07:02overall personnel very few changes. Our

07:05staff um has been stable uh with no

07:08turnover for about four over four years.

07:10Um and then as far as operating

07:14uh what you see here as a small

07:16operating um increase is uh really just

07:20shows that we've kind of combined

07:22general fund and non-general fund budget

07:24in operating um and we have also

07:26implemented an 8.5% cut to um the

07:29operating expenses. Um and the operating

07:32expenses [snorts]

07:33will be used to cover uh existing

07:35economic development agreements.

07:39Moving on to um non-general fund. Um so

07:44uh this is a little bit of a holdover

07:46from um when we used to have an economic

07:48development fund. So the the one staff

07:50member in um in this is uh you know

07:55funded by general fund uh but it is

07:57appears uh in this special fund. Um and

08:01then the other operating you'll see that

08:03uh we had uh five plus million uh this

08:07year.

08:09Um and then next year it'll be almost a

08:12million. That 5 million is really uh

08:14ARPA funds that we're spending down um

08:17for various programs that we um we have

08:20been implementing um mostly related to

08:23economic mobility um as well as some um

08:26investments uh with the New Orleans

08:29Regional Business Park um and with Nora.

08:32Um and then the um

08:36next next slide. Um, so we've also

08:39included 995,000

08:41um in grant funds that we're getting

08:43through a federal um grant that will be

08:46used to study multimodal activity around

08:48the Union Passenger Terminal and we'll

08:50be working with the New Orleans Building

08:51Corporation on that.

08:55All right. Um, as far as budget

08:57efficiencies, um, some things that we

08:59tried to do this year was use, uh, bond

09:02funds creatively to support catalytic

09:04projects. And those projects include

09:06things like um support for municipal

09:08auditorium and Armstrong Park uh

09:10strategic planning, the naval support

09:13activity um campus and then river

09:16district.

09:18Um we've also been using some um

09:20strategic grants and partnerships to

09:22support priority funding. So we got a

09:24small grant from the National League of

09:26Cities to do small business development,

09:28things like that.

09:30Um we're we are also being efficient

09:33because um you know deputy mayor Schwarz

09:35serves in a dual role um as the director

09:38of our department. Um and in addition to

09:40staff furlows we've eliminated any

09:42non-required um purchases in the office.

09:47Um and point of personal privilege we've

09:49added slide on wins because as Jess said

09:51this has been a great year for economic

09:53development. Um and uh we've also really

09:57tried to prioritize New Orleans East. Um

09:59as somebody who's um had the privilege

10:01to work for three mayors. This is the

10:04first time I've seen such a concerted

10:05effort focused on um supporting New

10:09Orleans East, an area we know has a lot

10:11of assets and potential um and that uh

10:15we want to see more concerted effort on.

10:17So um Mayor Moreno launched the New

10:19Orleans East Jobs and Innovations

10:21corridors uh this summer. uh and uh we

10:25are focusing on the Mishu innovation

10:27corridor that's anchored by NASA um and

10:30a lot of other advanced manufacturer

10:33advanced manufacturing companies,

10:35defense companies um just a lot of

10:37opportunity there um and also the port

10:39and logistics corridor which is um along

10:42the I510 um uh corridor. But what we see

10:46there is a lot of growth from the

10:48Louisiana International Terminal. Um

10:50there's a proposed new road that will be

10:52built um from the Louisiana

10:55International Terminal. Um and the first

10:57stop will be across the Green Bridge and

10:59into New Orleans East. So we see that as

11:00a major opportunity um to grow things

11:04like logistics and warehousing um and

11:06create long-term jobs in New Orleans

11:09East. You also probably heard that we

11:12had Australian company Sakona

11:14[clears throat] announced its

11:15headquarters. Um it will be making a $15

11:17million investment um in New Orleans

11:19East right across from um the NASA

11:21Mishoot assembly facility at the New

11:23Orleans Regional Business Park. It will

11:25be creating 30 highwage jobs um in the

11:27immediate future and there is lots of

11:29room to grow there as well. I mentioned

11:32Louisiana International Termit Terminal

11:34earlier. Um they secured permits um this

11:38August. So it's a major milestone,

11:40something they were waiting on for 5

11:42years. Um and we we think that uh the

11:44growth of that um terminal will begin

11:47soon. Um just last week the mayor

11:49announced a $78 million project in New

11:52Orleans East for a 60 bed um Veterans

11:55Affairs healthcare facility. Um that's

11:57really exciting. Uh we've also been

11:59supporting site readiness to prepare for

12:02potential um other investment, future

12:05investment. So um we've been

12:07participating in the state's development

12:10ready sites program. So, the um city of

12:13New Orleans has its first certified

12:15site, which is a CSX uh railroad owned

12:18site um in the Mishoot Innovation

12:20Corridor. And we're also um the city

12:22invested ARPA funds in the New Orleans

12:25Regional Business Park um uh about $1.5

12:28million to support improvements there.

12:32Um just to mention kind of aerospace and

12:35defense with the Artemis 2 launch this

12:37year and then um the the future Artemis

12:403 launch that will happen hopefully in

12:42the next 12 months. Um you know there's

12:45a lot of renewed um interest in

12:47aerospace. Um you know the state's um

12:51recent SpaceX announcement I think also

12:53brings uh about some exciting

12:55opportunities. Um and there's uh

12:58existing space on the math campus to

13:00grow. So, there's a current um

13:02solicitation out uh called Discovery

13:05Park um where uh NASA is soliciting uh

13:08potential uh companies to to go there

13:11and we hope that they would be companies

13:13that um you know kind of support either

13:15an aerospace or defense u mission. Uh

13:18Textron announced an expansion earlier

13:20uh this year. They're also located in

13:22New Orleans East. And Bavaci is um a

13:25great story of a local company that is

13:27um is building both defense vehicles and

13:31um and vehicles for aerospace.

13:34Um uh we're also finalizing um a

13:38strategic plan for the Mishu innovation

13:40corridor. So um once that plan is is

13:42finalized, we'd love to share it more

13:44widely. Um and I know Norah is

13:46presenting later. They also did a facade

13:48renew program that supported 12 New

13:50Orleans East businesses. Um, and that's

13:52just New Orleans East. We have several

13:54other major announcements. Um, you know,

13:56things that haven't moved um, you know,

13:58since Katrina we've seen move this year.

14:00So, the Naval Support Activity, um, two

14:03lanes charity announcement, Mercy

14:05Hospital demolition. Um, we're excited

14:07about all of those. Um, new lab also is

14:10uh, broke ground in January of this

14:12year. They're supposed to open in

14:13January of next year. They're moving

14:15very fast and we just had our first uh

14:18announcement recently in applied atomics

14:20which is the first um part of the first

14:23cohort of businesses being incubated by

14:25new lab um and they are investing $8

14:27million in a building in the by water.

14:29They're creating 41 jobs. Um we also uh

14:34as you know uh have been working uh with

14:37the river district. So, we've been

14:39supporting Raana, the first um uh

14:43residential facility there, um as well

14:45as the nearby Omni. Um the mayor secured

14:48funds for strategic planning for the

14:50municipal um auditorium in Armstrong

14:53Park. Um West End agreement was recently

14:57announced and we're excited about

14:58potential economic development there. Um

15:02autonomous ship ship builder Seronic

15:04announced 75 jobs downtown. They're

15:06building ships in rural Louisiana. Um

15:09but their their white collar jobs are

15:11here in New Orleans. And we see that as

15:12a real opportunity um as we have these

15:15big announcements in other places in the

15:17state that we can attract um those

15:19office based jobs here in New Orleans.

15:22Um

15:23great. Um and our goals for 2027,

15:27we want to continue to advance these

15:29catalytic projects that I've just been

15:30talking about. Um revitalize commercial

15:34corridors. We we know that, you know,

15:36the real work of economic development

15:37happens in place. It happens in

15:39neighborhoods and communities. Um and so

15:41I talked briefly about the New Orleans

15:43East jobs and innovation corridors. Um

15:46the mayor uh and Satie Finkele have

15:48announced the Canal Street Renaissance.

15:51Um we've been working diligently uh with

15:53the bio district on its growth. The

15:56Claybornne Corridor Cultural Innovation

15:58District um along North Claybourne

16:00Avenue um has some momentum. Um, and I I

16:03mentioned the strategic planning we're

16:05hoping to do around the Union passenger

16:06terminal next year.

16:09Uh, we continue to support small

16:11businesses on and entrepreneurs. That's

16:13our bread and butter, our day-to-day

16:14work. Um, and Margaret McGee from our

16:16office does a lot of this work,

16:18including hosting quarterly business

16:20information sessions on all kinds of

16:22topics that are important for

16:24businesses. um bi-weekly permitting

16:26office hours where businesses can sign

16:28up um and they will talk to um Margaret

16:31and she can walk them through um any

16:33issues that they're having with permits.

16:36uh prosper in place which is a series

16:39that we launched uh this year to support

16:42um a business training program in a

16:44certain neighborhood and we're hoping to

16:47expand that next year and then a

16:49business stabilization fund um which

16:51we've launched in the French Quarter to

16:53support businesses on Decar um who are

16:56experiencing disruption.

16:58Uh we continue to responsibly manage

17:00incentive programs um and to uh help

17:04steer p public investments into private

17:06pro projects responsibly

17:09and diversifying our economy through a

17:11focus on priority industries which I've

17:12listed here.

17:14I think that's all I have.

17:17>> All right, great. Thank you, Courtney.

17:19Um with seven people, you guys are doing

17:21amazing work with economic development.

17:23How does your staff compare to other uh

17:26parishes where they have an economic

17:28development department like Jedco?

17:31>> Uh it's a great question and uh I also

17:33appreciate Jedco's new uh new videos

17:35online. They're doing their acting chops

17:38as well right now. Um so I got to up my

17:40game with uh Mr. Bolognia. Um uh we're

17:44we're we are small. Um uh other parishes

17:48uh especially Jedco have uh staff that

17:51is uh two or three times the size of the

17:53city of New Orleans. Um uh that doesn't

17:56mean that uh the office of economic

17:59development's work isn't supplemented

18:01for example uh by the amazing work of

18:03the office of uh cultural economy,

18:05nighttime economy uh and community

18:07development. So our work uh there is a

18:10lot of investment in economic

18:11development that does happen outside of

18:13just the budget of of the office of

18:15economic development but in terms of

18:17absolute numbers um it is a a relatively

18:20uh small economic development team but

18:22uh a mighty one.

18:24>> All right. And then outside of uh

18:26general fund uh sources we have ARPA

18:29money that's sort of expiring. What are

18:32we looking forward in the future? What

18:34can we anticipate as far as funding

18:35sources?

18:37We we've been exclusively uh general

18:40fund funded um uh for uh basically the

18:43entirety of the office of uh economic

18:45development's existence. Um it's

18:47important to recognize that uh to a te

18:50every office that is presenting today

18:51that's in uh uh under the portfolio that

18:54that I work with um we are all offices

18:57technically within the mayor's office.

18:58Um we are not charter defined

19:00departments. Um and so because of that

19:03we are um either general fund or grant-f

19:06funded uh uh offices by and large. And

19:09so what that means for economic

19:10development is that we um you know have

19:14had uh onetime money like many

19:16departments in the city through ARPA and

19:18and other uh resources. We are going to

19:20need to continue to be competitive in in

19:22garnering those resources uh now and in

19:25the future. And so what that looks like

19:27is um in this year's budget for example

19:29we have that IFAT grant um that's a

19:32innovation and finance grant that we won

19:34uh working with the building corporation

19:36with Amtrak um and some other key

19:38partners that's going to bring a million

19:40dollars to look at as as Courtney

19:42outlined um redevelopment and economic

19:44development in the area at and around

19:46the Union passenger terminal. And so

19:48we're going to need to be continue to be

19:49really competitive in garnering federal

19:51resources in that way competitive uh

19:53federal grants. Um, we this week uh in

19:56partnership with the Redevelopment

19:57Authority and Energy New Orleans, we're

19:59submitting another uh $7.2 million grant

20:02to the Economic Development

20:04Administration for improvements in New

20:06Orleans East to benefit um projects that

20:08we hope will uh be spurred by the by the

20:11new Louisiana International Terminal.

20:13So, we're going to continue to uh uh

20:16strive for, you know, being competitive.

20:18We know that we we punch way above our

20:20weight when it comes to federal grants.

20:22Um but that's that's going to be the

20:23work to supplement um the general fund

20:25the limitations in the general.

20:26>> Yep. I mean with all these successes

20:28that you've outlined which are fantastic

20:30and you know I look at charity and Mercy

20:32in my district but also all the things

20:35that are happening in New Orleans East I

20:37think that proves that as you say we

20:39punch above our weight and so hopefully

20:41we can get some more grants because of

20:43the work that you've all done. So I just

20:45want to say thank you.

20:46>> Thank you council member.

20:47>> Council member Willard.

20:49>> Thank you Madam Chair. Uh good morning,

20:51Courtney. Jeff, Courtney, you were

20:53talking about the uh logistics and and

20:55NASA projects out in New Orleans. East,

20:58um I know a concern about the and then

21:02tying in the port project out there. I

21:04know there was a concern about some of

21:05the road development that needs to be

21:07addressed before we can actually start,

21:10you know, getting traction on those

21:12projects. Has the funding been

21:14identified or secured for the roads yet?

21:17And are we using is is there a pot of

21:20state money to do that or federal money

21:22to do that?

21:23>> That's a great question. So the the um

21:25grant that Jeff was referencing is for

21:28some improvements um in that area, but

21:30also I know that DPW is looking at doing

21:33some improvements um as well. Um and I

21:36think they're doing some exploratory

21:38exploratory work now.

21:39>> Okay. So still a work in progress.

21:41>> Still a work in progress. Yeah. And I I

21:42would note that there are there's a

21:44couple layers I think to your your

21:46question. one is right what are the

21:48things that the city can control you

21:49know we know for example that um there

21:52was a large sinkhole in front of uh on a

21:54gentility boulevard right in front of

21:56NASA's entrance uh Steve and the DPW and

21:59sewage and waterboard teams mobilized

22:00very quickly to address uh what was a

22:02long-standing problem but as soon as it

22:04surfaced they went out there and and

22:06fixed it um within a matter of a week or

22:08two um you know that that's the kind of

22:11work that we can do to kind of triage in

22:13in the near term um as as you both noted

22:16The EDA grant will improve um access

22:19within the 510 corridor and along Nishu

22:22to make sure that truck traffic um is

22:24not going adjacent to neighborhoods. And

22:26so that's the purpose of that EDA grant

22:28is to improve access to future

22:30transportation and logistics and other

22:32uh economic development sites in that

22:34510 corridor without um pushing all that

22:37truck traffic on the streets. And then

22:39the last part of the uh response I would

22:41offer is um uh there's a much larger

22:44probably billion dollar projects

22:46happening in St. Bernard Parish about

22:48>> [clears throat]

22:49>> uh that I I know you're partly

22:50referencing that's about getting truck

22:52traffic off of surface streets in in St.

22:54Bernard Parish, but that will um uh very

22:57much direct them into the Paris 510

22:59corridor. And so, um, that project still

23:02is not completely funded, but I know

23:04that there's a lot of momentum at the

23:06local and state and federal levels to

23:07try to get that funded. That'll likely

23:09be a tollway for for the trucks

23:10utilizing it.

23:11>> Okay. Y um, you know, recently we've had

23:15sort of an increase in the formation of

23:18small businesses, blackowned businesses,

23:20womenowned businesses. We have a lot of

23:23coals in the fire right now as it

23:24relates to economic development. some

23:26some really big wins uh and

23:29announcements celebrated this year. But

23:30I wanted to ask um is the Office of

23:33Economic Development focusing on

23:35developing on um building on any type of

23:39programming for our black do blackowned

23:41businesses and entrepreneurs, our

23:43womenowned businesses and entrepreneurs

23:45and and just our small businesses

23:47overall.

23:49>> Sure. So yes, uh that's a huge focus of

23:52our office is kind of the small business

23:54development and navigation. Um and we're

23:56also really fortunate in New Orleans to

23:59have such a um robust ecosystem of

24:02support organizations. So you know

24:04everything from Propeller and Thrive and

24:06the Idea Village um GNO Inc. and um and

24:10some of their programming uh really does

24:12speak to supporting um small businesses.

24:16Um, we also launched a pilot program

24:18called Prosper in place this year. Um,

24:20focused specifically on North Claybornne

24:22and TMA, but it brings kind of the

24:24expertise, the business acumen that you

24:27probably could get in various places,

24:29but it brings it to a specific

24:30neighborhood where we're hoping to

24:32launch one in New Orleans East um, next

24:34year. Um, but the idea is that we're u

24:38making sure that businesses have support

24:40every step of the way. Um, our quarterly

24:42business information sessions are also

24:44um targeted to support um, small

24:47businesses with uh, you know, any any

24:50questions that they might have or

24:51steering them to the right organization,

24:53whether they need a a business plan or

24:55whether they're a startup and need to

24:57um, you know, raise funds, things like

24:59that. There are different organizations

25:01that we can help navigate them to.

25:04>> Okay. Um

25:06just just from my work in in the

25:08legislature, I know that you know LED

25:10has a lot of programming for small

25:12businesses as well. Um do we do any type

25:16of assistance like pairing them perhaps

25:19with state programs or incentives or you

25:22know anything like that within office of

25:24economic development? Yeah, we had um

25:27Louisiana Economic Development actually

25:29present at our quarterly business

25:30information sessions this year and they

25:32talked about their different programs

25:33for small business.

25:34>> Okay.

25:35>> And I want to give a special shout out

25:36as Courtney did to to Margaret McGee who

25:38is a oneperson concierge. Uh she um

25:43started a long time ago doing the

25:44business service management in a former

25:47iteration of our office um several

25:49administrations ago. And there is nobody

25:51better at connecting folks both

25:52internally navigating uh the city hall

25:55processes whether it's around an

25:56occupational license or uh you know

25:59safety and permits or you know other

26:00other um uh services that that folks

26:03might be looking from the city but also

26:05in connecting them to those outside

26:06partners. Um and so in addition to LED

26:09um Margaret has regular office hours

26:11with some of our DA providers um like

26:14propeller um to make sure that folks are

26:16getting access to those resources.

26:18>> Okay. Thank you so much. Of course.

26:20Yeah.

26:20>> Council member Green.

26:22>> Good morning. Just wanted to thank you

26:24for um your presentations this morning,

26:26but I also want to thank you all for

26:28being present when we call on your

26:30office, for example, whether it be at

26:32the Down Road Merchants Association, a

26:34very important corridor in New Orleans

26:36East, whether it be at the the Feet

26:39Green Conservancy. There's a lot of

26:41positive work that's going on in the

26:43city of New Orleans. and we don't get

26:45front page headlines for economic

26:47development. Even though I will say

26:48we've gotten a few more than we've

26:50gotten in the past. If you've been

26:51around for a while, projects that are

26:53taking place in areas such as in New

26:54Orleans East or in Gentilly are getting

26:57recognition. I do want to thank the

26:59entrepreneurs who are watching and the

27:01families that are investing in

27:03businesses. you're in Gentilly from time

27:05to time because people in that area and

27:08in district D are investing in their new

27:10businesses whether it be in a new meat

27:12market or restaurant or example or a

27:15urgent care facility. Those are being

27:18created by people who live here in the

27:20city of New Orleans and it's having a

27:21very positive impact on our city. I

27:24would say that it's one of the reasons

27:25why the unemployment rate of the city of

27:28New Orleans is lower than it is in

27:30Orlando, Dallas, and um places that

27:33people think of as high growth

27:34corridors. So, it's up to the

27:36entrepreneurs to continue

27:37[clears throat] to do what you're doing

27:38in our city that makes a difference. But

27:41you are supported by economic

27:42development in this pro business

27:44council. And I just want to encourage

27:45that investment, but to thank you all

27:47with your limited staff to recognize

27:49that your limited staff still gets

27:51around and provides significant services

27:53to entrepreneurs and businesses. And I

27:55appreciate it.

27:56>> Thank you, Council Green. And a quick

27:57note, um, we we couldn't agree more

27:59that, you know, we see our work as

28:01creating the conditions for businesses

28:04and entrepreneurs to thrive, whether

28:05they're going to be, uh, working with

28:07our supplier diversity office, and, uh,

28:10uh, director Charles is is obviously

28:11here today to present a little later for

28:13folks who want to do business directly

28:15with the city, but it's also about the

28:17folks who are never going to bid on a

28:18city contract, but who work in one of

28:20our amazing commercial quarters and in

28:22our neighborhoods or who are

28:23entrepreneurs with the next big idea.

28:25And I know the mayor has trumpeted this.

28:27Um, you know, occupational license

28:29applications are up significantly, uh,

28:31by some measures up over 40%. And so,

28:34you know, that is that is a huge

28:36testament to, you know, the

28:38collaboration between the council and

28:39the administration, the hustle of our

28:41entrepreneurs and our small business

28:43owners, and just generally, you know,

28:45giving folks a sense that this is a

28:46place to start a business and put down

28:48roots. So, um I I just want to put an

28:51exclamation point on what you just

28:52shared.

28:52>> On yesterday, yesterday evening, or was

28:54it the evening before yesterday? The

28:56evening before yesterday for night out

28:58Against Crime.

28:58>> Yes. at the Desire Florida um community

29:02center. A woman Brittany Pin who is

29:05invested in two businesses in the Ninth

29:07Ward, who owns multiple rental

29:09properties that are well-maintained, who

29:12grew up in the Ninth Ward, and who built

29:13her house just recently in the Ninth

29:15Ward, sponsored an event, and it's

29:18because she's committed to a particular

29:20community that doesn't get a lot of

29:21attention. That's what entrepreneurship

29:23sometimes results in. people who are

29:25successful, who give back and give back

29:28to the immediate community. So, I just

29:30want to emphasize the role that

29:31entrepreneurship is playing in our city.

29:34We don't have to have Fortune 500

29:35companies all over the place to have one

29:37of the lowest unemployment rates in the

29:39nation. The nation's unemployment rate

29:41is 4.2%. The city of New Orleans is

29:444.4%. That's not bad to say that people

29:47think that we are a city that has no

29:49economic activity or other than tourism.

29:52We have entrepreneurs that are creating

29:53jobs in our city and I appreciate the

29:55role that economic development, your

29:57division plays in making some of that

29:59activity happen. Thank you,

30:00>> council member.

30:02>> All right, so I see a lot of new faces

30:05here. I just want to go over protocol

30:07for speaking. If you want to speak on a

30:09topic, you need to fill out a yellow

30:11card. You need to note your name, your

30:14address, and what item you want to speak

30:16on. All right, everyone gets two

30:19minutes. You need to announce whether or

30:20not you are a paid actor paid to be

30:22here. I do have two cards uh for

30:25[snorts] Aquinet Bourne. Do you want to

30:27speak on this topic,

30:32>> Miss Bourne? All right. And then I have

30:35Nadia Muhammad. Again, there's no

30:37indication. Do you want to speak on this

30:39topic or another topic?

30:41>> Another topic.

30:42>> Another topic. All right. Miss Nadia,

30:44I'm gonna have you uh have uh Dominique

30:46come and talk to you about which item.

30:48With that, uh Jeff, let's go to the next

30:51item. Ashley got it. The next item is

30:54the Office of Community Development.

31:34That's it.

31:35>> Yeah, I know. You guys can see if

31:38there's any questions you guys. Yeah.

31:41Um I do just want to pull up the

31:43presentation

31:45at work.

31:47Okay.

31:51>> Yeah.

32:11>> [clears throat]

32:16>> All right, Jeeoff, while we're getting

32:17uh set up, uh we do have someone who

32:19wants to speak on Office of Economic

32:21Development, Leana Williams,

32:25and you get two minutes.

32:32>> Hi. You said we have two minutes.

32:34>> Two minutes to speak.

32:35>> Okay, thank you. Um, my name is Leseana.

32:38I am a purpose person with lived

32:41homelessness experience. I'm a

32:43[clears throat] person who is working

32:44through mental health recovery as well.

32:48And I really wanted an opportunity to

32:50speak about services that I do not see

32:52yet in the community that I think are

32:54essential. I see that there is a lot of

32:56opportunities for workshops to build

32:58resumeumés to work through job

33:01readiness. But a key part of economic

33:04development is also being able to build

33:07a business a proper business structure.

33:09And some of us who are coming out of

33:11[clears throat] homelessness, who are

33:13recovering from mental health, do not

33:16necessarily want to go the path of

33:18working a traditional job. But we do

33:20have skills that we want to build on to

33:23create viable businesses. But I do not

33:26see enough resources available for

33:28helping us build those businesses to

33:30help build a successful business

33:33foundation. As you know, when you're

33:34starting a business, there are a lot of

33:36expenses

33:38associated with it. And we need

33:40resources to be able to do that. We need

33:42workshops to be able to assist us in

33:44helping to build a solid foundation to

33:47be able to be viable business owners as

33:49well. we deserve that, right? I feel

33:51like um I've have used the small

33:54business development center, but a lot

33:56of times I left there kind of

33:58[clears throat]

33:59without a clear path and left with like

34:02homework that I really didn't know not

34:04how to navigate, which made me feel like

34:06I would prefer if there were more budget

34:09allocations for workshops where we can

34:12actually show up, share the ideas that

34:14we have and work through proper

34:17structuring of those businesses so that

34:19we can also become become

34:20self-sufficient in the past that we

34:22desire versus being told to just get a

34:26job even if that's not in our passion.

34:28So, thank you for listening and thank

34:30you for allocating funds to be able to

34:33do so.

34:33>> Thank you, Miss Williams.

34:34>> Thank you,

34:45>> Jeff. Whenever you're ready.

34:46>> All right. Um, thank you, council

34:49members. So, [clears throat] uh,

34:50switching over to the Office of

34:51Community Development. Um, I I just want

34:54to reiterate, uh, uh, some of my

34:56comments from the top because I know a

34:58lot of folks have joined, um,

34:59[clears throat]

35:00uh, uh, since then. You know, I think,

35:02uh, one of the common lenses that we

35:05look at the work of the various offices

35:07who are presenting this morning is about

35:09how do we how do we grow as

35:11[clears throat] a city and and in our

35:12communities. And so obviously the office

35:15of economic development is about how do

35:17we grow jobs? How do we grow tax our tax

35:19base? How do we make sure that

35:20investment is happening in all of our

35:23communities and not just in some? How do

35:24we uh prime the pump and get economic

35:27growth happening in our city in a way

35:29that we see many of our peer cities

35:31cities experiencing. I see the office of

35:33economic development, which we'll talk

35:34about now, very much as the the uh

35:39office that is focused on community

35:41development, which means housing, which

35:44means small business support, which

35:46means neighborhood services, which means

35:48investing in the really granular items

35:50that make our communities places that we

35:52all want to live and work. Um, and so

35:54this is critically important work uh

35:57that the Office of Community Development

35:58and its really uh amazing team of

36:00professionals is doing every day. Um,

36:03and so uh I'm really honored to also be

36:05able to support uh the leadership uh uh

36:07leading leading this office. Um

36:12the Office of Community Development is

36:14almost entirely grant funded. So the

36:16office of community development is the

36:19conduit is the office through which uh

36:21almost all of our federal grant and

36:23entitlement money uh comes down from uh

36:26either the federal government or the

36:28state government uh and and makes it

36:31into the city budget. And so the lion

36:33share of the work of the people who are

36:36funded uh through the office um happens

36:39outside of the general fund. That being

36:42said, we have a very small amount of

36:45personnel funded. Um, and then we have

36:48uh one uh larger uh contract that I'm

36:51sure some folks in the audience and I

36:53know council has been uh engaged with.

36:56Um, and that is the right to counsel

36:58program, which is that $1.3 million

37:00figure um that is uh not in the current

37:03uh proposed budget um under the general

37:06fund. And so um uh that explains uh uh

37:10these numbers. Um

37:14the vast majority of uh the office of

37:17community development funds is in uh a

37:20whole series of uh non-general fund uh

37:23dollars. And so I'm happy to walk

37:25through these in depth. Um these are uh

37:28obviously large figures. Um uh but uh

37:31they represent uh a combination of

37:35current and prior year entitlement

37:36money. Um uh that that means community

37:40development block grants, home dollars,

37:43ESG which are emergency services grants.

37:45Uh HPA which is uh housing opportunities

37:48for people uh living with AIDS. um uh

37:51the sheltered plus care program, the

37:54national disaster resilience competition

37:56where the city won $141 million eight or

37:59nine years ago and we're still

38:00implementing that work in the Gentilly

38:02Resilience District. Um uh some some uh

38:07uh residual NIF money, some post item

38:10money. There's about $30 million of uh

38:12what's called um uh resilient uh

38:16communities and infrastructure program.

38:18Uh and then also bond money. So about

38:20$18 million in bond money. Um and so you

38:23see that that very large $130 million

38:26figure. Um I think my the the main uh

38:30point that I would like to make for uh

38:31council and for members of the public is

38:33that this represents um very prescribed

38:36money. money that has a lot of strings

38:39attached that is only for very specific

38:42purposes which by and large cannot um

38:45you know backfill general fund gaps for

38:47example um but uh also which go to

38:50really uh necessary and and um vital

38:54programs in in the city and I'm

38:57obviously happy to to dig into any of

38:59those details. Um these bullets cover

39:01really the highlights of what I just

39:03outlined. Um uh the office of community

39:05development is again staffed almost

39:07entirely uh through um uh through grant

39:11funds. Um and when I say entitlement uh

39:14what that means is it's just a technical

39:16way of saying that every year the

39:18federal government mostly through

39:19housing and urban development sends down

39:22uh dollars based on our population and

39:25our income and our demographics. And so

39:27that money comes in uh each year. It's

39:29about $20 million that's broken out

39:32between CDBG home funds which are for

39:34affordable housing um emergency services

39:37which goes to our homeless shelters

39:39primarily um and then um uh hop um which

39:43supports um uh uh folks uh living with

39:47with HIV AIDS. Um, we also support uh

39:51everything from the low barrier shelter

39:53to the mayor summer youth employment

39:55program, pretty much all of the senior

39:57uh programs. Uh, Maline Sanchez in my

40:00office. Uh, make sure I get out there to

40:02hear from from our seniors uh all over

40:04town. Um, these are incredibly important

40:07programs in communities um that I think

40:10are really the the beating heart of uh

40:12of what it means when we say we're the

40:14office of community development.

40:17In terms of budget efficiencies, um uh

40:21we have done a number of things this

40:23year uh in order to to help the city

40:25meet its challenges. Um first and

40:28foremost is uh we have um uh eliminated

40:32some staff through the transition and

40:34elsewhere. Um there are some positions

40:36proposed in 2027 that are further

40:38proposed to be eliminated. Again, most

40:41of our positions are not general fund

40:43funded. So um many of those don't

40:46directly impact the general fund but um

40:48we are still working to be more

40:50efficient with the the scarce resources

40:52that we do have. Um we have also been uh

40:56spending a lot of time and energy on

40:58reimbursement. So one of the things that

41:00I know council is well aware of is that

41:03um uh all CDBG programs all HUD programs

41:07generally speaking are reimbursement

41:09based. And so frequently our city's

41:11general [clears throat] fund is being

41:12asked to uh act as a revolving fund. And

41:15when we don't quickly uh uh do the

41:19things that we need to do or uh hold

41:21contractors accountable to do the things

41:22that they need to do, there ends up

41:24being a really big lag between when the

41:26dollars go out the door from the general

41:28fund and when we actually are are

41:29reimbursed. And so, um, happy to go into

41:32more details on that, but I'll just say

41:34that, um, Corser and Zea, uh, who are

41:37here in the audience today, uh, Ronald,

41:38Thomas, Benjamin, I want to shout out,

41:40uh, the the A team in the office of

41:42community development, um, Nelliana,

41:44Deshonda, many folks have worked on, uh,

41:48really from from the years 2021 through

41:51last year, uh, bringing in well over $10

41:54million in reimbursements to help the

41:56city meet its challenges. And that is no

41:58small undertaking. that is pouring over

42:00and reconciling thousands of lines of

42:03accounting. It's working really closely

42:05with um uh uh Brandy and her budget team

42:08as well as folks in finance um and the

42:10CEO's office. And so this has been a a

42:13huge lift on top of our our day jobs

42:15kind of making up for uh uh some of the

42:18the prior shortcomings. And so that was

42:20um a huge way of helping the city meet

42:22its its challenges this year.

42:24>> Jeeoff, could you just pull the

42:25microphone closer? I think

42:26>> I'm sorry. Yes. Yes.

42:28It's usually not a problem with me folks

42:30hearing hearing me. Yeah. Um we also do

42:33a lot in terms of cross trainining

42:34employees. Um we have a number of uh

42:37stars in our office who are also

42:39supporting some of the centralized

42:41grants and contracting efforts that the

42:43budget and CEO teams are leading. And so

42:45um that means we're digging really deep.

42:47We have folks whose job descriptions

42:48have significantly expanded in order to

42:51uh do more with with effectively the the

42:53same budget. Um, and then we've also

42:55I'll give uh Corsery a big shout out

42:57here as well as uh Valerie Balden on my

42:59team. Um, we are actually in the office

43:02space across the street. So, we pay rent

43:04to 1340 Pris. Um, and uh we are uh

43:08working to reduce our physical footprint

43:10in that building. So, trying to

43:11consolidate off of the 9th floor

43:13entirely onto the 10th floor. So, we're

43:15also doing uh everything we can there um

43:18which is no small undertaking as well.

43:21transitioning to to 2027. Um uh I've

43:25already touched on a number of these

43:26programs. Um but we are very focused uh

43:30on delivering the services and making

43:32the investments on behalf of the city

43:34and our communities that we have done in

43:36the past and really um trying to

43:38continue to be really strategic um and

43:41also make new investments. And so I'll

43:42touch on a few of those. So first and

43:45foremost, we have our priority programs.

43:47These are um uh you know programs that

43:50that are uh almost household names. Um

43:52the mayor's summer youth employment

43:54program, our senior programs that I

43:55mentioned before, the low barrier

43:57shelter, which I know uh we have a lot

43:59of um folks passionate about that work

44:02uh uh in the audience today and we work

44:04very closely with um Dr. Vegno and her

44:07team at the Office of Health and Human

44:08Services um and also our ESG and HOPA

44:12programs. Um we are going to continue to

44:14do that work. That means that there are

44:16dozens of contracts that have to get

44:17executed every year with every single

44:19one of those partners um uh that is

44:22doing that work in partnership with the

44:23city that's receiving those funds. And

44:25so our team will continue to to

44:27prioritize uh th those uh really

44:29impactful programs. Um and then we are

44:32also uh extremely focused on affordable

44:34housing. affordable housing and housing

44:36creation is one of the best ways that we

44:39can get out of some of the wicked

44:40problems that we face as a city uh with

44:43population decline and where we know our

44:44tax base isn't what it could be and so

44:47being able to grow the number of

44:48affordable housing units in the city um

44:51is absolutely a priority of the mayor of

44:53our office of community development um

44:55you know full stop we need to figure out

44:58all of the ways that we can continue to

44:59grow and see investment in housing units

45:01in all of our neighborhoods um and so we

45:04have hit a number of milestones in 26

45:06that we're going to continue to build on

45:07in 2027. Um, one of the most uh exciting

45:11ones uh that I know uh Council Member

45:14Harris, Council Member Willard, the

45:16whole [clears throat] council, I know we

45:17have a number of stakeholders and

45:18advocates here today. Um, uh, worked

45:21tirelessly on this over the last 2

45:22years. We now have a housing trust fund

45:25that is fully operationalized.

45:27I want to reiterate that we have a

45:28housing trust fund that is fully

45:30operationalized.

45:31Yes, it's a IT'S

45:38BEEN, you know, there's a lot of sausage

45:40making that's gone into that, but I just

45:42want to recount what that means. That

45:44means that um voters approved a charter

45:46amendment in 2024 that made the housing

45:49trust fund a required part of of the

45:51city's budget. Um

45:55uh it means that we then had to identify

45:58the appropriate sources of funding in

45:59order to meet that application because

46:01that represents a new uh $16 million

46:05roughly annual investment into

46:07affordable housing in our city. And in

46:09case anybody has not been paying

46:10attention, uh the administration, the

46:13council, and all of our partners have

46:14been working to fill a uh uh 160 $220

46:19million budget shortfall. And so being

46:22able to identify the funds to do that

46:24has been um a very uh uh collaborative

46:28and creative process to be able to meet

46:30those needs in these really trying

46:31times. Um we then had to after

46:35identifying the appropriate sources of

46:36funds uh actually uh execute a

46:40cooperative endeavor agreement with the

46:42two fund administrators um who both of

46:44whom I believe are in the room today.

46:45Jesse, uh, Miss Brenda Bro, uh,

46:48Charmaine, and our friends at Nora, um,

46:50as well as, um, Finance New Orleans, who

46:52are going to administer the funds that

46:54flow through the housing trust fund on

46:56behalf of the city to make sure that

46:58programs are being deployed in, um,

47:00first and foremost in a a transparent

47:02and accountable way. um but also where

47:05we're moving faster than the city can

47:07typically move when it comes to

47:08deploying contracts and getting uh

47:11dollars out to individual contractors uh

47:13small landlords, renters, etc. Um and

47:17then finally, uh it's making sure that

47:19we are able to continue to fund this

47:21work uh not just in 2026, but this is a

47:24uh obligation in perpetuity. We need to

47:26figure out how to fund this work in 27,

47:2928 and and beyond. And so that'll be um

47:32really critical work. I'm obviously

47:34happy to say more about the individual

47:36uh breakdown of the budget of housing

47:37trust fund but I just want to celebrate

47:39what a win that is and what a lift it's

47:41collaborative we've been to get the

47:42housing trust fund actually implemented

47:44this year. Um we are very focused I know

47:47uh council member Harrison Willard and

47:49the whole council have been extremely

47:50supportive as the administration has in

47:53finding funding for fortified roofing.

47:55Um we have been uh I'm sorry still now

47:58now folks can if we hear me the

47:59fortified roofing program the city has

48:01actually stood up at at warp speed in

48:04partnership with the redevelopment

48:05authority um a matching program for the

48:08state's fortified roofing program. So

48:10folks who receive uh who win the lottery

48:12at the state level um we know that those

48:14funds don't uh entirely cover the cost

48:17of a fortified roof. The city actually

48:19has a program administered through Nora

48:21now that is um uh uh providing the gap

48:24money on that. Uh we continue uh uh Miss

48:27Adrio Sardine and the uh housing uh uh

48:30team in OCD do an amazing job

48:32administering our soft second program

48:35which every year invests in um 60 to 70

48:38first-time home buyers who are receiving

48:40up to $60,000

48:42uh of a forgivable soft second mortgage.

48:46Um, and then we're also doing a ton of

48:48work supporting owner occupied and

48:49rental rehabs um in partnership with uh

48:52many uh community based uh

48:53organizations.

48:55Um the mayor uh announced earlier this

48:58year um uh an adjudicated properties

49:00working group. uh Rochelle Julick on our

49:04team as well as uh I know members of

49:06your staff, Council Member Harris, uh

49:08members uh of Dora leadership um of

49:11other city departments are working at

49:13how do we uh disentangle adjudicated

49:16properties in our city. And uh the the

49:20um I guess easy way to describe the

49:22nature of this issue is that for a

49:24really long time the city has been

49:26somewhat pennywise and found foolish in

49:28pushing properties out through sheriff

49:30sales because what happens is we do uh

49:33get in some instances uh third party tax

49:36sale interests who are interested in

49:38maintaining and redeveloping properties,

49:40but they cannot do that for at least 3

49:42years after the the sheriff sale. And

49:44there's also issues with clouded title,

49:46which means that it makes the properties

49:48incredibly difficult to actually

49:49redevelop. Um, and only in some

49:52instances are those properties able to

49:53actually be put back into commerce. And

49:55that results in um really unintended

49:58consequences like what's happening in

50:00the lower ninth ward where you have

50:02about 7,800 parcels in the lower ninth w

50:05um and fully 10% of them over 700

50:08parcels in the lower ninth ward are

50:10adjudicated to the city which means they

50:11didn't even sell at tax sale. And so

50:14that means that those properties are not

50:16even able to be redeveloped without the

50:17city taking some really intentional uh

50:19steps forward. And so this adjudicated

50:22properties working group is uh actively

50:24working on um some strategies for how we

50:27get adjudicated properties back into

50:29commerce. Um we are also really focused

50:31on what we call corid which is city

50:33owned real estate. Um there's a team of

50:36city departments and leaders who meet

50:38quarterly to look at city- owned assets

50:40and identify ways that we can redevelop

50:42them and put them back into commerce. Uh

50:45we are very committed to multif family

50:47NAS and trying to make sure that

50:49projects which had received commitments

50:51from the city uh to build long-term

50:53affordable housing at scale in our city

50:55are receiving uh funds as well. Um and

50:58then we're also very focused on um

51:00making sure that we have um a robust

51:02housing strategy for the city um which

51:05is really important because we can do

51:07anything but we can't do everything and

51:08and um having a strategy uh is

51:11critically important and so we are

51:12actively uh putting together uh that

51:15document as we speak. I know that was a

51:17lot. I will uh stop there and I'm I'm

51:19positive there's going to be some robust

51:21discussion.

51:21>> Uh well we have a lot of cards uh for

51:23this topic. I just want to make an

51:25announcement. And I know a lot of folks

51:26are here for low barrier shelter. We're

51:28going to hold that to the health

51:30department. Um when the office of

51:32homeless support and services comes up,

51:34I know you mentioned low barrier

51:35shelter, but really this is a vague no

51:38um Taylor thing. So um I do have some

51:41questions. I'm excited about the housing

51:42trust fund and it's actual getting off

51:44the ground. Thank you. Nor and finance

51:46and the housing trust fund advisory

51:48committee. How are we? Um,

51:54the point of the housing trust fund was

51:55really to support smaller projects,

51:58>> right?

51:58>> And not necessarily the larger projects

52:01that we've supported in the past. Um,

52:03and I know the advisory committee has a

52:05rubric to uh to determine how funding

52:09goes separate from the housing trust

52:11fund. How are we prioritizing funding uh

52:14bigger projects? Is there a rubric that

52:16we're looking at? Is it just

52:17willy-nilly? How are we how are we

52:19looking at those those larger

52:21developments?

52:21>> Yes, it's a great question and I I know

52:23there's going to be some robust comment

52:25and discussion about this. Um, I

52:27[clears throat] think one thing I want

52:29to be crystal clear about is that the um

52:32the housing trust fund and the

52:34affordable housing bonds that were

52:35approved by bond proposition last

52:37November by voters um is agnostic on us

52:41funding uh uh larger multif family

52:45affordable housing projects um uh from

52:48uh the more granular projects like

52:50working on everything from fortified

52:52roofs to working with small contractors

52:55uh small landlords

52:56um owner occupied rehab, etc. Um it is

53:00absolutely true that uh if if uh the

53:04city's budget situation wasn't what it

53:06currently was, we would love to have the

53:08problem of deploying the affordable

53:10housing bonds on the larger multif

53:12family projects via a NOA process, a

53:14notice of funding availability, and I

53:16can say more about that in a minute. and

53:18then reserving the housing trust fund

53:20funds for those those more granular

53:22programs and projects that are again

53:24fortified roofs, you know, uh unoccupied

53:27rehab, you know, small landlord, etc.

53:30The [clears throat] reality is that we

53:31do not have $16 million in general fund

53:34money um in this year's budget or

53:37probably for the foreseeable future um

53:40to just be able to fund the housing

53:41trust fund out of the general fund. I

53:43think that's a a statement that, you

53:45know, most folks can agree with. And

53:48what that means then is that we have to

53:49make some tough decisions about what to

53:52fund and when. And so on the multif

53:55family side, the last time the office of

53:58community development made a NOA

53:59offering. So this is the Office of

54:02Community Development doesn't pick

54:03winners and losers willy-nilly. We go

54:05through um a HUD prescribed process for

54:08allocating what is frequently federal

54:10resources and we basically put out an

54:12open call. It's a it's essentially a

54:14request for proposal um but it's it's um

54:17it's uh called a no phone. structured a

54:19little bit differently where affordable

54:21housing developers apply to the Office

54:23of Community Development for scarce gap

54:27financing money in order to be able to

54:29see um their project be able to close on

54:32their financing to put it put together a

54:34full capital stack and be able to

54:36develop their project. And so that looks

54:38like uh over the years everything from

54:41uh BW Cooper, the esplanade apartments,

54:44the naval support activity um uh you

54:48know you you name it, there have been

54:50countless dozens of projects that have

54:51created thousands if not tens of

54:53thousands of units of affordable housing

54:55in our city uh over the years through

54:57that NOA process. Typically the office

54:59of community development would release a

55:01NOA every year or two at the most and it

55:04just was based on the funds that are

55:06available and um I think it speaks

55:09volumes that we have not been able to

55:10release a NOA since 2023 which means

55:13that if you are developing an affordable

55:15housing project anywhere in the city of

55:16New Orleans, you have really nowhere to

55:19turn because as everybody who looks who

55:21knows affordable housing knows,

55:22affordable housing is not affordable to

55:24build. it cost just as much as market

55:26rate housing to build. Um you what is

55:29affordable about it are the rents that

55:31are charged to the the uh residents in

55:34those buildings and so that means that

55:35there is always a need for public

55:37investment and sometimes that investment

55:40can come from the state but um it almost

55:42always requires local investment and

55:45that is what those NAS are for through

55:47the office of community development. Um,

55:50as of right now, I don't know when

55:52office of community development can do

55:54another NOA. Right now, we haven't had

55:56one since 2023. We do not have enough

56:00resources available except for maybe

56:01doing some small ones related to

56:03preservation of units. Um, we do not

56:06have 20 or $30 million to bundle up uh

56:09into um uh a NOA offering. And so I hope

56:13to be able to do that in 2027. organ and

56:16I are going to scour our books and try

56:17to identify all the places where we

56:19might be able to cobble together

56:20resources, but um we do not have the

56:23resources right now to do a NOA. And all

56:25of that is relevant because what we did

56:28in the proposed 2027 housing trust fund

56:31budget was say um in 2026 we made a $16

56:35million investment in um uh programs

56:39that are very much about um home

56:41ownership which are about um uh small uh

56:45multif family owner occupied rehab um

56:48the preservation of rental units um uh

56:52the the work that as you noted council

56:53member Harris was very much about what

56:55the uh housing trust fund was originally

56:58intended or thought to be used for. Um

57:01but we had to also take a hard look and

57:03say there are a number of affordable

57:05housing multif family projects that are

57:07dying on the vine. Um, and those include

57:11uh the Royal Maze project at 4100 uh uh

57:14uh Royal Street, which we can uh talk

57:16some more about, the Baron Moss project,

57:19as well as a couple of other

57:20preservation projects that collectively

57:22represent hundreds of units of of uh

57:25affordable rental housing that if we did

57:28not identify a source of funding to get

57:30those projects to a financial closing,

57:32we would we would lose those projects.

57:34They would not be able to move forward.

57:36And that's hundreds of New Orleansians,

57:37New Orleans families that are not able

57:39to return here or stay here because we

57:42did not build this. And so what we did

57:44was we made the tough decision working

57:46very closely and I can't shout out the

57:48housing trust fund advisory committee

57:50enough um team members of mine

57:52especially Elizabeth Hullman who did

57:54yman's work to identify a way that in

57:562027 we were able to do both. And it's I

58:00want to be crystal clear, funding multif

58:02family projects is just as legitimate

58:04and legal of a use of housing trust fund

58:06dollars as funding uh home ownership and

58:09rental supply expansion and small those

58:11smaller, more granular programs. And so

58:13we believe that this is um uh it's a

58:16tough decision, but it's the right

58:18decision in terms of being able to make

58:20the uh critical investments in

58:22affordable housing that are most needed

58:23in our city next year. So, I know that

58:26was a lot of background, but I wanted to

58:28uh explain for folks who might not be as

58:30familiar with with this landscape

58:31exactly why we came to that decision and

58:34how this how the two relate to each

58:35other.

58:36>> Thanks, Jeeoff.

58:37>> Um I don't see any buttons pushed.

58:41Council member Willard,

58:43>> thank you, Jeeoff. Uh that was a lot of

58:45information. Um but you you did a pretty

58:48thorough um update, so thank you. Uh

58:51looks like we have about 72 million in

58:53CDBG funds available. Are those already

58:56dedicated for next year?

58:58>> They they are. And so that it's

59:00important to uh remember that that

59:01represents uh a combination of different

59:04um sources of funds. Um and the short

59:06answer is yes. It's it's current year

59:08and prior year money. Um and it is it is

59:11already entirely spoken for. Those

59:13dollars are they go to a range of

59:15programs.

59:15>> Can you talk about some of how it's

59:17already dedicated like where some of

59:19that money is going?

59:20>> Absolutely. So I I have a full breakdown

59:21here. I'm happy to uh share this or you

59:23know this is this is reflected in the

59:25budget. So um we have uh about 41

59:28million in in CDBG funds uh itself and

59:31those are going to uh a whole range of

59:34of programs that goes into some of our

59:37prior multi-year uh funding commitments.

59:39So we have projects that um you know had

59:41received uh CDBG funds that are on a

59:44reimbursement basis. Um we have uh a

59:47range of programs that are being funded

59:49out of that work. Um uh this is

59:52inclusive of emergency services grants

59:54which go to all of our homeless shelters

59:56uh not just low barrier but Ozen and the

1:00:00you know um uh family justice center uh

1:00:02and uh a range of others. Um it includes

1:00:06home funds which are a subset of our

1:00:08entitlement dollars. It's about $18

1:00:10million of current year and prior year

1:00:13commitments. those are going directly

1:00:15into affordable housing projects. Um

1:00:17like I was I was mentioning previously,

1:00:18home funds are typically one of the

1:00:20sources that we offer when we do a NOA.

1:00:23Um uh we have ARIP um which is the uh

1:00:27resilient cities um uh program. This is

1:00:31about $30 million that's coming down

1:00:33from the state following Hurricane Ida

1:00:35and it was explicitly for community

1:00:37economic development projects. So, we're

1:00:39putting $5 million into uh food

1:00:42incubators. Um, and we're administering

1:00:45those funds in partnership with the New

1:00:46Orleans Redevelopment Authority. We're

1:00:48going to not only invest in existing uh

1:00:50kitchens um like we have a number of uh

1:00:53uh food entrepreneurs who actually

1:00:55operate their own culinary kitchens.

1:00:57We're also going to be partnering with

1:00:58Nora to develop um a new uh commercial

1:01:02kitchen incubator at the corner of

1:01:03Lakeorn and St. Bernard on a Nora owned

1:01:05property. So, we've allocated precious

1:01:07uh resources about $5 million to those

1:01:10programs. Um, we have uh the NDR

1:01:14program. I can't shout out uh Bianca uh

1:01:16enough on my team as well as Corsere and

1:01:19also Megan Williams. Um that's again

1:01:22$141 million program. Um that's

1:01:25technically HUD money uh that is

1:01:27reflected in in uh some of these

1:01:28balances that you're seeing and those

1:01:30are dollars that we've had since uh uh

1:01:341617.

1:01:36um that we are uh uh now deploying and

1:01:39we have um uh I think over $50 million

1:01:42of those are under contract now in terms

1:01:44of uh projects in the Gentilly

1:01:46Resilience District. Um so that's St.

1:01:48Anthony, that's Blue Green Streets,

1:01:49that's um uh Miru Water Garden, etc. So

1:01:53hopefully that gives you an example, a

1:01:55sampling of like the range of of where

1:01:57these funds are going to.

1:01:58>> Okay. Thank you, Jeff.

1:01:59>> Of course,

1:02:00>> Council Member McCarron.

1:02:02Um Jeff, I noticed you know right to

1:02:05council is not funded in this budget.

1:02:07Can you talk a little bit about what

1:02:08that would mean if we are not able to

1:02:10find funding for that program?

1:02:12>> Yes, [clears throat] I I this is I know

1:02:15one of the most beloved and respected uh

1:02:17programs that the city invests in. This

1:02:19was a priority of um uh now Mayor Mareno

1:02:23uh and and uh several council members

1:02:26here and is an ongoing uh priority for

1:02:28for all the council. know this is a

1:02:31program that is administered by

1:02:32Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. Um

1:02:35it started uh a number of years ago and

1:02:37the city made an initial investment in

1:02:39this program uh through some onetime

1:02:41ARPA funds that we had and this is a

1:02:44critical uh service that is offered. Um

1:02:47SLOSS goes out uh every day there is um

1:02:51uh uh court uh being held uh for

1:02:53evictions. um they go out and represent

1:02:56folks who are in danger of falling into

1:02:57homelessness, who are in danger of being

1:02:59evicted. And we all know that there, you

1:03:01know, there is a uh whole range of

1:03:04reasons why that's the case for folks.

1:03:06And if they were just able to um ablely

1:03:09negotiate with their landlord, explain

1:03:11what they uh what their situation is,

1:03:13how they can get back on a path, um we

1:03:16find that this is one of the wisest

1:03:18investments that we can make in

1:03:19preventing future homelessness. Right?

1:03:21This is way upstream of what we have to

1:03:23deal with when we see street

1:03:25homelessness and unhoused people. Um

1:03:28this is a relief valve. This prevents um

1:03:30the low barrier shelter from being overs

1:03:32subscribed and I know uh Taylor and Dr.

1:03:34Vegna will talk about this later. So

1:03:36make no mistake, this is a critically

1:03:38important program for the administration

1:03:40as well. Um I know that there are

1:03:42representatives here from SLLS today to

1:03:44talk about this. As the budget is

1:03:46currently proposed, um you can see that

1:03:48it is not it was historically funded uh

1:03:50last year in our general fund budget. I

1:03:53know the council kind of uh council

1:03:54member Morurell uh worked tirelessly

1:03:56with you all to identify um uh about

1:04:00$750,000 of onetime money to make up the

1:04:03gap this year. Uh cuz we were not able

1:04:05to fund the 1.3 million in our budget

1:04:07from 2026 either. Um we worked really

1:04:11hard in OCD to be able to use some

1:04:13expiring uh CDBG COVID money about

1:04:16575,000.

1:04:18Um that combined with the dollars that

1:04:20the council found made up the full

1:04:21budget this year, but this is a

1:04:23perennial need. And so um those dollars

1:04:26are not currently in our general fund

1:04:28budget. It is uh one of the really uh

1:04:31you know tough cuts that we've had to

1:04:32propose. Um, and I think that, um, you

1:04:35know, we we would love to figure out a

1:04:37way to be able to continue to fund that

1:04:39work, uh, next year and and beyond.

1:04:41>> Yeah, thank you for that. I mean, I

1:04:43think you have our commitment that we're

1:04:44going to work hard to do that, too. You

1:04:45know, I think it it might come down to

1:04:48we are going to increase the short-term

1:04:50rental nightly fees, and that's a fund,

1:04:51a revenue source that comes in annually.

1:04:54Um, and that could be a way that, you

1:04:56know, if if this council can look at

1:04:58that and and see if that's an

1:04:59opportunity to change the way that we

1:05:01use that fund, um, to help fund this

1:05:04program annually instead of having to

1:05:06come back every single year and be like,

1:05:08where's the money coming from? So, and

1:05:09you know, you have my commitment. I know

1:05:11um, other council members feel similarly

1:05:13about this program. So, we are going to

1:05:15work really hard behind the scenes to

1:05:17kind of get that and and hopefully we'll

1:05:18have some good answers for everybody.

1:05:20>> Thank you so much. Thank you.

1:05:21>> Council member Green, followed by

1:05:22Council Member Morell.

1:05:24>> The um the right to council program was

1:05:27voted unanimously by the council because

1:05:29we are strongly supportive of providing

1:05:31support to those who are in danger of

1:05:34being evicted or in um homeless. But I I

1:05:38do want to ask you a general question

1:05:41because I think that sometimes people

1:05:43feel that the council or the mayor is

1:05:45just holding back. is not going in

1:05:47certain areas with funding because of

1:05:50choices that we're making internally.

1:05:52Could you talk about the role of the

1:05:54federal government cutbacks on your

1:05:56office in terms of what is going on? And

1:05:59I know that it was not a prepared

1:06:00question and that you're not going to

1:06:02have numbers, but I think it's important

1:06:03to recognize that between state cutbacks

1:06:06and federal cutbacks, these budget

1:06:09challenges are real and many times

1:06:11they're created by external factors.

1:06:13Could you talk about at least the

1:06:14federal government rule and if you have

1:06:16dollars you can talk about the money or

1:06:18you can share with the public

1:06:19afterwards. How much have the cutbacks

1:06:21affected the city?

1:06:22>> Affected the city. Yeah, there's uh I

1:06:24mean um it is profound how a lot of the

1:06:28changes in the turmoil at the federal

1:06:29level filter down through the state and

1:06:32then end up impacting the city. And I'll

1:06:33give I'll give two concrete examples.

1:06:35One is in the homelessness space. So,

1:06:39um, in in typical years, uh, Unity, uh,

1:06:43uh, Greater New Orleans has been the

1:06:45umbrella organization that has helped

1:06:47manage the continuum of care program.

1:06:49Um, and I know Taylor and Dr. Vegna will

1:06:52speak, uh, much more in depth about

1:06:53this, uh, in their presentation, but um,

1:06:56uh, that has largely been a, um, settled

1:07:00matter, right? Since um you know the the

1:07:02housing first model was implemented

1:07:04under the Obama administration um

1:07:06there's largely been the same framework

1:07:08under which homeless services um uh and

1:07:12you know permanent supportive housing

1:07:13and transitional housing dollars have

1:07:16gone down to local service providers

1:07:18under the continuum of care model.

1:07:20[clears throat] Um, recently there have

1:07:22been at least I think two interventions

1:07:24by a federal judge that actually stayed

1:07:27the release of new um uh it's a it's

1:07:31essentially a NOA. It's a it's a request

1:07:33for proposals that HUD is doing. Uh HUD

1:07:36administers those funds as well. And um

1:07:39uh we know that it has created turmoil

1:07:41at the local level. uh this this is a

1:07:43stay on on uh uh pretty dramatic rule

1:07:47changes about how the continuum of care

1:07:49is funded. This is throughout the

1:07:51country. This is not just uh locally at

1:07:53the at the New Orleans level. Um and it

1:07:56is also opened up the door for um other

1:07:59policy changes at the state and federal

1:08:00level to also have an impact. And so

1:08:03[clears throat] it's meant that um folks

1:08:05are having to scramble. You know, uh

1:08:07there are there's lots of uh work and

1:08:10uncertainty about what 2027 and beyond

1:08:13are going to look like because um we

1:08:15have been unable to stay on sort of this

1:08:17like typical timeline and where uh

1:08:20long-standing uh programmatic policy and

1:08:23design is is being upset um and without

1:08:26a lot of clarity or direction. So,

1:08:28that's [snorts] a really concrete

1:08:29example that that impacts our most

1:08:31vulnerable um uh residents and folks on

1:08:34the street. So that's one area. Another

1:08:36area is in affordable housing finance.

1:08:40Uh and I mentioned before uh at length

1:08:43about our NOA process and how we invest

1:08:46in multif family projects. Um I'll give

1:08:49a very good example uh two examples. One

1:08:52is um the Raana project which just

1:08:54closed uh thanks to the hard work of uh

1:08:57council member Harris and and the the

1:08:59whole council, the administration, the

1:09:01developers, the convention center. Um

1:09:03[clears throat] this is $15 million

1:09:06affordable housing project that's going

1:09:07to have 220 units of affordable housing

1:09:09in it in a neighborhood of opportunity

1:09:11in the river district right on

1:09:12Chapatulus uh adjacent to to downtown.

1:09:16That project could not have happened but

1:09:18for $16 million of federal disaster

1:09:22money, post it disaster money that came

1:09:24down to the city from from the state

1:09:26through the Louisiana Housing

1:09:27Corporation. And um those dollars are

1:09:31dollars that we prioritize just like any

1:09:33any of our departments leverage uh uh

1:09:37state and federal grant dollars when we

1:09:39determine where we're going to place our

1:09:41precious bond dollars. When we do that

1:09:42with streets, we do that in health. We

1:09:44do that in across our programs. The same

1:09:46is true in affordable housing

1:09:48development. we will prioritize where we

1:09:50can make our precious uh public

1:09:52investments in affordable housing for

1:09:54projects that we know are going to

1:09:56receive these federal uh dollars um so

1:09:59that they can get to the finish line. Um

1:10:01that project was able to successfully

1:10:03get to a closing. Same with the Naval

1:10:05Support Activity, which is another 194

1:10:07units of housing um excuse me, 294 units

1:10:10of housing, a $200 million project in

1:10:12the Bywater. Um uh that project had $20

1:10:16million of federal money through the

1:10:18state in that project. Just a several

1:10:20weeks ago, there was another round of

1:10:22state funding uh of programming federal

1:10:25dollars called Prime 4. Prime 4, we had

1:10:29um been looking at two projects, one in

1:10:31the lower 9inth ward, one in uh Council

1:10:33Member Harris's district um uh uh

1:10:36adjacent to Turo for some uh additional

1:10:39affordable housing developments. and the

1:10:42state uh uh partly because of some

1:10:44changing rules at the federal level

1:10:46canceled that program at the very last

1:10:48minute right before they were supposed

1:10:49to give an award. And so um those

1:10:52dollars are are no longer available and

1:10:54that has created turmoil. Those projects

1:10:55do not have a path forward. The city in

1:10:58no way has the the [clears throat]

1:10:59amount of resources that will be needed

1:11:01to fill the gap that we're anticipating

1:11:03federal resources to fill. And so, you

1:11:06know, that is when we look around and

1:11:07say, why are we not seeing the

1:11:09development, the affordable housing, the

1:11:10investment in our communities we want to

1:11:12see. There were 32 lots in the lower

1:11:14ninth ward that we were hoping and and

1:11:17um almost expecting we're going to get

1:11:19those resources and that is not moving

1:11:20forward currently because because of

1:11:22those changes.

1:11:23>> We've had to make changes even in our

1:11:25resilience projects because of loss of

1:11:27federal money. Absolutely.

1:11:28>> Could you talk about that just for a

1:11:30second? There's a theme that I have here

1:11:32and it's clear. I just want people to

1:11:34know that we there are tough decisions

1:11:36that you have to make in government. And

1:11:38at the end of the day, our urban area,

1:11:41just like other urban areas, was relying

1:11:43on federal resources and investment

1:11:45because that was a policy of the federal

1:11:47government to make money available in

1:11:48the population centers so that we could

1:11:51have development taking place in those

1:11:52urban areas. But could you talk about

1:11:54the impact on the resilience projects

1:11:56that we have right now which is why you

1:11:58can't the Gentilli resilience project is

1:12:01going well but there are some others

1:12:02that are held up because of that.

1:12:04>> Yes and and certainly uh uh Deputy Mayor

1:12:07Nelson and and uh Megan Williams can can

1:12:09speak much more uh in depth on this but

1:12:12um yes I mean Gentilia Resilience

1:12:14District is in some ways protected

1:12:16because it was a federal grant from uh a

1:12:18prior administration. Um however uh that

1:12:22doesn't mean that those dollars you know

1:12:24if we don't deploy those quickly enough

1:12:26or if we give any reason for the state

1:12:28or federal government to look uh too

1:12:31closely um th those dollars can

1:12:33absolutely be be in jeopardy and I think

1:12:35we see the impacts on on projects like

1:12:39uh Gentile resilience as well as other

1:12:40resilience projects. Um you know it

1:12:42certainly uh impacts our joint

1:12:44infrastructure program. I think we all

1:12:47now know and appreciate um some of the

1:12:50issues with the budget crisis that we're

1:12:52facing are because of uh some of the

1:12:54turmoil at the FEMA level nationally

1:12:57where a lot of our joint infrastructure

1:12:59program the state reimbures the city for

1:13:03uh uh in some cases it would be like $90

1:13:06million a month of um of uh contracting

1:13:09work that was happening in streets

1:13:10around the city and resilience projects

1:13:12and drainage projects. And because of

1:13:14some of the turmoil um that was being

1:13:16proposed at the federal level related to

1:13:18FEMA last year um and sometimes saying

1:13:21that FEMA was going to go away, JRR is a

1:13:23settlement with FEMA and so the state uh

1:13:26started to get um you know skittish

1:13:28about whether they would be reimbursed

1:13:30from FEMA and there was a compounding

1:13:32effect on the city's budget crisis

1:13:34because uh we were essentially again

1:13:36fronting money that we were expecting to

1:13:38be reimbursed from the states and the

1:13:39feds. So yes, uh Megan and Steve can

1:13:42obviously uh speak much more in depth on

1:13:44it, but you're absolutely right that you

1:13:46know, you you name it. There's

1:13:47challenges at the at the and uh the

1:13:49workforce development landscape as well

1:13:51that's related to some of these these

1:13:52changes at the federal level and it just

1:13:55makes it it certainly makes the work um

1:13:57even more challenging.

1:13:58>> Yes. Megan and Steve did talk about it

1:14:00um just recently and um I asked you

1:14:03again because we can't talk about it

1:14:04enough because the administration is not

1:14:06making decisions um to not fund

1:14:09particular things because they have no

1:14:10interest in it. Sometimes the federal

1:14:12changes and even the state level

1:14:14changes. We've lost a lot of revenues as

1:14:16a city because the state law changes rel

1:14:18relative to

1:14:20>> traffic speed cameras and other matters.

1:14:23So it's just important to recognize

1:14:24what' you say

1:14:25>> brake tags

1:14:26>> brake tags and things like that. All of

1:14:28those all of those impact our budget and

1:14:30I just want to see more lobbying also on

1:14:32a state and federal level because I

1:14:35think that it's easy for entities such

1:14:38as that to stop funding to the city of

1:14:40New Orleans and to other urban areas

1:14:43because they don't get a lot of push

1:14:44back. There needs to be a little bit

1:14:46more push back. And I just want to close

1:14:47by saying the soft mortgage program is a

1:14:50tremendous program. I look forward to

1:14:52the day that we can provide hundreds of

1:14:55soft second mortgage opportunities

1:14:57because if you want to if you want to

1:14:59bridge the wealth gap in our city and if

1:15:00you want to create more wealth creating

1:15:02more homeowners people who have a stake

1:15:05and in 15 years they're going to own

1:15:06something worth 250 or 300 maybe 15

1:15:10years from now $500,000

1:15:12that's the way to really generate wealth

1:15:14in our city to make more home ownership

1:15:16opportunities available and we talked

1:15:18about it and I look forward to working

1:15:19with you and everyone associated ated

1:15:21with the housing trust fund and

1:15:23continuing your program because that's

1:15:24an area in which we can create more

1:15:27opportunities. Absolutely.

1:15:28>> I would love to see more people

1:15:30investing in communities that have been

1:15:32ignored such as the desire community and

1:15:34the ninth board community using soft

1:15:36mortgage program. So I look forward to

1:15:38working with you. But what you're doing

1:15:40so far right now is being recognized. We

1:15:42need to quadruple the number of houses

1:15:44that are available to our citizens

1:15:46through that program.

1:15:47>> Thank you, council member. Absolutely.

1:15:48We we budget just for so that folks know

1:15:50him every year we budget a minimum of $3

1:15:52million of precious resources for soft

1:15:54seconds and um you know every year we

1:15:56have to up that uh right now we're

1:15:58digging deep and finding some more

1:16:00resources to make sure we can get

1:16:01through the end of the year um for

1:16:02everybody who's applied for a soft

1:16:03second.

1:16:04>> Okay. Thank you for your presentation.

1:16:06>> Council member Morell.

1:16:08>> Thank you. Um Jeeoff I just want to

1:16:10focus on right to council for a little

1:16:11bit. I mean, I think it's important as

1:16:14we talk about the budget season that we

1:16:16reiterate to I know you know this, but

1:16:19to everyone the tens of tens watching at

1:16:21home that

1:16:24even with a millage roll forward, there

1:16:26is no way to avoid cuts. That's full

1:16:28stop. That is the reality of where the

1:16:30budget currently sits. And I think it's

1:16:33also important to note that even as we

1:16:35are working with third parties on things

1:16:38like uh and I know we're going to talk

1:16:40about it during the health department,

1:16:42but things like the low barrier shelter,

1:16:44even if you want to get third party

1:16:46commitments, you have to get them to be

1:16:48multi-year commitments so we don't run

1:16:50into the risk of one-time revenue for

1:16:52reoccurring expense.

1:16:54I I really appreciate Council Member

1:16:56McCarron highlighting the short-term

1:16:58rental fees because when you're looking

1:17:00at fees and allocating fees for things

1:17:03to create revenue streams for things

1:17:05like right to council, there's a direct

1:17:07correlation between short-term rentals,

1:17:09rental displacement,

1:17:11>> and why we need to provide services to

1:17:13people who are being displaced.

1:17:15>> But I just want to highlight something

1:17:18that I think that we don't highlight

1:17:19enough.

1:17:21Right to council is in a very different

1:17:23place than many other things because the

1:17:25city codified right to council. It's in

1:17:28section 5150. So the city of New Orleans

1:17:32prior to my time on the council

1:17:34obligated itself to say that the right

1:17:36to council is a right in the city of New

1:17:39Orleans. So it is something that

1:17:43essentially we have to find the money to

1:17:45pay for because we have codified it as a

1:17:48right. That does not mean that it won't

1:17:50be painful to figure out a way to get

1:17:52there because the reality is that in all

1:17:56likelihood to fund the right to council,

1:17:59we are going to have to cut something

1:18:01else. And I think it's important cuz

1:18:03we're being intentional. What I'm

1:18:05committing today as a council member is

1:18:07to find the cut necessary even if it has

1:18:11to be from a different department to

1:18:13fully fund right to council because it's

1:18:16important to be intentional because we

1:18:18have a finite amount of money and a

1:18:20finite amount of runway to raise money.

1:18:22So part of us the importance of having

1:18:25these hearings and hearing how these

1:18:28departments do more with less is that

1:18:30there are many departments that will

1:18:32have to do even more with less because

1:18:36the money is finite and it is highly

1:18:38likely someone's going to have to do

1:18:40without for us to fund necessary

1:18:43programs like the right to council. And

1:18:46I certainly appreciate you championing

1:18:47them here today. I know they're here

1:18:48today as well. But I just want to

1:18:51highlight the fact that unlike a lot of

1:18:53programs in the city, there's a codified

1:18:56law that actually is tied to this. That

1:18:58is still the law today.

1:19:00>> So, thank you.

1:19:01>> No, thank you. And I I uh totally echo

1:19:03that sentiment, that nexus between STRs,

1:19:06for example, STR fees and and funding

1:19:08the program. I think that's it's

1:19:10elegant, right? If we could think about

1:19:11more ways to fund um uh essential

1:19:15programs with uh sustainable sources of

1:19:17revenue like that, I think that's that's

1:19:19really elegant.

1:19:22>> All right, with that, let's go to public

1:19:23comment. Just a reminder, everyone gets

1:19:25two minutes to speak. Uh state if you're

1:19:28a paid actor and your address. The first

1:19:29up is Mon'nique Blossom, followed by

1:19:32Christopher Carrian. And if you could

1:19:34line up so we can get through these

1:19:36quickly, that would be great.

1:19:39>> Good morning. First of all, thank you to

1:19:41Deputy Deputy Mayor Schwarz and the

1:19:43entire staff at OCD for all of your hard

1:19:45work and for um all of the information

1:19:47that you just provided. You made my job

1:19:49a lot easier. Also, [snorts] everybody

1:19:51has really covered a lot of my talking

1:19:53points, so I'm going to keep it brief.

1:19:56Thank you, Council Member Moral. I was

1:19:57going to remind everyone that this is

1:19:59one of the best housing policies I've

1:20:01ever had the honor to work on because

1:20:03it's created by ordinance. It does

1:20:06obligate the city and I really

1:20:07appreciate that you're all taking that

1:20:09obligation seriously. Um it's a

1:20:12difficult budget system, but the right

1:20:14to council program really is a win-win

1:20:16and it's imbalance imbalancing um

1:20:18correcting an imbalance in the court

1:20:20system and it gets uh favorable incomes

1:20:24favorable outcomes. Let's talk about

1:20:26incomes. [laughter]

1:20:28Favorable outcomes for tenants and

1:20:29landlords alike. And it's also hugely

1:20:32popular. I'm going to claim everybody in

1:20:34the room is here in favor of right to

1:20:36counsel. I'm sure that they all are. Um

1:20:42I All right. I didn't mean all that. I'm

1:20:45here as a resource to all of you. Please

1:20:48be in touch. You know how to find me so

1:20:50that I can uh be an asset to making this

1:20:52work for 2027 and beyond. Thank you.

1:20:54>> Thank you, Monique. Christopher Carrian,

1:20:56followed by Hannah Adams, followed by

1:20:58Elizabeth Harvey.

1:21:02Thank you. Good morning, members of

1:21:03council. My name is Christopher Carrian.

1:21:05I'm a staff attorney with Loyola

1:21:08University's medical legal partnership,

1:21:10but I'm speaking today here in my own

1:21:12personal capacity, and the views I

1:21:14express are my own. Before joining the

1:21:17medical legal partnership, I spent 5

1:21:19years working in the housing unit at

1:21:21SLS, where I represented families facing

1:21:25eviction. I also love New Orleans. I'm

1:21:28fortunate enough to have met my wife

1:21:30here. My wife and I have bought a

1:21:32property here and we manage a small

1:21:33rental property ourselves. So, I speak

1:21:36to you both as a landlord and a housing

1:21:39attorney.

1:21:41I also want to personally attest to the

1:21:44extraordinary professionalism

1:21:46of the attorneys and staff at Southeast

1:21:49Louisiana Legal Services. I've worked

1:21:51alongside them and these individuals and

1:21:53I know how hard they work and how deeply

1:21:57committed they are to serving the

1:21:59families that they serve. But I

1:22:02especially want to emphasize something I

1:22:04think that we sometimes overlook when

1:22:06discussing eviction and that's the

1:22:08impact on our children. Housing

1:22:11instability is deeply traumatic for

1:22:14children who bear the consequences of an

1:22:16eviction through no fault of their own.

1:22:19It disrupts

1:22:22their sense of stability, their sense of

1:22:24stealth, and their sense of stability.

1:22:27And I can tell you firsthand that having

1:22:29an attorney often times makes an

1:22:32enormous difference. Sometimes an

1:22:34attorney can negotiate a resolution that

1:22:36allows a family to remain in their home

1:22:38and avoid the trauma of an eviction

1:22:40proceeding altogether.

1:22:42That's why funding the our right to

1:22:44program, right to council program is so

1:22:46important because it's not simply about

1:22:48legal representation.

1:22:50It's about preventing unnecessary

1:22:52displacement, protecting our children,

1:22:55and keeping our families healthy and

1:22:57stable. And I encourage the city council

1:23:00with this awesome responsibility

1:23:01[snorts] to continue your work in

1:23:03funding this program. Thank you. Thank

1:23:05you,

1:23:09Hannah Adams, Elizabeth Harvey, then

1:23:12Alexis Eckert.

1:23:15Uh, good morning, council members and

1:23:17deputy mayor Schwarz. Uh, my name is

1:23:19Hannah Adams. I am a senior attorney at

1:23:22the National Housing Law Project where I

1:23:24work with eviction defense attorneys all

1:23:25around the country. Um, as some of you

1:23:28know, before my employment began there

1:23:29in 2024, I was a right to council

1:23:31attorney here in New Orleans, um, for a

1:23:34number of years. And before that, um, I

1:23:36defended, uh, evictions in New Orleans

1:23:38for 7 years prior to the right to

1:23:40council ordinance. Um, my opinions are

1:23:42my own today, um, and not given on

1:23:44behalf of my former employer. Um, I urge

1:23:47the council to find a way to fund this

1:23:49program in full at, I believe, $2.5

1:23:51million. Defunding this program will be

1:23:53catastrophic for New Orleans's most uh

1:23:56vulnerable families and costly for the

1:23:58city which will have to handle uh influx

1:24:01of homelessness.

1:24:03Before Right to Council, only about 6%

1:24:05of tenants were represented in eviction

1:24:07courts in New Orleans. For years, I was

1:24:10one of four eviction attorneys covering

1:24:12all evictions in New Orleans in addition

1:24:14to four other parishes. We could only

1:24:16take a fraction of the cases that came

1:24:18into our office. As a result, most

1:24:20people went to court without a lawyer.

1:24:22Louisiana eviction laws heavily favor

1:24:24landlords and put tenants at a serious

1:24:26disadvantage. Without a lawyer, tenants

1:24:29cannot raise critical defenses and

1:24:31enforce their rights to proper notice

1:24:32and process. And this is um especially a

1:24:35problem for public housing and section 8

1:24:37tenants who stand to lose not just their

1:24:39housing, but also their subsidy.

1:24:42Um before right to council, a high

1:24:44percentage of these families went to

1:24:45court without a lawyer, lost, and ended

1:24:47up on the street. What's more, they

1:24:50ended up with an eviction record which

1:24:52made it nearly impossible for them to

1:24:54find future housing. We do not want to

1:24:56return to that status quo. Now, with

1:24:59Right to Council, tenants have access to

1:25:01lawyers and those lawyers are effective,

1:25:03incredibly effective at helping tenants

1:25:05avoid eviction and often negotiating

1:25:06solutions that save both sides time and

1:25:09stress and money. And I wanted [snorts]

1:25:11to mention that the right to council

1:25:12program is also critical in enforcing

1:25:14the city's healthy homes ordinance and

1:25:16ensuring [snorts] that tenants are not

1:25:18evicted in retaliation for

1:25:21Thank you, Hannah. Elizabeth Harvey,

1:25:23Alexis Eckert. [applause]

1:25:28>> Elizabeth Harvey, Southeast Louisiana

1:25:31Legal Services. The right to council

1:25:33ordinance is something we have all

1:25:34celebrated, we have all championed, and

1:25:37we're seeing the desired results. to

1:25:39lose the city's investment, the inertia,

1:25:43the progress from the last five years of

1:25:45intense work would be at a great cost.

1:25:49The abil the ability to have and the

1:25:51stabilization of affordable housing for

1:25:54New Orle New Orleans is a crucial

1:25:56necessity and the right to council

1:25:58program is one smart part of the city's

1:26:01solution to the affordable housing

1:26:03crisis and it has been working.

1:26:07prevention works. This is real help for

1:26:10our mothers, our elders, and so many of

1:26:13those that make New Orleans so special,

1:26:14so singular, so inviting to all of those

1:26:18visitors.

1:26:19As we are all aware, everything has a

1:26:22cost.

1:26:24But the cost of being without a home are

1:26:26giant. Disrupted housing displacement

1:26:29displacement often leads to

1:26:30homelessness. Interruption to children's

1:26:32education, job loss, a deterioration to

1:26:36mental and physical health, an increase

1:26:39in violence, a continued population

1:26:42migration out of this city, and the

1:26:44trauma that can carry over not only in

1:26:46one's lifetime but generations.

1:26:50As a former public defender at two-lane

1:26:52and broad, the necessity of stable

1:26:53housing and lack thereof became a c

1:26:56crystal clear issue and an underlying

1:26:59problem for so many of those in the

1:27:00system. One small example, for even of

1:27:04the most minor of offenses and where a

1:27:06person could have gone through the

1:27:08criminal justice system without being

1:27:10housed in the jail, if a person did not

1:27:12have a permanent address, those

1:27:14defendants were kept exponentially

1:27:16longer in Orleans jail. Longer

1:27:19incarcerations, more compounding cost.

1:27:22The right to counsel program is helping

1:27:24slow and lessen those many cost.

1:27:27Prevention works. Thank you for your

1:27:29continued support of this critical

1:27:31program.

1:27:33>> Thank you, Alexis, followed by Laura

1:27:35Tuggle

1:27:37and then John Kipping.

1:27:39>> Good morning. Alexis Urker at Southeast

1:27:41Louisiana Legal Services. Under

1:27:43Louisiana law, an eviction judgment

1:27:45requires that a tenant move in 24 hours.

1:27:49It's not possible to move in 24 hours.

1:27:52When you drive around the city and see a

1:27:54pile of furniture and someone's

1:27:55belongings on the curb, that's likely a

1:27:58family that received a 24-hour eviction

1:28:00judgment. Realistically, eviction

1:28:02judgments on that timeline render

1:28:05members of our community homeless.

1:28:07Before city council unanimously passed

1:28:09the right to council ordinance, 60% of

1:28:12tenants facing eviction in New Orleans

1:28:15received 24-hour eviction judgments.

1:28:19Before right to council, eviction rates

1:28:21in New Orleans were double the national

1:28:23average. I have the privilege of

1:28:26supervising the right to counsel program

1:28:28at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services

1:28:30and I can tell you that no one works

1:28:32harder than our attorneys, social

1:28:35worker, and the other staff on our team

1:28:37to prevent the eviction of Orleans

1:28:39Parish residents. This is the fifth year

1:28:41that the city has allocated funding for

1:28:43right to council and our team is now

1:28:4698.5%

1:28:48effective in preventing evictions.

1:28:51[applause]

1:28:57Whenever possible, we negotiate payment

1:29:00plans to get landlords paid, other

1:29:02consent agreements, and work to preserve

1:29:04housing subsidies for the low-income

1:29:06tenants that can't otherwise afford

1:29:08market rent. When we can't prevent

1:29:11eviction, our social worker helps our

1:29:13most vulnerable clients get rehoused.

1:29:15The cost to run this program is $2.5

1:29:18million. In the first eight months of

1:29:212026, our team has prevented the

1:29:23eviction of 2,798

1:29:26Orleans Parish adults and children.

1:29:31The majority of these were black women

1:29:34headed households and in 25% the head of

1:29:37household identified as having a

1:29:38disability. These are real people and

1:29:41it's as a result of your continued

1:29:42support for this program that they

1:29:44remain h Thank you.

1:29:55Wait on your Okay, go ahead. Go ahead,

1:29:57Laura.

1:29:57>> Can you hear me?

1:29:58>> Yeah, now we can.

1:29:59>> All right. Hi, everybody. I'm Laura

1:30:01Tugle. I'm the director of Southeast

1:30:02Louisiana Legal Services. I want to

1:30:05thank the council and Jeff and Meline

1:30:08and all the team for your support. You

1:30:10guys came to the rescue this summer when

1:30:13we were in jeopardy of potentially

1:30:16having to dismantle this highly

1:30:18effective program. And thank you for

1:30:21doing that and helping keep the true

1:30:23promise of the city's right to council

1:30:26ordinance in effect. The same is true

1:30:30right now is where we stood several

1:30:33months ago. This program works. It's

1:30:35coste effective. It's wellrun by the

1:30:39incredible team uh behind me and our

1:30:42community partners and it's just a

1:30:44proven strategy and even when times are

1:30:47tough and budgets are tough and you're

1:30:50checking the sofa cushions to try to

1:30:52find funds, this is a very wise

1:30:56investment.

1:30:57As noted, this program actually cost 2.5

1:31:00million to run. The city invested 1.3

1:31:04million this year. We dug in our own

1:31:06sofa cushions and found a million bucks,

1:31:10but unfortunately

1:31:12we don't have that for 2027.

1:31:16Um, so

1:31:18we're going to do our part. We're going

1:31:20to keep running the most effective

1:31:23eviction prevention program with

1:31:25whatever resources may become available.

1:31:28But without the 2.5 million, it won't be

1:31:31the true right to council program as the

1:31:34city has uh relied on the past few

1:31:37years. Our average cost per tenant

1:31:40assisted is 380 bucks, far less than the

1:31:45thousands of dollars it cost if a tenant

1:31:47has to relocate or if the city has to

1:31:51help bear the cost of a family becoming

1:31:53homeless and having to rehhouse them.

1:31:56So, I just want to thank you for your

1:31:58support and we stand ready to assist in

1:32:01any way we can and we're

1:32:04>> thank you Laura

1:32:06John Kipping. Why Frank South Hall then

1:32:10Avis Scott?

1:32:12>> Good morning counselors. My name is John

1:32:14Kipping. I'm an attorney. I'm a

1:32:17community member of New Orleans and I'm

1:32:18a renter. Today I'm speaking in my

1:32:20personal capacity.

1:32:23The renters of this city hear your words

1:32:25of support for the right to council

1:32:27program, but we need to see your action.

1:32:32I know that city council has the data

1:32:34that shows without a shadow of a doubt

1:32:36how effectively this program serves the

1:32:38New Orleans community. The legal

1:32:40protections and remedies available to

1:32:42tenants in this state are few and far

1:32:45between. And right to council is often

1:32:47times the only mechanism to make sure

1:32:51those protections are observed. Right to

1:32:54council is homelessness prevention,

1:32:56healthy homes enforcement, tenant

1:32:59organizing protection, insurance that

1:33:02New Orleians are staying in this city.

1:33:05Right to council is the only resource

1:33:07available to a single mother trying to

1:33:09make sure her children aren't sleeping

1:33:11in a car tonight.

1:33:13The only conversation we should be

1:33:15having today is how we can expand this

1:33:19effective program, not cut it.

1:33:23As council member Morell said, "This

1:33:26program is a right. It must not be

1:33:30hollowed out by austerity measures."

1:33:33As of 2026, New Orleans is one of 19

1:33:36cities to pass a right to council in

1:33:38evictions hearings. Cutting this funding

1:33:41would be a historic step backwards that

1:33:45must not be allowed to pass. Thank you.

1:33:48>> Thank you.

1:33:53>> Why Frank South, Ava Scott, and then

1:33:56Nelly Katzman.

1:33:58>> All right. Uh good morning everyone. My

1:34:00name is wife Frank Salo, organizing

1:34:02[snorts]

1:34:03communication manager at James Place and

1:34:05we're a proud member of the Big Easy

1:34:07Budget Coalition. First, I want to thank

1:34:09you to all the tenants, residents,

1:34:11advocates for coming out today. Can all

1:34:13big easy budget coalition, renters,

1:34:15right assembly members, people's

1:34:17council, and renders stand up or wave

1:34:19your hands. If you're a part of that

1:34:20coalition of folks, please, you know,

1:34:24give yourself a round of applause.

1:34:27Uh second, I want to thank you to uh all

1:34:30to see council members for spring right

1:34:32council over the past four five years,

1:34:34but especially thank you to council

1:34:36members Morell and McCarron for coming

1:34:38out and speaking to the big east budget

1:34:40coalition and to tenants around the

1:34:42city. Thank you for your advocacy. I've

1:34:44worked on render issues for almost

1:34:46decade in our city. I've seen the

1:34:47transformation of how our city holds

1:34:49slim laws accountable. Most of this due

1:34:51to advocacy organizing tenants for the

1:34:53rights, but it has occurred with legal

1:34:55uh assistance from right to council. If

1:34:58it wasn't for legal assistance southeast

1:35:00Louisiana legal services, Oakland

1:35:02tenants wouldn't have been able to take

1:35:03down the notorious slum lord Josh

1:35:05Bernardo. If it wasn't for legal

1:35:07assistance direct council attorneys,

1:35:09elders at complexes wouldn't have gotten

1:35:11the assistance they needed at Peace

1:35:12Lake, the Willows, Russell properties,

1:35:14other apartment complexes run by

1:35:16slumlords. Um, right council attorneys

1:35:19and staff are the hardest working people

1:35:21in this city. They deal with crushing

1:35:23case loads and they still get the job

1:35:25done. Um, a lot of stats have already

1:35:28been mentioned by me over the years. You

1:35:29guys know how black folks are impacted

1:35:31by housing disparities and so we must

1:35:34fund it. Right. Council touches

1:35:36thousands of people in the city via

1:35:38legal assistance, uh, education,

1:35:40outreach, and we got to keep it going.

1:35:42As council member Morell mentioned,

1:35:44literally see council vote for it. It

1:35:46must be comprehensively funded if we're

1:35:48going to protect the working-class

1:35:49people of our city. If we're to protect

1:35:51children, black children, red council

1:35:54must be funded. Thank you.

1:35:55>> Thank you,

1:35:57>> Avisa Scott, Nelly Casten, then Lanna

1:36:00Williams.

1:36:03>> Hello, my name is Ava Scott and um I am

1:36:07glad to be here. I also like to um agree

1:36:12with him in in reference to right to

1:36:15council. My second thing is I am a

1:36:18tenant of Gus Highrise and I also would

1:36:23like to request that Gus Highrise be in

1:36:27the funding to assist the tenants to

1:36:30receive an environment assessment.

1:36:32Everyone know what what is going on with

1:36:35Gus. we was in the news and it still is

1:36:38a continuing problem. Um, mold is there.

1:36:42They have a um a claim that is supposed

1:36:46to be having a hearing on November the

1:36:4919th about mold and mold is still there.

1:36:52So, I am requesting that you guys put

1:36:55Gus in the budget to allow all tenants

1:36:59at Gus home to be tested for environment

1:37:02assessment and also to allow us to have

1:37:06an an IV therapy treatment to remove all

1:37:10the toxin from our body. Thank you very

1:37:13much for your time.

1:37:14>> Thank you, Nelly. Then Lanna Williams,

1:37:17then Nadia Muhammad.

1:37:21I re Got it. Good morning. I'm Nelly

1:37:25Katson. I serve as executive director

1:37:27for the Committee for a Better New

1:37:28Orleans and I'm a proud member of the

1:37:30Big Easy Budget Coalition. I want to

1:37:32start by thanking the people behind me.

1:37:35As you all know, Committee for a Better

1:37:36New Orleans helps put the information

1:37:38into people's hands that they need in

1:37:40order to show up for the issues that

1:37:41matter to them. And the people behind me

1:37:43have showed up. So, thank you all.

1:37:46[applause]

1:37:51What we do with our own money matters.

1:37:54We are the departments in front of me

1:37:57are relying on significant amounts of

1:37:59federal funding, but that doesn't mean

1:38:02and the departments that we're going to

1:38:03hear from today are the same, but that

1:38:05doesn't mean that they don't deserve our

1:38:07own investment of our own money. Um, and

1:38:11the people who have spoken to the

1:38:14effectiveness of this program, I will

1:38:15let them speak for themselves about the

1:38:17effectiveness. You know me, I'm here to

1:38:19talk about money. Um there's a lot of

1:38:22opportunities um revenue opportunities.

1:38:25When asked by the now CIO, former uh

1:38:28councilman Deruso, Big [snorts] Easy

1:38:30Budget Coalition put together a several

1:38:33page memo of recommendations for

1:38:34revenues for the city. The city has been

1:38:38able to cash in on about $25 million of

1:38:40those recommendations, including cost

1:38:42sharing from the courts and from the

1:38:43assessor's office. Um, and there are

1:38:45additional re revenue recommendations in

1:38:47there that we could be taking advantage

1:38:49of that don't put the burden on

1:38:51vulnerable people. Um, we could be

1:38:53investing more in enforcing our labor

1:38:56standards and short-term rental laws.

1:38:59Um, in enforcing safety and permits,

1:39:01although their department budget is

1:39:03being cut by nearly a million dollars

1:39:05even with the fee increases that are

1:39:07being proposed. So, I think that's an

1:39:08area to look. I also uh noticed in my

1:39:12deep dive into the budget about $1.3

1:39:14million of 2026 general fund revenues

1:39:17that are not listed in this year's

1:39:18budget book. They're not zeroed. They're

1:39:21missing. Um in conversation with Miss

1:39:24Delarge in front of me, I learned that

1:39:26that's wasn't included in this.

1:39:30Nelly, that's your time, but we will

1:39:32circle back with you. Lanna Williams,

1:39:34Nadia Muhammad, John Sullivan.

1:39:43Hi, thank you for another opportunity to

1:39:46share my thoughts on a crisis that we're

1:39:49currently facing. My name is Leana. I am

1:39:52an advocate for lived experience people.

1:39:56I'm a part of the people's council and I

1:40:00am a participant who has received the

1:40:02right to counsel which without it I

1:40:05would have been h unhoused.

1:40:07As you know, going through homelessness,

1:40:10we don't talk enough about the mental

1:40:12strain that it takes on us jumping from

1:40:15house to house or like me, living in

1:40:18storage units, living in my car, hopping

1:40:20from sofa to sofa just to find some

1:40:24stability as I rebuilt my life.

1:40:27Ultimately,

1:40:28as I was working through my mental

1:40:30health challenges, I was able to get

1:40:33housed. And unfortunately, as many of

1:40:36you know, we have an overwhelming amount

1:40:38of slum lords who take advantage of this

1:40:40system. And we need the right to counsel

1:40:43to be able to protect ourselves in the

1:40:45process. Sometimes even with housing not

1:40:48being up to healthy home standards, that

1:40:50can also be an additional strain on our

1:40:53mental health. And ultimately, a lot of

1:40:57a lot of landlords use that to retaliate

1:41:01against the tenants when they express

1:41:04things are not working. Like for me, I

1:41:06didn't have a AC for an entire summer

1:41:08during my time living with the Britannia

1:41:11properties and they're known slum lord

1:41:13who has [clears throat] changed their

1:41:14names and completely

1:41:17navigated the process of trying to not

1:41:20be held accountable. Ultimately, I was

1:41:23on a I went to a bus station and that's

1:41:25where I saw a flyer for rights to

1:41:28counsel. With that, I was able to go to

1:41:30court literally after getting out of a

1:41:33hospital stay for my mental health and

1:41:36was able to get what I needed at a

1:41:38vulnerable time to [clears throat] be

1:41:39able to stay housed so I wouldn't be

1:41:41back on um the street or back in a

1:41:44shelter. And that helped me. So, I would

1:41:46like for you. Thank you,

1:41:51Nadia Muhammad,

1:41:53John Sullivan, and Dena Morris.

1:41:58Good morning, council men and women. My

1:42:00name is Nadi Muhammad. I'm an advocate

1:42:02for human rights. I wear many t-shirts

1:42:06and today I'm with the Big Easy Buzzy

1:42:09Coalition as a member.

1:42:11I've heard a lot of speak on slum laws

1:42:15and on

1:42:18and on the talk about um what my brother

1:42:22spoke on when he um when he spoke on

1:42:26saying that the landlord

1:42:28if you take and give him some money that

1:42:31he'll do it. As of today I am homeless.

1:42:36I am homeless.

1:42:39And that's something terrible for me to

1:42:42say because I have never been.

1:42:45My landlord 6 years I paid my rent on

1:42:49time every time.

1:42:52He decided that because I took in my

1:42:56grandchildren that was displaced, that

1:42:59was homeless, my grandson living in

1:43:02somebody closet

1:43:04and not in a home,

1:43:07that he decided that he didn't want me

1:43:09in his house anymore.

1:43:14my September rent on September the 10th.

1:43:18They give me a letter saying that they

1:43:20don't want partial payment, no payment,

1:43:23no payment from my organization, no

1:43:26exception. get out

1:43:30because of discrimination,

1:43:34against myself, against my Islamic

1:43:37belief, against me telling him to button

1:43:40up his shirt when he walk in front of

1:43:43me. Oh, and did I say he's a pastor?

1:43:48Assalam alaikum.

1:43:50>> Thank you,

1:43:53Don Sullivan. And Morris, Maxwell Cheer

1:43:56Dulo.

1:43:59>> Um, good morning. John Sullivan with

1:44:01Enterprise Community Partners. Um, happy

1:44:04to be here. I want to first say, uh, uh,

1:44:08appreciate Jeff and and your team at

1:44:10OCD. Um, for doing a lot of hard work

1:44:13over the past year and and and having a

1:44:16lot of good results. Um, we are 100% in

1:44:19favor of uh, right to council and the

1:44:22funding for that program. [snorts] I did

1:44:24want to speak a little bit about the

1:44:25housing trust fund um uh and its support

1:44:29of the fund. I wanted to emphasize

1:44:31particularly the leverage that that

1:44:33program uh is going to be able to

1:44:36achieve. It's really um these funds are

1:44:38really you know usually seed funds for

1:44:40for larger investments. Um and so you

1:44:44know while we have a significant

1:44:46investment here and about 13 1.5 million

1:44:49you know you're really looking at 10

1:44:51times uh that amount in total

1:44:53construction cost. Um so so these

1:44:57developers they're bringing other uh you

1:44:59know public dollars and private

1:45:01financing um equity and and bank lending

1:45:04to the table to really multiply uh the

1:45:08impact of the city's investment. So, um,

1:45:11that's a real strong, uh, part of this

1:45:14program and part, uh, part of th those

1:45:16investments. Um, I'll put the number

1:45:19through our economic impact calculators.

1:45:22Um, and, you know, based on number of

1:45:25units, we're looking at more more than

1:45:27500 jobs created just through this

1:45:30trunch of funding. Um, that uh,

1:45:33represents 60 million in wages and

1:45:35business income. Um, and those benefits

1:45:37will flow to local contractors, trades

1:45:40people, suppliers, neighborhood

1:45:42businesses. So, it's it's, you know,

1:45:44I've heard entrepreneurship talked about

1:45:46this is a big, you know, way to to build

1:45:49entrepreneurship. Nora has been doing it

1:45:51for years, cultivating smaller

1:45:53developers. FNO is in uh emphasizing

1:45:55that as well. Um,

1:45:58so the economic development impact is

1:46:00huge. Thank you.

1:46:01>> Thank you, John. And Morris, followed by

1:46:03Maxwell.

1:46:07Andrew. Oh, there you

1:46:09and then after Maxwell was Lanne White

1:46:12and then Joe Harren Mueller.

1:46:24Good morning. Good morning, council. My

1:46:26name is Andrea Mars. I'm president of

1:46:28the Greater New Orleans Housing

1:46:29Alliance. I'm here this morning to set

1:46:32the record straight on some of the

1:46:34things that we've heard today and to

1:46:35talk about why the Greater New Orleans

1:46:38Housing Alliance is so disappointed in

1:46:40some of the decisions that have been

1:46:41made or the proposed decisions that have

1:46:43been made. First of all, we want to make

1:46:45it very clear that we certainly do not

1:46:47object to investments in multifamily

1:46:49housing. But what we do object to is the

1:46:51housing trust fund, the people's housing

1:46:53trust fund going for anything other than

1:46:56the most pressing needs that this

1:46:58community is facing. The most pressing

1:47:00needs that this community is facing is

1:47:02keeping its citizens housed. We have

1:47:06lost thousands of people in the last

1:47:09seven years. We are on track to lose

1:47:11more. The off the New Orleans uh school

1:47:14board is looking at closing nine schools

1:47:17in the next 3 years. That is directly

1:47:20tied to the thousands of homeless

1:47:23children [snorts] in our school system.

1:47:26Last year's estimates put it at 2,200

1:47:29homeless children in Orleans Parish's

1:47:32school system. These are the most

1:47:35pressing needs, keeping our homeowners

1:47:37and our renters stably housed. That

1:47:40means looking at the entire market and

1:47:44recognizing that we also have thousands

1:47:46of vacant homes, thousands of homes that

1:47:50have been people have been displaced

1:47:51from. They have been evicted, which is

1:47:54why we do need to continue to fund the

1:47:56right to council. But we cannot make

1:47:58investments. We can't take $9 million

1:48:00and leave it in the hands of the city of

1:48:02New Orleans. And to be clear, the

1:48:04housing the people who voted for the

1:48:05housing trust fund did not want any of

1:48:07this money to stay in the hands of the

1:48:09office of the community of office of

1:48:11community development. That was clear.

1:48:14They were insistent on that and they

1:48:17wanted invested in their needs as

1:48:19quickly as possible. This is what you

1:48:22can do. We can be disciplined and we can

1:48:25stop earning FS and failing the people

1:48:27of New Orleans.

1:48:31Maxwell

1:48:33followed by Luanne White.

1:48:42>> Max, your job is getting tougher, huh?

1:48:45>> Yeah, everything just moves a lot

1:48:47slower.

1:48:47>> All right.

1:48:48>> Um, thank you, Council Members. Maxwell

1:48:50Chardulo. I'm on the Housing Trustment

1:48:51Advisory Committee, uh, 3702 St. Claude.

1:48:54Um, I I'll just want to start by echoing

1:48:56everything that everyone has said about

1:48:58right to council. Um, we did a ton of

1:49:00work to put that in place. It has been

1:49:01incredibly successful and I really

1:49:03appreciate y'all's pledges to make sure

1:49:04it's fully funded. Um, but the the

1:49:08crisis moment that we're in that

1:49:09everyone has been talking about um is

1:49:11exactly why our 2027 housing trust fund

1:49:14budget doubles down on creating as many

1:49:17units as quickly as possible and at

1:49:19income levels that people actually need

1:49:22so that we can keep our residents safely

1:49:23housed. And creating units quickly was a

1:49:27priority we set out last year. And there

1:49:29is absolutely no quicker or more

1:49:32efficient way to create units than by

1:49:34saving the 370 af units of affordable

1:49:37housing that the city owes money to and

1:49:40that are ready to break ground tomorrow

1:49:41as soon as we get them a check. There's

1:49:43just no easy there's there's no quicker

1:49:45way to do it. Um so if if yall can find

1:49:48$9 to$10 million somewhere else in the

1:49:50budget so that the housing trust fund

1:49:51doesn't have to fund those those um

1:49:53developments, that's great. We'll take

1:49:55it. Um, but I'm not willing to let them

1:49:58fail and I hope that you aren't either.

1:50:00Um, and those developments meet every

1:50:02priority and that the or in the

1:50:04ordinance that governs the housing trust

1:50:05fund. Um, including serving lower income

1:50:07households and meeting our civil rights

1:50:09obligations. Um, and then, uh, Council

1:50:11Member Green, I put this in here just

1:50:13for you. Uh, we've also balanced that

1:50:14investment with $10 million in home

1:50:16ownership programs over the next two

1:50:18years. Um, and that will serve lower and

1:50:20middle- inome homeowners. Um, those

1:50:22programs uh will help existing

1:50:24homeowners make uh repairs and put put

1:50:27on fortified roofs as well as create new

1:50:28resilient homes for first-time home

1:50:30buyers, including wealth building

1:50:32opportunities that allows them to learn

1:50:34to manage a rental unit, too. Um, so I'm

1:50:36happy to go into more detail on any of

1:50:37that, but I know there's a lot of bad

1:50:39news in this year's budget, but the

1:50:40housing trust fund uh is a good news

1:50:43story. We have everybody pulling in the

1:50:45same direction, and so I hope that right

1:50:46to council can be a good news story,

1:50:48too. Thank you.

1:50:49>> Thank you, Maxwell.

1:50:51Luanne White

1:50:54followed by Joe Harren Mueller followed

1:50:56by Morgan Clevener.

1:51:07Good morning.

1:51:09Um I'm Lannne White. I am a co-chair and

1:51:13founder of um Lubis Services. We are a

1:51:17volunteer-led nonprofit organization

1:51:19that builds affordable housing for folks

1:51:21who are unhoused and we're working in

1:51:24building in the lower ninth ward. We

1:51:26support homeless prevention programs

1:51:28like the right to council and we are

1:51:32working to for creation of housing

1:51:33opportunities for our unhoused

1:51:35neighbors. As council considers 2027 for

1:51:38the housing trust fund allocations, we

1:51:40ask you protect the opportunity for

1:51:43small and emerging developers like us

1:51:45and neighborhood based development.

1:51:47[clears throat] Continue. We ask you

1:51:48continue supporting our small and

1:51:50emerging developers. Small developers

1:51:52can create affordable housing on

1:51:55scattered sites and smaller properties.

1:51:57They may not work that may not work for

1:51:59like the larger developments. We face

1:52:01very different challenges including

1:52:04access to capital, infrastructure costs,

1:52:07insurance, permitting delays, and the

1:52:09capacity required to navigate complex

1:52:12funding programs. Evaluate. We ask that

1:52:14you evaluate the first year before

1:52:17change in any direction. The smart

1:52:19multif family program is just beginning.

1:52:21The money hasn't really been allocated

1:52:23yet. We we um we support the idea of

1:52:29looking at the results. Who applied? Who

1:52:32received the funding? What barriers did

1:52:34small developers encounter? Were

1:52:37qualified projects left unfunded because

1:52:40there wasn't enough money. We want to um

1:52:44we think large developments are

1:52:45important and but we we know that they

1:52:51should that money should be allocated

1:52:54for both. We need both. I also want to

1:52:58put this discussion in larger context on

1:53:00what's happened around homelessness. We

1:53:02are seeing movement towards shelters,

1:53:04criminalization, and institutional

1:53:05responses at the very time when we

1:53:07should be investing in housing,

1:53:09affordable housing. For years, we've

1:53:11heard Lou, that's your time. Uh Joe,

1:53:15followed by Morgan Clevener,

1:53:17and then Ethan Elstead.

1:53:23Good morning, council. Um, I want to

1:53:25express my gratitude to all of you uh to

1:53:27to the deputy mayor and staff at OCD for

1:53:29your attention and work uh to address

1:53:32housing insecurity and homelessness in

1:53:34our community. Uh I certainly echo

1:53:36everything that my colleagues before and

1:53:38fellow residents have said in support of

1:53:40the right to council program. Uh I can

1:53:42certainly attest uh in my many years of

1:53:44working to address homelessness in in

1:53:46this community that this program is

1:53:48critical to ensuring housing stability

1:53:50and preventing homelessness.

1:53:53Um, I also want to applaud the work that

1:53:55OCD OCD does to address homelessness in

1:53:58in a variety of ways and uh to address

1:54:01the need for affordable housing. I want

1:54:03to remind the council that the largest

1:54:06gap in our housing market is for those

1:54:08people living below 30% of the area

1:54:10median income. And and that's the same

1:54:13demographic for which homelessness is

1:54:16most likely to creep up when crises

1:54:19arise, whether that be a health crisis

1:54:21or or whatever it might be. I want to

1:54:23encourage OCD OCD to remain vigilant in

1:54:26finding opportunities to thoughtfully

1:54:28apply incentives that can help really

1:54:30rebalance this substantial gap. And uh

1:54:34finally, I I want to um

1:54:37bring to the council and to to OCD uh

1:54:41the need to include people with lived

1:54:43experience of homelessness

1:54:45um and housing insecurity as they look

1:54:47at planning and redesign or addressing

1:54:50[clears throat] the location of the low

1:54:52barrier shelter. Um because in an

1:54:56environment where criminalization

1:54:57[snorts] of poverty and uh unsheltered

1:55:02homelessness is a very real threat and

1:55:04and a reality for many people in our

1:55:06community. Uh we should be very

1:55:08thoughtful about how our uh attempts to

1:55:13bring people out of homelessness that

1:55:15they do not um inadvertently carry

1:55:18people uh into those same uh

1:55:21environments of incarceration that they

1:55:25are trying to avoid.

1:55:26>> Thank you.

1:55:29Morgan Clevenger, followed by Ethan

1:55:31Elstead followed by

1:55:35maybe Daphne Jones from James Place.

1:55:44Good afternoon, Morgan Clevenger, New

1:55:46Orleian, renter of many, many years. My

1:55:49parents were renters as well. I didn't

1:55:52become a homeowner until after Katrina.

1:55:54But we want to talk about [snorts]

1:55:56generational wealth and aspirational um

1:56:00to home ownership. And we know that the

1:56:03Civil Rights Act of 1964

1:56:06um started to desegregating desegregate

1:56:10neighborhoods and afford new housing

1:56:12opportunities. But the big push

1:56:14particularly for those fighters like

1:56:16Jerome Bigup Smith, he was about home

1:56:20ownership, generational wealth,

1:56:22community economic empowerment. So, I'm

1:56:25here to say that we must absolutely turn

1:56:30flip this script because we voted for a

1:56:33housing trust fund that was focused on

1:56:37homeowners and small landlords. Low to

1:56:40moderate moderate income homeowners,

1:56:42especially seniors, have doubles.

1:56:44They've been hit over and over again.

1:56:47Hurricane Ida and the pandemic has

1:56:49caused a huge loss in the um viability

1:56:54of our homes and that also means a loss

1:56:57of that rental. So if the roof is

1:57:00compromised for 5 years and they can't

1:57:03win the lottery or meet this other

1:57:05obligation or challenge, you know, we

1:57:08need to flip the script. This money

1:57:10needs to go to homeowners who can

1:57:12provide small rentals as well. And I I

1:57:16think that if we don't do that, we are

1:57:19going to lose the tax base of this city

1:57:22because that 40% who pays the property

1:57:26taxes for all the tax subsidies,

1:57:28giveaways, and property tax waiverss,

1:57:32it's on us. And so we have to pass those

1:57:35costs down to renters as well, making an

1:57:37unaffordable circle that has to stop.

1:57:41Invest in our people, strengthen our

1:57:43communities. Thank [applause] you. Ethan

1:57:46Elstead is in favor of right to council

1:57:48does not want to speak. Mr. Jones, come

1:57:50on up. Followed by Michael Hawkins

1:57:55and then Titana Sanders.

1:58:01>> Hi. Um I'm Dachquiri uh Jones with uh

1:58:05Jane Place. So I was talking I said this

1:58:09earlier, but I was talking to a tenant.

1:58:10Uh she was elderly. She had a hard time

1:58:13seeing uh and she was barely in her

1:58:15place because of the amount of mold that

1:58:18she kept breathing uh in. Uh she needed

1:58:21assistance uh very badly uh but refused

1:58:26to um level any complaints against the

1:58:29landlord for fear of being evicted. Um

1:58:32I've been at many apartment complexes

1:58:34where tenants have this fear. It's an

1:58:36inherited film for a fear for decades of

1:58:39living in a city where they did not have

1:58:41a right to counsel. They didn't know a

1:58:43program like that even existed. Uh and

1:58:45when I tell them about it, it's a great

1:58:47relief. Um having [clears throat]

1:58:49uh you've seen me before um in a case

1:58:51with Oakmont Apartment Complex, uh

1:58:54without Hannah Adams and SLS, we

1:58:56wouldn't have had that victory for

1:58:58tenants. Uh people wouldn't feel like

1:59:00they're able to voice their concerns. um

1:59:04concerns like a hole being above your

1:59:06shower or again many tenants um have

1:59:11issues breathing because of mold. And

1:59:13many of these tenants u not only they're

1:59:15looking out for themselves but most of

1:59:18these tenants are also looking out for

1:59:19children taking care of their elders and

1:59:22to remove a crucial element of keeping

1:59:25them housed is more expensive for the

1:59:27city of course um but it's also more

1:59:30expensive for the residents living here.

1:59:33I know there are, you know, a loss of

1:59:37federal funding. Um, but, you know, if

1:59:39you take a pay cut, you still have a

1:59:41responsibility to feed the mouths of the

1:59:44people, you know, who look up to you.

1:59:46You have that responsibility. Uh, so,

1:59:49you know, it's pretty simple. You know,

1:59:50keep right council funded.

1:59:53>> Thank you, Mr. Jones.

1:59:56Uh, Michael Hawkins, Titana Sanders, and

1:59:59then, uh, finally, Aquinet Barnes.

2:00:03>> [clears throat]

2:00:08>> Good morning, council. I'm Michael

2:00:09Hawkins. I own a house at 3134

2:00:133136 North Villery uh for Katrina. I

2:00:17came back here and they didn't have no

2:00:21buying money, but they were talking

2:00:23about uh buying money and uh they send

2:00:26the guy to fix the roof, but the roof is

2:00:28leaking. I can't afford to fix the roof

2:00:30now. So, the house is vacant, but the

2:00:33citizen went up on the taxes three or

2:00:35four time and then they took my uh

2:00:38somebody came in and paid the taxes on

2:00:41my house. I'm Michael Hawkins senior.

2:00:46So, how could they do that?

2:00:51>> Take the protect your values and

2:00:54>> we don't know uh your exact situation,

2:00:56but I'll have a staffer come talk with

2:00:58you. Okay.

2:00:58>> All right.

2:00:59>> All right. Titana Sanders followed by

2:01:02Aquinet Barnes.

2:01:05Titana.

2:01:09All right. Aquinet Barnes.

2:01:15All right. Ah, there you are.

2:01:23Hello. How you doing? Good.

2:01:26>> I want to ask first. Okay. Because when

2:01:30they talk they most of talk about

2:01:32infrastructure

2:01:33they very seldom talking about the

2:01:35homeowners in the community. Are we not

2:01:38part of infrastructure? But also what

2:01:41I'm saying is that

2:01:45the mold and everything they talking

2:01:46about if they would give us the money to

2:01:50renovate our property it will eliminate

2:01:53all this complain about about mole. Now

2:01:56they redoing St. Charles Street. I don't

2:01:58know how many times they're doing St.

2:02:00Charles Street, but y'all say y'all in

2:02:02that, but I don't know how many times

2:02:04you're doing St. Charles Street. That's

2:02:06money that coming out our pocket as

2:02:09well. That's money that be spend on on

2:02:11homes and everything. It's [snorts] a

2:02:13lot of things that going on that's going

2:02:15to affect us. They got space next coming

2:02:19here. They got the data center. They're

2:02:22talking about the training center for uh

2:02:25for uh NASA. They're talking about the

2:02:29nuclear plane. We don't need a nuclear

2:02:31plane cuz the first thing they do is

2:02:32they go after the nuclear plane. So, we

2:02:34really don't need a nuclear plane down

2:02:35here. So, how is that going to affect

2:02:37how we have y'all looking into that? How

2:02:39is that going to affect? You said five

2:02:42homes going to bring down the insurance.

2:02:44Well, what's going to happen is our

2:02:46insurance is going to go right back up.

2:02:48But I have a forplex and since Katrina

2:02:51I've been trying to get that forplex

2:02:53renovated. So I really feel

2:02:55discriminated and left out. And I think

2:02:58what it is is they trying to force me to

2:03:00sell my property. And I wonder how many

2:03:03people in a city council even a news

2:03:06reporter has uh do real estate as well

2:03:09cuz that can affect you too. My [snorts]

2:03:11property is on first der right there by

2:03:14uh central city right there by the Y.

2:03:17So, you know, that's prime property. So,

2:03:19I'm going through a whole lot with my

2:03:20property and vandalism and everything

2:03:22else. But also, they was talking about

2:03:24rental. There was a dehab program.

2:03:29>> That's your time. All right. Look, I'm

2:03:31going to make an executive decision.

2:03:33We're going to put uh Novvic and Nor at

2:03:35the end so we can get to the health

2:03:36department. We'll finish out Jeff your

2:03:38departments because I know that folks

2:03:40are here to talk about low barriers. So,

2:03:42why don't we go ahead to uh 1 C,

2:03:45workforce development,

2:03:48and try to get through these quickly.

2:04:00at

2:04:15>> this point. We got to get to the next

2:04:16presentation so we're not holding

2:04:18everybody up. So, let's uh talk about

2:04:20workforce development.

2:04:38Jeff, go ahead and get started.

2:04:40>> Hey, thank you, council members. Um, and

2:04:41we'll we're aware of time, so we'll be

2:04:43brief, but obviously feel free to ask

2:04:45any questions.

2:04:50>> Steph, let's get going so we can uh

2:04:53move.

2:04:53>> Um, all right. Uh, no need for preamble

2:04:56from me. Um, you have deputy director uh

2:04:58Tammy Washington. Uh,

2:05:00>> and folks, wait, hold on, folks. If you

2:05:03could exit quietly, that would be great

2:05:05so we can get through these. All right,

2:05:07Jeff.

2:05:08>> All right. Uh, thank you. I'll I'll uh

2:05:09turn it over to Tammy, Sabrina, and

2:05:11Carmen to uh present on the Office of

2:05:12Workforce Development's budget.

2:05:14>> Good morning. I'm Tammy Washington, the

2:05:17deputy director for the Office of

2:05:18Workforce Development. and Sabrina

2:05:20Johnson, the fiscal manager, and Carmen

2:05:22McKenley, the director of youth

2:05:24initiative, who also managed the Mayor

2:05:26Summer Youth Employment Program. In our

2:05:29office, we have five full-time employees

2:05:32who are mostly grant funded. Um Carmen

2:05:35who does the mayor summer youth

2:05:36employment program is um funded with a

2:05:41general fund and also the federal

2:05:42funding

2:05:47with the proposed budget for 2027. The

2:05:51general fund we had 500,000 in operating

2:05:54other operating funds that has now be

2:05:57been eliminated um decreased for 2027.

2:06:03That funding was for an internal

2:06:06external partner organization that

2:06:09provides summer internships to

2:06:10approximately 200 in school youth. The

2:06:14budget was eliminated as a part of the

2:06:16city's cost-saving measures to help

2:06:18close the budget gap. Youth across um

2:06:21youth will have access to the mayor

2:06:23summer youth employment program for

2:06:25summer opportunities. However, with the

2:06:27loss of this funding, less youth will

2:06:29have access to summer employment.

2:06:36The non-general fund proposed budget um

2:06:40we have 1.818231

2:06:44and for 2026 the proposed budget for

2:06:48personnel for 2027 is 738,136.

2:06:53The variance is 1 million80,95.

2:06:58and other operating. It was 22 million

2:07:02in 2026. Um the proposed budget for 2027

2:07:07is 7.9 with a variance of 14.2.

2:07:12So there was a deduction in personnel

2:07:14and other operating. The personnel

2:07:17deduction was a decrease um due to a

2:07:21decrease in personnel funding. several

2:07:24grants that we had are now ending at the

2:07:26end of December

2:07:28>> [snorts]

2:07:28>> um 2026 and with those that resulted in

2:07:32the staff reductions

2:07:34on the upper operating um we had the

2:07:38decrease in those grants. Um previous

2:07:40one-time funding or other supplemental

2:07:43funding is not being renewed for 2027.

2:07:46Um certain grants had strict expiration

2:07:49dates that could not be extended or

2:07:51carry out. In the 2027 budget was

2:07:54adjusted to meet the actual grant amount

2:07:56awarded in 2027. And also the 2026

2:08:00budget included offer funds of

2:08:04approximately $9 million that was not

2:08:06directly managed by the office of

2:08:08workforce development.

2:08:14So budget efficiency vacant positions

2:08:17which have now since been removed from

2:08:19the budget were unfilled to generate

2:08:21person to generate personnel cost

2:08:24savings while still maintaining

2:08:26essential operations. Um the current

2:08:29staff is cross-trained to enable

2:08:31department to maximize personnel

2:08:33resources, maintain operational coverage

2:08:36and reduce the need for additional

2:08:38staff. Office supplies were decreased to

2:08:42a minimum and the purchase of food for

2:08:46our board meetings was eliminated.

2:08:522077 goals. Our goal is to have job one

2:08:56to continue to achieve or exceed

2:08:58negotiated performance goals um for the

2:09:01federal workforce innovation opportunity

2:09:03act employment and training program in

2:09:06program year 2025 which ended June 30th

2:09:092026. Um, job one exceeded or met all

2:09:13the performance the federal performance

2:09:16goal which included employment

2:09:18placement, median earnings, credential

2:09:20gaining, credential measurements, and a

2:09:24skill attainment.

2:09:26Um, another goal is to expand

2:09:28partnerships with New Orleans libraries

2:09:30and recreation centers to bring

2:09:33workforce development, employment, and

2:09:34training service to additional libraries

2:09:36[snorts] and local communities. Um,

2:09:40since we only have one job center which

2:09:42is located in central city, we try to

2:09:45bring our services out to other

2:09:47communities such as Alers, New Orleans,

2:09:49G East and the Ninth Ward. Um, currently

2:09:54every on every Tuesday on the first and

2:09:57third Tuesday we have a staff go to the

2:09:59Norman Maya Library in Gentilli. On the

2:10:02second and fourth Tuesdays, uh we have

2:10:04staff at the LJ's library to bring our

2:10:07um services to those communities. Also

2:10:10in program year 2025, we conducted job

2:10:14fairs in different communities. We went

2:10:16to the night ward Alers and New Orleans

2:10:20East to bring our services and

2:10:22employment opportunities to those

2:10:23communities. So we will continue to

2:10:26expand those services.

2:10:29We also want to enhance visibility and

2:10:31impact of the mayor's summer youth

2:10:33employment program to targeted

2:10:35[clears throat] engagement and outreach

2:10:36and diversify the internship placements

2:10:39to align with the future workforce

2:10:41needs. Um this past summer we had a

2:10:43successful youth employment program

2:10:45where we enrolled over a thousand youth

2:10:48in which 215 were college interns and we

2:10:52engaged over 200 employers. If I if I

2:10:55can just interrupt Tammy, uh they won't

2:10:57sing their end praises, but I just want

2:10:58to celebrate Carmen and Sabrina and

2:11:00Tammy, the absolutely heroic work of

2:11:03getting the thousand uh young people

2:11:06internships that your office directly

2:11:08manages. There's another thousand that

2:11:10uh this office partners with uh at Nord

2:11:13in order to make sure uh close to 2,000

2:11:16New Orleians uh young people are

2:11:18employed every summer. It's heroic

2:11:19[clears throat] work and I just want to

2:11:21applaud them for for that work that they

2:11:23do um tirelessly. They deserve it.

2:11:28Continue. Now, you got your morals.

2:11:30Farming and Hunt team, they have since

2:11:32the program ended, they have continued

2:11:33to meet with new employers to try to

2:11:35bring in some new industries cuz as you

2:11:38came in to express their interest, they

2:11:40um had a lot of health care and the

2:11:43sciences. So we want to bring in those

2:11:44employers because our goal is to give

2:11:46them a career exploration experience

2:11:49during the summer. So we want to try to

2:11:50meet their interest. So we're constantly

2:11:53trying to engage new employers for the

2:11:55program. Also, the mayor summit youth

2:11:58employment has been working with the

2:11:59city IT department to kind of streamline

2:12:02the application process to see if we can

2:12:04do more of it online and see if there's

2:12:06a possibility that we can upload some of

2:12:08those documents online and we can

2:12:10[snorts] save those documents from year

2:12:11to year.

2:12:13um so participants won't have to bring

2:12:15in all everything if they're applying

2:12:17for the next year. So we're trying to

2:12:19see if we can get that work. Hopefully

2:12:21we can get some improvements in 2027

2:12:23with that. But we're constantly working

2:12:25with it to see what we be able to do.

2:12:28And we also trying to expand and

2:12:31strengthen partnership with industry

2:12:33leaders across industry sector to better

2:12:35prepare and connect our customers to

2:12:37high growth and high demand industries.

2:12:39And that's for our adult customers also

2:12:42with the job one program.

2:12:49>> And that's it.

2:12:49>> Sure.

2:12:50>> Great. Thank you. Uh, Council Member

2:12:52McCarron,

2:12:54>> um, I just want to talk about a two

2:12:56things. Can you talk a little bit about

2:12:58um of the partnership at the libraries?

2:13:01like how many people are you seeing and

2:13:03and how you can expand that to provide

2:13:05more workforce development and trainings

2:13:07and access.

2:13:09>> Yes. Um I don't have the exact number I

2:13:12can get that from you from our um career

2:13:14center operator, but it's usually they

2:13:17see around 20 to 30 when they go there.

2:13:20And so our goal is to actually do more

2:13:22outreach in those communities too, so

2:13:24they can know that we're there and what

2:13:26services we have to offer.

2:13:28>> Okay. Um and and I want to get to also

2:13:32um summer youth employment. Um obviously

2:13:34Youth Force Nola has been has been cut

2:13:37from this budget. Um [snorts] and you

2:13:40know the city's been partnering with

2:13:41them since about 2015 I think to fund

2:13:43the intern stipens. Um and really that

2:13:47program has shown great success. You

2:13:49know 97% of of kids that go through that

2:13:53program um they continue on to higher

2:13:55ed. They have job opportunities. they

2:13:57typically make, you know, $310 more than

2:14:01than other kids that haven't gone

2:14:03through this internship program. And I

2:14:05think the biggest part of that is 75% of

2:14:08them uh the alums remain in New Orleans,

2:14:12which is what we are trying to keep

2:14:13people here um and grow [clears throat]

2:14:15those opportunities. So, can you just

2:14:17talk about that program and and what we

2:14:20would lose if we don't continue to

2:14:22partner with such a such a wonderful

2:14:24opportunity there?

2:14:27Yes. Um, Youth Force Dola, they have

2:14:28been a partner for a couple of years now

2:14:31and they've make work with our inschool

2:14:33youth mostly um, with certain high

2:14:36schools. And so without that funding,

2:14:38that's two over like 200 internships and

2:14:41direct industry occupations that those

2:14:44youth have been like trained in going

2:14:46to, that we would lose those 200

2:14:49placements with those direct industry

2:14:51placements. And there's no plan to kind

2:14:54of expand that within the city if we

2:14:56don't have this partnership.

2:14:58>> That's correct. If we don't have the

2:14:59funding, yeah, the that partnership, it

2:15:02would be difficult, I think, to identify

2:15:04how to fully backfill that through city

2:15:06or other sources if the city isn't

2:15:08investing through the general fund. Um

2:15:10uh I think a couple of just quick points

2:15:12on Youth Force. Obviously, they are um a

2:15:15key partner of the office of workforce

2:15:17development. Um, uh, I think the the

2:15:19over 200, you know, that's an essential

2:15:21part of, uh, the 2,000 or the thousand

2:15:24young people served every summer

2:15:25directly through the the Office of

2:15:27Workforce Development investments in in

2:15:29the summer youth employment work. Um,

2:15:32and I think, uh, we've been in active

2:15:34discussions with, uh, Kate Swinburn, um,

2:15:36their their leader, and, uh, some of

2:15:39their team members about how do we, uh,

2:15:41cultivate that partnership and actually

2:15:43grow it. And so I think uh obviously

2:15:45losing that funding would be uh really

2:15:48impactful in a negative sense in the

2:15:50short term and I think it also doesn't

2:15:52um necessarily allow us to invest in and

2:15:55grow that partnership in in future

2:15:57summers. Um you know just as an example

2:16:00of the types of things there's there are

2:16:02uh that we're exploring in partnership.

2:16:05Um, obviously some of the heroic work

2:16:07that I was referencing that Carmen and

2:16:09Sabrina and Tammy do every summer is

2:16:11there's just a a lot of logistics

2:16:12associated with getting this many young

2:16:14people paid and they're paid through the

2:16:16city's payroll processing system. And

2:16:18there's some some good reasons for that,

2:16:19but some real challenges associated with

2:16:22that. And um, you [clears throat] know,

2:16:24one of the things we would like to

2:16:25identify is how can we um either

2:16:28outsource that or streamline that. Uh

2:16:30we're obviously looking at ways

2:16:31internally as Tammy mentioned with our

2:16:33own IT department, but we think that

2:16:35youth forest and partners like them um

2:16:37you know who have some some really key

2:16:39roles in that work going forward. Um and

2:16:42then also on on sort of the programmatic

2:16:44level, how we cultivate partnerships

2:16:46with employers and schools and and

2:16:48others that you force have, you know,

2:16:50exemplary relationships with and uh a

2:16:53track record of success, you know,

2:16:54working with um you know, how we coach

2:16:57uh uh young people each summer. All of

2:16:59that is work that we would love to

2:17:01continue to to partner on and grow with

2:17:03Youth Force. Um uh but yes, right now

2:17:06obviously that that 500,000 is not

2:17:08proposed in the general fund. Yeah,

2:17:10let's keep talking about that because I

2:17:12I just think it's such an opportunity. I

2:17:14mean, I know today in particular, we

2:17:15have so many programs that we have

2:17:16funded over the past that we've seen

2:17:18real results of keeping people in their

2:17:20homes, providing job opportunities,

2:17:22especially for our youth and and that's

2:17:24been a priority of the mayor, this

2:17:26council. So, I really, you know, want to

2:17:28continue to figure out a way that we can

2:17:29continue that partnership that's been so

2:17:31successful. Um, I think it's, you know,

2:17:33if we are not providing workforce in

2:17:36investment opportunities for our youth

2:17:38and and even adults here, then, you

2:17:41know, we're not going to keep people

2:17:42here and we're not going to continue to

2:17:43to grow our population. So, I think

2:17:45that's incredibly important. Um, one

2:17:48last thing about workforce development

2:17:49because I talk about it all the time

2:17:50with Department of Public Works, but

2:17:52Office of Workforce Development should

2:17:54also be working with our unions. uh

2:17:56specifically IBEDW is one that you know

2:17:59we are trying to hire um electricians as

2:18:02part of you know of growing the

2:18:04department of public work inhouse. So I

2:18:06really really would encourage you all to

2:18:08explore our partnerships apprenticeship

2:18:10programs anything that you can do to get

2:18:12that out. Maybe you can have IBW or the

2:18:15other union partners attend some of your

2:18:17um events at the library to help you

2:18:20know provide those opportunities for

2:18:21people. I think that would be a great

2:18:23and I'm happy to, you know, work with

2:18:24you all on on making that connection if

2:18:26you need it.

2:18:27>> Yes. And we do work with the um unions.

2:18:30We have two of the members on our

2:18:31workforce investment board from VW and

2:18:34we do partner with them for training and

2:18:36apprenticeships. That's one of our main

2:18:37training partners.

2:18:38>> Good. Good. Well, let me know if you

2:18:39need additional partnership from my

2:18:41office.

2:18:42>> Thank you, Council Member Willard. Then

2:18:44Council Member Moro.

2:18:45>> Thank you, Madam Chair. I echo Council

2:18:47Member McCarron's uh sentiments. Um it

2:18:50looks like that uh for 27 the entire

2:18:53operating budget is funded by federal

2:18:55funds. Is that correct?

2:18:56>> Yes.

2:18:57>> Can you walk through what what those

2:18:59funds are being proposed to be used on

2:19:01for 27?

2:19:02>> Well um the federal funds that fund the

2:19:05office of workforce development which is

2:19:07the five employees in our office and

2:19:09also um job one career center. The job

2:19:12one career center is ran by a contracted

2:19:15operator [clears throat]

2:19:16and so they have like 24 staff but it

2:19:18funds the whole infrastructure for job

2:19:21one the rent and all the services that

2:19:24we provide through the career center and

2:19:25the staffing at the career center. It

2:19:27refunds training scholarships for

2:19:29participants on the job training um that

2:19:32we do where we pay half the salary while

2:19:35the employer trains and also for funds

2:19:38work experience where we work with um

2:19:40participant and employers to give like

2:19:43work experience like an adult internship

2:19:46but individuals [snorts] do not have a

2:19:47lot of experience and we're trying to

2:19:49build their resume and we pay their

2:19:51wages while they're doing that and it

2:19:53funds that. Um so all the services that

2:19:56we provide through job one is funded.

2:19:58Okay.

2:19:58>> With with that money.

2:19:59>> So it's mostly uh the salaries for the

2:20:02uh employees in the office and then job

2:20:04one.

2:20:05>> Yes. And all the services.

2:20:06>> Okay. What's what's being allocated for

2:20:08the mayor's summer youth program?

2:20:12>> Do you know Jeff?

2:20:13>> Yeah. So yes. [clears throat]

2:20:15>> Oh yeah. Yeah.

2:20:18>> Yeah. Right. So right overall it comes

2:20:21from a couple of different sources.

2:20:22Actually, most of it does not come from

2:20:24the WA funds.

2:20:26>> So, Office of Community Development

2:20:28actually pays for a significant amount

2:20:30of the position. So, it's 400

2:20:32historically it was $450,000

2:20:35that OCD um invested of community

2:20:38development block grant money to NORD.

2:20:40Um and those were for their um,000 uh

2:20:43those stipens for their,000 internships.

2:20:46And then uh we also uh invest uh I think

2:20:50it's $100,000 in um into OWD directly

2:20:55funds. Yeah.

2:20:56>> And Brandy says approximately 1.8 to 1.9

2:20:59for the um mayor summon youth employees

2:21:01in general funds.

2:21:02>> Yep.

2:21:03>> Okay. Um

2:21:06you know the cut to to youth force

2:21:09not ideal but that's the environment

2:21:12we're in right now, right? we don't have

2:21:13enough money to to do everything. Um, it

2:21:17got me thinking though about when we

2:21:19make that investment, are we investing

2:21:21into

2:21:23uh career readiness, setting someone up,

2:21:26a a young person to enter into a career

2:21:29versus just, you know, putting money in

2:21:31their pocket during the summer. And I

2:21:34think um as a council working with the

2:21:37administration that's probably something

2:21:38that we need to evaluate uh as we move

2:21:42forward. Also I wanted to know if there

2:21:44was any type of analysis done kind of on

2:21:47the return the cost and the return on

2:21:50the investment um as it related to you

2:21:54know the city doing it through the

2:21:55mayor's summer youth program or working

2:21:58with a nonprofit like youth force NOLA.

2:22:01Have we done anything like that?

2:22:04>> Those are good questions. So, um I guess

2:22:06a couple of of thoughts in response and

2:22:08certainly a lot to follow up on there.

2:22:09One, I think, um uh Dr. Vegno and and

2:22:12her team can certainly speak to some of

2:22:14the impacts outside of the the direct

2:22:17workforce and economic development

2:22:18impacts um on having 2,000 young people

2:22:22having a place, you know, especially in

2:22:24in summertime. Um and making sure that,

2:22:26you know, they have uh meals and a safe

2:22:28place to go and a productive place to

2:22:30go. Um certainly I I don't I'm not aware

2:22:33of an overall um uh sort of uh program

2:22:37level analysis of the entire summer

2:22:38youth program. Is it Do you want to

2:22:40speak to that Carmen?

2:22:41>> Um yes, we do have a return on

2:22:43investment with our mayor summer youth

2:22:45employment program. The whole goal of it

2:22:47is not to just put money in the kids'

2:22:49pockets during the summer, but we also

2:22:51try to focus on our interns who are

2:22:53coming to gain career exposure, um, get

2:22:56experiences in the, um, arts and the

2:23:00sciences that they're already going to

2:23:02school for. And then we also push that

2:23:04some of our kids are actually obtaining

2:23:07permanent employment. Like we've had

2:23:09four to five kids that obtain permanent

2:23:11permanent employment through the city of

2:23:13New Orleans. um that was with the EMD

2:23:16through our public works um and the list

2:23:18goes on and on. We've had people that

2:23:20were employed through the law

2:23:21department. So that return on investment

2:23:24is happening yeartoyear and we are

2:23:26focusing on permanent employment within

2:23:28the city of New Orleans that our young

2:23:30people are retained here. Our interns

2:23:33basically go off to school um in various

2:23:36areas such as Lafayette, Baton Rouge,

2:23:38but they rely on the mayor summer youth

2:23:40employment program to come back home so

2:23:41that they can return home and have those

2:23:44careerbased industries available to

2:23:46them.

2:23:46>> Okay. It sounds like a situation of

2:23:48where it's it's really good to have both

2:23:50of these programs running

2:23:52simultaneously. Uh JP and I were just

2:23:55talking about the extent of the mayor

2:23:57summer youth program and you know as we

2:24:00talk about the city of New Orleans being

2:24:02in one of its safest points in our

2:24:04city's history in decades going back to

2:24:06to the 60s um you know one of the things

2:24:10that has contributed to that effort is a

2:24:12reduction in juvenile crime. And so when

2:24:15we provide those opportunities for our

2:24:17youth during the summertime where they

2:24:19have a lot of free time on their hands

2:24:21that is a a good move. that is a a good

2:24:23step in the right direction. So, thank

2:24:25you for everything that y'all are doing

2:24:26for the city and for our youth.

2:24:28>> Thank you, Council Member Moral.

2:24:31>> Thank you. Uh I appreciate all the work

2:24:34that y'all do. Honestly, I think it's it

2:24:37is important to note that when we're all

2:24:39trying to do more with less, your budget

2:24:41efficiencies are directly on point. I

2:24:43mean, I think every department is trying

2:24:46to find ways that may make our daily

2:24:50lives a little more uncomfortable, but

2:24:52allow us to continue to provide the

2:24:54services that people have come to

2:24:55expect. I did notice in your 2027 goals

2:24:59that there was some language about

2:25:01expanding opportunities with the

2:25:03libraries. I do think that's a

2:25:04worthwhile goal because when you're

2:25:05talking about efficiencies,

2:25:07our libraries, [clears throat]

2:25:09first off, they have their own funding,

2:25:11which makes it easier because when we're

2:25:13doing a partnership with them, we don't

2:25:14have to do it necessarily with the

2:25:15expectation they need money from us

2:25:17because for the most part, um, with the

2:25:19exception of some of our libraries being

2:25:21offline because of HVAC, which is a

2:25:22whole separate issue, but for the most

2:25:24part, they are community spaces that

2:25:27communities have access to. And um the

2:25:30job one uh workforce center is

2:25:33fantastic, but a lot of people can't get

2:25:35to it necessarily. So whenever you're

2:25:37able to maximize training opportunities

2:25:39at libraries,

2:25:41it makes it easier for people who want

2:25:44to get additional training or advanced

2:25:46training, they can get to a local

2:25:47library. So I would encourage you and

2:25:49the council would be happy to work with

2:25:51you and promoting those opportunities

2:25:53because we want to make sure everyone

2:25:54can get access to to the what y'all

2:25:57provide. Um, when it comes to like uh

2:25:59Councilman Wer was saying, when it comes

2:26:02to opportunities for kids, particularly

2:26:05job opportunities for kids, I've had the

2:26:07opportunity during the summer to

2:26:09interact with some of your interns. And

2:26:12it is amazing how eyeoping it is for

2:26:15kids, especially high school age kids

2:26:18who are entering the workforce to see

2:26:20what job opportunities are available to

2:26:23them in a practical way. Because people

2:26:27often don't understand that

2:26:31when kids are in high school, they look

2:26:33at jobs in the abstract. It's the goal.

2:26:36When you graduate from school to get a

2:26:38job, but not every kid is taught how to

2:26:41get a job. They're taught if you

2:26:42graduate from high school, you get a

2:26:44diploma, there's a job waiting for you.

2:26:46They're not actually taught that there

2:26:47is a process and how you have to

2:26:50interview, how you have to fill out a

2:26:52whole lot of paperwork. I mean we had a

2:26:54whole year I think it was 2 or 3 years

2:26:57ago where payroll was completely

2:26:59fooarred because we had not properly

2:27:03educated children and parents how to set

2:27:05up direct deposit correctly. And the

2:27:07issue is is that for almost all jobs

2:27:11that you have now very few give you a

2:27:14check. They expect you to have a bank

2:27:16account. They expect you to provide the

2:27:18accountant information and their payroll

2:27:20system puts that money directly in the

2:27:21account. So, it was an embarrassing

2:27:24period for the city of New Orleans when

2:27:26we messed up all those paychecks. That's

2:27:29because we made the assumption that

2:27:31parents and kids would know that basics

2:27:33basic skill or requirement. And that was

2:27:35a learning curve for us. But it's

2:27:37something that y'all have incorporated

2:27:38in. And when I've talked to kids who are

2:27:40exiting the program, it's like one, they

2:27:43know the basic skills of how to enter

2:27:46the job in the workforce, but also many

2:27:49of them set their aspirations slightly

2:27:51higher because when they leave high

2:27:54school and they aren't properly trained

2:27:57on how to get a job, they settle for a

2:27:59job. They get discouraged. They don't

2:28:02know the the the the soft skills they

2:28:04have to have and they settle for just

2:28:06getting a job to get by. When you expose

2:28:09them to the types of jobs that can be

2:28:12available to them if they just know how

2:28:14to go about getting it, they aim higher.

2:28:17And I mean, it's hard to put a value on

2:28:20that. I mean, it's something I'm sure we

2:28:22study and others will study because

2:28:24setting that bar higher and letting

2:28:27those kids know that with the skills you

2:28:30have, with that high school diploma, you

2:28:33can do more than get a job at Burger

2:28:35King. That you can do more than work at

2:28:38a gas station. Not that those aren't

2:28:39important jobs, but the problem is is

2:28:42that when you look at where we came from

2:28:44from 2021, 2022, when crime, youth crime

2:28:48was at an all-time high, when you would

2:28:50talk to those young people, they were so

2:28:53discouraged about the lack of

2:28:55opportunity in the workplace, they just

2:28:57gave up. And so even though um I know

2:29:02that uh Youth Force Nola has 200

2:29:05placements, you guys have your

2:29:07placements. When you look at like like

2:29:09Matt and I were saying, when you look at

2:29:11all of those individual kids setting

2:29:13their aspirations higher, seeing a

2:29:16future higher, that's less kids jiggling

2:29:18handles of cars. That's less kids

2:29:21getting involved in dirt because they

2:29:23go, "Listen, I see a future for myself

2:29:25and I don't want to risk it."

2:29:27And so, um, we have a lot of hard

2:29:31decisions to make.

2:29:32>> We appreciate everything y'all do, but

2:29:35we certainly are going to see, and I

2:29:36tell people all the time, like at times

2:29:39like this

2:29:41in a lot of this is triage. And if even

2:29:44if we can't get back to where we want to

2:29:46be, we're certainly going to look at

2:29:48with cuts and other things how we can

2:29:50get you back to as close as where we can

2:29:53get you. because you've already shown

2:29:55whenever we give you an extra dollar,

2:29:56you're going to find a way to use it

2:29:57wisely. So, we certainly hear what

2:29:59you're saying appreciate all the work

2:30:01you're doing and we know the impact.

2:30:04>> Thank you.

2:30:05>> Thank you.

2:30:06>> Thank you, Council Member Green.

2:30:07>> This is a tough time certainly um for

2:30:09the city in terms of budget

2:30:10considerations. I do know that the mayor

2:30:13as a member of the [clears throat]

2:30:14council previously was a strong

2:30:15proponent of the mayor's summer youth

2:30:18employment program and um it certainly

2:30:20pains her and her administration to have

2:30:22to put forward any budget. She can speak

2:30:24for herself that has to have these sort

2:30:26of cuts that are being proposed. But at

2:30:28the end of the day, I want to speak for

2:30:30the um mayor's summer youth employment

2:30:33program because I've had an opportunity

2:30:35to have a couple of workers in my office

2:30:38during the summer. And um it's something

2:30:40that you'll never really be able to

2:30:42measure in terms of the value to our

2:30:44city except for this. Talk to the young

2:30:47people who participated. Talk to them at

2:30:49the culminating exercises. for example,

2:30:51when they're at LSU New Orleans on that

2:30:53campus and they're talking about how

2:30:55pleased they were to have had an

2:30:57opportunity to even be part of

2:30:59government for a short period of time.

2:31:01I've been invited to speak at classes,

2:31:03for example, at LSU New Orleans that um

2:31:06extended the invitation to me because a

2:31:08member of the class, the civics class or

2:31:10the public relations um public

2:31:12administration class participated in the

2:31:15mayor's summer youth employment program

2:31:17and also members of also participating

2:31:20in the civic leadership academy. Some of

2:31:23those things are difficult to measure,

2:31:25but you can measure them by this. talk

2:31:27to the people who participate and we're

2:31:29going to do everything that we can to

2:31:30make sure that there is not a zero

2:31:32budget for a per an important program

2:31:35like this and I think that we all are

2:31:37going to try to work a little bit more

2:31:38with the state federal government and

2:31:40private sector because those are

2:31:41resources that can help us and maybe

2:31:44because in the past the money was there

2:31:45through the federal government we didn't

2:31:47work as hard to try to get money out of

2:31:49the state with its 47 billion annual

2:31:52budget at the end of the day there are

2:31:53resources but this is an important

2:31:55program and The city council and the

2:31:57mayor have shown our support in the

2:31:59past. We're going to continue to show

2:32:01our support in the future. But I just

2:32:03want to say that you are doing a great

2:32:04job. But talk to the young people. Talk

2:32:07to the 2,000 young people. I see a lot

2:32:09of them in various settings. There are

2:32:10nine high schools in my district. I say

2:32:12that all the time. Not just because

2:32:13there are nine high schools because I go

2:32:15to them. I talked to young people who

2:32:17participated in programs involving the

2:32:19city and they are appreciative. They're

2:32:21talking about staying here in the city

2:32:23to go to our colleges to maybe do work

2:32:26because they've seen successful people

2:32:28in certain sectors. So, this is an

2:32:30important program. We're going to do

2:32:31everything that we can to to continue

2:32:33it. But, thank you for the work that you

2:32:35do. It makes a tremendous difference in

2:32:37our city.

2:32:39[applause]

2:32:39>> All right. Um Kate Swimburn followed by

2:32:42Jordan Rogers followed by Leana

2:32:45Williams, Nelly Katson, and then Morgan

2:32:48Clevenger. if y'all could just line up

2:32:49so we can uh go quickly through

2:32:51comments.

2:32:53[clears throat]

2:32:56Ready? Uh good morning. Kate Swinburn

2:32:58with Youth Force Nola. Um as has been

2:33:01discussed, we fuel a movement that

2:33:02equips our young people to graduate high

2:33:04school on a path to career success. This

2:33:07past summer in 2026, our internship

2:33:09program trained 224 young people from

2:33:12our non- selective public high schools

2:33:15and place them with 76 regional

2:33:17businesses, earning satisfaction ratings

2:33:19above 90% from youth employers and

2:33:22families. A survey of alumni over 10

2:33:25years shows that 97% of them are staying

2:33:28connected post high school and they're

2:33:30earning up to $6,500 more per year than

2:33:33their peers under 25 across the state.

2:33:36Youth Force has partnered with the city

2:33:38since 2015 to fund stipens. Our contract

2:33:42this year is for $500,000.

2:33:44This $500,000 represents about a third

2:33:47of the total internship budget and was

2:33:50leveraged to secure federal, state, and

2:33:53philanthropic support. Now, the amount,

2:33:55the $500,000 was a 41% reduction over

2:33:59the prior year, which led us to reduce

2:34:02internship program enrollment by 25%.

2:34:06This year's operating budget, as

2:34:07discussed, has eliminated support for

2:34:10Youth Force NOLA. Super I am super

2:34:12sympathetic to uh the budget challenges.

2:34:15Um I'm facing a philanthropic cut to the

2:34:18internship program, so I understand um

2:34:20it's it's the times. Um I do want to

2:34:22share also though, I must share that an

2:34:24elimination of city funding for the

2:34:27internship program would require us to

2:34:29further reduce enrollment by up to 50%

2:34:32more than what we were able to serve

2:34:34this summer. Uh we have been in active

2:34:37discussions with the city about a more

2:34:38robust collaboration. We would like to

2:34:40be as helpful as possible. Uh that would

2:34:43not be possible with budget cuts. So we

2:34:45do ask that funding for youth force be

2:34:47reinstated. Um we're actually we've been

2:34:49aiming to rescale to serve 275 young

2:34:53people or more. Um and all with that we

2:34:55look forward to collaborating with the

2:34:56city to chart a strong path forward.

2:34:59>> Thank you. Kate Jordan Rogers, Lesea

2:35:02Williams.

2:35:04Jordan.

2:35:06All right. Leanna, followed by Nelly

2:35:08Katzson, followed by Morgan Clevenger.

2:35:17Hi, it's me again, Leana. Um, part part

2:35:21of the People's Council, someone with

2:35:23lived experience. I am also a former

2:35:25foster youth. So, I really want to make

2:35:29sure that it's being put in

2:35:30consideration of connecting these

2:35:32programs not only to local youth, but

2:35:34also to former foster kids because they

2:35:36are some of the most vulnerable when it

2:35:38comes to being able to visualize what

2:35:41their opportunities are outside of the

2:35:43neglect that they've experienced or the

2:35:45abuse that they've experienced. I know

2:35:47when I aged out of care, I did not have

2:35:49the opportunity for this program and it

2:35:51was a trial and error to find the

2:35:54resources that I did gain access to to

2:35:58even get myself this far and it's still

2:36:00a journey to develop. I also want to

2:36:04bring some [clears throat] awareness to

2:36:06some of the challenges because I have

2:36:08been approved to receive the WOA grant,

2:36:11but I don't think that there is enough

2:36:13ADA accommodations [clears throat]

2:36:15for that program. When you actually go

2:36:18into the um job one and you get

2:36:22approved, you get connected to the link

2:36:24to where you can find the job

2:36:26opportunities and then you're kind of

2:36:29given your own will to look through it.

2:36:32It's 64 pages of 50 opportunities each

2:36:36and there is not enough connected to the

2:36:39opportunities that a lot of us want to

2:36:41go into. I know for me, I have a desire

2:36:43to develop my per my public speaking and

2:36:46wellness around recovering from trauma

2:36:49and [snorts] I don't see those skill

2:36:51sets on the site yet and I would love to

2:36:54see those things expanded. And then I

2:36:56also feel like some of the list kind of

2:37:00is adjusting where there's some

2:37:02entrepreneurial things but they're not

2:37:04within New Orleans city limits. So it's

2:37:06like how will we actually get connected

2:37:08to the training once we decide if that's

2:37:10the program that we want. Also I do

2:37:13agree that expanding job on one's

2:37:17training to the libraries will be

2:37:19essential because sometimes it is

2:37:20difficult.

2:37:22>> That's your time.

2:37:23>> Thank you.

2:37:24>> Thank you. Nelly Katzson Morgan Clevener

2:37:28and then I have Numei Washington.

2:37:33Hi there. Nelly Katson with Committee

2:37:35for a Better New Orleans and the Big

2:37:36Easy Budget Coalition. Um here to

2:37:39support jobs for young people. Uh the

2:37:42lining of teenagers pockets generally

2:37:45goes towards groceries. We learned that

2:37:47when the city did a 2023 universal basic

2:37:50income pilot and they found that like

2:37:5230% of the universal basic income that

2:37:55young people received went straight to

2:37:57their basic needs. Um and so giving them

2:38:00the training to not just receive that

2:38:02funding but also earn it um is well

2:38:05worth the investment and it's supporting

2:38:07our most vulnerable people um and

2:38:09setting our young people up for success.

2:38:12When we go out and survey people and

2:38:14teach people about the budget, what we

2:38:15hear most regularly is people want to

2:38:18see investments in housing and health

2:38:20and mental health, but also in young

2:38:21people. And young people need more than

2:38:23just sports facilities and programming.

2:38:25They also need opportunities to create

2:38:27their careers, to create their jobs, and

2:38:28to earn money to support themselves and

2:38:31their families. Some of these young

2:38:33people are themselves parents. Um, and

2:38:36so the we're in partnership with the

2:38:39Children and Youth Planning Board, which

2:38:40has done a ton of work to support the

2:38:43wrap around services and investments

2:38:45that young people need. Um, and this is

2:38:47one and we support it. Thank you.

2:38:48>> Thanks, Morgan. Followed by Numei

2:38:51Washington.

2:39:01Hey, so I I really appreciate Nelly and

2:39:05everybody else's comments and yes, we do

2:39:08need to continue to invest in our youth.

2:39:11And um what's unfortunate though, uh

2:39:14Council President Morurell mentioned the

2:39:16libraries. There are seven libraries

2:39:18closed and they've been closed for most

2:39:20of the summer. And we know in our

2:39:23communities um this may be the only way

2:39:26that a young person or any person of any

2:39:30age can apply for a job. Um one young

2:39:33lady missed a training opportunity to

2:39:36for a job she had already secured and

2:39:38she lost that job because the library

2:39:40was closed and she had no other way to

2:39:41access that training program. So while

2:39:45the library is a separate budget, we all

2:39:47need to make sure all of that is working

2:39:49together as well as NORD. But I also

2:39:51want to ask, you know, back to economic

2:39:54development and how this all ties in.

2:39:56You know, we can't just say, uh, we're

2:40:00hoping for the future because $7.25 an

2:40:03hour jobs are not enough and these

2:40:07hotels that are coming in and we see a

2:40:09hotel with property tax waiverss and tax

2:40:12subsidies and, you know, all of this.

2:40:15Where's the community benefits

2:40:17agreements

2:40:18that would help fund some of these

2:40:21things that we direly need in this city?

2:40:24So, if [snorts] they get a 40-year tax

2:40:26break or if they get a $200 million

2:40:28subsidy or a $10 million subsidy, they

2:40:31must have community benefit agreements

2:40:33that support what we actually need here.

2:40:36Thank you.

2:40:41All right, I have one last card from uh

2:40:44I think it's Numei Washington from

2:40:46Saratoga Street.

2:40:51>> Um hi, good morning council members in

2:40:54attendance. Thank you. Um I would like

2:40:57to first address the idea of these

2:40:59programs putting money in kids' pockets

2:41:02and why that would be considered an

2:41:04unproductive outcome. As a 23-year-old

2:41:07college graduate, I'm not too old to

2:41:09remember that school services are

2:41:11expensive. Sports are expensive,

2:41:13extracurricular activities are

2:41:15expensive. How many times have you seen

2:41:18young people fundraising on the streets

2:41:20in buses and grocery stores selling

2:41:22candy to earn money for the programs

2:41:24that they need to keep their time

2:41:25occupied and themselves out of trouble.

2:41:28I also wanted to speak a bit on the

2:41:30threats to public education students

2:41:32face in the here and now. In a world

2:41:34where the federal government is actively

2:41:36making it harder to secure funding for

2:41:38an undergraduate degree and not to

2:41:40mention the loss of the graduate plus

2:41:42loan for post-graduate education, we

2:41:44need to provide young people with a way

2:41:46forward in the uncertainty that we are

2:41:48seeing today and I believe that lies in

2:41:51funding the youth programs currently on

2:41:53the chopping block. Thank you.

2:41:55>> Thank you

2:41:57Ashley.

2:41:59Up next [applause] is cultural economy

2:42:01and film.

2:42:22Okay.

2:42:30Oh, goodness.

2:42:37All right, floor is yours.

2:42:38>> Yeah, sure.

2:42:39>> All right.

2:42:40>> Greetings and good morning, council

2:42:42members, and thank you for the

2:42:43opportunity to join you. I think all of

2:42:44you know me, Frederick Delusi,

2:42:46affectionately known as Wood. It's my

2:42:47pleasure to serve as director for the

2:42:48office of cultural economy and um let me

2:42:51say it's a privilege to be with you here

2:42:52because I do truly believe that the

2:42:54history and culture of our city is the

2:42:55reason why all of us are in this

2:42:57building right now. So let me first

2:42:58thank the culture, the culture bearsers,

2:43:00the artists, the creatives, our partners

2:43:02and collaborators, the small but

2:43:04extremely mighty team at the office of

2:43:05cultural economy. As you are fully

2:43:07aware, our city is defined by culture,

2:43:10it is not an accessory to development,

2:43:11is the foundation that drives our

2:43:13economy, attracts millions from around

2:43:15the world to our city. And although that

2:43:17investment cannot all be measured in

2:43:18dollars, too often the very people who

2:43:21carry forward this legacy, our artists,

2:43:23our musicians, our culture bears, they

2:43:24get priced out. They are consistently

2:43:26underfunded, pushed to the margins, and

2:43:28uh unheard decisions that really shape

2:43:31their own neighborhoods. Our office

2:43:32believes that culture should be at the

2:43:33forefront of every policy, housing,

2:43:36zoning, public safety, education,

2:43:38economic development, because you cannot

2:43:39separate the spirit of New Orleans from

2:43:41the people who created. And uh culture

2:43:43cannot live without space, without

2:43:45support, without uh protection from

2:43:48criminalization and displacement. And uh

2:43:50it must be nurtured and not just

2:43:51celebrated. So we can get into the

2:43:53slides. Uh here's our org chart. Um

2:43:58we suffered a 67% reduction in staff. We

2:44:01currently have three members, three

2:44:03full-time employees that operate the

2:44:04office of cultural economy. Uh one grant

2:44:06allocated and two within the general

2:44:08fund. Uh deputy director of arts and

2:44:10culture, Elena Harris, who is also a

2:44:11culture bearer. She's a baby dog. Uh her

2:44:14father, who you all know, Al Harris, the

2:44:16French Quest is dedicated to him every

2:44:18year. She also has lineage to Rita

2:44:20Castle Haley. We have somebody in our

2:44:21office who has deep cultural ties to our

2:44:24city. Our uh executive administrator,

2:44:26Miss Lynette Meyers, also has deep

2:44:28cultural ties to the faith-based

2:44:31community, the cultural based community.

2:44:33We call her our minister of finance. She

2:44:34works very closely with Brandy to make

2:44:36sure my decimal points don't move when

2:44:38they're not supposed to. Um our office

2:44:40has acts as a liaison for the city with

2:44:42major events and festivals. We are

2:44:44charged to host all these events and we

2:44:46also support numerous cultural

2:44:47gatherings, exhibition openings,

2:44:49festivals etc. We attend we attended

2:44:52last year 31 of 36 second lines. Uh we

2:44:55try to support whenever and whenever

2:44:56possible. So currently we serve as

2:44:58international relations as well for the

2:45:00city as that department is way has come

2:45:02on us to be that space. We have uh

2:45:05hosted 39 countries at Gallia Hall to

2:45:08date this year and we also just recently

2:45:10hosted a delegation of 65 people from

2:45:13Italy as part of our embrace the culture

2:45:15uh conversation and um we've been doing

2:45:18that work trying to do that work as

2:45:20diligently as possible. Um you can go to

2:45:22the next slide. So adopted budget from

2:45:242026 there's our general fund dollars.

2:45:27You can see that we took a a loss in

2:45:29terms of personnel. Uh we do have a few

2:45:31dollars that we're moving around from

2:45:32different spaces to try to uh allocate

2:45:35for different opportunities. Next slide.

2:45:38Um we have no plan reductions for our

2:45:41staff. We are hoping to uh add on in

2:45:432028 for a digital media person. While

2:45:46we don't have the resources to provide

2:45:48for cultural folks in our city, we do

2:45:50try to provide as much support marketing

2:45:52wise as possible. So we're working on

2:45:54that. We can go to the next one.

2:45:57Non-general fund. So you'll see that we

2:45:59took a major reduction um on this side

2:46:02of things. Uh we have uh 335,000 that's

2:46:06been vetoed by the governor's office

2:46:08that were going direct support

2:46:10especially in councilman uh district

2:46:12ease and council member Hughes district

2:46:14that were you know ban programs for

2:46:16schools ban programs for church and

2:46:18faith-based opportunities um as well as

2:46:20social aid and pleasure clubs. One of

2:46:21our wins this year um of course was that

2:46:24we were able to use those state

2:46:26appropriations to support the 39 social

2:46:28aid and pleasure clubs. We gave 125,000

2:46:31across all social a pleasure club to

2:46:33support them with their details for the

2:46:34NOPD. Uh we lost all that funding from

2:46:37the governor's office. So um we're

2:46:39scrambling to find what we can find. Um

2:46:42we facilitate the Marty Gro advisory

2:46:44council. We facilitate the cultural

2:46:46districts actually on behalf of the

2:46:48council. Um you all are the governing

2:46:50body for the state LDOA cultural

2:46:53district. The cultural economy

2:46:54facilitates that program. We also

2:46:56facilitate the uh Marty Gro social aid

2:46:58and pleasure club task force on behalf

2:47:00of the council. So although you all are

2:47:02the governing body, we are charged to

2:47:04meet with those folks regularly

2:47:06throughout the year. Normally we are

2:47:08able to go and meet these folks where

2:47:10they are in council districts. Uh due to

2:47:12the funding cuts, we are not able to

2:47:14engage with them as much as we used to.

2:47:15I think Council Member Harris, you've

2:47:17been to a few of those meetings. Um,

2:47:19we've attempted to be as creative as

2:47:21possible with funding, but we uh we had

2:47:23to suspend the cultural economy grants

2:47:25program. We suspended our embrace the

2:47:27culture initiative, and we've also

2:47:28suspended the New Orleans poet laurate

2:47:30program. So, just programs that had to

2:47:33go away because of the funding cuts.

2:47:35Along with all the events and programs

2:47:36mentioned, um we did have some al some

2:47:39significant wins this year around um the

2:47:42super Sunday celebrations around the

2:47:44super Sunday suaree that uh that was uh

2:47:46for our our mighty mighty ancestor

2:47:49Jerome Big Duck Smith. Um well, as I

2:47:51mentioned, those funds have gone. We

2:47:54were able to restore three Katrina

2:47:56memorial monuments. I don't know if you

2:47:57all aware, but there were 19 monuments

2:48:00that were put up in dedication to

2:48:01Hurricane Katrina. They were supposed to

2:48:03be up for about six years. They've been

2:48:05up for about 20 years. And uh a lot of

2:48:07them are falling apart. So we were able

2:48:08to move some funding around to uh to

2:48:11dedicate Mandala, which is about artist

2:48:14Rashidita Ferdinand, Scrap House by

2:48:16artist Sally Heler, and Flood Marker by

2:48:18Christo. We refurbished all of those

2:48:20this year, and we hope to work to try to

2:48:23fix the weather the the rest of those so

2:48:24they don't fall down on people. Um we

2:48:27work closely with the arts council, of

2:48:28course, to produce these beautiful

2:48:30artworks that are behind us. uh that

2:48:33represent each district so that the

2:48:34folks of our our city can come in and

2:48:36see themselves reflected in the house of

2:48:38government. Not just al always come in

2:48:40here to vent but also see themselves. We

2:48:42were able to collaborate with council

2:48:44member Green's office to establish an

2:48:46honorary intersection for big chief

2:48:48Donald Harrison senior. Uh we

2:48:49coordinated with the Henry Cox

2:48:51Foundation for the CA on the sale of

2:48:54Tuba Fat Square. Don't know how many

2:48:55folks know that Tuba Fat Square was up

2:48:57for sale. Uh this is a cultural space

2:48:59that means so much to the TMA community.

2:49:02um the gentleman who owned that space uh

2:49:04can no longer take care of it. So he

2:49:06sold the space. We were able to step in

2:49:07along with Jeff and some other folks to

2:49:09uh make sure that that space stays a

2:49:11cultural space in perpetuity. Um we

2:49:15collaborate of course with the airport

2:49:16on the MSY music program. Our embrace

2:49:19the culture concert series continues. Uh

2:49:22but we've seen a decrease in a lot of

2:49:23funding as you as I mentioned 375,000 of

2:49:26state appropriations have been vetoed

2:49:28and also uh we have a major decrease in

2:49:30our NOTCF um allocations. Um with that

2:49:34I'm privy to your questions.

2:49:37>> Thank you Wood. Um as you said we are

2:49:40nothing without our culture and we need

2:49:41to invest in it and you do a lot with a

2:49:45very small team cousin. I see you over

2:49:47there. Um,

2:49:51again, these budget cuts are hard, but

2:49:54let's look to the future and see what we

2:49:56can do.

2:49:58>> Um, to make sure that we can get you

2:50:00staffed up so that we can support the

2:50:02culture properly.

2:50:04>> We look forward to it. Thank you,

2:50:06>> Council Member Green. Yes, the budget

2:50:07cuts are hard, but in the midst of it,

2:50:09you have continued to seal your

2:50:11commitment to the city of New Orleans

2:50:12and to our culture bearsers and um

2:50:15whether it be participation in the

2:50:17Jerome Smith observations, whether it be

2:50:20supporting those initiatives such as the

2:50:23um Donald Harrison Square. I just want

2:50:25to thank you for your um commitment

2:50:28because it's genuine with you. It's not

2:50:30just that you have a job. You want to

2:50:32see our city continue to thrive. And one

2:50:34of the ways that we continue to thrive

2:50:36is to emphasize the unique culture that

2:50:38we have. Some things can't be measured

2:50:40that your office does or that our city's

2:50:43culture does. A lot of people come to

2:50:45our city of New Orleans and they spend a

2:50:47lot of money.

2:50:48>> Here I go. That goes to the state of

2:50:51Louisiana when they stay in hotels. Yes,

2:50:54sir.

2:50:54>> It goes to the convention center when

2:50:56they rent the convention center. it goes

2:50:57to the Superdome when they have major

2:50:59events because the city's collections

2:51:02are so limited based on state laws. But

2:51:05it's important to recognize that

2:51:06benefiting the state benefits the city

2:51:08of New Orleans, too. So, I don't want to

2:51:10just bash the state. At the end of the

2:51:12day, we have work to do to enhance our

2:51:15economy here, our cultural economy. But

2:51:17I saw this weekend, I saw the folks from

2:51:19Atlanta come in and have their big

2:51:21culture parade.

2:51:22>> Second line. Yes, [laughter]

2:51:24>> you call it what it is. Yeah,

2:51:25>> they tried. They tried. and they thought

2:51:27that they were really doing the right

2:51:29thing. They were they were doing a good

2:51:31thing because they came to the city of

2:51:32New Orleans. But just the number of

2:51:34people who came from Atlanta, they don't

2:51:37go everywhere else. They come to New

2:51:39Orleans in big numbers. We have cultural

2:51:41connections. We have political

2:51:42connections and the like, but it

2:51:44reminded you of how important our

2:51:45culture is to the city of New Orleans in

2:51:47terms of people enjoying themselves and

2:51:49coming and investing by spending money

2:51:52in our economy. So, but thank you for

2:51:54the work that you do. I hope that

2:51:55working with the state of Louisiana

2:51:57especially and maybe some private sector

2:51:59sources, we can get back some of the

2:52:01funding that has been taken. But no

2:52:03matter how much funding is taken, it

2:52:05won't take away from the fact that our

2:52:08culture is extremely important to our

2:52:10city and that we have people like you

2:52:13and Elena and others in the office who

2:52:15are committed to our city who are doing

2:52:17great work. So, we're going to find some

2:52:19additional resources, but thank you for

2:52:21what you're doing with what you have.

2:52:23>> Thank you, sir. Council member Moro.

2:52:26>> Uh, thank you Wood for being here today.

2:52:28I know just

2:52:30I have had some preliminary

2:52:32conversations with the mayor. I know

2:52:33that there is an appetite to revisit the

2:52:37New Orleans Tourism and Culture Fund and

2:52:39create some additional flexibility

2:52:40within it. I think that when they look

2:52:43at the programming that you're able to

2:52:45do through your office and how it

2:52:47affects a multitude of people, I think

2:52:50that they're aspects of that fund that

2:52:53could be better utilized with your

2:52:54direct involvement. I think that I think

2:52:57that

2:52:57>> the days of kind of doing the individual

2:53:00grants to people um versus the days of

2:53:04you trying to implement and continue the

2:53:06culture preservation on a larger scale.

2:53:08I think that we need to really look at

2:53:10how we can best maximize that and

2:53:12obviously

2:53:13>> um you've been a pleasure to work with.

2:53:16Um I know that there has been a lot in

2:53:20the last couple of months as far as um

2:53:23direct engagement from outside people at

2:53:24the city of New Orleans. Um you more

2:53:28than anyone has to deal with the mess

2:53:30that is Essence Festival every year.

2:53:32>> Yes, sir. and try to figure out how

2:53:34we're going to deal with Essence Fest

2:53:35every year and how to make sure to

2:53:38maximize that our local vendors, our

2:53:41local culture bearsers are respected

2:53:44during Essencefest every year and we

2:53:45really appreciate that.

2:53:46>> Yes, sir.

2:53:47>> Thank you.

2:53:47>> Thank you,

2:53:48>> Council Member McCarron.

2:53:50>> Um, thank you Wood for all your office

2:53:52does like everybody else does. You you

2:53:54do a a lot with a very little budget.

2:53:57Um, Brandy, is there any opportunity the

2:54:00Galler Hall fund since y'all do a lot of

2:54:02work at Gallier Hall? I don't know if

2:54:04that's another opportunity um for a

2:54:07funding source for their budget, but I

2:54:10would like to take a look at that as we

2:54:12go through, you know, the next couple

2:54:14weeks on on funding.

2:54:16>> Sure. Thank you.

2:54:18>> All right, we have two speaker cards.

2:54:20Morgan Clevener, followed by Ethanstead.

2:54:35Thank you. Thank you. Wood Morgan

2:54:37Clevenger.

2:54:40Let's go back when I was coming up in

2:54:42this culture. Um,

2:54:45it was for the people by the people.

2:54:47There were no permit fees, police fees,

2:54:50uh, parade fees, float fees. It was for

2:54:54the people, by the people, and it was

2:54:56self- sustaining. And it wasn't until um

2:55:00we lost oil, we lost the port and those

2:55:03jobs, and the economy to turn turn to

2:55:06tourism that all of a sudden the

2:55:08tourists started coming out

2:55:10[clears throat] and then all of a sudden

2:55:11we had all these fees at these clubs and

2:55:13these organizations and Indians had to

2:55:15pay.

2:55:17And it it becomes a circular situation

2:55:20when we're saying uh a social and

2:55:22pleasure club has to pay $5 to $10,000

2:55:24to parade and we have to get them a

2:55:27grant to pay for that. [snorts] That

2:55:30seems uh very very strange to me. But I

2:55:34really appreciate what Wood said about

2:55:37how connected this is to housing, jobs,

2:55:40and everything else. Big Chief Tudy

2:55:42Montana was an artisan. He was a

2:55:44leather. He was a plasterer and his

2:55:48culture was spiritual to him and it was

2:55:50a spiritual thing. And it wasn't until

2:55:54Jazzfest came along and started paying

2:55:56people to get up on a stage and he

2:55:58refused to do that. He never went to

2:56:01Jazzfest and was paid to perform because

2:56:05he came from a different era. So now we

2:56:08have the hotels and the tourism industry

2:56:10and the festivals. They're making the

2:56:12money, but they all want a culture

2:56:14bearer. And before Katrina, that term

2:56:17didn't even exist because a culture came

2:56:19from the neighborhoods. Everybody was a

2:56:21culture bearer. Came from the families.

2:56:25And those families, those neighborhoods

2:56:27lived [clears throat] in houses next to

2:56:29each other around the corner. They

2:56:31played on their steps, on the stoops,

2:56:32and on the corners. They learned from

2:56:34their elders. And we've lost that. So

2:56:38this office is but we have

2:56:42>> Thank you Morgan Ethan.

2:56:54>> Hey good afternoon council members.

2:56:55Ethan Ellisstead music coach from New

2:56:57Orleans 1762 Paul Morphy Street. Um

2:57:00first I wanted to come down and express

2:57:01my strong support for office of cultural

2:57:03economy and the office of nighttime

2:57:04economy. Um, in particular, I want to

2:57:06uplift Wood and Elena. Um, I've been

2:57:08working with this office since the

2:57:10Lander administration, and this is the

2:57:12first time that the office has been led

2:57:14by people that come directly from the

2:57:15culture, and I think that's really

2:57:17important and really speaks well of the

2:57:19office and the work that they do. Um, I

2:57:21also appreciate that by moving to the

2:57:23office of economic development, we

2:57:25recognize that the culture is an

2:57:26economic engine for the city, but

2:57:29unfortunately the way the budget is set

2:57:30up, there's not much gas in that tank.

2:57:32Um if you look at the combined budget of

2:57:36office of cultural economy, office of

2:57:37nighttime economy and office of film

2:57:39based on the original presentation is

2:57:41actually less than the uh the grant that

2:57:44was recently announced for rebite

2:57:45rebates for ebikes and I think that

2:57:47tells a story. Um and that we need to

2:57:50really figure out a way to invest in the

2:57:52culture both these organizations but

2:57:54also within the city itself. Um not only

2:57:57are these organ these um officers facing

2:58:00budget cuts, but if you look at what's

2:58:02happened in the culture and

2:58:03organizations, individuals in the spaces

2:58:06from federal cuts to state cuts to uh

2:58:09national foundations pulling back to um

2:58:13you know losing the recreation and

2:58:14cultural fund. There's been a lot of

2:58:15money that has been lost over the past

2:58:1718 months in the culture community and

2:58:19people are feeling it. it's

2:58:20organizations, individuals, and I would

2:58:22say we're really kind of at a crisis

2:58:23point. And so, we may not have the

2:58:25resources to reconcile, but we really

2:58:27need to start planning together. So, I I

2:58:30don't I know there's not going to be

2:58:31windfall coming in in 2027, but let's

2:58:33get ready for 2028. Be strategic and do

2:58:35it. And to council member Mor's point,

2:58:37we do have a a large organization with

2:58:40millions of dollars that's kind of on an

2:58:41island that we could figure out how we

2:58:43could bring that money back and make it

2:58:44to the highest and best use. I would say

2:58:46maybe fewer gaism billboards and more

2:58:48direct support to the community would be

2:58:50beneficial. I know they're up in a

2:58:51couple of weeks so we can come back and

2:58:52talk. Also, real quick, I swore right to

2:58:54council and the little area shelter.

2:58:56Thank you'all.

2:58:56>> Thank you, Ethan.

2:58:57>> Thank you.

2:58:58>> All right, Ashley, I believe the film

2:59:00office has a presentation.

2:59:03>> Oh, I we should we should mention that

2:59:04the film office is no longer under the

2:59:06direction of the office of cultural

2:59:07economy. They are separate office now.

2:59:10>> Thank you, Wood.

2:59:18Yes. While while Carol's coming up and

2:59:20uh I pulled the deck up, I think um you

2:59:22know, as I started out the morning

2:59:23saying, and I think we're we're in the

2:59:25afternoon here now. Uh these are all

2:59:27small but mighty offices. And you can

2:59:29see, you know, I keep using the word

2:59:30heroic, the the tremendous uh work and

2:59:33commitment of all these directors and

2:59:35team members to um to uplift the city

2:59:38and and do this work. uh they are deeply

2:59:40committed um to uh making our city all

2:59:43it can be. Uh that is certainly true for

2:59:45Carol. Let me uh pull this up for you

2:59:48here.

2:59:49>> Thank you.

2:59:49>> Of course.

2:59:51>> Thank you. I'm Carol Morton. I'm the

2:59:53director of the New Orleans film office.

2:59:55Previously a department in the office of

2:59:59cultural economy. Um but the mayor made

3:00:01a decision to move the film office into

3:00:04its own um office reporting directly to

3:00:08Jeff Schwarz and the office of economic

3:00:12development. So I will start with going

3:00:15through our finances because I I think

3:00:17you will see that we are also operating

3:00:20like the other um departments on a very

3:00:24um thin budget. So the um general fund

3:00:28only funds my position and this is my

3:00:32position with my benefits 108,000 to17.

3:00:37Um the second position that we have in

3:00:40the office is a production manager and I

3:00:43will speak about this a little bit

3:00:44because we directly issue all of the

3:00:47film permits and I think the city

3:00:49council is probably aware of that. We

3:00:52also manage all of the impacts of film

3:00:55which can be um pretty substantial. So

3:00:59the general fund supports my salary and

3:01:02does not support any operating um

3:01:04expenditures or the second position. So,

3:01:08the operating um expenditures, we've

3:01:10been talking about the NOTCF fund, the

3:01:12New Orleans tour and culture cultural

3:01:14fund. And just like cultural economy, uh

3:01:17NOTCF provides the film office with

3:01:20$125,000

3:01:22a year, we have never received general

3:01:24fund money for the film office, only

3:01:27salaries. So, the second position, um

3:01:30because we permit, we hired um a

3:01:34production manager who manages all of

3:01:36the permitting. I was doing the

3:01:38permitting myself and loading everything

3:01:40into llama from January until um the end

3:01:44of June because I only had me as the

3:01:46only [clears throat] employee. So I had

3:01:48to um learn llama pretty quickly and um

3:01:52had previously managed um filming and uh

3:01:56in the in community. So I was able to

3:01:58pick that up quickly. But we hired Jen.

3:02:00[clears throat]

3:02:00Jen's salary. Of course, you can see

3:02:03that she is um at 933 340 334

3:02:09for her um salary infringe and that is

3:02:12all paid out of the 125,000 of the NOTCF

3:02:16fund. Um, so the remaining amount of

3:02:19money that we have in the fund is uh

3:02:24utilized for um I mean we intend to

3:02:28utilize it for to relaunch some social

3:02:30media. We no longer have any social

3:02:32media. We have no communication.

3:02:35We want to continue to build on our um

3:02:39um success at the height of the film

3:02:42industry. I mean, I think that most

3:02:43people in this room are certainly at

3:02:45city council know we've had an enormous

3:02:47reduction in the amount of filming in

3:02:49the city and that is a broader national

3:02:53international

3:02:54shift in the film industry that you know

3:02:57we can if you have questions about that

3:02:58I can speak to that but it has reduced

3:03:01um the amount of filming at our height

3:03:03at a pretty close to a billion dollars

3:03:06was the most that we brought in. So last

3:03:09year um the revenue from film was 56

3:03:13million and since January we have been

3:03:16able to um increase that to 185 million

3:03:20which is not you what it was but it's

3:03:24still um increasing our opportunities.

3:03:28So what do we need to really support and

3:03:31expand um the film industry here in New

3:03:36Orleans?

3:03:37The reduction in filming in the United

3:03:40States is really what's caused a result

3:03:42of New Orleans not hosting as much

3:03:44filming. And that reduction has gone

3:03:47down about 60% of employment for film

3:03:51jobs, excuse me, in Los Angeles alone.

3:03:54Uh the recent merger, you might have

3:03:57seen that with uh Warner Brothers and

3:03:59Paramount who produced about 125 films

3:04:03or television series a year. that will

3:04:05reduce it to about 60 over over half. So

3:04:09that is less filming that will take

3:04:11place in the United States or in major

3:04:14film cities. But I will highlight that

3:04:18why all the other reason that we have

3:04:20such a reduction in film is that the

3:04:22state no longer markets promotes or

3:04:25supports film outside of the existence

3:04:28of the film tax credits. We are about 2

3:04:32and 1/2 years in monetization whereas

3:04:34other states are monetizing tax credits

3:04:37in a year or younger or less which is

3:04:40also another um barrier that we have for

3:04:43hosting film production. We also have

3:04:46absolutely no marketing whatsoever in

3:04:48New Orleans or Louisiana. And so we've

3:04:51just slowly disappeared

3:04:54um from a prime location for major um

3:04:59from from major production companies and

3:05:02also studios. So just to compare the

3:05:04number that I just gave you, which I'm

3:05:06I'm am proud of, 185 million. Um Georgia

3:05:09right now is at two billion

3:05:14and we used to be right behind Georgia.

3:05:16So uh we are probably um dropped from a

3:05:21fourth major production hub to somewhere

3:05:23around 10. Yes, it's dramatic. And what

3:05:28I also want to add, so states and cities

3:05:30are also aggressively investing in their

3:05:34film offices, both state and local film

3:05:38offices. they are um aggressively going

3:05:43after the business and I would say

3:05:44that's been successful for them and we

3:05:47don't do that. We don't market, we don't

3:05:48promote, we don't show up anywhere but

3:05:50we do I will say this, the film office

3:05:52has continued to do um an incredible job

3:05:57of

3:05:59intaking all of the permitting. We also

3:06:01issue film drone permits. We've

3:06:04converted that into an approval. I work

3:06:06with the um police department to do that

3:06:08and drone filming has you know

3:06:10accelerated.

3:06:11Uh so we have continued to work very

3:06:14hard in the permitting side and in

3:06:17communication but without any kind of a

3:06:20marketing budget it's very challenging.

3:06:26>> Yeah.

3:06:26>> Are you ready for questions?

3:06:27>> I'm ready.

3:06:28>> I have a lot.

3:06:29>> Um but I know we have a lot to get to.

3:06:31>> Yeah. Uh, have we done a study on the

3:06:34return on investment of marketing

3:06:36dollars to get filming up in New

3:06:39Orleans?

3:06:40>> Absolutely not.

3:06:42>> Okay. Can we talk about doing that

3:06:44offline?

3:06:46>> We can. We need funding for our

3:06:48business. I I understand but

3:06:50>> I don't even know if we need a study

3:06:51because I have all the data that I can

3:06:53provide to you um for the last 10 years

3:06:56and I think that would be actually very

3:06:58informative and we can make a decision

3:07:00if we should go forward with a study.

3:07:02Cities don't generally have to do that

3:07:04because we permit I mean everybody comes

3:07:06through us.

3:07:07>> So on the permit how much do we charge?

3:07:11>> Um [clears throat and snorts] so we

3:07:12charge um 300 $275 for permitting a

3:07:16block.

3:07:18Okay. And is what is how is that

3:07:20comparable to other cities in Louisiana?

3:07:23>> Well, other cities in Louisiana do not

3:07:25issue film permits. People just film.

3:07:28You know, Baton Rouge, they just I don't

3:07:31know. They just close the street for $25

3:07:33and they film.

3:07:33>> It is. It is competitive with with

3:07:35national rates.

3:07:36>> Yes, it's absolutely competitive because

3:07:38I actually established that rate and I

3:07:41did a two beat competitive. Jeff and I

3:07:43worked together on that.

3:07:44>> That's right. And yes, it's important to

3:07:46note that that's not per production.

3:07:47That's per that's essentially each site

3:07:49or I mean Carol can share more about

3:07:51this, but that's um you know a block

3:07:54face or a location. Uh

3:07:57>> is there is there an opportunity to

3:07:58raise those fees or will we lose a

3:08:00competitive advantage if we raise those

3:08:03fees?

3:08:04>> Um so we passed

3:08:05>> then that could then go into your

3:08:07marketing,

3:08:08>> right? Um

3:08:10so we passed a film permit two years

3:08:13ago. hasn't been implemented yet and I

3:08:17think we're sort of holding off because

3:08:19we're looking at maybe replacing or you

3:08:22know modernizing llama. Uh but we did

3:08:25establish the rates and those rates were

3:08:28established by ordinance. So I don't

3:08:30know if they can be raised or not but I

3:08:32think that would be amazing if we could

3:08:33do that.

3:08:33>> We can raise rates.

3:08:35>> Great. Great. Thank you.

3:08:36>> Okay. Look, let's let's have this

3:08:38discussion offline because I I know that

3:08:40we're not here for the film. I I don't

3:08:42think all these folks are here waiting

3:08:43to talk about film in New Orleans.

3:08:45Council member Green, do you have any

3:08:46questions?

3:08:47>> Yes, I have one question. If you could

3:08:48um work with the state of Louisiana to

3:08:51make a change that would make us more

3:08:52competitive, what would you say? Would

3:08:55you, if you were talking to the

3:08:56legislature now, what would you propose?

3:08:58>> So, what I would propose is that the

3:09:00state is very um slow to monetize the

3:09:03tax credits about two and a two two to

3:09:06two and a half years. So I think if they

3:09:08could accelerate that to a year or or

3:09:10faster, I think it would make us uh much

3:09:14more attractive to attract film

3:09:16production. That would be the one thing

3:09:18I would I would

3:09:19>> and and extend the credit, right? Uh

3:09:21extend the sunset.

3:09:22>> Well, the sunset is is 2031 right now,

3:09:25but if we could get a longer sunset,

3:09:28that would be amazing. Yes. Yes, that

3:09:30would help. So you're able to work

3:09:32through the administration through the

3:09:34liaison to the state to ask for those

3:09:36sort of changes.

3:09:37>> No, I am not.

3:09:39>> Why does the administration see let me

3:09:42tell you

3:09:43>> your answer the administration has a

3:09:45liaison to the state of Louisiana. I

3:09:48know that we have our other challenges

3:09:49but at the end of the day Chuck Tony and

3:09:52others work with legislators to ask them

3:09:55to introduce anything that we want to

3:09:57see introduced. Is it something worthy

3:09:59of introduction?

3:10:02I think it is worthy of introduction,

3:10:04but um the current governor is not

3:10:08supportive of the film industry because

3:10:11it's mostly 90% of it is in New Orleans

3:10:14possibly.

3:10:15So I don't know if that's a barrier and

3:10:18it is, you know, a mixed uh support

3:10:21within the legislature,

3:10:23>> but there are some legislators there are

3:10:26>> who have influence in other areas.

3:10:28Everything doesn't revolve around just

3:10:30the governor. I mean, you have to get a

3:10:31majority vote within both chambers to be

3:10:34able to pass legislation. And I'm not

3:10:36saying that this can happen, but I think

3:10:37that sometimes presumptions are made,

3:10:40maybe sometimes generated by the media,

3:10:42sometimes generated by a particular

3:10:44official that there's opposition. Um,

3:10:47there's a lot going on in the state of

3:10:48Louisiana right now, a lot more jobs

3:10:50being created. I think that we want to

3:10:52be competitive in many areas. I

3:10:54certainly will assist, but I would hope

3:10:57that the administration, Jeff, will ask.

3:11:00>> Yeah.

3:11:00>> If that's something that we think is

3:11:01something that can benefit the state of

3:11:03Louisiana in the city of New Orleans,

3:11:05that we'll ask and get rejected if we

3:11:06need to, but we might find some sort of

3:11:09favorable response.

3:11:10>> Absolutely. There there is a there's

3:11:12also a um a film uh entertainment

3:11:15association um that does an excellent

3:11:18job of telling the story of film. Um,

3:11:21Carol's absolutely right that, you know,

3:11:22it there's a perception and some reality

3:11:25that New Orleans disproportionately

3:11:26benefits from the credit in Louisiana.

3:11:28And it it is true that the lion share of

3:11:30filming happens here. I think what is uh

3:11:33also apparent is that there are other

3:11:35communities that that absolutely benefit

3:11:37from the credit. And so working

3:11:39strategically with them to build a base

3:11:42for political support in Baton Rouge is

3:11:43something that we uh certainly think

3:11:45about a lot at the appropriate times

3:11:47which is legislative sessions when the

3:11:49credit is up for renewal etc. I'll just

3:11:52say that um you know I'm not sure what

3:11:54the numbers are currently but one of the

3:11:55things about the film industry that's so

3:11:58attractive is that um at its peak it was

3:12:00we were not only the fourth largest film

3:12:02production hub in the entire country

3:12:04behind only Atlanta LA and New York um

3:12:06but it was supporting uh direct

3:12:09unionized employment of over 2,000 Niati

3:12:12and other members um and those jobs are

3:12:14extremely low barrier and so you know

3:12:17folks even without you know high school

3:12:19um uh uh diploma as are able to work in

3:12:22a a true career um that's paying, you

3:12:25know, unionized wages. These are

3:12:27productions that, you know, the union

3:12:28skills are set at a national level. And

3:12:30so, you know, there's the direct

3:12:33employment benefits, there's the

3:12:34benefits to the catering community, the

3:12:37carpentry community, the set builders,

3:12:39the designers. So, it is it is a true

3:12:42industry and it's one that, you know,

3:12:44Carol and Jen do again heroic work. Um,

3:12:47I think it's important to note that this

3:12:49is permitting that doesn't happen

3:12:50through safety and permits. This is um

3:12:53lot and and parcel and parking space

3:12:55specific permitting that that Carol and

3:12:58and Jen do every single day. And so we

3:13:01absolutely want to work with council

3:13:02booth on the political strategy side of

3:13:04this of how do we continue to support

3:13:05and market this and council member

3:13:07Morell's point about rethinking some of

3:13:09the strategy around the tourism and

3:13:11culture fund and how we can be making

3:13:13systemic and strategic investments in in

3:13:16culture bearing industries is is a I

3:13:18think a fantastic idea and thinking

3:13:21about how we can better support the

3:13:22industry to market itself. Um, uh, you

3:13:25know, so much of this is about the

3:13:28industry has not only left New Orleans

3:13:29in an appreciable way, it's also left

3:13:31the country and so we have to be more

3:13:34competitive about getting productions

3:13:36back into [clears throat] the city and

3:13:37you know, Carol and Jen do that work as

3:13:40best they can, but I think there are

3:13:41partnerships with New Orleans and

3:13:42Company and others that we've been

3:13:43exploring um, as well about how we can

3:13:45better do that. Um, so yes, those are

3:13:48all fantastic points. Council member

3:13:50Green,

3:13:50>> there's an initiative on a federal level

3:13:52to incentivize film production here in

3:13:54the United States. How can we take

3:13:56advantage of that as a city to encourage

3:13:59vendors to consider New Orleans and to

3:14:01take advantage of the It's a federal tax

3:14:03credit, so you can do it anyway. But

3:14:05even if you haven't thought about it,

3:14:06you didn't know I was going to ask you

3:14:07about the federal credit. I happen to be

3:14:08aware of it, but it's important to

3:14:10recognize that I think that the that the

3:14:13that Congress sees the numbers and they

3:14:16see the challenges. Um, we once as a

3:14:19country dominated the film production

3:14:21industry and we're losing it one film

3:14:25after the other because there are more

3:14:26incentives in other areas including low

3:14:28labor cost and the like. I don't want to

3:14:30get I don't want to get into deep that's

3:14:32why an incentive sometimes makes it

3:14:34available. But how can the city's

3:14:35delegation help to lobby

3:14:38>> to make that film credit possible? Um,

3:14:40so I am working um with the team that

3:14:42has um been able to successfully get

3:14:46that film tax credit proposal up to the

3:14:49federal level. So Katie Prior, who's the

3:14:50Baton Rouge Film Commissioner, actually

3:14:52spearheaded that with the Motion Picture

3:14:54Association, Jen and I were on a on a

3:14:57call um last week about that. So it has

3:15:00been elevated to the f federal level and

3:15:03has bipartisan support. It even has um

3:15:06the president's support and um so it's

3:15:10expected that it will pass. I have a

3:15:11copy of of the actual um statute on my

3:15:15desk right now. I don't know. So, it

3:15:17will be a a a tax credit of about 20%

3:15:20and it's anticipated that states will

3:15:22begin to lower their tax credits, but

3:15:26combined it would um have a huge

3:15:29difference in attracting production back

3:15:31to the United States.

3:15:33>> It's going it's going to pass.

3:15:34>> Oh, absolutely.

3:15:36>> I want us to be first.

3:15:38>> We have [clears throat] Well, I mean, we

3:15:39have the speaker of the house who's from

3:15:41Louisiana. We have the second in command

3:15:43um amongst [clears throat] the majority.

3:15:45And at the end of the day, it's a tax

3:15:47credit that's going to provide 20% on a

3:15:49federal tax obligation. I just want us

3:15:51to be first.

3:15:52>> Well, it it's it's 20% on any production

3:15:55that builds in the United States. So, it

3:15:57covers that. Same as our our state tax

3:15:59credit.

3:16:00>> Jeeoff, let's make it happen.

3:16:01>> Let's make it happen. I would just say

3:16:02that, right? I think the idea here that

3:16:04uh you're making an essential point on

3:16:06is uh that will reshore film production

3:16:09to the US and then how Louisiana and New

3:16:12Orleans continue to compete for the work

3:16:14that we were previously getting. I think

3:16:15that's the the essential task and we'll

3:16:17we'll obviously work really closely with

3:16:19IGR to make sure that we're positioning

3:16:21not just Louisiana but New Orleans

3:16:22specifically to win when when that work

3:16:24comes back. You know who the biggest

3:16:26beneficiary of the state of the um I

3:16:29already revealed it of the city's film

3:16:31production? The state. All of the people

3:16:34who come to the city and pay state taxes

3:16:36and they state um sales taxes. They use

3:16:39production facilities that involve

3:16:41publicly stateowned buildings. They stay

3:16:44in hotels and the city gets so little

3:16:46but the state gets a lot out of that.

3:16:48>> Well, I would also say that the um

3:16:50greatest beneficiary is city of New

3:16:52Orleans directly. It's not something

3:16:54we've ever had the capacity to really

3:16:56follow through, although I have done

3:16:58that over the years myself, but it's

3:17:00time consuming. The amount of hotels

3:17:03that they stay in, we have five film or

3:17:05we have had five film studios in the in

3:17:08New Orleans in the region. Um, when

3:17:11productions are here, even if they're

3:17:13not filming in New Orleans, generally

3:17:14they're staying here. We have an

3:17:15international airport. the um television

3:17:19series Carry-On shot their entire uh

3:17:22television series there and that's all

3:17:25uh revenue into the city. Um not to not

3:17:28to um pass up our restaurants and you

3:17:32know all of our other cultural

3:17:33opportunities that they take advantage

3:17:35of. One of the reasons they come to New

3:17:37Orleans even though they're not here in

3:17:40great numbers is they love our city. And

3:17:43if we had more resources to support

3:17:47them, I absolutely have no thought that

3:17:51they would rather be here than be in

3:17:53many of the other states that they're

3:17:54in.

3:17:55>> I just ask these questions because I

3:17:56don't want us to have a bleak

3:17:57presentation. I don't want the headline

3:17:59to be all film industry is on its way

3:18:00out. At the end of the day, the federal

3:18:02tax credit and there's opportunities

3:18:04available. And I know that we're going

3:18:06to work on the city. I hope that we can

3:18:08work with the state because

3:18:10>> that industry benefits the entirety of

3:18:12the state. It does. Yes, it does.

3:18:14>> Thank you.

3:18:15>> Thank you,

3:18:15>> Council Member Moro.

3:18:18>> Yeah, I'm I'm sorry I took a moment

3:18:19getting out here, Carol. Um,

3:18:22I want to say a couple of things. One, I

3:18:25really appreciate you and the work you

3:18:27do. I say that because

3:18:30you know, I've worked on the film Tax

3:18:32Credits in the state of Louisiana for

3:18:34over a decade.

3:18:35>> Yeah.

3:18:36>> And almost everything that's been set up

3:18:38here is completely wrong. and you have

3:18:40tried to explain how it's all completely

3:18:42wrong.

3:18:43>> Yeah,

3:18:43>> the state of Louisiana hates the film

3:18:45tax credit.

3:18:46>> They hate it. They have always hated it.

3:18:49Legislators from across the state hate

3:18:51it.

3:18:53>> What is interesting is that when the

3:18:54initial film tax credit was inceptual

3:18:56conceptualized in 2004,

3:19:00we led the entire country in film

3:19:02development.

3:19:03>> Yes. Other than LA and New York.

3:19:05>> Right. That's true. And the mistake that

3:19:08we had as a state, there was some

3:19:10tremendous problems with fraud in the

3:19:12program. And rather than address those

3:19:14problems under the Gendall

3:19:16administration, they basically pumped

3:19:18the brakes on it, which is what allowed

3:19:20Georgia to leap ahead of us, they

3:19:23implemented the exact same program we

3:19:25had. And what you saw was a tremendous

3:19:28investment by the Cathy family, Pinewood

3:19:30Studios, and the like. And they built

3:19:31the infrastructure to support the

3:19:34industry. And by the time people like

3:19:36Carol and I could like limp the film

3:19:38program back up because the

3:19:41infrastructure was there with the tax

3:19:43credit everything went to Georgia.

3:19:45That's why every Marvel film is filmed

3:19:47in Georgia. Now since then we have had

3:19:50to fight tooth and nail every single

3:19:53time there is a fiscal crisis in the

3:19:55state of Louisiana because the film tax

3:19:58credit is disproportionately believed to

3:20:02benefit New Orleans. Now, in some ways

3:20:04it does. To Carol's point, the direct

3:20:07spend that you use on the credit, a lot

3:20:09of it is done to hire New Orleans people

3:20:12have benefits to New Orleans. So much so

3:20:15that in the last version of the credit

3:20:18that we were able to get the legislature

3:20:20that hates the credit to pass, we had to

3:20:23give a 30% bump to film outside New

3:20:26Orleans.

3:20:27>> Yes. So, just so you know, under the

3:20:29current version of the film tax credit

3:20:31program, as you're computing your tax

3:20:33credits, you get a bump to film outside

3:20:36of New Orleans because the rest of the

3:20:37legislature was so upset people kept

3:20:41filming in New Orleans. Now, I say all

3:20:43of that because the reason why the

3:20:46program works and the reason why people

3:20:48still film here is because people like

3:20:52Carol make it so easy to film here. And

3:20:55I say that because as we know when you

3:20:57were briefly not here,

3:21:01your office has done such a fantastic

3:21:03job of making the process of filming

3:21:05seamless. You deal with the permitting,

3:21:07you deal with NOPD, and so when people

3:21:10want to come here and film, you're a

3:21:11one-stop shop.

3:21:13>> They know that if they have to block out

3:21:14a block or block out a part of the city,

3:21:17you do all the leg work to get that

3:21:18done. And [clears throat] that is why we

3:21:20punch above our weight. But I want to

3:21:22dismiss any idea that we're going to go

3:21:25to the legislature and lobby them and

3:21:26they're going to change the credit.

3:21:28Anytime you highlight this credit, you

3:21:31put a bullseye on it to die.

3:21:33>> That's true.

3:21:34>> 100%.

3:21:35>> Because you remind the legislature it

3:21:37exists and then they try to bury it and

3:21:39kill it in the backyard. Um, I can tell

3:21:42you that due to the work we've done over

3:21:44a decade, we've gotten the ROI to a

3:21:46point where it's even because the

3:21:48biggest problem we had initially was

3:21:50that the return on investment for the

3:21:51film tax credit was always less than

3:21:53what the state put out. Because of all

3:21:56of the years of reform that we did, it

3:21:58now breaks even, which puts it in a

3:22:00healthy spot. But do not think for a

3:22:03second that the legislature would not

3:22:05murder the film tax credit, murder the

3:22:07digital media tax credit, murder every

3:22:09nonoil tax credit if they could, if it

3:22:12meant horizontal well drilling would get

3:22:14two more dollars. And so part of the

3:22:17political theory of the film tax credit

3:22:19is just keep it alive so that I see and

3:22:23that all these organizations that

3:22:24benefit from it that we can use it to

3:22:26punch above our weight. But any idea

3:22:31that anyone's going to go to the

3:22:33legislature and tinker with that credit

3:22:37at this point is not only naive, it's

3:22:39dangerous cuz you will end up murdering

3:22:41it. Because there are so many people

3:22:43that when you remind them, it is like a

3:22:46talking point for every legislator that

3:22:49is above the I 10 or west of Baton

3:22:53Rouge. If you remind them it exists, the

3:22:55first they do is try and kill it. So, I

3:22:57appreciate the work you do. We're going

3:22:59to continue to hope it flies under the

3:23:01radar so we continue to have a film tax

3:23:02credit. And I certainly hope the federal

3:23:06government passes one. But, as you know,

3:23:08until we develop more robust

3:23:09infrastructure, until we develop um the

3:23:13ability to do post production locally,

3:23:16we're never going to fully maximize the

3:23:18industry because we do the film on

3:23:21location. Post-prouction still happens

3:23:22in California. I would say it abs

3:23:25happens outside of the country now,

3:23:27>> right?

3:23:27>> Not even California. I mean, California

3:23:30is also, you know,

3:23:31>> they're hemorrhaging. I mean, I mean I

3:23:33mean I I know from my contacts in the

3:23:36industry, they're even not they're not

3:23:38even going to Canada anymore. They're

3:23:40fully leaving North America.

3:23:41>> Central Europe.

3:23:42>> Yeah. Central Europe. Prague.

3:23:44>> Um Interview with a Vampire shot their

3:23:46first season here and the last three

3:23:48seasons in Prague.

3:23:50>> Thank you, Carol.

3:23:51>> Yeah. And that is why the president and

3:23:53the Congress are going to pass the tax

3:23:55credit because they recognize that we

3:23:57can't continue to lose that. I hope that

3:23:59we'll be optimistic about the

3:24:00legislature and recognize that part of

3:24:02the problem that we have in Louisiana is

3:24:04that we assume that certain things can't

3:24:06change. Okay.

3:24:08>> All right. I have one comment card for

3:24:10Morgan Clevener.

3:24:12And look, while Morgan's coming up, a

3:24:14quick programming note. If you are here

3:24:16for Norah or NOIC, we are moving that to

3:24:19uh October 28th.

3:24:22So, y'all can leave if you're here for

3:24:24Norah or Novic.

3:24:27>> Yes, ma'am.

3:24:28>> Good afternoon. Um, I want to thank

3:24:30Carol very much. Um, I started in the

3:24:32film business here in the 1970s and over

3:24:36that 30 years, um, we built three deep

3:24:39crews, right? We changed a lot. [snorts]

3:24:43We built uh the film first film office

3:24:46under the mayor Mark Morio's

3:24:47administration. We saw the creation of

3:24:50the Louisiana film commission and I was

3:24:53there for the debacle of the first state

3:24:55credits and that phase. But I also want

3:24:59to say that those 30 years I was able to

3:25:03change what producers were coming to New

3:25:06Orleans for. And um at that time, swamp,

3:25:12jazz musician, voodoo queen, steamboat.

3:25:15That was it. That was the story line.

3:25:17And so as a producer, production

3:25:19manager, location manager, I was able to

3:25:22influence what stories were being told.

3:25:25And that helped promote the business

3:25:28even further. And we also

3:25:31>> [snorts]

3:25:31>> um marketed as a generic location

3:25:34because um it was important to say, "Oh,

3:25:38producers, you can't film here because

3:25:41it does it only looks like New Orleans."

3:25:43We had a whole array of of locations

3:25:46just to say generic. Um, but one of the

3:25:49biggest things I'm proud of is that at

3:25:52that time, uh, film producers were

3:25:55hiring SAG actors out of New York and LA

3:25:59to play New Orleans musicians and

3:26:01culture bearsers. And I was the one that

3:26:02changed that. Yeah. So, promotion and

3:26:05marketing is everything. And I think the

3:26:09tax credits, that's a [snorts] fight

3:26:11that I think JP Moral just explained why

3:26:14that's such a big fight. We know it's a

3:26:16big fight. But I do believe that

3:26:18investment into the marketing promotion

3:26:21because we used to go to nappy. We used

3:26:22to go everywhere. Um because direct and

3:26:25indirect spending is huge. It's huge. So

3:26:29we need to bring that bring it back.

3:26:31>> Thank you Morgan. Ashley uh has gone. We

3:26:35are moving on to nighttime economy.

3:26:37Thank you Carol.

3:26:38>> Thank you.

3:26:46Small

3:27:07but mighty team number four. Um, here.

3:27:13>> All right. Um, council members, if you

3:27:16all are ready, uh, Michael, you ready to

3:27:18take us away?

3:27:20>> Let's go. Great.

3:27:25>> Good afternoon, everyone. Uh, Mike Ants.

3:27:27I'm the uh, director of the office of

3:27:31nighttime economy, which I have a great

3:27:33privilege of representing both workers

3:27:36and the best that is the city, which is

3:27:39our hospitality businesses. Um just as

3:27:42Jeff had mentioned, you know, as a small

3:27:44but mighty team, we are a team of three.

3:27:47Uh we are, you know, very uh aggressive

3:27:50in nature, I would say, in making uh

3:27:52change happen quickly. Um we keep a

3:27:56restaurant's pace and address issues in

3:27:58real time, much like an owner or a

3:28:00worker that faces the daily challenges

3:28:02of living and working in the city of New

3:28:04Orleans.

3:28:05As you're all very much aware, a single

3:28:07power shut off or boil water advisory

3:28:10not just affects a business, but it

3:28:12impacts the entire down the line staff.

3:28:14Everything from being able to pay a

3:28:16triple net lease to a property owner or

3:28:18being able to make your way home uh on a

3:28:21buser's salary. So, we take our job with

3:28:24um with a great deal of pride and um

3:28:27aggressive nature, of course, uh because

3:28:29that's what the people uh that work in

3:28:32this industry deserve. um we see you, we

3:28:34hear you and um the the best thing we

3:28:37can do, you know, when we put these

3:28:38goals together is seeing and hearing

3:28:39everyone. And so the goals that we uh

3:28:42have in our presentation today are a

3:28:43reflection of the strategic plan that we

3:28:45released this past November.

3:28:49Getting into the uh proposed and adopted

3:28:51budget, um of course you can see some

3:28:54differences in our personnel as well as

3:28:55operating costs. Um mostly our operating

3:28:58costs were buoied on one-time

3:29:00expenditures from 25 mainly around our

3:29:03tuneup grant that was created inhouse

3:29:05and partnered with Oiler University. Um

3:29:07that grant program has since been

3:29:09absolved but even though it has been

3:29:10absolved we'll talk about a little bit

3:29:12more. Uh we're going to try and get

3:29:14creative to uh continue that program on

3:29:16because of its growth. Um our personnel,

3:29:19there are three of us of course. Um,

3:29:21being the director, I spend uh quite a

3:29:23bit of time um out in the field on my

3:29:25feet uh seeing what's happening in

3:29:27businesses, addressing quality of life

3:29:29issues, permitting issues. Um, as you

3:29:32can imagine, anything and everything

3:29:33that happens to a business in this city,

3:29:35uh, we we get out in front of it and see

3:29:37it. We have two staffers. Uh, one is our

3:29:41policy and outreach manager, which has,

3:29:43uh, has since vacated the position as of

3:29:45recently, which, um, was a huge force in

3:29:48the office. So many of the the items

3:29:50that you'll see whether goals that we

3:29:52have for 2627 or things that have been

3:29:55accomplished uh were conducted with that

3:29:57position. So it is uh left awake uh

3:30:00within the office of course. So we've uh

3:30:02shifted duties onto ourselves but um we

3:30:04also have the third position which is

3:30:06Robert Hener Bill and um he is you know

3:30:10conducted uh a lot of community outreach

3:30:13and you know to to to put some praise on

3:30:16him uh is the staffer who built the

3:30:19downtown discount parking program from

3:30:21the ground up which I I can't uh express

3:30:24how impactful that has been to our

3:30:25service industry workers. many of our

3:30:27business owners or managers spend a

3:30:29considerable amount of their own money

3:30:31paying for service industry workers to

3:30:33get to and from work or to get home. And

3:30:35so, uh, that program has been an

3:30:37incredible, um, you know, endeavor to to

3:30:41start from the the ground up at a simple

3:30:43ask and to see its positive benefits now

3:30:46has been, uh, has been fantastic. And

3:30:48so, thank you to him and his work.

3:30:50The operating cost. So you can see um

3:30:52the difference from before is of course

3:30:54what we had mentioned uh around the

3:30:56tuneup grant where we were going to be

3:30:57expending some funds to try and continue

3:31:00that on with their in-house professor

3:31:02audio engineers so that we could get

3:31:04into some of our venues and address

3:31:06quality of life noise complaints in a

3:31:08much more technical manner. Uh rather

3:31:10than being reactive to issues, we wanted

3:31:12to be uh much more proactive and address

3:31:14root cause issues. So that's where you

3:31:16see the difference in the operating

3:31:18funds.

3:31:20Um getting into

3:31:23into our goals um much like I said

3:31:25before um our goals were really worked

3:31:28out throughout our strategic planning

3:31:30process that we had conducted internally

3:31:32over an 8-month period uh towards the

3:31:35end of 2025

3:31:36um beginning in 2025 ending in in uh the

3:31:39beginning of 26. But um over 8 months of

3:31:43time spent working with business owners

3:31:45and uh potential you know or past

3:31:48business owners to find where our our

3:31:50gaps pain points were in um in the

3:31:52permitting process. Uh I will say that

3:31:55the safety and permit stream le uh team

3:31:57led by Susanna Kirby has uh made a huge

3:31:59improvement which has made our life a

3:32:01lot easier. But uh we do spend a

3:32:03considerable lot of time um in many ways

3:32:05shephering business owners, existing

3:32:07business owners or new business owners

3:32:08through our permitting process.

3:32:11As you can see here, um we have released

3:32:14the first ever set of nightlife business

3:32:16resource guides. Um built them out in

3:32:192025 and then reformed them to add a

3:32:21couple new templates to be um to be used

3:32:24by proprietors or potential businesses.

3:32:27Every step possible that you would have

3:32:28to go through to open a restaurant, a

3:32:30food popup, uh or you know, a nightlife

3:32:34business in general. uh mainly a live

3:32:35entertainment business too. When you can

3:32:37see with the the uh sound management

3:32:39best practices which have been really

3:32:41really positively received from our

3:32:43proprietors and of course um you can get

3:32:45direct feedback from your neighbors and

3:32:47if they uh have any noise complaints. Uh

3:32:49but we also account for a lot of

3:32:50different things. We have her hurricane

3:32:52preparedness checklist. We have uh

3:32:54police incident reports. We have um

3:32:57insurance best practices, parking

3:32:59behavior. Anything that you experience

3:33:01as a nightlife business, we have

3:33:02addressed in um in both our strategic

3:33:05plan as well as this really robust

3:33:07business uh guide that we've created in

3:33:09house

3:33:13further nightlife business support and

3:33:14visibility. Um what we would like to do

3:33:17is um is is place a lot of our our

3:33:20businesses on a map so it's easier for

3:33:22visitors to be able to um engage with uh

3:33:26with businesses in our other districts

3:33:28rather than just downtown. Of course,

3:33:29our downtown core is incredibly

3:33:31important to us. It is the highest

3:33:32concentration of of nightlife

3:33:34businesses, but much like you all would

3:33:37express yourselves, um getting an

3:33:39opportunity to go out into our

3:33:40neighborhoods and experiencing nightlife

3:33:42um you know, bars, restaurants, live

3:33:45entertainment venues is a direct

3:33:46reflection of us as a community. And so

3:33:49we found it to be really important to be

3:33:51able to assist those businesses and get

3:33:53tourists and and locals um a bird's eye

3:33:55view of what is also in our districts.

3:33:57So that's a big uh goal for ours in

3:33:592027. We don't really see uh any

3:34:01expenditures around that much like we

3:34:03have done with other programs. We have,

3:34:04you know, attack that problem internally

3:34:06and um and work with other uh

3:34:08departments to address it. Um, as you

3:34:11can imagine, we spend a considerable

3:34:13amount of time uh working with current

3:34:15business owners or new business owners

3:34:17to rectify zoning violations or holds

3:34:19and trying to get them into a into a

3:34:22path of compliance so that they can do

3:34:25what they want to do, which is operate

3:34:26and um and and and be a part of the

3:34:29community. And so we spend a lot of time

3:34:31uh you know doing that. And that's kind

3:34:33of where we see the the potential gap

3:34:35with having any kind of impacts to the

3:34:37amount of staff that we have. Uh just

3:34:39because we we probably on average take

3:34:42five to 10 um business calls each week

3:34:45where we you know work through those

3:34:47business compliance issues and shepherd

3:34:49them back into um back into compliance.

3:35:00So uh I know that this has been

3:35:02discussed um you know to add nauseium uh

3:35:05everywhere has experienced this when it

3:35:07comes to a summer slump so to speak uh

3:35:10in the hospitality industry. Uh I do

3:35:12believe that we probably face uh the

3:35:15greatest amount of impacts of this

3:35:16because we are such a hospitalitycentric

3:35:18city is that we found um in that

3:35:20strategic plan that we really needed to

3:35:23dedicate a lot of our staff time to

3:35:26being creative for our businesses and

3:35:28provide some support for them during the

3:35:30summer uh summer season. Whether that's

3:35:32offering opportunities for training for

3:35:34service industry workers or businesses

3:35:36on deferred maintenance. It was an

3:35:38opportunity to try and promote and

3:35:40market and advertise businesses that do

3:35:42not have that money during the summer

3:35:43months. They cannot budget for it. So,

3:35:46what we decided to do is use our

3:35:48office's platform as well as our

3:35:49existing relationships to try and ask

3:35:52for some favors uh and see if we could

3:35:54promote businesses by working with uh

3:35:56with council as well as your staff to

3:35:58connect you with influencers and using

3:36:00their reach and their platform to be

3:36:01able to support these businesses and

3:36:03express as to why you as council members

3:36:06or neighbors of that district go to

3:36:08these businesses. Why do you go there

3:36:09after a graduation? Why do you go there

3:36:12um with friends in town? What do these

3:36:14spaces mean to you? And why do you want

3:36:15to share that with others? We have a

3:36:17very difficult time uh you know calling

3:36:20spaces such as this um you know bars.

3:36:22[snorts] Of course we we do these are

3:36:24alcohol outlets but um as you can see

3:36:27with uh drinking patterns not everybody

3:36:29is is going to these spaces to drink.

3:36:31They're there to you know experience

3:36:33community and build relationships, watch

3:36:35a Saints game. And so what we wanted to

3:36:37do was uh provide a space that we could

3:36:39that we could share the reasons why

3:36:41people go to these these businesses. And

3:36:44um it was very wellreceived. We can't uh

3:36:46thank you all enough for the staff time

3:36:47that you dedicated to working with us.

3:36:50Um we had some really good uh return

3:36:53data on those uh those events. We held n

3:36:56uh five of course that included 943

3:36:59businesses um that were advertised uh in

3:37:02the voting process. Um we visited 28

3:37:05businesses

3:37:07um with 151 uh receiving votes. total

3:37:10votes of 2,000 um over 21 social media

3:37:14posts from our offices. Also 45

3:37:17influencer posts. So again getting back

3:37:18to that that amount of reach or views

3:37:21from influencers, local influencers uh

3:37:23was a big shot in the army businesses

3:37:25and we saw a lot of residual uh

3:37:27patronage after we had conducted the

3:37:29districts after dark series. We had over

3:37:31640,000

3:37:33um touch points which again you know

3:37:35getting back to it uh summertime is not

3:37:38uh a time where any hospitality business

3:37:40can really um put their their their

3:37:42budget into u marketing the business

3:37:45that is really save for the fall

3:37:47football season uh moving into the

3:37:49holiday season is the sales season. So,

3:37:51what we're going to do is we're uh we're

3:37:52hoping to expand that with y'all's

3:37:54support, working directly with you again

3:37:56to see how we can improve upon it. Um as

3:37:58well as um getting more reach in newer

3:38:01businesses and not, you know, our our

3:38:03our businesses that we all seem to think

3:38:04of in our in our districts. So, it's a

3:38:06great program, very proud of it. And it

3:38:08cost us nothing.

3:38:12So, just like mentioned before, uh you

3:38:15know, the downtown discount uh parking

3:38:18program, which uh we're incredibly proud

3:38:20of, we just started with a a general ask

3:38:22to our private parking operators and and

3:38:24how we could get these empty spaces

3:38:26filled and put the right people that

3:38:28needed to be in those spaces that were

3:38:29there for work uh in an advantageous uh

3:38:33uh position. And so, it's been uh it's

3:38:35been a fantastic program. You know, you

3:38:37may have seen the the recent um press

3:38:39releases about it as well as our social

3:38:41media post that we have gone on to

3:38:43expand that program to now include

3:38:45musicians. We're piloting that program

3:38:47on Frenchman Street. Uh just went live.

3:38:49Uh so we've worked with all the venues

3:38:51on Frenchman Street to um to be able to

3:38:54uh work with their their regular

3:38:56rotation of musicians as well as ones

3:38:58that are coming in on tours to be able

3:38:59to go park at substantially uh reduced

3:39:02parking rates there next to Frenchman

3:39:04Street. Once we've u measured that uh we

3:39:07are going to uh measure it after a

3:39:09six-month period and see if we can

3:39:10expand that throughout the French

3:39:11Quarter and throughout the rest of the

3:39:13city. Um of course many of you all are

3:39:16aware we have the existing uh musician

3:39:18loading zone program that was created a

3:39:19few years ago. It's had some uh some

3:39:22hiccups. Of course it's very very

3:39:23difficult to uh to manage or to enforce

3:39:26those freight zone areas for that

3:39:2815minute period. So, what we're going to

3:39:29hope to do is expand upon that program

3:39:32and use some of our uh our partners'

3:39:34best practices, namely Seattle, who has

3:39:36moved on from their loading zone program

3:39:38into a permitted pathway for our venues.

3:39:41So, that we would have multiple options

3:39:42for musicians to uh be able to get their

3:39:45equipment out and park for free. And so,

3:39:47you have a you would have a discounted

3:39:49uh option in the lots and then you would

3:39:51have a free option that would be paid

3:39:53for by venues directly in front of uh

3:39:56that that space. And so we're hoping to

3:39:59to work on that this year. So I'm sure

3:40:01we'll we'll be sharing more information

3:40:03about that as well. Um but a lot of the

3:40:06work that we've also uh conducted in

3:40:08partnership with the Department of

3:40:09Public Works, State DOT, our friends at

3:40:12Bike Easy as well as the uh Bware by

3:40:14Water Mariny business owners group about

3:40:17how we can improve the safety on St.

3:40:19Claude Avenue. It's a state highway

3:40:21which has many challenges as you can all

3:40:23uh you know detail is that um St. CL

3:40:26during the day is a completely different

3:40:28street than it is at night. And that's a

3:40:29good thing. And what we want to do is is

3:40:31make it as safe as possible for those

3:40:33patrons. Uh because there's a lot of

3:40:35distractions and there's a lot of um you

3:40:38know traffic calming safety measures

3:40:39that just not have been addressed over

3:40:41over the many years. And so um we want

3:40:43to harness that. We want to support

3:40:44those businesses. And so we um we meet

3:40:46with them quarterly and uh and

3:40:48communicate with them. And so we're

3:40:49directly involved in that initiative and

3:40:51u very proud to be a part of it. of

3:40:53course, uh being very supportive and and

3:40:56included in the uh Canal Street

3:40:58Renaissance executive order. Um it's a

3:41:00long time coming and uh we're very

3:41:02excited to be a part of that process as

3:41:04well.

3:41:09Public safety and quality of life. Um I

3:41:11think probably the most important uh

3:41:13issues that we address in in nightife or

3:41:16um you know is is how we can make sure

3:41:19that our areas are safe. you know, not

3:41:21just outside of the venues, but inside

3:41:23of the venues. We need uh we need

3:41:25patrons and staff to feel as safe as

3:41:27possible. That's what we all um why we

3:41:29all go to these spaces is to is to feel

3:41:32safe and build community. And so we've

3:41:35done a lot of uh work in this past year

3:41:38um internally and that's [clears throat]

3:41:40uh directly reflected with our

3:41:42partnership with the safe bar network.

3:41:44Um that is a free partnership. They are

3:41:46a fantastic organization that provides

3:41:49no cost uh violence deescalation

3:41:51training as well as sexual harassment

3:41:53training. Um active bystander training,

3:41:56how to engage with individuals that have

3:41:58been drinking and um preventing issues

3:42:00from arising. Anything from, you know,

3:42:03paying attention to somebody being overs

3:42:04served before they get into the bar or

3:42:06may be sneaking drinks, somebody that

3:42:08may being sequestered off from a party.

3:42:10active ways to um have soft soft uh

3:42:14point touch measures to be able to

3:42:16engage in a way to where people feel

3:42:18safe, seen, and heard. So, we're very

3:42:20proud of that partnership. We've um

3:42:22since, you know, uh January 1st of 26,

3:42:25we've trained 17 venues so far, which

3:42:28has been fantastic. Uh we have 10 to 12

3:42:30new venues that are that are in the

3:42:32pipeline to get this no cost training.

3:42:34That's amounted to 246 service industry

3:42:37workers trained at no cost to them. This

3:42:39is a cost that is paid for uh by the uh

3:42:42distributors and liquor companies. And

3:42:44so one of the things that we've we've

3:42:45openly discussed about a benefit of this

3:42:48program is that service industries they

3:42:50transfer jobs, right? And so this is no

3:42:53cost training that they can take with

3:42:54them um to other venues and make a

3:42:57direct impact in those venues and make

3:42:59sure that people feel safe. Again, um

3:43:02going back to before, you know, I spent

3:43:04a considerable amount of time uh in the

3:43:06mediate NOLA program addressing 311

3:43:08noise complaints, all types of quality

3:43:10of life issues. Um anything from

3:43:12sanitation, road abatement, um you know,

3:43:16of course, noise complaints, which I I

3:43:18spend a considerable amount of time on.

3:43:20I think we've gotten very creative again

3:43:22uh at addressing. Um, but we spend a

3:43:24considerable amount of time uh making

3:43:26sure that proprietors and venues and

3:43:29staff know that the best customer is

3:43:31your neighbor. We have to make sure that

3:43:33that is the top of priority is that any

3:43:35businesses within a neighborhood or just

3:43:38in the city uh needs to see our our

3:43:41residents as your first customer and not

3:43:43um as a as a turn and burn type of sale.

3:43:46You know, we need to have some diplomacy

3:43:48amongst u you know, proprietors and

3:43:50neighbors. And I think we've we've done

3:43:51a very good job of uh being effective of

3:43:53that because these situations as as

3:43:55you've all experienced are very

3:43:56contentious. So we're very proud of

3:43:58that. If I can jump in just really

3:44:00quickly, I know we're uh getting to the

3:44:02end of uh the presentation here, but um

3:44:04you know, I think that uh framing

3:44:07nighttime economies work on a couple of

3:44:09different fronts uh is is helpful. One,

3:44:12it's it's obviously the policy and

3:44:14strategy, right, of supporting all the

3:44:16businesses that participate uh in the

3:44:18nighttime economy. um which very much is

3:44:21about supporting you know uh culture and

3:44:24culture bearsers in our community

3:44:25because so many of these issues um

3:44:27interface with what wood and his team uh

3:44:30do every day but also you know countless

3:44:32uh advocates and stakeholders. I also

3:44:34just want to make the very essential

3:44:35point uh that I think mediate Nola

3:44:38highlights which is that Mike and Rob

3:44:40and and Julia formerly uh they are uh an

3:44:44arm of concier services for the city. I

3:44:46know that when council offices, when the

3:44:48administration, when we get the phone

3:44:50calls, when we get folks who need help

3:44:52navigating any number of processes or

3:44:54just interfacing with their neighbors,

3:44:56that's work that uh the nighttime

3:44:58economy is out there doing. And so, as

3:45:00we think about what concierge means, you

3:45:02know, can mean a lot of different

3:45:03things, but helping folks navigate

3:45:05different processes and systems, that is

3:45:07the breadandbut work that um uh

3:45:09nighttime economy office is doing every

3:45:11day. So, I just want to applaud you all

3:45:13for that.

3:45:14>> Great. Thank you. Um, and I can tell you

3:45:16that in district B, you've been a great

3:45:18help to resolve many, many issues uh

3:45:21with neighbors who are complaining about

3:45:23venues. Um, and I really had a good time

3:45:26doing the uh districts after dark. So

3:45:29hopefully we can keep that up and expand

3:45:31it. I do have uh one suggestion. Um,

3:45:35can we do some programming around uh the

3:45:38LEH building? You know, May pop went out

3:45:40of business. Um, maybe just to do an

3:45:42event there. I'm happy to happy to with

3:45:45that.

3:45:45>> Yes, that that is a fantastic

3:45:47suggestion. We we'll absolutely do that.

3:45:48>> Okay, great. Council member McCarron and

3:45:50then Council Member Moro.

3:45:52>> Uh thank you Mike and your team. Um we

3:45:55have worked together many times and had

3:45:57you know midnight phone calls about uh

3:46:00bars uptown causing problems, but we've

3:46:03worked through those together with the

3:46:05bar owner. um that bar is open and there

3:46:07there's now an open line of

3:46:09communication between that bar owner and

3:46:11neighbors and things are are going well.

3:46:13And that's, you know, directly related

3:46:15to you and your team um and my office

3:46:18working together to make sure that, you

3:46:19know, we we don't want places to close.

3:46:21We want businesses to thrive um and stay

3:46:24here. So, I think that's a direct result

3:46:26of the work that your office does, and I

3:46:28appreciate that and and look forward to

3:46:29continue working with y'all. Um and

3:46:31thank you to Rob and and you you guys on

3:46:34the districts after dark. was a

3:46:35wonderful um event. You know, we we had

3:46:38two two places that were advertising

3:46:42vote trying to get votes for for the

3:46:43council to come. Um so, you know, we

3:46:46really had engagement from neighborhood

3:46:48bars and and I think people really

3:46:51appreciated that. Um even even the the

3:46:54places that we didn't go to um still got

3:46:56highlighted and I think those can be on

3:46:58the list for next time. Um, and you

3:47:00know, I'm certainly open to doing it um,

3:47:02[snorts] more consistently because it

3:47:04also makes us get out of the the office,

3:47:07out of city hall and and interacting

3:47:09with people in our business uh, in our

3:47:11in our business community more. So, um,

3:47:13really appreciate that. And of course,

3:47:16um, the work that you're doing with the

3:47:17harm reduction. Um, you know, we've got

3:47:19I've got a lot of college kids in in my

3:47:21district and and we need to keep them

3:47:23safe as possible. Um, and

3:47:25[clears throat] that really is a

3:47:27significant thing that you guys are

3:47:28doing. So appreciate all the work that

3:47:30y'all are doing. Thank you.

3:47:32>> Thank you. Um let's take these two

3:47:34comment cards. Alen Laspa and then

3:47:36Morgan Clevenger.

3:47:49Hello. Thank you for having the space

3:47:51for community to come and speak. Uh my

3:47:53name is Alaspina, executive director of

3:47:55Bike Easy, a local bike nonprofit. Some

3:47:58of you know [clears throat] me already,

3:48:00but I'm here today because I want to

3:48:02share a little bit about what the office

3:48:03of night and economy has meant to our

3:48:05work on the ground. At byi, we talk a

3:48:08lot about making bicycle easy, safe, and

3:48:10fun for everyone in greater New Orleans.

3:48:12One thing we've learned over and over

3:48:14again is that you can't work on

3:48:16transportation in isolation. You have to

3:48:18understand the businesses, workers,

3:48:20residents, and culture that make a

3:48:22strict street function. That has been

3:48:24particularly true uh through our safer

3:48:26St. Cloud campaign which Mike brought

3:48:28up. St. Cloud is a state road running

3:48:30through our city, but it is also a

3:48:32neighborhood commercial corridor with

3:48:34restaurants, bars, music venues, small

3:48:36businesses, residents, people walking,

3:48:38biking, driving, and taking transit.

3:48:40We've been trying to bring all of those

3:48:42perspectives into conversations about

3:48:44what a safer St. Cloud can look like.

3:48:46The Office of Night Economy has been an

3:48:48important partner in that work. They've

3:48:50helped us connect with businesses owners

3:48:53and have created opportunities for

3:48:54conversations that we might not

3:48:55otherwise

3:48:57have had. And I want to give a shout out

3:49:00to for Mike and his team because they

3:49:01they came out to one of our late night

3:49:03uh bike and [snorts] walk audits in the

3:49:05corridor. Those conversations have been

3:49:07incredibly valuable because we're not

3:49:10just talking about bike lanes and or

3:49:12street designs in the abstracts. We're

3:49:14talking about the people who actually

3:49:16operate businesses and make their living

3:49:17on that street. that's changed how we

3:49:20think about our advocacy. So lots of

3:49:23lessons learned uh really support the

3:49:25work of office of nitan economy economy

3:49:27and they've been a great partner. Thank

3:49:29you

3:49:30>> Morgan Cleinger.

3:49:42Good afternoon. Last one y'all. um

3:49:44growing up in the French Quarter and the

3:49:46TMA, my parents had two bars, um

3:49:49restaurants, and of course 40 years, 42

3:49:52years of the Upper Line restaurant. And

3:49:54one of the key pieces of how a local

3:49:57business stays open because we're seeing

3:49:59way too many businesses, restaurants,

3:50:01bars, and hospitality businesses closed

3:50:04since the pandemic and still today. Um

3:50:07but the the secret formula was to try to

3:50:10have a balance of locals and repeat

3:50:12tourism and my mother was very very good

3:50:15at that. Um, but unfortunately today

3:50:18what we see, what we know is that the

3:50:22citizens of New Orleans are up against

3:50:24it financially. And where some of us

3:50:26used to be able to eat out or go to a

3:50:28club twice a week or couple of times,

3:50:31you know, in a month, it's once a month,

3:50:34maybe maybe not for 6 months. And we've

3:50:37turned from a 24-hour town where you

3:50:39could eat great food and hear great

3:50:41music to everything's closed at 9:00.

3:50:44literally closed at 9:00. The other

3:50:47thing I want to talk about, I really

3:50:48want to integrate with our neighborhood

3:50:50and this gentleman because we've had a

3:50:53long-term problem on Gentilli [snorts]

3:50:55and North Broad, which is also a state

3:50:57highway. We we have so many serious

3:51:00wrecks um and fatalities, and we just

3:51:03had three major crashes uh last weekend,

3:51:06but also Gentilly by the fairgrounds,

3:51:09that seven block stretch is enormously

3:51:12unsafe. And we have a bar down the

3:51:15street and the the giant where

3:51:18people are coming out of four exits

3:51:20drunk. Um, and that is a major crash

3:51:22site right in front of the fairgrounds.

3:51:25Um, we have a popup food vendors who are

3:51:29literally setting up in the street. We

3:51:31had two pedestrian hit and runs on that

3:51:33corner last year. So, we really want to

3:51:35work with you guys and the work that

3:51:37Elen is doing on St. Claude, we want to

3:51:40see that happen here. But let's get our

3:51:42locals. Don't increase the safety and

3:51:45permits.

3:51:47>> Thank you, Council Member Green. You

3:51:49have your button pushed.

3:51:51>> I do want to thank you for the work that

3:51:53you do. I I also want to thank you for

3:51:55districts after dark. Um, it was great

3:51:58to visit those new businesses, but I do

3:52:01want to emphasize one thing because

3:52:03sometimes we walk away from these

3:52:04hearings, and I'm not always just

3:52:06focusing on the positive just because,

3:52:08but in my district alone, we've had nine

3:52:10new restaurants open in the last four

3:52:13years. You've had a chance to visit

3:52:14them. We had one who was wiped out by

3:52:16Hurricane Ida, um, who came back, Good

3:52:19Time Sushi. I might as well mention

3:52:20their name, and invested significantly.

3:52:22Yeah. Invested significantly in their

3:52:25location. I also want us to leave with

3:52:27the positives where we can on districts

3:52:29after dark. We went to a restaurant

3:52:32called Kosan. For example, guess what?

3:52:35Since then, they've also announced that

3:52:37they're going to be doing business at

3:52:38LSU New Orleans. So, they're going to

3:52:39have two locations. We went to

3:52:41Cajunicious, a restaurant opened by a

3:52:44family on Paris Avenue at Mirabu, who

3:52:47couldn't be more pleased to do business

3:52:49in the city of New Orleans. We had an

3:52:52opportunity to see people locally who've

3:52:54invested in their businesses who guess

3:52:56what folks don't require one visit from

3:52:59a tourist to do well. There are local

3:53:02businesses in our city that need to be

3:53:04given more attention, but our business

3:53:06owners need to be recognized for the

3:53:08investment that they've made. And your

3:53:10office has provided support in a variety

3:53:12of ways. Working out permit issues,

3:53:14working out issues relative to community

3:53:17concerns. Keep that up. But your office

3:53:19is important to rec to helping us to

3:53:21recognize especially the locallyowned

3:53:24businesses that are doing well that are

3:53:27feeling good about the future of the

3:53:29city of New Orleans. So I look forward

3:53:30to continuing to work with you.

3:53:32>> Thank you. And if I can add on to that

3:53:34too, um, one of the, you know, the the

3:53:37things that was so important from from

3:53:39especially your districts after dark

3:53:40event was that, you know, visiting

3:53:42Koshan King, we were able to connect

3:53:44them since they have a vendor permit is

3:53:46it connecting them with the new Ottoman

3:53:47Park opening so that they can go and

3:53:49vend out there as well. And so without

3:53:51that happening, you know, we wouldn't

3:53:52have been able to make that connection

3:53:53for them. So it's fantastic.

3:53:55>> Thank you for that work. It resulted in

3:53:57very productive developments. Thank you.

3:54:00>> Thank you, Council Member Moro. Thank

3:54:02you. I appreciate you being here, Mike.

3:54:04Um, two quick things. First, obviously,

3:54:07part of the benefit we saw in moving uh

3:54:10towing and parking enforcement to NOPD

3:54:12was them being more active during the

3:54:14night. Um, how

3:54:17have you seen that increased enforcement

3:54:19yet or is that something NOPD is working

3:54:21towards?

3:54:22>> Oh, it's been it's been a huge help. Uh,

3:54:25thank you to of course everyone who made

3:54:27that happen and Captain Mishu and his

3:54:28team and the and the parking enforcement

3:54:30team. Um that is a very difficult job,

3:54:33right? To be out uh in the streets at

3:54:35night uh people engaging, you know, in

3:54:37alcohol and everything. Nobody's going

3:54:39to be happy about a parking ticket, let

3:54:40alone a boot or being towed when you're

3:54:42out trying to have fun. Um but from a

3:54:45public safety standpoint, our corners,

3:54:47intersections, sevens, fire hydrants,

3:54:50driveways being blocked prov, you know,

3:54:52it it creates a a really difficult or

3:54:55challenging public safety issue. you

3:54:57know, our fire, EMS, uh, police cannot

3:54:59get through in some of these tight

3:55:00corners. Um, and what ends up happening

3:55:02is it, um, you know, people end up not

3:55:04wanting to go into the venue. So, it

3:55:06creates a lot of, uh, quality of life

3:55:07issues surrounding the venue. Um, but

3:55:10they've been a fantastic team. And so,

3:55:11we've actually, uh, begun to work with

3:55:13Cat Mishu and the DPW team on some u

3:55:16prototype options uh, to preventing

3:55:18parking at those those corners,

3:55:20specifically in in nightlife, you know,

3:55:22areas or venues that do experience a lot

3:55:24of patronage, which we love. uh we don't

3:55:26want to inhibit that in any way, but um

3:55:29from a public safety standpoint, it has

3:55:31been a a huge help.

3:55:32>> Yeah. Just just [snorts] for the

3:55:33public's uh understanding, part of the

3:55:36challenge with that was particularly in

3:55:38the French Quarter CBD is that when you

3:55:40have illegal parking, for example, at

3:55:42corners, it can prevent fire trucks from

3:55:46making the corners if there's a fire

3:55:48event. And it has been tremendously

3:55:51problematic because before the transfer

3:55:53when uh towing and parking enforcement

3:55:56was under DPW, they did not do night

3:55:58towing. So part of the uh justification

3:56:01the council made for moving towing and

3:56:02parking enforcement to nighttime was

3:56:04because we need to make sure that

3:56:06vehicles are not in thorough affairs.

3:56:09They're not double parked at night. Um

3:56:11we have a lot of accidents that

3:56:13occurred, not just vehicular but

3:56:14pedestrians being struck because sight

3:56:17lines weren't maintained. So I

3:56:18appreciate you working with NOPD to

3:56:21bring that up. The other thing is um as

3:56:23we are entering the end of the ICD and

3:56:27looking at the transient lodging study

3:56:29um there is going to be a definitive

3:56:32position on commercial STRs and I know

3:56:36that's something that your office will

3:56:37be involved in because obviously um when

3:56:39you talk about a neighborhood STR and an

3:56:41STR those complaints will go to

3:56:45typically code enforcement and um but

3:56:48when you're talking about commercial

3:56:50STRs they're going to being nighttime,

3:56:52being in commercial corridors where a

3:56:54lot of other things are happening.

3:56:57Do you see yourself and your department

3:56:58as interacting with the platforms to try

3:57:00to address those issues? Because in

3:57:02those instances, you almost never have

3:57:05an owner on premises. You're dealing

3:57:06with the platform at that point.

3:57:08>> No, absolutely. And I I would, you know,

3:57:10first up, what I would express in that

3:57:11situation is the increased liability,

3:57:14right? Is that um we spend a

3:57:15considerable amount of time talking with

3:57:17our business owners about insurance

3:57:18premiums. And so as a whether it's a

3:57:21residential or commercial SDR um

3:57:24removing guard rails so to speak and

3:57:26allowing you know you know proprietors

3:57:28to allow certain activity to take place

3:57:30is going to increase a lot of li

3:57:32liability for them but also surrounding

3:57:34businesses and so if you're engaging in

3:57:37that manner as a business owner you

3:57:38would want to be complimentary to the

3:57:40other surrounding businesses. So we will

3:57:42absolutely work with them uh to try and

3:57:44make sure that you know when there's not

3:57:46any large scale house parties or you

3:57:48know miners or or uh leasing STRs in

3:57:52some manner and having uh that type of

3:57:53generated activity because it can get

3:57:55out of hand.

3:57:56>> Okay, that's all. Thank you.

3:57:58>> Thank you. Thank you Ashley. Last but

3:58:01not least for economic development is

3:58:02biodiversity. And again, a quick

3:58:05programming note after this one, we're

3:58:07going to take a 15minute break cuz I

3:58:09know y'all have been here since 9:30

3:58:11this morning before we get to Dr. Agno.

3:58:15>> Thank you all.

3:58:18Last but certainly not least, uh thank

3:58:20you Sean and Rhonda for being here. Uh

3:58:23we have the Office of Supplier

3:58:25Diversity.

3:58:30Should

3:58:48we should we begin or should we wait for

3:58:50council?

3:58:50>> You can start. You can start.

3:58:52>> We can get started. Okay. Great.

3:58:53>> Good morning everyone. My name is Sean

3:58:55Charles, director for the office of

3:58:56supply diversity. Today with me is one

3:58:58of my team members, Miss Rhonda Allen,

3:59:01our compliance manager, and our

3:59:03certification manager was here, but she

3:59:04had to leave. Lasabra Ventress um runs

3:59:07that operation. So, I just want to

3:59:09before we get started, I have a few

3:59:10opening remarks. I'd like to uh start by

3:59:12acknowledging the hardworking team

3:59:14members of the Office of Supply

3:59:15Diversity. Without the dedication and

3:59:17service of individuals like these, it

3:59:19would be impossible for the city of New

3:59:21Orleans to award over $133 million in

3:59:24contracts to small and disadvantaged

3:59:26businesses. It would be impossible for

3:59:28the city to monitor and manage 400 plus

3:59:31contracts daily and to certify 345 small

3:59:35disadvantaged businesses. The team's

3:59:37tireless efforts have contributed to a

3:59:39few notable achievements. At the start

3:59:41of the year, the city of New Orleans and

3:59:43the office of supply diversity were

3:59:44featured in a major contract compliance

3:59:47vendors communication channel. Later in

3:59:49the year, off the office of supply

3:59:50diversity was honored by the propeller

3:59:52with the outstanding partner of the year

3:59:54award. This award highlights outstanding

3:59:57collaborations and committed

3:59:58partnerships with their community

4:00:00partners. This work alone demonstrates

4:00:02that the Office of Supply Diversities

4:00:04team is fully committed to advancing our

4:00:06department's mission. OSD has used the

4:00:09recent shift in our structure as an

4:00:12opportunity to train, reorganize, and

4:00:15adjust to our new capacity. While

4:00:17there's an unavoidable performance and

4:00:19service degragation due to capacity

4:00:22constraints, OSD remains committed to

4:00:24the city's mission and we're hopeful

4:00:26that our capacity will be prioritized as

4:00:29the city evaluates resource allocations

4:00:32and essentially sustaining high quality

4:00:35service delivery.

4:00:37All right, we can go ahead and get

4:00:38started with the presentation. So, what

4:00:39you see on the screen is the 2026 ORC

4:00:43chart for our office. Uh as you notice

4:00:46um several positions have been removed

4:00:48uh for several different reasons. And

4:00:51then what you see next on the screen is

4:00:53uh what we expect uh for our 2027 uh

4:00:56budget year.

4:00:59All right. The proposed 2027 budget um

4:01:02versus the adopted budget. So there was

4:01:05a bit of a um an increase in personnel

4:01:09but I think uh what we have here will be

4:01:12sustainable to our current team. Uh as

4:01:15it relates to other operating uh budget

4:01:18there was a bit of a dip there. We went

4:01:20from $25,915

4:01:23down to $17,815.

4:01:28All right. And so the personnel budget

4:01:31will support six full-time employees.

4:01:33Um, as you noticed, there was also um a

4:01:36vacancy listed there. Um, and then in

4:01:39other operating, those funds will go to

4:01:41support outreach and training,

4:01:43communication and technology, and

4:01:44general maintenance and supplies.

4:01:48As it relates to budget efficiencies,

4:01:50the office of supply diversity team has

4:01:52been consolidated from 13 to six members

4:01:55and for win any other operating

4:01:57expenditures in 2026 to respond to

4:01:59budgetary constraints. Uh the team

4:02:01maximized existing resources through

4:02:03technology and process efficiencies

4:02:06enabling a 35% increase in SLDBE

4:02:09certification submissions, improved

4:02:12alignment with city procurement codes

4:02:14and enhance monthly contract compliance

4:02:16oversight without adding additional

4:02:18operating expenditures.

4:02:22Uh we have some goals 2027 goals.

4:02:26>> Keep keep going. I think we have a few

4:02:28technical

4:02:28>> All right. So in [clears throat] 2027,

4:02:30the office of supply diversity plans to

4:02:32streamline the SLDBE certification

4:02:34application process within our B2G now

4:02:37system whereby increasing efficiency and

4:02:39reducing processing time. Uh we also

4:02:41[snorts] plan to institutionalize our

4:02:43annual postawward contract compliance

4:02:45training for prime contractors and

4:02:47subcontractors. This will uh make sure

4:02:50that all of our participants are fully

4:02:52aware and fully informed of the city's

4:02:54policies and processes in order to

4:02:57ensure that they have a contract. the

4:02:59term that is successful. And then

4:03:01[clears throat] lastly, we want to

4:03:02engage or I'm sorry, enhance community

4:03:04engagement and outreach efforts. Uh

4:03:07previously, we hosted I think over 50 uh

4:03:10outreach seminars and sessions and I

4:03:13think that allowed us to touch about

4:03:16almost a thousand businesses. Uh in

4:03:18recent times with the the reductions,

4:03:20we've not had that capacity, but moving

4:03:22forward, we anticipate um reaching those

4:03:24goals again. Thank you. Um, and I'm open

4:03:27for questions.

4:03:29>> Thank you. Any uh questions from the

4:03:30dis?

4:03:32Okay, we do have some public speaking

4:03:34cards. Ernest Dolberts, followed by

4:03:37Deborah Gold, followed by Geneva

4:03:40Coleman, followed by Edward Parker.

4:03:46>> Good afternoon. My name is Ernest

4:03:48Stalbert. Um, I live at 5106 Marin

4:03:51Street, New Orleans, and I'm

4:03:53representing the collaborative today. Uh

4:03:56we're here in full support of the office

4:03:59of supply diversity. Uh they have done

4:04:02not only a a a tremendous job uh in

4:04:05terms of carrying out their mandate, but

4:04:08they are all over the community and

4:04:09businesses now know that there's a

4:04:12disadvantaged business program. Uh you

4:04:15guys have been around for a while. Uh

4:04:17the perception of the program 20 years

4:04:19ago uh is totally different from what it

4:04:22is today. it is looked upon as a very

4:04:25very uh helpful program to uh small

4:04:28businesses and disadvantaged businesses.

4:04:30Um we are in support of that. We've been

4:04:33supporting that that concept and and

4:04:36that program for many many years. We've

4:04:39seen it grow to where it is today. Um

4:04:41but I will tell you it is very very

4:04:43difficult in my opinion to achieve its

4:04:46its mandate with uh the staff leveling

4:04:49level levels that it have. uh they've

4:04:51gone from 13 people down to six people

4:04:56and they've got contract compliance uh

4:04:58to do. They've got to to uh bring on new

4:05:02uh certified new DBEs. They've got to

4:05:04reertify all their current DBEs and that

4:05:08is not sustainable with six people. Uh

4:05:11we are encouraging um the council and

4:05:15administration uh and we understand that

4:05:17there's a budget crisis. We understand

4:05:19that we're not naive, but you've got to

4:05:22rebuild that department over time. And

4:05:24what we're doing is is here to make sure

4:05:26that that happens. Make sure that you

4:05:28guys understand uh the need for it. And

4:05:31more importantly, not just a nice thing,

4:05:33a good thing to do. It is in the law.

4:05:36These things are are are mandated as a

4:05:40requirement for that department by law.

4:05:43So I thank you very much.

4:05:44>> Thank you, Deborah G.

4:05:49Good afternoon to the council members. I

4:05:52am Deborah Washington Gould, president

4:05:55and CEO of Deborah Gulen Associate,

4:05:57Inc., a management consulting firm.

4:06:00Today, I stand on behalf representing

4:06:03the collaborative group that is close to

4:06:06a 14-year organization. We are the

4:06:10policies or advocacy for small and

4:06:13minority businesses with much success

4:06:15because of this council and particularly

4:06:18because of the office of supply

4:06:20diversity.

4:06:22They have been functioning operational

4:06:24very well with 13 staff. It was

4:06:28devastating to hear and I echo what uh

4:06:31Mr. Starboard just shared to lose six

4:06:34employees. The tremendous work of the

4:06:38directors, Miss Sean Charles and Miss

4:06:40Rhonda Allen in terms of certification

4:06:44as well as the compliance from Miss

4:06:46Sabra. Miss Sabra, it's just been

4:06:48amazing. There is not a day or week or

4:06:52during the month where I as a business

4:06:55owner have had a question regarding the

4:06:58brass system at or either the B2G now or

4:07:03just question that I was recently as a

4:07:05firm received my reertification.

4:07:09It was much longer this time because

4:07:11they're not working with the capacity

4:07:13that they are accustomed to. So my

4:07:16request today in approval of this budget

4:07:19that we staff this organization the

4:07:24business community that you all are

4:07:27seeking opportunities for small and

4:07:29minority businesses. We need the

4:07:32certification. We need this particular

4:07:35office of supply diversity. This team of

4:07:38professional, talented, skilled, and

4:07:41experienced individual are doing their

4:07:44part, but they can't do it with less

4:07:47staff. So, my request is that we provide

4:07:50them the budget in 2027.

4:07:55>> Thank you.

4:07:59>> Thank you.

4:08:01Thank you, Geneva Coleman, followed by

4:08:03Edward Parker.

4:08:10It is said

4:08:13that the state

4:08:17of municipal, federal, and state

4:08:20economies rest on the shoulders of small

4:08:26and minority business owners.

4:08:30That has proven true.

4:08:33The collaborative

4:08:35decided that [snorts] we needed to have

4:08:39policy with a purpose and therefore

4:08:43ordinances were put in place so that

4:08:46there was a law in order to maintain the

4:08:50level quality and consistency

4:08:54to sustain small and minority

4:08:57businesses. The office of supplier

4:08:59diversity has proven itself.

4:09:03We had no way of uh just creating

4:09:08something separate from the city and

4:09:13Sean has worked diligently with our

4:09:16organization which we truly appreciate

4:09:20uh to try to improve and to continue to

4:09:23grow the office of supplier diversity

4:09:26and the changing needs. I implore you to

4:09:31please continue your support of us

4:09:33because we have been on the road show,

4:09:35our what we call our road show, talking

4:09:38with each of our council members

4:09:40individually

4:09:42and we know that we in the past have

4:09:46gotten just 100% support. We look

4:09:50forward to the same thing again and

4:09:53going through 2027. I just want to

4:09:56remind everybody that those of us who

4:09:58are standing here right now, we've got

4:10:01those that are coming along behind us.

4:10:03They should not have to start where we

4:10:06did.

4:10:07>> Thank you, Mr. Parker.

4:10:13>> Afternoon,

4:10:16Edward Parker, concerning citizen. I'm

4:10:19not a business owner, but I know these

4:10:22guys pretty well. They've taught me a

4:10:25whole lot about what is going on in this

4:10:28city when it comes to economic equity,

4:10:34the disparity study, which I hope all of

4:10:38our council people are very aware of,

4:10:41and also the the minority set aside

4:10:45program that this particular

4:10:49uh office of supply diversity has to

4:10:53look over. You are the policeman when it

4:10:57comes to

4:10:58making sure that the contracts and the

4:11:02opportunities especially for our

4:11:06small minority and especially black

4:11:10businesses need. We have to grow our

4:11:14black middle class and it starts with

4:11:19our small black

4:11:22uh uh businesses. So, please let's get a

4:11:28robust

4:11:30office of supply diversity.

4:11:34>> Thank you. Thank you, Jeeoff. You've

4:11:36been sitting here for a long time. Thank

4:11:38you to um everyone on your team and your

4:11:41departments. Really appreciate you.

4:11:43You're integral to the city. So, thank

4:11:46you. All right. So, I said we're going

4:11:48to take a 15-minute break. We're really

4:11:50going to take a 5minut break. So,

4:11:51everybody stretch their legs. Uh get a

4:11:54drink of water. We'll be back in 5

4:11:56minutes and then help will be up.

4:12:14Are you good?

4:18:50All righty. Up next we have health and

4:18:52human services. We'll start with the

4:18:54health department and I believe homeless

4:18:56support and services combined within

4:18:58this presentation.

4:19:04>> Well, okay. Thank you. Um well, thank

4:19:07you. Thank you, council. We're grateful

4:19:10to be here and I I just want to say

4:19:11we're really grateful to everybody

4:19:13that's been here since 9:30 in the

4:19:15morning. Um a lot of them could not

4:19:17stay. Um but they are why we are here.

4:19:20We are here for and with our community

4:19:23members and our community partners. Um

4:19:25because we know that they are the truth

4:19:28of the challenges that our families are

4:19:29facing and the safety net they depend on

4:19:32and we are here for them. Um, I'm

4:19:34incredibly proud to be presenting our

4:19:36our budget on behalf of the 120 plus uh

4:19:40staff in the now health and human

4:19:42services departments. Uh, we are

4:19:45immensely proud of the work that that we

4:19:47do and I hope that will come through.

4:19:49Um, we look a little bit different than

4:19:50we did last year. This is about as good

4:19:53as we could get it, but if you recall um

4:19:56last year we took about a 30% cut, but

4:19:58also absorbed several offices. the

4:20:01Office of Homeless Services and

4:20:02Strategy, Youth and Families, and

4:20:04several functions from OCJC.

4:20:07So, this is what we look like today.

4:20:11Um,

4:20:13I'm a physician and so when you're a

4:20:16physician, you learn that the best way

4:20:18to deliver bad news is to be honest and

4:20:21transparent. Um, and so that's what

4:20:23we're here to do in discussing our

4:20:25budget. We know these are very difficult

4:20:27times for the city and we are here to do

4:20:29our part. Um, but we also want to be

4:20:32honest about what that means. Uh, so if

4:20:35we're looking at our our budget, you can

4:20:37see well I and I'll explain these all in

4:20:39more detail on the next slides. Um, our

4:20:41personnel looks like it's flat. That

4:20:43actually there's actually a cut in there

4:20:45that I'll explain. Um, we present our

4:20:48budget with the low barrier shelter. It

4:20:50was not in the 2026 budget, but it was

4:20:52moved in early January to ours. So, it

4:20:54is ours. And so I think it's really

4:20:56important that people see the magnitude

4:20:59of the cuts that are being proposed with

4:21:01the low barrier shelter.

4:21:05So let's go through those um in a little

4:21:07bit of detail. Uh our overall personnel

4:21:10budget as we showed did show a minor

4:21:12increase. Um and there are some reasons

4:21:14for that. We did bring on uh one OCJC

4:21:17staff and we moved one OSS from ARPA to

4:21:20general funds and you know absorbed OSS

4:21:23in general. Um, and of course everybody

4:21:25is paying increased health costs.

4:21:27However, uh, in our proposed budget,

4:21:29there is a personnel proposed personnel

4:21:31cut of about $338,000 that would

4:21:34eliminate three to four existing

4:21:35positions. If you noticed on our org

4:21:37chart, there are only two um, vacancies

4:21:41right now in the health department

4:21:43uh, that are general funded. Remember,

4:21:45we are majority grant funded and those

4:21:47are in the office of homeless services.

4:21:50Um when we look at our op the proposed

4:21:52operating cuts when we include the low

4:21:55barrier shelter our operating budget

4:21:57shows an 87% reduction from 2026 which

4:22:00was itself a 30% or so reduction from

4:22:03the year before. Um these cuts span the

4:22:06gamut of core safety net programs. They

4:22:09include maternal child health, youth and

4:22:10families, violence prevention, mental

4:22:12health, homelessness, of course domestic

4:22:14violence, and some of our jail

4:22:15diversion. Um, and what this does is it

4:22:18shifts our budget back to being 90%

4:22:20reliant on [snorts] grant funding, the

4:22:22bulk of which is federal. And I know

4:22:25Councilman Green um, you know, made made

4:22:27good points about the instability of

4:22:29federal funding. And it also um, puts us

4:22:31on a funding cliff because federal

4:22:34grants are for generally timelmited and

4:22:37so we are always chasing a deadline.

4:22:41And so what I what I hope to do again in

4:22:44the spirit of transparency is just make

4:22:46sure the public is aware what these cuts

4:22:49mean. Um I think the low barrier shelter

4:22:52is why a lot of people are here today

4:22:53and certainly um what that means is that

4:22:57close to 300 individuals will be

4:22:59displaced to street homelessness and

4:23:01encampments. Uh we don't have

4:23:03encampments in the in the degree that we

4:23:05had them just a few years ago. And

4:23:07Councilwoman Harris, you know this more

4:23:09than anyone else um because we have

4:23:11worked tirelessly to reduce our street

4:23:14homeless uh which since the low barrier

4:23:16shelter opened in 2018 has been reduced

4:23:19significantly at a time where nationwide

4:23:21street homelessness has risen. Um I I

4:23:24think that no one wants to go back to

4:23:26those days for a number of different

4:23:27reasons. Uh but there are also other and

4:23:30and I do want to say you know these are

4:23:32not district cuts. These cuts will be

4:23:35felt citywide. The number one thing I

4:23:37get emailed from from our council

4:23:39member, every council member's office is

4:23:41homelessness. And you know, we have our

4:23:42director Taylor Dials here. His team is

4:23:44the one that tries to go out and find

4:23:46solutions and make it work. Um, so that

4:23:48we know this is not just in one district

4:23:50or another district. Um, right now our

4:23:54violence prevention program, our core

4:23:56community violence inter intervention

4:23:58prevention program was not um included

4:24:01in the budget ordinance. We we believe

4:24:03that was an error and and I'm

4:24:04understanding that there might be some

4:24:05money from it in the CIO budget which is

4:24:08great but [clears throat] I just want to

4:24:09highlight the consequences of that. Um

4:24:12what they do is broad and it has

4:24:16expanded just in the last year and it

4:24:19significantly has contributed to our

4:24:21historic lows in crime. And I think if

4:24:23Chief Kurpatre and her team were here

4:24:25she would say exactly the same thing. uh

4:24:27as much as we all love uh what law

4:24:29enforcement has been able to do, we all

4:24:31know that it the the credit goes to

4:24:34those who prevent and intervene in the

4:24:37immediate aftermath. Um our maternal

4:24:40child health programs have been a real

4:24:42source of pride for us, for our

4:24:44community, for you all. Um particularly

4:24:46our family connects postpartum home

4:24:48visiting programs. Because of their

4:24:50success, we convinced the state of

4:24:51Louisiana, that's right, if Councilman

4:24:53Green is still here, the state to expand

4:24:57statewide private insurance and Medicaid

4:24:59coverage, which will start to roll on

4:25:01next year. U so losing that capacity at

4:25:05a time when we are held up as a model

4:25:07for the state certainly doesn't make um

4:25:10you know, a lot of sense. Uh we know

4:25:12that our mobile crisis unit has since it

4:25:14w it started in 2023 encountered more

4:25:17than 10,000 patients. Those are patients

4:25:21who would have had to have a law

4:25:23enforcement response. Um now they don't.

4:25:25That frees up our police to do the

4:25:28things that they need to do. Uh makes us

4:25:30all safer and it gives the individual

4:25:33being served the care and the responder

4:25:36that is right for them. Um and you know

4:25:39everybody there's a lot of people facing

4:25:41personnel cuts and we understand that.

4:25:43Uh but we do want folks to know that it

4:25:44would reduce our ability to again

4:25:48continue to mitigate uh largely fall on

4:25:50the burden of our homeless services.

4:25:53Um we do a really great job at getting a

4:25:56whole lot of grants and we are very very

4:25:59proud of that. We hustle. Uh we have

4:26:02some the main bulk of the money that

4:26:04you're seeing because it looks like an

4:26:05awful lot of money and it is an awful

4:26:07lot of money um is in restricted

4:26:10programs. Our big four Ryan White HIV,

4:26:13Healthy Start, WIC, and Healthcare for

4:26:15the Homeless. Those are prescribed

4:26:18programs. That is not flexible money.

4:26:20And we are really proud of the

4:26:21accomplishments that we have with that.

4:26:23But there is no almost no flexibility to

4:26:26sort of move. I can't, you know, fund a

4:26:29DUI program with a healthcare for the

4:26:31homeless grant. Even if I wish that I

4:26:33could, we continue to go out and solicit

4:26:35grants. And I do want to remind

4:26:36everybody that when we get a federal

4:26:38grant, the city recognizes indirect

4:26:41costs as part of the general fund

4:26:43revenue. For many, many years, it's been

4:26:44about 8%. That is far too low. And I

4:26:47want to thank Brandy and her team for

4:26:49working to hopefully get that up. So,

4:26:50the more grants we get, if we have even

4:26:53a 10%

4:26:55um indirect cost, that's $5 million to

4:26:59the general fund. So, we're really proud

4:27:01to be able to play that part.

4:27:04Um we are able, we did just get a new

4:27:06grant that I'll talk about and we're

4:27:08actually able to move a general fund FTE

4:27:10onto that grant. That doesn't happen

4:27:12often, so we're excited to do that and

4:27:13that'll help with our general fund

4:27:15spend. And again, the majority of our

4:27:17employees are not coming through general

4:27:19funds.

4:27:22So, how did we weather our our cuts and

4:27:25our consolidation? Last year, we did a

4:27:27lot of work. Again, we we absorbed

4:27:29several offices um and lost staff and

4:27:32funding when we did that. So, doing more

4:27:35with less. Um we continue we have we

4:27:38have either applied for or successfully

4:27:41gotten multiple new grants that we've

4:27:43never had before. Um, we have gone

4:27:46almost totally paper free because who

4:27:48wants to pay for paper? Uh, anytime we

4:27:51can shift non things onto non-general

4:27:54funds, whether it's programs or

4:27:55initiatives or flyers or, you know,

4:27:58buying water for our department, we have

4:28:00done that. Um, and again, we've really

4:28:03worked for all of our programs that

4:28:05might be eligible for Medicaid. Our team

4:28:08right here has worked tirelessly to get

4:28:11them ready to bill Medicaid and we will

4:28:13continue to do that. But understanding

4:28:15that not all public health can be funded

4:28:18that way. As we have successfully

4:28:21started in some areas to bill Medicaid,

4:28:23we are rolling those costs off of the

4:28:25general fund. So we anticipate that will

4:28:27accelerate, but it doesn't happen

4:28:29overnight. If you've ever dealt with

4:28:30Medicaid, it takes months, if not over a

4:28:33year, to really get them to accept the

4:28:36billing and to reimburse um you know, in

4:28:38the way that they should.

4:28:41Uh we have shaved off funding for most

4:28:45of our big programs, right? We would

4:28:47prefer to try to do more than le with

4:28:50less than to cut programs wholesale

4:28:52because we know every time you cut a

4:28:55hole in the safety net, a lot of people

4:28:57fall through. If we can make those holes

4:29:00tiny, then we can catch as many people

4:29:02as possible. So, we have shaved and

4:29:05moved and, you know, done whatever we

4:29:07can to maximize our operations without

4:29:10cutting core services [clears throat] to

4:29:12people who really need them. I want to

4:29:14thank Odyssey House for good faith

4:29:16negotiations to be able to reduce some

4:29:18of the spend for the low barrier shelter

4:29:21um despite all of the challenges that

4:29:24they face in the building that they're

4:29:25in. So, that was a that was a win for

4:29:28the general fund. Um, we've been working

4:29:30with our local our delegation. We've

4:29:33been able to direct some state

4:29:34appropriations that did actually did not

4:29:36get vetoed, if you can believe it, um,

4:29:38to support some of our work in bike

4:29:40safety and violence intervention. And we

4:29:42don't do overtime ever.

4:29:45And we're looking at our grants to see

4:29:47how they can extend our work. We we had

4:29:49a grant-f funed program that was paying

4:29:51rent. we moved them into city hall so

4:29:53that they could spend more of those

4:29:54grant funds on the services for folks

4:29:57that that needed it. Even if it was

4:29:59little, it was still meaningful those

4:30:00folks who need it. Um, and we're

4:30:02consolidating other offices in city

4:30:04buildings to allow one of our clinics in

4:30:06the ninth ward to expand, right? Because

4:30:08we don't want to hold anybody's progress

4:30:10back.

4:30:13So despite all this,

4:30:15we are undeterred.

4:30:17and when it comes to our commitment to

4:30:19finding ways to serve our residents from

4:30:22birth until death. Um and so we continue

4:30:27to have really uh robust goals um and

4:30:30plan to execute on them. Our number one

4:30:33goal uh is not number one but one of our

4:30:36major goals is to continue the work that

4:30:38our team has started in the past few

4:30:39months to bring a program pilot to New

4:30:41Orleans East which would be a direct

4:30:44child cash transfer for every pregnant

4:30:47woman and family in a defined geography.

4:30:50This program in in Flint and other

4:30:52places in Michigan has cut infant

4:30:55mortality in half and provided an

4:30:58economic return on investment for up to

4:31:00$3 per dollar. it expended. Mississippi

4:31:04is about to do this, y'all. So, I don't

4:31:06want to let them beat us. If Mississippi

4:31:08can do it, we can do it. And it will be

4:31:10tremendous. With all of the gains going

4:31:12on in that area, this is a force

4:31:14multiplier. And we want to prove this so

4:31:17that again, we can get the state to give

4:31:19us the support we need to make this

4:31:20citywide. We want to preserve our family

4:31:23connects coverage for all New Orleans

4:31:26because that is where we see population

4:31:28level effects. When we provide this

4:31:30service for everyone, that's where it

4:31:32saves money. It reduces

4:31:33hospitalizations. It increases the

4:31:36likelihood that a woman's going to get

4:31:37diagnosed and treated for postpartum

4:31:40depression. Um, and it also ensures that

4:31:43she'll have higher rates of continuing

4:31:45to go to her doctor among many other

4:31:47benefits. So, we we are the leaders in

4:31:50the state. They recognize us as this and

4:31:52I think we need to continue to do that.

4:31:54We have a really ambitious goal at our

4:31:55wick clinics at a time when federal

4:31:57funding is under severe threat for

4:32:00SNAPWIC and Medicaid. Uh our team is

4:32:02working really hard to increase the

4:32:04number of patients they've seen and to

4:32:06do add-ons. Our environmental health

4:32:08team is working to start routine testing

4:32:11at CityWick clinics. We haven't had this

4:32:13if ever. It's been a really long time.

4:32:16So again, not asking for new money for

4:32:18this, but trying to to peel off what we

4:32:21have because we know it's a priority. We

4:32:24have a $4 million grant that our team

4:32:26successfully won from uh federal HHS to

4:32:30launch a one-stop shop for all our

4:32:33maternal child health programs so that

4:32:34when you enter a WIC clinic, you are

4:32:36seamlessly pulled through to Healthy

4:32:39Start, Family Connects, Early Childhood,

4:32:41Training Grounds, Thrive Kids, all of

4:32:44that. So you don't have to figure out

4:32:46five different places to go just to get

4:32:48the benefits that you deserve. So we're

4:32:49really excited about that. I spoke about

4:32:52Medicaid billing. Um all of our healthy

4:32:54start case managers, again that's a

4:32:55fedally funded program, are now doulas

4:32:57and trained in doula and lactation

4:32:59services, which is a wonderful benefit.

4:33:02We should be able to start billing for

4:33:04those services. That's a big lift. But

4:33:06Michan here, Michan City, who's our

4:33:09family health director, has been

4:33:10committed to do this for several months.

4:33:14We have really ambitious goals in

4:33:16violence prevention. Um, our teams, our

4:33:19partners, whether it's our community

4:33:21partners at Ubuntu, whether it's our

4:33:22hospital partners, whether it's the

4:33:24other smaller partners we work with are

4:33:27a major reason why crime is down. We

4:33:29think that whatever our total number of

4:33:31murders is this year should be the new

4:33:34baseline from which we drive down

4:33:35further. And we've already seen

4:33:38different ways of how we can expand what

4:33:39we're doing. the Ubuntu's 4x6

4:33:42neighborhood initiative where they flood

4:33:43a neighborhood um West Bank and then

4:33:46Councilwoman Harris in Central City has

4:33:48become the model such that DPW is now

4:33:51using it to do their routine repairs.

4:33:54So, you know, imagine what what more we

4:33:56can do. Um our domestic violence air

4:33:59program, which is a best practice,

4:34:01serves several thousand residents a

4:34:03year. We know we can serve more. We know

4:34:06we're breaking through.

4:34:08We finally were able to stand up a

4:34:11victim services program um with some

4:34:13grant funding attached so we can

4:34:15actually provide some material support

4:34:17to those who are victims of crime. I

4:34:19know this was a real passion of

4:34:20Councilman Greens. We have that ability

4:34:22now um as of last week. So we're going

4:34:24to continue doing that. Today we're

4:34:26going to celebrate the distribution of

4:34:28our 5,000th Gun Safe with Manning Family

4:34:32Children's. That's in three years and

4:34:34that is thanks to some seed money

4:34:36federally, some money from Rep. Carter

4:34:38Carter and the buyin from the council

4:34:40and the administration. We know that has

4:34:43saved lives, particularly the lives of

4:34:45young children.

4:34:48I think everybody, you know, in the room

4:34:50would pro probably agree with me that

4:34:52one of our highest priorities is to

4:34:54preserve our low barrier shelter

4:34:55operations and move the facility to a

4:34:58more dignified, cost-effective, and

4:35:00functional building. I trained in the VA

4:35:02in the late '9s as a medical student. It

4:35:05was in bad shape then. It is in really

4:35:07bad shape now. Um we we want and we must

4:35:12find a space that is holistic, that is

4:35:15healing centered, and that is um just

4:35:19compassionate for those who need it. And

4:35:21this is the lynchpin of our homelessness

4:35:23sustainability plan and strategy.

4:35:25without it then we can't do all the

4:35:27other creative things that that we're

4:35:29doing to get folks connected back to

4:35:31housing. Um I want to thank Unity for

4:35:34you know bringing up the point of

4:35:35involving people with lived experience

4:35:37wherever we go in the design. We

4:35:39absolutely plan to do that. Our homeless

4:35:42outreach teams right now are confined to

4:35:44the French Quarter and you know Taylor

4:35:46has been on the streets at night um in

4:35:49you know helping to offer services at

4:35:52all hours of the night. It shouldn't

4:35:55just be in the French Quarter. That

4:35:56should be citywide and that's something

4:35:58we um we would love to do.

4:36:01The sustainability plan is out. It's

4:36:04live and it is a meaningful document

4:36:07that can that shows us the way to

4:36:09continue to drive our numbers down. So,

4:36:12I encourage everyone to read it. We plan

4:36:13to implement it to the best of our

4:36:15ability as we do with our complex case

4:36:17work. Those incredibly diff challenging

4:36:21individuals who have multiple medical,

4:36:23behavioral health, substance use, you

4:36:25name it, problems for whom no system has

4:36:28ever worked. And no one person has ever

4:36:30stepped up and said, "I'm going to I'm

4:36:32going to get this person to what we

4:36:34need." We have done that with um no

4:36:37money uh and trying to get people

4:36:40together to do the right thing. And in

4:36:42in the year that we've done it, about

4:36:44half of those people are now in a

4:36:47permanent solution. Um not all of them,

4:36:50but we're going to keep trying.

4:36:53Our mobile crisis intervention unit

4:36:55responds to at least 3,000 calls a year.

4:36:58We want to up that. They have recently

4:37:00taken on more types of calls. Um they

4:37:03routinely take about a third of all

4:37:05mental health calls from the police. And

4:37:07the police have to respond to the ones

4:37:09where there's violence or a gun or an

4:37:10active threat, right? That makes sense.

4:37:13But they have slowly expanded so that

4:37:16they can handle what they do best and

4:37:18police can go and do what they do best.

4:37:20Our substance use mobile resource clinic

4:37:22which is funded by our opiate settlement

4:37:24funds has provided just in the first 6

4:37:26months of of use um several hundred

4:37:31visits with healthcare providers in

4:37:34areas where folks um are and for folks

4:37:38who would never walk into a clinic

4:37:40voluntarily. And so we want to continue

4:37:42the success there. And our overdose you

4:37:45our overdose rate uh decrease has been a

4:37:47real success story in the last several

4:37:49years. We have to keep going. It's still

4:37:51way too high. It's still close to 300

4:37:54people. As of last year, we have flooded

4:37:56the city with Narcan, with bystander

4:37:58training. We look at the overdoses to

4:38:00learn what to do um to help with our

4:38:03partners avoid them. And so we've got to

4:38:06drive that down just as we've driven our

4:38:08homicide rate down.

4:38:10Our community health improvement plan,

4:38:12our new improvement plan is ready for

4:38:15launch. You'll soon see our community

4:38:17health assessment. We surveyed a

4:38:19thousand residents, multiple focus

4:38:22groups, providers, community partners,

4:38:24and all of them told us what they think

4:38:26is wrong with health in New Orleans and

4:38:29and what they think we can do about it.

4:38:32We looked at data, and so we have a

4:38:34really great road map for how we're

4:38:36going to do the work together.

4:38:38um our healthcare for the homeless

4:38:40clinic. It's our only clinic that we

4:38:41oversee, but year-over-year they are on

4:38:43track to increase patient volume by 25%

4:38:46because of some really dogged work by

4:38:47our staff there. And we want to keep

4:38:50going.

4:38:51One of the other priorities for us is in

4:38:53the face of looming federal cuts and

4:38:57restrictions to SNAP, Wick, and

4:38:59Medicaid. We know that's going to hit so

4:39:01many people hard. It already has.

4:39:04Already about 20% of folks on SNAP have

4:39:07lost their benefits largely because of

4:39:10bureaucratic hurdles um and other really

4:39:14challenging times. But at a time when

4:39:16affordability is a concern, these

4:39:19benefits are more critical than ever. We

4:39:21have a grant-f funed person whose whole

4:39:23job is going to be to go and sign up and

4:39:25enroll and reenroll as many people as

4:39:27possible. We would love to work with you

4:39:29on where you think they should be and

4:39:31where we're going to get the biggest

4:39:32bang for our buck. We're excited to work

4:39:34with OED. We've just applied for some

4:39:36funding um for some food financing

4:39:39funding that we hope will finally allow

4:39:42us to bring a grocery store hopefully in

4:39:44the lower nine but then spreading to

4:39:46other um areas that desperately need it

4:39:49as well.

4:39:51And then our environmental health team.

4:39:53I can't believe I didn't put vaccines on

4:39:54this slide, but they are really carrying

4:39:56the water on vaccines, both respiratory

4:39:59and spreading the science and the facts

4:40:02about childhood vaccines as well.

4:40:04They're also working really hard on

4:40:05heat. They assist us uh with um all of

4:40:08the disaster prep homelessness services.

4:40:11And now they've moved into how do we

4:40:13finally get funding to do some really

4:40:15deep mitigation um for lead whether it's

4:40:19in our parks, our playgrounds, our wick

4:40:21clinics. Um you know we've we've been

4:40:23unsuccessful getting federal funds for

4:40:24decades but we have to try something

4:40:26different because we know how important

4:40:28it is.

4:40:29>> You've probably seen our um eBay our

4:40:32safety first ebike rebate program. This

4:40:34is actually an office of sustainability

4:40:36grant that we are managing the safety

4:40:40part because as much as we all believe

4:40:42in alternative modes of transportation

4:40:44and giving those who don't have access

4:40:46to a car a way to get around the city,

4:40:48we want to make sure that they are safe

4:40:50and we're all safer for it. So that's

4:40:52launched up. Same with our DUI

4:40:54prevention. You know, we do a lot of

4:40:56extension of what our partners' goals

4:40:59are.

4:41:03So, that's what we're planning. Um, we

4:41:07appreciate all the support you've given

4:41:08us over the years and we look forward to

4:41:11finding solutions so that we can um

4:41:14preserve the work that we're doing.

4:41:15Thank you.

4:41:16>> Thank you, Dr. Vegno. On our um agenda,

4:41:18it has Office of Homeless Support and

4:41:20Services as a separate agenda item. It's

4:41:23not. It's all rolled in. Okay, great. Um

4:41:25I don't see any lights up from people on

4:41:29the dis.

4:41:32You'll wait till after public comment.

4:41:34Okay. Council member McCarron, you want

4:41:35to speak now or after public comment?

4:41:37>> Um I I'll speak now.

4:41:38>> Okay. Um I I just want to talk about um

4:41:41Family Connects program. Um

4:41:45cuz I think it's an important program.

4:41:47Um you know, postpartum is one of the

4:41:50most vulnerable times in a mother's

4:41:52life. Uh you know, when I was a having

4:41:55my twins, it was a very traumatic birth.

4:41:58um went through postpartum depression

4:42:02and a lot of focus is always on the

4:42:04babies um and never really on the moms.

4:42:09So, I just want to, you know, give a

4:42:11shout out to you guys to your work on

4:42:13that. Um it's something super super

4:42:15important to me and I know to many moms

4:42:18and families in the audience listening.

4:42:21So, whatever we can do to help support

4:42:23that, let me know because it's something

4:42:25that I is a priority for me. Um, and

4:42:28we're we're gonna find the funding.

4:42:30>> Thank you. And and what you're saying is

4:42:32what we hear over and over and over for

4:42:35moms. I didn't know anybody was going to

4:42:37ask about me. You know, I I couldn't

4:42:40believe the nurse was coming for me to

4:42:42help me and how important and

4:42:44transformative and how that helped

4:42:45[clears throat] them better heal and

4:42:46bond and sort of be able to go through

4:42:48those rough early weeks. So, thank you

4:42:50for saying that.

4:42:51>> Yeah. [clears throat]

4:42:53>> Council member Willard.

4:42:54>> All right. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh,

4:42:56Dr. Vegno, your entire team, Jeie, Mish,

4:42:58Sean, uh, y'all do phenomenal work. Uh,

4:43:01I've actually had the privilege of

4:43:03working with you guys for a few years

4:43:05going back to my time in the

4:43:07legislature. And, you know, I just

4:43:08wanted to touch on Family Connects as

4:43:10well because I remember when we were

4:43:12first talking about launching that in

4:43:14the city of New Orleans, like

4:43:16immediately I envisioned, you know,

4:43:19scaling that throughout the rest of the

4:43:21state. And um there was actually what

4:43:24legislation last year to do just that.

4:43:27And uh I think it's a a very important

4:43:30program for the city and for the state

4:43:33because if you're not aware, Louisiana

4:43:36consistently ranks as one of the worst

4:43:39states for mothers and babies in all

4:43:42kind of categories. Uh but particularly

4:43:45as it relates to outcomes during the

4:43:48birthing process. And so, Family

4:43:51Connects actually goes into the home. It

4:43:54provides assessments. It it helps um

4:43:57fathers and mothers with with jobs after

4:44:01um after u the delivery. I mean, it just

4:44:04social work. It's it's a huge program

4:44:07and I don't even know how you really

4:44:09quantify the impact of that. And I know

4:44:12it's still early, but I wanted to know

4:44:14is there any preliminary data that we

4:44:17have on Family Connects right now? Oh

4:44:19yes, there is. I'm glad you asked. Um I

4:44:21think we're on our fourth evaluation. So

4:44:23thanks to some funding from Kellogg, we

4:44:26have evaluated it every 6 months since

4:44:29we launched full-time and consistently

4:44:32and Michan, I don't know if you want to

4:44:33speak to the outcomes, but we

4:44:34consistently see significant outcomes. I

4:44:38think that's how we convince the state

4:44:40because the program costs less than it's

4:44:43saved in our Medicaid patients and

4:44:45that's through reduced hospitalizations

4:44:47and then the connections the increased

4:44:50ability to diagnose postpartum

4:44:52depression because as anyone who's had a

4:44:54baby will tell you it's often silent and

4:44:56if nobody asks then you don't know and

4:44:58then even if you they do ask getting

4:45:01them connected to to treatment and the

4:45:03whole premise of the program is that it

4:45:05is a warm handoff if you screen positive

4:45:07for food insecurity, domestic violence,

4:45:10postpartum depression, anxiety. That

4:45:12nurse's whole job is to find you the

4:45:14place that is going to treat you. Did I

4:45:16miss any? Uh I don't think you miss

4:45:19anything. I think one of the biggest

4:45:20aspects to add on to what you said is

4:45:22that it takes community connections. And

4:45:24so those all of these people here

4:45:27getting them into those services for

4:45:29bonding, for making sure that they uh

4:45:32have breastfeeding support, but also

4:45:34housing. You mentioned the fathers. We

4:45:36have one of the stories they share that

4:45:39you help the father and you help my

4:45:41child get into camp. So it's a whole

4:45:43family and thing that we are in part of

4:45:48>> and I I I don't think there's uh too

4:45:50much that we can be doing to help

4:45:52families in the city especially around

4:45:55young families the birthing process. me

4:45:59showing actually helped me draft my

4:46:01first piece of legislation related to

4:46:04doulas and midwives in the in the state

4:46:06legislature, you know. Um, so this is

4:46:08really a big area I'm I'm uh passionate

4:46:11about and uh certainly want to see that

4:46:15uh program fully funded with the idea

4:46:18right in the next, you know, few years

4:46:20that this this rolls over really to be

4:46:23covered entirely by Medicaid and and on

4:46:26the state's dime. And you know, I think

4:46:28after we get a few years of data, um,

4:46:30the numbers will show that it's actually

4:46:33cheaper for us to do it this way as

4:46:35opposed to neglecting our mothers and

4:46:38our babies and paying for extended

4:46:41hospital visits and, you know, um, all

4:46:44the other costs that are attributed

4:46:46with, uh, terrible birthing outcomes

4:46:48like we've had for a while. um with with

4:46:52uh the Department of Health. I mean,

4:46:54this department probably, you know, is

4:46:57is the one who knows how to go after

4:47:00federal grants and and other uh funding

4:47:02sources. And I feel like to some extent,

4:47:06you know, you're getting a little

4:47:07punished here because you do so good at

4:47:10that, you know, but but like you were

4:47:12saying, Dr. Agno, it's not like you can

4:47:14just swap it out for general fund

4:47:16allocations. Um, so you know, we know

4:47:19about Family Connects, we know about low

4:47:21barrier shelter. Um, what what other

4:47:24programs that the Department of Health

4:47:27administers uh could be negatively

4:47:30impacted if the the cuts remain in place

4:47:32as they are right now?

4:47:34>> Well, it sounds like, you know, we have

4:47:36assurances that violence prevention is

4:47:38going to be restored.

4:47:39>> And that was through Ubuntu.

4:47:40>> Ubuntu. Yeah. I mean, that would be high

4:47:42on the list.

4:47:43>> But even even that, it still has to come

4:47:45from somewhere, right? because we have

4:47:46to have a balanced budget. Um the

4:47:49expenses are higher than revenues right

4:47:51now. So any changes we make have to be

4:47:53accounted for somewhere else,

4:47:54>> right? Um and you know I I don't want to

4:47:56pick a favorite child [laughter] because

4:47:58I have so we have so many children. Um

4:48:01but I think the core things that what

4:48:03what New Orleans told us in our

4:48:05community health assessment they care

4:48:07most about our mental health, maternal

4:48:10child health, access to care, and then

4:48:13economic stability. Right? So we try to

4:48:16plan our budget and everything we go

4:48:19after according to what the data shows

4:48:21us and to what New Orleans really want.

4:48:23And so you know the mental health if if

4:48:26mobile crisis is having a a cut um I

4:48:30would hate for that to not be 24/7. I

4:48:33would hate for it to have reduced

4:48:35capacity, right? Because again, the the

4:48:37downstream effects of that. Um, we have

4:48:41other programs that that have taken a

4:48:43haircut and or or gotten cut altogether

4:48:46that we really wish we could. You know,

4:48:48some of them are violence prevention

4:48:49programs. We are working to find other

4:48:51sources for them, right? Because we

4:48:53don't want to leave anybody hanging. And

4:48:55I think too, you know, our our staff

4:48:57cuts you cutting three people might not

4:48:59seem like a lot, but if it's in that

4:49:01homeless response field team, people are

4:49:04really going going to feel it. So, the

4:49:06low bearish shelter is a big ticket

4:49:08item. And while I'm I'm encouraged

4:49:10because I know conversations are being

4:49:12had with business and civic

4:49:15organizations to help fund that. Um, and

4:49:18that's how it started with the with

4:49:19those folks chipping in. Um it's it it

4:49:24can't be well if we fund half of it

4:49:26it'll be fine right that's kind of an

4:49:27all or nothing after that our other cuts

4:49:30are pretty small um but have a

4:49:33meaningful impact

4:49:34>> huge impact

4:49:37>> um well I appreciate you guys coming

4:49:39down today and and um all the work that

4:49:42you do everybody in the in the health

4:49:44department um you you provide a valuable

4:49:47service to people across the city of New

4:49:50Orleans so thank Thank you.

4:49:51>> Thank you,

4:49:52>> Council Member Moro.

4:49:54>> Yeah, thank you. Um, I changed my mind.

4:49:57There's a lot of stuff we have to cover

4:49:58and a lot of people that want to speak.

4:49:59I want to make sure everyone out there

4:50:01has time to speak, so I'm going to get

4:50:02my stuff out the way first. First off,

4:50:05um I know when we met, it's

4:50:09it is very frustrating for me when the

4:50:12city develops a program that is received

4:50:16and has such great outcomes that the

4:50:18state mimics it and then [snorts] we

4:50:20defund it and that's not a great place

4:50:23to be. And family connects is that I

4:50:25mean it is it is a program that has

4:50:28changed the trajectory of so many

4:50:31families and there is a national

4:50:35reckoning right now on postpartum and

4:50:37how people fundamentally do not

4:50:39understand how serious that condition is

4:50:41and how much

4:50:43how much help is necessary to even help

4:50:45people struggling with it realize that

4:50:47they are going through it. And Family

4:50:49Connects is a tremendous way for people

4:50:53who don't even know they're suffering

4:50:54from it to not only help identify it,

4:50:57but put people with resources. And it is

4:51:01essential that we find a way to keep

4:51:03that program intact because, as I said,

4:51:06nothing's more embarrassing than being a

4:51:08leader on something and then having the

4:51:10state make you look bad because they're

4:51:12doing it themselves. Um the low barrier

4:51:15shelter it is absolutely essential that

4:51:19we figure out a path forward on it. I

4:51:20know that we are talking with a variety

4:51:24of different partners. One of the big

4:51:25things I want kind of the public to

4:51:27understand is that the budgeting model

4:51:30is not to use one-time money for

4:51:32reoccurring expenses. So it's not just

4:51:36the issue of going to partners and

4:51:38saying, "Hey, can you give me some

4:51:39money?" It's, hey, can you give me a

4:51:42multi-year commitment to some money?

4:51:44Because what you don't want to have is

4:51:46have people say, hey, I'll give you a

4:51:48couple of bucks this year, but next year

4:51:50you're right back on the chopping block.

4:51:53The idea ideally what you do is you get

4:51:55a 3 to 5ear commitment for funding. So

4:51:59that way when you're in year 2 or in

4:52:01year four, if that funer says, "I cannot

4:52:05fund in year three or year five," it

4:52:07gives you a runway to find replacement

4:52:09funding. That is why the process of of

4:52:13securing reoccurring funding is so

4:52:16essential. So um I know that working

4:52:19with the council, working with the

4:52:21mayor, we've already tried to re-engage

4:52:23some of the prior groups cuz as Dr. Agno

4:52:28alluded to

4:52:30originally the low barrier shelter did

4:52:32have some groups exterior groups that

4:52:34provided sources of funding to offset

4:52:37what the city put in. Right now the

4:52:39city's

4:52:41taking the full cost and in this budget

4:52:44environment we cannot afford to take the

4:52:46full cost. So I know that I've been

4:52:48engaging with some groups other council

4:52:50members have as well. Council McCarron

4:52:52um engaged with downtown development and

4:52:54got that ball rolling with them as far

4:52:56as searching a hard commitment. Um I've

4:52:59worked with Council Member King with uh

4:53:01the French Quarter Management District

4:53:02to figure out what they can do, but it's

4:53:04going to take us talking to all those

4:53:05groups. Now, I I want to point out

4:53:07something. I know that that Matt's going

4:53:09to kind of twitch, but we received these

4:53:11lovely letters from legislators saying

4:53:13how much they want to help with the low

4:53:15barrier shelter. I will tell you

4:53:17something. As a former legislator,

4:53:20letters are meaningless without work.

4:53:23And for a legislator to say, "Please

4:53:25save the funding." My response is,

4:53:28"Please find some funding." Because

4:53:30right now, this is something that's

4:53:33important to the city of New Orleans. It

4:53:35provides a regional benefit because as

4:53:37Dr. of Vegno, and you can attest, what's

4:53:39your name again, sir?

4:53:40>> Taylor.

4:53:41>> Taylor. As Taylor can attest, a lot of

4:53:43people in that low barrier shelter are

4:53:44from New Orleans

4:53:46and it's a regional benefit and though

4:53:51we provide the service, it would be

4:53:54nice, as much as some of my Republican

4:53:56colleagues like to say the dollar should

4:53:58file the child, it would be nice if

4:54:00those regions that that money followed

4:54:03as well because Unity receives money

4:54:06from a variety of regions to provide

4:54:08services and it would be nice if the

4:54:10state at at the very least would provide

4:54:13a vehicle saying if we are providing

4:54:15services to a person from Port Allen, it

4:54:18would be nice if Port Allen would send

4:54:19their homeless services money to New

4:54:20Orleans to take care of their homeless.

4:54:24>> Because right now, if you drive in

4:54:26Jefferson Parish, you see these

4:54:27beautiful signs by Unity saying don't

4:54:29panhandle, paid for by Unity.

4:54:32If I'm the one in New Orleans servicing

4:54:34a Jefferson Parish homeless person, I

4:54:36think we could better use that money

4:54:38than putting up signs. So though I

4:54:41appreciate the letters and I appreciate

4:54:43the overtures that they will help with

4:54:45future state funding,

4:54:48actions speak louder than words, we need

4:54:50the actual funding because what you're

4:54:53providing now with the 5 million we have

4:54:56is adequate. But if we actually had the

4:54:59state give us money, we could provide

4:55:00better services and have better

4:55:02outcomes. So I I appreciate they support

4:55:05this. I would encourage them going into

4:55:08next year's session to send us some

4:55:10money because that would mean that we

4:55:13probably wouldn't be here in this

4:55:14catastrophic situation that we're in

4:55:16now. Um,

4:55:18additionally with victim support

4:55:20services, um, I cannot tell you how

4:55:24important it is for our domestic

4:55:26violence partners and what they do for

4:55:29survivors and how important the

4:55:31symbiotic relationship is between the

4:55:33city and our providers because we lead

4:55:38the state of Louisiana has led the

4:55:41nation in deaths by partners And we as a

4:55:47city have led the state in trying to

4:55:49reverse that trend. And when you look at

4:55:53that coupled with things like violence

4:55:55prevention services, the services you

4:55:58provide from cradle to the grave to

4:56:01survivors to individuals who are trying

4:56:05to help us stop retaliatory killings.

4:56:08All these things are part of why crime

4:56:11is so low. And it's a constant ongoing

4:56:15thing that we have to do to educate

4:56:17people. Crime being this low is not

4:56:21because of NOPD. Let me say that again.

4:56:30We have the same amount of police

4:56:34officers more or less than we did in

4:56:362021 when crime was at an all-time high.

4:56:40What we have done with all the work that

4:56:43the chief has done is stabilize

4:56:44attrition. We are still not above a

4:56:47thousand officers. The change is we have

4:56:50gotten much smarter and having holistic

4:56:53approaches. So you are doing policing

4:56:56with services and outreach and other

4:56:58things to have crime be this low. as

4:57:02I've told people who have kind of pushed

4:57:04back on because like I said, there's no

4:57:07way even with millages rolling forward

4:57:10that we are not going to have cuts. The

4:57:12goal is to look through every department

4:57:15to try and preserve the key

4:57:17functionality. And if you're looking at

4:57:19the machine that is the city of New

4:57:21Orleans that has kept crime low, you

4:57:23cannot remove widgets from one end and

4:57:26hope the whole thing functions. It will

4:57:28not. It will crash. It will burn. And we

4:57:30know this year going into next year, if

4:57:33we don't figure out a way to keep the

4:57:35entire engine rolling, it will go off

4:57:37the tracks and it will explode. So,

4:57:41we're working on low barrier shelter

4:57:43obviously with trying to get partners

4:57:45and other groups involved, but every

4:57:48other aspect of this

4:57:50>> is also under consideration on how we

4:57:53get back to where we need to be. It's

4:57:54just

4:57:56>> as I tell everyone, there is no money

4:57:57tree. Sorry, me correct myself. My

4:58:0010-year-old makes me say this now.

4:58:04>> Money is made with paper, but you can't

4:58:06use trees to make money. So, there is no

4:58:09money tree in the city of New Orleans.

4:58:11We are going to have to find ways

4:58:13creatively throughout the budget to

4:58:14spread cuts to restore services. So,

4:58:18just because we spare pain here does not

4:58:20mean there'll be pain elsewhere. We just

4:58:23need the public and the people out there

4:58:25and the audience day to be patient with

4:58:27us to know that we are doing our best

4:58:29just like you manage your book every

4:58:31month at home trying to make ends meet.

4:58:33We're managing next year's book to make

4:58:35ends meet and we're going to have to go

4:58:37without somewhere else to get these

4:58:39services restored, but they are

4:58:40important. So, we're going to find a way

4:58:42as a council doing this budget to get

4:58:45the key uh services back in place. they

4:58:49will likely res result in some pain

4:58:52elsewhere. But we understand that and

4:58:54part of us working together to fix this

4:58:57budget is sharing that pain. So I want

4:58:59to publicly thank Dr. Agno cuz you wear

4:59:02your heart on your sleeve when you're

4:59:05not doing Klay Higgins witchcraft.

4:59:07You wear your heart on your sleeve and

4:59:09you really believe in everything that

4:59:10you do and we are going to work to give

4:59:12you the resources so you continue to do

4:59:14our work. Thank you.

4:59:20Uh thank you to my colleagues for

4:59:22expressing their support for the low

4:59:24barrier shelter. Uh Dr. Vegno, you and I

4:59:27conceived of the office of homeless

4:59:30services and strategies together at a

4:59:32coffee shop in the prior administration.

4:59:35Um and you've done Taylor a yman's job

4:59:38of keeping us on track, making sure that

4:59:40we're supporting our unhoused folks and

4:59:44keeping your eye on the low barrier

4:59:45shelter which as Dr. Begno has said the

4:59:48physical um the physical state of it is

4:59:52not conducive to healing to getting back

4:59:55on your feet. It's really a terrible

4:59:57place. So I can't wait to work with you

4:59:59on finding a new spot for the low

5:00:01barrier shelter. Um my team and I have

5:00:04also been in contact with possible

5:00:07funders including uh New Orleans and

5:00:09Company, the DDD. Um, I just want to

5:00:13remind people that when our prior

5:00:15operator of the lower barrier shelter

5:00:17pulled out, I reached out to Ed Carlson

5:00:20at Odyssey House to say, "Can you please

5:00:23bid on this because we need your help."

5:00:26So, my commitment

5:00:28to our unhoused population is strong. It

5:00:32continues. It's been there for the past

5:00:34four years. that will be there long

5:00:35after I exit this council because it's

5:00:38so important that we support our

5:00:40neighbors not only who are from New

5:00:41Orleans, but we know about 50% of folks

5:00:44who are in the system come from outside

5:00:46of New Orleans. Um, you guys have been

5:00:48sitting here for a very long time. I

5:00:50don't want us to be talking heads

5:00:52anymore. I want to hear from you. We

5:00:53have a stack of cards and the first one

5:00:55is from Ed Carlson.

5:01:03Hallelujah.

5:01:06>> Good afternoon everybody. Uh thank you

5:01:08for the opportunity to speak. Uh I

5:01:10really appreciate all of the support

5:01:12from the health department. Um also all

5:01:14the council members who I've had the

5:01:15honor and pleasure to work with for many

5:01:17many years. Um also all the wonderful

5:01:20people who are here behind me um who are

5:01:23here supporting uh the work that we're

5:01:25doing. Uh my name is Ed Carlson. I'm the

5:01:27CEO of Odyssey House. Uh I'm obviously

5:01:29here to help to uh advocate for the uh

5:01:33funding for the low barrier homeless

5:01:34shelter. Um one of the things that

5:01:36Odyssey House was able to do in turning

5:01:39around the low barrier shelter when we

5:01:41took over was to make a big change in

5:01:43how we provided services. And the way

5:01:45that we provided the services is using

5:01:47best practices in in a shelter

5:01:49environment. So, not only do we really

5:01:52focus on treating the individual and

5:01:54working with people individually, we

5:01:56help them to move on to the next level

5:01:58and help to make it that the shelter is

5:02:00not their home. It's only a stepping

5:02:02place to a home. So, I'm going to give

5:02:04you some numbers here. Uh, one thing is

5:02:06interesting. Uh, we did an economic

5:02:08impact study at Odyssey House and one of

5:02:10the things we looked at was specifically

5:02:12the shelter and it showed for the $5.8 8

5:02:14million that is currently being spent on

5:02:17the shelter. It estimated a save cost to

5:02:19the city of around $40 million. And so

5:02:22those are important numbers when you're

5:02:24looking at how this the impact that has

5:02:26and what the shelter does in the way we

5:02:28provide services. And just since we took

5:02:31over the shelter in 2025, 930 guests

5:02:34received case management and care plans.

5:02:37279 moved into more stable permanent

5:02:40housing. We made uh nearly 2,000

5:02:43referrals to local service providers um

5:02:45and nearly 3,000 referrals to OHL's

5:02:47health centers resulting in nearly 1,500

5:02:51measurable care encounters and 88

5:02:53individuals were directly referred to

5:02:55intensive addiction treatment services.

5:02:58Additionally, uh with the first 6 months

5:03:00in 2026, we were able to get over uh 53

5:03:04guests to secure employment. About a

5:03:06third of the people at the shelter are

5:03:08employed and we help

5:03:11Thank you, Red.

5:03:14Lonnie Graham,

5:03:17Lonnie, you're up next. Followed by

5:03:20Shira Bessinette,

5:03:24followed by uh Delita Wilbang.

5:03:30>> Good morning, council members. Thank

5:03:32you. Lonnie Granier, Odyssey House,

5:03:33Louisiana. A slight correction to uh to

5:03:36Ed. uh 379 guests, not 279, were moved

5:03:40into more stable and permanent housing

5:03:42uh in in the last fiscal year. Uh while

5:03:45I have the time, I do want to commend

5:03:46Dr. Agno and her team on the Family

5:03:48Connects program. I think that the

5:03:50council should prioritize that,

5:03:51particularly as long as uh fatal

5:03:53overdose continues to be the leading

5:03:55cause of of death for pregnant and

5:03:57parenting women. Um, relative to the

5:03:59economic impact, something that is not

5:04:01measured in the $40 million in savings

5:04:04are the [snorts] guests employment and

5:04:06them making a valuable contribution to

5:04:07the community, which has been enhanced

5:04:09with our partnership with Job One, then

5:04:11coming on site and providing job fairs

5:04:13at least once a month, as well as the

5:04:15increased economic vitality and reduced

5:04:18reliance on hospitals and jails. And so

5:04:19I I want you to look at that $40 million

5:04:22cost savings as the floor in addition to

5:04:24approximately $10 million of economic

5:04:26impact by just the shelter being an

5:04:28operation. I also want to thank Dr.

5:04:31Agno, her entire team and council member

5:04:33Harris and your team for coming to the

5:04:35table with us and allowing to

5:04:36[clears throat] work with you to find

5:04:37ways to uh reduce the shelter budget,

5:04:40improve efficiency uh without

5:04:42sacrificing quality or bed capacity. And

5:04:44so many many thanks to you for that. I

5:04:46also want to revisit some data that we

5:04:48shared with you, Council Member Harris,

5:04:49earlier in the year relative to the

5:04:51shelter population. We can verify at any

5:04:53particular moment. Uh about 45% of our

5:04:56shelter guests are from New Orleans. Uh

5:04:58and and about 65% overall are from

5:05:01Louisiana. And we can verify that about

5:05:0320% of the shelter guests do come from

5:05:06out of state. And so we do pledge our

5:05:08support and partnership as Odyssey House

5:05:10and trying to work toward braided

5:05:12funding uh through city, state, and

5:05:14federal partnerships. Uh, I've also

5:05:16included in the packets that you've

5:05:18received some client testimonies from

5:05:19guests who were in the low barrier

5:05:21shelter and have since exited. And so I

5:05:23just want to draw your attention to that

5:05:24and celebrate those success stories. And

5:05:26I'll I'll yield to uh to the folks

5:05:29behind me. Thank you very much.

5:05:30>> Thank you, Lonnie.

5:05:34>> Uh, Miss Bessinette, followed by uh

5:05:37Delita Wilbank followed by Sarah Parks.

5:05:43All right. Good afternoon, members of

5:05:45the city council and mayor's office. My

5:05:47name is Shaina Bassinet. I urge you in

5:05:51the strongest terms, do not cut funding

5:05:54for our low barrier shelter. That

5:05:57shelter was a lifeline for me for 5

5:05:59months. It gave me a safe place to sleep

5:06:02and the stability to rebuild my life.

5:06:05Low barrier shelters meet people exactly

5:06:08where they are and they restore human

5:06:10dignity when everything else has fallen

5:06:12apart.

5:06:13Cutting this budget doesn't save money.

5:06:15It shifts the burden back onto our

5:06:17streets, our emergency rooms, and our

5:06:19public services. Every bed you defund is

5:06:22another neighbor pushed back outside.

5:06:25Low barrier shelters or the bridge

5:06:27between homelessness and housing. You

5:06:30cannot build a safer, healthier city by

5:06:32tearing down bridges that help people

5:06:34rebuild.

5:06:36I learned through the grape vine of a

5:06:39possible relocation of the low barrier

5:06:41shelter being a detention center. And I

5:06:44just want to say that people who have

5:06:45been who have been incarcerated like

5:06:47myself will most probably decide to

5:06:49sleep on the streets if that's the case.

5:06:51Um a jail setting works against the

5:06:54trust that g gets people to come in at

5:06:56all. So I'm going to pray for healing

5:06:59center vibes instead of incarceration

5:07:01vibes. and I respectfully ask that you

5:07:05include people with lived experience in

5:07:07any decision of where it goes and please

5:07:10protect and fully fund our low barrier

5:07:12shelter. Thank you so much.

5:07:14>> Thank you so much.

5:07:19>> Miss Wila

5:07:20Wilkkey, there you are.

5:07:22>> Hi. Thank you.

5:07:23>> Sorry. And and then Sarah Parks and then

5:07:26Renee Bloun. [clears throat]

5:07:28>> Good afternoon, city council members. My

5:07:30name is Dolita Wilhike and I'm a case

5:07:32manager at the Loaria Shelter. I want to

5:07:35speak specifically about the young

5:07:37people that we serve because most people

5:07:39aren't aware of that. This shelter is

5:07:41not simply a place to sleep. It's a

5:07:43place where young people, many

5:07:45struggling with mental illness and

5:07:46substance use, can find stability,

5:07:48support, and a path forward. I'm

5:07:50especially proud of our housing

5:07:52outcomes. Every young person we have

5:07:54helped transition from our shelter into

5:07:56permanent housing has been able to

5:07:57maintain that housing. That is because

5:08:00our work doesn't [snorts] end when we

5:08:02they receive the keys. We make sure that

5:08:04they leave the with the support,

5:08:05resources, and connections they need to

5:08:08remain stable and successing with their

5:08:10housing. I want to share one young

5:08:13woman's uh story. She typically hangs at

5:08:17Chick-fil-A and her donuts. I'm sure

5:08:20every outreach worker knows her. Every

5:08:22mobile crisis unit knows her. But before

5:08:24coming to the shelter, she had 38

5:08:27hospital stays in one year. Since coming

5:08:29to our shelter, she has not had one. And

5:08:32this all can be verified.

5:08:36Today, she is making strides. She has

5:08:38support. She has stability. And she has

5:08:40hope. And this is what the shelter

5:08:42provides. We are not a flop house. We

5:08:44are a bridge to peritive housing,

5:08:46stability, and independence. Closing

5:08:49this shelter will not make homelessness

5:08:50disappear, but it can take away a

5:08:52critical resource from the young people

5:08:54that we already serve. I ask that you

5:08:56look beyond the building and look at the

5:08:58outcomes.

5:09:01In Hebrews 4:16,

5:09:04it's very simple

5:09:07in this order.

5:09:09First comes mercy, then comes grace.

5:09:14>> Grace and mercy is not just for the

5:09:17elite. It's not for the middle class.

5:09:20It's for everybody.

5:09:21>> Thank you.

5:09:22>> Thank you for your work. [applause]

5:09:30>> Yes.

5:09:30>> Hey Sarah.

5:09:31>> Hello. Hi. My name is Sarah Parks and

5:09:34I'm a social worker and executive

5:09:36director of Grace at the Green Light. We

5:09:38serve individuals experiencing homeless

5:09:40365 days of the year. According to

5:09:43national studies conducted by the

5:09:45National Alliance to End Homelessness,

5:09:47the elderly are our fastest growing

5:09:49homeless population.

5:09:5141% of the individuals that my

5:09:54organization serves are over the age of

5:09:5660.

5:09:58Funding homelessness services is a

5:10:00matter of life and death. Recently, one

5:10:03of our elderly clients who is living

5:10:05with dementia died on the streets. He

5:10:08was found sitting in a chair on poress

5:10:10after being left there for 2 days.

5:10:13This loss is heartbreaking and a

5:10:16reminder of what's at stake. Adequate

5:10:18funding for outreach, shelters, housing,

5:10:21and supportive services can save lives.

5:10:24Our most vulnerable neighbors deserve

5:10:26the resources and the support they need

5:10:28to survive.

5:10:30>> Thank you, Renee, followed by Jennifer

5:10:33Hall, followed by Sister Mary Lou.

5:10:37Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you

5:10:39for all of this conversation. I'm really

5:10:42encouraged by what I'm [clears throat]

5:10:42hearing today and what I read yesterday.

5:10:44And I want to thank Dr. Agno and this

5:10:46whole team here for all of the

5:10:47partnership that we've shared with them

5:10:49over the years, particularly in housing

5:10:51and in the crisis uh intervention team.

5:10:54Um if the low barrier shelter closed,

5:10:57where would those 300 unhoused neighbors

5:11:00of ours go? Because I'm going to tell

5:11:02you right now, we at Ozanom, I'm sorry,

5:11:05Renee Blanch with Ozan. Sorry. Um we at

5:11:08Ozanam have seen more than a 30%

5:11:10increase just in the last 8 to 10 months

5:11:13of people coming to us for shelter.

5:11:15That's we have 156 beds at Ozamin. 97 on

5:11:19the men's floor and 59 on the women's

5:11:21floor. Every single solitary night we

5:11:24set up an extra 20 CS on the men's floor

5:11:26because we don't want to turn those

5:11:27people away. We're still turning people

5:11:29away but safety you know prohibits us

5:11:31doing more. On the women's floor, it's

5:11:33another six to 10 cotss that we set

5:11:35up almost every night, too. So, where

5:11:38are they going to go? We don't have any

5:11:40more capacity. Neither the neither do

5:11:42the other shelters in the city that are

5:11:44also nonprofits raising our own money to

5:11:46run our own shelters. So, where again

5:11:49are these folks going to go? And I know

5:11:51that I've spoken with Dr. Vegno and you,

5:11:53Council Member Harris, and to um Council

5:11:55Member Morell's um point,

5:11:59we've had an increase of out of parish

5:12:01people. Of our Louisiana residents, 40

5:12:04to 45% are from out of Orleans Parish,

5:12:07and that's an increase from about 25%

5:12:10about a year ago. So, thank you for your

5:12:11time.

5:12:12>> Thank you,

5:12:14>> Jennifer Hall,

5:12:17Sister Mary Lou,

5:12:19followed by Naomi Washington.

5:12:25Good afternoon, Sister Mary Lou, um,

5:12:28Hotel Hope and president of Hope Family

5:12:31Housing and also social justice

5:12:34influencer. I just gave me I just gave

5:12:37that name to myself today, but but thank

5:12:40you so much um, Dr. Vegno and council

5:12:43[snorts]

5:12:44members that are here present right now

5:12:46because I know all of you will vote on

5:12:48the on that. I know it's been a long

5:12:50day, but thank you [snorts] for um

5:12:53taking this day. I think I just say I

5:12:57hear the support that all of you are

5:13:00giving and I'm glad to do that. All my

5:13:03colleagues of um nonprofits who have

5:13:06worked tirelessly for years and years

5:13:09and years and years to make the line on

5:13:12the budget on the revenue match the

5:13:16expenses. That's what we do. That's what

5:13:19I do all the time. And so we have to be

5:13:22creative. We have to look and to say

5:13:25there has to be some other sources.

5:13:28There have to be some other

5:13:29philanthropic corporate sponsors who

5:13:32want to help us. I was very disturbed by

5:13:36your first slide um Jen of what does it

5:13:41mean if all of those budget cuts happen?

5:13:45Mental health is real.

5:13:48It's real. The people on our streets are

5:13:51real. And if we look at the consistent

5:13:54ethic of life,

5:13:57that is our moral obligation as human

5:14:00beings. If you have a religious

5:14:03affiliation, okay, you can take it one

5:14:05place further. But as a human [snorts]

5:14:08being, we have to treat people with

5:14:12dignity and respect for life. So I'm

5:14:15begging you council members who have

5:14:18that opportunity to make real important

5:14:21decisions to do so. Thank you doctor and

5:14:23your team.

5:14:24>> Thank you Mary

5:14:26Naomi Washington followed by an Jays

5:14:30followed by Charlene Hoe.

5:14:34>> Hi council members in attendance. Thank

5:14:36you. I'll pretty much be rating what has

5:14:39already been said. Um but good

5:14:42afternoon. As you all know, night out

5:14:45against crime was 2 days ago.

5:14:47Neighborhoods across the city celebrated

5:14:49with block parties and community

5:14:50gatherings as a part of what the New

5:14:53Orleans city government describes as an

5:14:55event that strengthens communities

5:14:57through meaningful connections between

5:14:58residents and local police.

5:15:01I'm also here to talk about, as with the

5:15:03rest of you, an entity [snorts] that

5:15:05also strengthens communities and

5:15:07supports a reality in which all

5:15:08residents meaningfully engage with our

5:15:10physical environment and all the things

5:15:12embedded into community that makes a

5:15:14whole, the health department. The health

5:15:17department has played a crucial role in

5:15:18maintaining the public's well-being and

5:15:20quality of life and deserves to [snorts]

5:15:21be recognized as a key driver in the

5:15:23historic decrease in crime we are

5:15:25experiencing today. The fact of the

5:15:27matter is that a healthy community is a

5:15:30safe community. Safety is a collective

5:15:32effort that takes meaningful investment

5:15:34in preventing crime before it happens

5:15:36and in healing from harm that has

5:15:38occurred. To feel comfortable in our own

5:15:40neighborhoods and to give our children a

5:15:42better future, we need to invest in

5:15:43people and in prevention. That's what

5:15:46supports healing and repair. More

5:15:48incarceration and policing has not and

5:15:51will not break the cycles of violence in

5:15:53our city. These systems react after harm

5:15:55has already occurred. What does support

5:15:58for healing and repair look like in

5:16:00reality? To me, it looks like investing

5:16:02in systems that address violence as a

5:16:04public health concern. It means funding

5:16:07community violence interruptors,

5:16:08domestic violence intervention,

5:16:10restorative justice, court diversion,

5:16:12and trauma recovery, as well as

5:16:15[clears throat] the food security

5:16:16programs, home visits, and safety net

5:16:18programs for all youth. Thank you. Thank

5:16:21you,

5:16:23Ann

5:16:25Star Darling Hoe.

5:16:26>> Hey y'all. One second.

5:16:28>> And then Leiana Williams. Can you I hate

5:16:32y dog? I'm a disabled veteran military.

5:16:36Can't do so much. Is there any way y'all

5:16:39can let me speak before y'all as an

5:16:41excuse?

5:16:43>> Yeah.

5:16:44>> Overwhelmed.

5:16:47>> Yeah. ility check

5:16:50m if you could ma'am if you could hold

5:16:52on for one second let's roll through

5:16:54some cards and then we'll have someone

5:16:56talk with her um an James followed by

5:17:00Charlene Hoe.

5:17:03Hi uh Ann Jay's Louisiana Public Health

5:17:05Institute. OPI is very concerned about

5:17:09the cuts and we're really grateful for

5:17:11all of the comments and support of the

5:17:13health department that we've heard. The

5:17:14health department is one of our biggest

5:17:18and strongest partners and do incredible

5:17:20work for the city. As we've already

5:17:21talked about today,

5:17:24um public health is inseparable for the

5:17:26from the conditions that people face

5:17:28every day. Housing, access to care, food

5:17:31security, economic stability, and

5:17:33support for mothers and families. New

5:17:36Orleians have consistently identified

5:17:38these issues as urgent, most pressing

5:17:41needs, and the Department of Health

5:17:43addresses those directly. Programs such

5:17:46as Family Connects help families receive

5:17:48support earlier, like we already talked

5:17:50about, and reduce crises and improve

5:17:52health outcomes. Cutting public health

5:17:54funding

5:17:56does not eliminate the needs. It shifts

5:17:59preventable problems into more expensive

5:18:01emergency systems and makes it harder

5:18:04for New Orleans to build healthier,

5:18:05safer, more resilient communities. So,

5:18:08we respectfully urge the council to

5:18:10protect the health department's funding

5:18:12in the 2027 budget. Preserving these

5:18:15investments will help the city respond

5:18:16to residents priorities, prevent

5:18:18avoidable crises, and strengthen the

5:18:21systems [snorts] families rely on every

5:18:22day. Thanks. Thank you.

5:18:25Ladonna Williams, followed by Britney

5:18:28Arseno, followed by Jeremy Johnson.

5:18:31Hi, Charlene Hoe Health and I oversee

5:18:35the Family Connects program at Auctioner

5:18:37Baptist. Um, I'm here to respectfully

5:18:40ask the council to continue funding

5:18:42Family Connects New Orleans. Since July

5:18:442024, the Auctioner team has completed

5:18:47nearly 1,000 uh initial home visits. Um,

5:18:50Auctioner remains committed to this

5:18:53program and we want to see this program

5:18:55continue to serve our New Orleans

5:18:57families. Um, our registered nurses,

5:19:01they do go in the homes to assess the

5:19:03health and well-being of the infant and

5:19:04birthing parent. They answer questions,

5:19:06offer reassurance, identify concerns

5:19:08early, and connect families with health

5:19:10care and community resources

5:19:12respectfully. I ask the council to

5:19:14continue investing in Family Connects

5:19:16New Orleans at the strongest level

5:19:18possible so families can continue to

5:19:20receive the trusted support. Thank you.

5:19:27>> All right.

5:19:29Thank you. Um Michelle Bo, you have two

5:19:31minutes.

5:19:34Hi, my name is Michelle Christine Bo. Um

5:19:37I would like you to read the card and

5:19:39I'll tell you what it's about if you

5:19:41have questions. So just read my card

5:19:43aloud and

5:19:45>> um Marie, I just have the one with your

5:19:47name on it.

5:19:48>> Michelle Christine Bo,

5:19:51please read it.

5:19:52>> It just has your name on it, ma'am.

5:19:54>> Go ahead and

5:19:56>> read it. I will answer it. We need

5:19:59funding.

5:20:02>> It's the same thing. I'm a disabled

5:20:06veteran military. I asked for time off

5:20:09sbatical for 25 years to get my life

5:20:13together when I became a disabled

5:20:16veteran. I want to be a PCA in the

5:20:18military. Serve only military. That's

5:20:21the way I am. I don't mind that people

5:20:23aren't in the military yet have

5:20:24non-military and military,

5:20:27you know. I want my I military ID. I

5:20:30want to be honored.

5:20:32I want to be a PCA part-time only 25

5:20:36hours or less every month if I could do

5:20:39it or I have to go into retirement and

5:20:41sbaticals and stuff like that. I really

5:20:45really

5:20:47want

5:20:49the old VA at 1530 Inferret Street, New

5:20:52Orleans, Louisiana 70112 NATO USA to be

5:20:58funded and support. We need more. We're

5:21:01there to save lives. I joined the

5:21:04military for that. I want to be in the

5:21:06health department.

5:21:08That's who I am. Please don't touch and

5:21:10come near. Let me have my own personal

5:21:11space.

5:21:13>> I don't want to be overwhelmed. I'm

5:21:15disabled. That's why I'm here. I want

5:21:18funding. I want it to stay. We need

5:21:21funding. And we I heard about a new VA.

5:21:24We already had that other VA built. But

5:21:27we need to be supported more. We save

5:21:30lives.

5:21:31>> Thank you.

5:21:31>> I save lives. Thank you.

5:21:33>> Thank you, Miss Bo.

5:21:36>> Lazana Williams, followed by Britney

5:21:38Arseno.

5:21:45>> Good afternoon and thank you so much for

5:21:47the opportunity to come here and speak

5:21:49to you today. My name is Leana Williams

5:21:51and I'm the vice president of community

5:21:53engagement for University Medical

5:21:54Center. I'm speaking on behalf of the

5:21:56Seeds of Nola Trauma Recovery Center and

5:21:59the UMC Hospital-based Violence

5:22:02Intervention Program. The work we do in

5:22:05partnership with the city is vital to

5:22:09the city. Um we sustained investments

5:22:11for the trauma recovery center as well

5:22:14as violence intervention and it's

5:22:16essential to maintaining the progress

5:22:18that we've made and the progress that's

5:22:20made towards saving the the city and the

5:22:22crime and the impact that has been made.

5:22:24The Department of Health and Human

5:22:26Services violence intervention plan,

5:22:29including the support for the

5:22:30hospital-based violence intervention has

5:22:33contributed to declining violence rates

5:22:35in New Orleans, and continued funding

5:22:37will ensure that we're able to continue

5:22:40the progress that's already been made.

5:22:42Our program meets people in some of

5:22:44their most difficult moments, often

5:22:46immediately after violence has been

5:22:49occurred in their life. We provide

5:22:51emotional support during crisis, safety

5:22:54planning, psychotherapy, case

5:22:56management, and deescalation to those at

5:22:59risk of retaliatory violence, and

5:23:01long-term support that helps individuals

5:23:04with setting goals, accessing resources,

5:23:07and building safer, more stable lives.

5:23:10While a program is small in budget, it's

5:23:12mighty in impact. Over the past 12

5:23:14months, our team has engaged and

5:23:16supported with more than 300 individuals

5:23:19who sustained gunshot wounds.

5:23:22139 new participants have been made uh

5:23:25and provided with case management as

5:23:28well as long-term services. Behind every

5:23:30number is a person, a family, and an

5:23:32opportunity to interrupt another cycle

5:23:35of violence. This work is about more

5:23:37than just treating an injury. It's about

5:23:39helping people heal, stay safe, and

5:23:42having a chance to thrive. I want to

5:23:44thank the Department of Health and

5:23:46Hospitals, as well as our Seeds of NOLA

5:23:48trauma recovery center for the

5:23:49continued.

5:23:51>> Thank you, Britney, followed by Jeremy,

5:23:54followed by Meg D.

5:23:58>> Britney.

5:24:01All right, Jeremy Johnson. Yes.

5:24:08>> All right. How you guys doing today? My

5:24:10name is Jeremy Johnson. I'm a case

5:24:12manager at the Low Barrier Shelter. And

5:24:15today I wanted to read a letter from one

5:24:18of our guests who wasn't able to be

5:24:19here. And it reads, "My name is Antonet

5:24:24Holmes. I'm a resident of the New

5:24:25Orleans Low Barrier Shelter. I first

5:24:28became homeless in January of 2026 after

5:24:31losing my job and my apartment. A friend

5:24:34of mine let me sleep in their car while

5:24:36I attempted to get back on my feet.

5:24:38After months of no luck, that same

5:24:41friend told me I should try to get into

5:24:42the low barrier shelter and told me that

5:24:45they would help me get myself together.

5:24:47My friend told me that the shelter was

5:24:49the only shelter in the city that would

5:24:51give you a permanent bed, giving its

5:24:53residents a chance to find a job and to

5:24:55save money. When I first arrived at the

5:24:58shelter, I was welcomed in open arms.

5:25:00The staff treated me like family. And on

5:25:03my first day there, my health was

5:25:05declining. After months of being off my

5:25:07diabetes medication, they helped me to

5:25:09see a provider the same day so that I

5:25:11could get all of my medication filled.

5:25:13And the following days, my case manager

5:25:15worked with me to search for jobs. After

5:25:18weeks of job searching, I can proudly

5:25:20say I'm employed again. Now we are

5:25:23working on the next step which is

5:25:24budgeting so I can save towards housing

5:25:26myself. Closing this shelter would be a

5:25:29great disservice to the people of our

5:25:31city who struggle with homelessness.

5:25:33This shelter offers its residents the

5:25:35opportunity to be connected with

5:25:37providers for primary care and

5:25:39behavioral health services. They also

5:25:41provide assistance with finding

5:25:43employment so that people who struggle

5:25:44with homelessness can work towards

5:25:46ending their struggles creating

5:25:48stability with housing.

5:25:51They the help they provide

5:25:52[clears throat] is needed for our city.

5:25:54No other shelter offers the amenity

5:25:57amenities for the less fortunate that

5:25:58are available at the low barrier

5:26:00shelter. Other shelters only allow you

5:26:02to sleep for the night and you have to

5:26:04take your belongings with you in the

5:26:05morning making it practically impossible

5:26:07to hold employment. Um the low barrier

5:26:11shelter is also the only

5:26:13>> Thank you. And please tell them thank

5:26:15you for writing that letter.

5:26:18Me D. [applause]

5:26:20Mag D followed by Maple Lewis.

5:26:23Me D.

5:26:25All right. Maple Lewis,

5:26:29Linda Slade.

5:26:35And then after that is Angelica Dean.

5:26:45Good afternoon. My name is Lyn Slade. I

5:26:48am a resident of Low Barrier.

5:26:52I have seen people come through the

5:26:54doors with nothing on but the clothes on

5:26:56their back

5:26:59and

5:27:02no barrier has helped them.

5:27:05Ain't got no jobs, a place to go. This

5:27:09is the only shelter

5:27:11that will take animals, pets. No other

5:27:15shelter will do that.

5:27:20It has also been passed. It's a bad

5:27:23place. It is not.

5:27:26Take the challenge. Spend one week there

5:27:30and see if it's that bad.

5:27:34I have been there since January.

5:27:37I come from Oh, I'm in

5:27:41because they do not take pets. as there

5:27:45are 10 other people there with pets.

5:27:49It is the only homeless shelter that

5:27:53will do that.

5:27:56And you want to put

5:27:58300 people out on the street

5:28:03and you're talking about

5:28:06people being treated as human beings.

5:28:09Stop and think what you are saying.

5:28:14cuz you're not being human.

5:28:19I have a dog.

5:28:23My dog goes where I go. I got out of

5:28:27Ozan to get into your war area because

5:28:32of my dog that I had raised.

5:28:38So stop and think and say the state

5:28:41will wait till next year. They don't

5:28:43need to wait till next year. They need

5:28:45it this year.

5:28:47>> Thank you, Miss Wade. [applause]

5:28:50>> Angelica Dean, followed by Jamie Clark,

5:28:53and then Dr. Chad Lewis.

5:28:59Thank you, council, for the opportunity

5:29:01to speak today. The low barrier shelter

5:29:03has been essential to me as a homeless

5:29:05individual who relocated to New Orleans

5:29:07from Alabama 13 months ago. The shelter

5:29:10has afforded me the ability to regain my

5:29:12mental stability via counseling

5:29:14services, primary care, and case

5:29:15management support. I have been able to

5:29:18finally call New Orleans home through

5:29:20the assistance of Unity's permanent

5:29:21supporting housing program, which will

5:29:23put an end to my homelessness. Through

5:29:26the course of my journey, I don't

5:29:27believe I would have regained the

5:29:28insight to a better future if it wasn't

5:29:30for the shelter's 24-hour support. The

5:29:32shelter has given me a new outlook in

5:29:34the phases of my recovery. If the

5:29:36shelter shuts down, it will affect

5:29:38hundreds of individuals who depend on

5:29:40the expertise of the staff. Please

5:29:42continue to support Liberia shelter so

5:29:44other individuals can experience the joy

5:29:46in finding a home without having to be

5:29:48on the streets. Thank you.

5:29:49>> Thank you, Miss

5:29:51[applause]

5:29:52Thank you, Miss Dean. Jamie Clark,

5:29:54followed by Dr. Dr. Chad Lewis and then

5:29:56after that is Renard Oliver,

5:30:00Jamie Clark.

5:30:03Okay, let's move on to Dr. Chad Lewis.

5:30:11>> Everybody say love, forgiveness, and

5:30:12gratitude.

5:30:14>> Love, forgiveness, and gratitude.

5:30:16>> Thank you, Jesus.

5:30:19>> Out there with you. Unity. If you're now

5:30:24in, please stand up and give yourself a

5:30:26Everybody out there with you. Everybody

5:30:27who with you, stand up. Give yourself a

5:30:29hand.

5:30:34Green light.

5:30:38My name is Dr. Chad Lewis

5:30:42and I came here, my doctorate is in

5:30:45divinity. I came here because I came on

5:30:49vacation. And in the process, the city

5:30:51towed my car.

5:30:53By that measure, I don't have family to

5:30:56help me, and I wound up staying in the

5:30:58homeless shelter for the first time ever

5:31:00in my life. I am gainfully looking for

5:31:03employment with my doctorate in

5:31:04divinity. Uh I am with the people's

5:31:07council.

5:31:09Uh, have you considered that no one

5:31:12should have to live in a Orleans parish

5:31:15prison? Like you plan on moving the

5:31:17people from the low barrier

5:31:20that'll certainly cause post-traumatic

5:31:22stress and voluntary voluntarily induce

5:31:26mental health issues for us.

5:31:29Understanding citizens who fought tooth

5:31:32and nail to stay out of jail.

5:31:36The treaty of peace and love. The treaty

5:31:38of peace and friendship is acknowledged

5:31:41by Barack Obama was signed in 1787 and

5:31:44bailed out the a homeless George

5:31:46Washington

5:31:48being that found the 10 square miles

5:31:51that we call Washington DC which is the

5:31:53nation's capital

5:31:56and this compassion of humanity of the

5:31:58Sultan of Morocco gave them this 10

5:32:00square miles for a tribute tax that they

5:32:03were not able to continue to pay which

5:32:05we still have Today

5:32:08visitors of New Orleans in 2025

5:32:1219,000

5:32:14I mean 19,460,000

5:32:18if a peace and friendship hotel tax or

5:32:21other possible areas were imposed on

5:32:23visitors tourists in the amount of $10

5:32:26who most likely would have gambled it

5:32:29away. That would yield

5:32:32$194,600,000.

5:32:37That's somewhere you can get that money

5:32:38from.

5:32:39>> Thank you, doctor.

5:32:42>> Mr. Rainard Oliver,

5:32:46followed by Helen Tus.

5:32:51And then after that is Melissa, I think

5:32:53it's Bear.

5:33:00Good evening. Uh my name is Renard

5:33:02Oliver and I support uh not closing uh

5:33:07low barrier shelter, any other shelter

5:33:08for that for that reason. And my main

5:33:11reason is because I have a friend that's

5:33:13right now at this moment as we speak uh

5:33:16lives in his car with his three children

5:33:19ages seven, four, and two, you know, and

5:33:23and and I mean I don't know any

5:33:28that's enough said by itself, you know,

5:33:31because uh I'm like Shaw winning just

5:33:34saying that, you know, I mean the

5:33:36shelter did a lot for me as well. I was

5:33:38in a low barrier. I stayed five months.

5:33:41I went in with a job, managed to save

5:33:44$6,000.

5:33:45Uh kept my job, moved out, and I'm still

5:33:49prospering. But maybe it wouldn't have

5:33:51been that way if it wasn't for the low

5:33:53barrier shelter, you know. Thank you.

5:33:55>> Thank you,

5:33:58[applause]

5:34:00>> Helen Puff followed by Melissa Bosch

5:34:04Bear.

5:34:06>> Good evening. My name is Helen Files.

5:34:09Before I found the homeless shelter at

5:34:12Loarian, I come from Atlanta and I had a

5:34:17lot of disabilities with my health and

5:34:21they made me feel like I had a family to

5:34:23come here to. I was a you able to

5:34:26shower. You're able to have somebody to

5:34:28talk to and it's really the best

5:34:30shelter. I've never been homeless in my

5:34:32life, but this is like the first shelter

5:34:35I ever came across that really made me

5:34:37feel like that if I didn't have my

5:34:39immediate family that I had a family

5:34:41within a shelter. They're very caring

5:34:44people and I hope that you all can find

5:34:47the funds to keep the low shelter open

5:34:50because it has really done a lot for me.

5:34:52I found a job. I'm back on trial. I got

5:34:55a car now. It's just everything has

5:34:57really been a blessing since I've been

5:34:59in the shelter. And please do your best

5:35:02to get the funds to help us out. Thank

5:35:05you. Thank you.

5:35:08>> Melissa Bear, followed by Dolores

5:35:11Brousard. Melissa, you here?

5:35:16>> Dolores Brousard, followed by Nelly

5:35:18Katson, followed by Kevin Kellogg.

5:35:22Dolores is in support of the low barrier

5:35:25shelter. Nelly Katzson followed by

5:35:26Kevin. Then Emma Lotsfoot.

5:35:34>> Hey everyone. Thank you council members

5:35:36uh Harris and McCarron for staying in

5:35:38the room through testimony. There have

5:35:40been so many people here all day and I'm

5:35:43really [snorts] grateful that you too

5:35:44both decided to stay in the room with

5:35:46us. Thank you.

5:35:53I won't belver the point that so many

5:35:55with much more relevant experience have

5:35:57made about the low barrier shelter. I

5:35:59know you both consider it a priority. I

5:36:01[snorts] want to speak to the broader

5:36:03health department trend of a 60% cut in

5:36:06this year's general fund.

5:36:08Last year it was cut by 30%. But that's

5:36:11not all. It's actually been declining as

5:36:13long as CBNO has been tracking the

5:36:15budget since 2004.

5:36:18Pre-Katrina, the health department made

5:36:21up about 2.48% of the general fund and

5:36:25it's been declining ever since with a

5:36:28slight increase over CO. Um, but it's

5:36:31pretty much been tanking. This year's

5:36:33budget has it at 6% of the general fund,

5:36:37less than a quarter of what it was in

5:36:402004.

5:36:41You get what you pay for, and what we

5:36:43[clears throat] do with our own money

5:36:44matters. I'm encouraging you to find the

5:36:47$7 million somewhere else. Thank you.

5:36:50>> Thank you,

5:36:53>> Kevin,

5:36:55followed by Emma Lbuch

5:36:58followed by Joe Harren Mueller.

5:37:05>> Good afternoon, council members. Uh,

5:37:07Deputy Mayor of Egno, thank you so much

5:37:09for being here. Um, and everyone else

5:37:11that's here. My name is, uh, Kevin

5:37:13Kellup. I'm the program manager with the

5:37:15uh committee for a better New Orleans.

5:37:17Uh we're also uh proud members of the

5:37:20Big Easy Big Easy Budget Coalition.

5:37:22We're currently working on advancing an

5:37:25ordinance that focuses on uh real time

5:37:28budget information, transparency, input,

5:37:30and budget processes um and uh community

5:37:34access to budget processes. We

5:37:36appreciate your continued and already

5:37:39ongoing uh collaboration in making sure

5:37:42that the budget dashboard is available

5:37:44and more information is still needed. Uh

5:37:47this budget includes more than a 60% cut

5:37:51from the health department uh general

5:37:52fund allocation and we need more clarity

5:37:55on where the money is going uh and so

5:37:58that the experts and everyday people can

5:38:00be on the same page to see where these

5:38:03cuts can come from and find better

5:38:05solutions. Thank you. Thank you, Kevin.

5:38:08Emma from Saul's life,

5:38:12followed by Joe Harren Mueller, followed

5:38:14by Antonica Morris, and then Sarah

5:38:16Omoja.

5:38:21All right,

5:38:24Joe, you want to come on up?

5:38:31>> Um, good afternoon. And I want to thank

5:38:33the city council for um uh your

5:38:36attention and concern for the health and

5:38:38housing uh outcomes and needs of the

5:38:41residents of our city. Um and to the

5:38:43[snorts] department of uh health and

5:38:45human services for the myriad ways that

5:38:47you work to address the needs of our

5:38:49community's most vulnerable residents.

5:38:51Uh I'm very proud of the impact that the

5:38:53unity continuum has had working together

5:38:56with the city to address homelessness,

5:38:58to accelerate exits from shelter, and to

5:39:00address a complex cases among many other

5:39:03areas of coordination for which we meet

5:39:05regularly with the city leadership. I do

5:39:09want [snorts] to correct the record that

5:39:10the the signs that were referred to in

5:39:12Jefferson Parish uh that address pan

5:39:15handling are nothing that Unity has ever

5:39:17funded uh paid for or solicited funding

5:39:20on. Um

5:39:23uh and I'm very glad to know that the

5:39:26dignity and inclusion are very important

5:39:29priorities um for addressing the

5:39:32long-term plans for the low barrier

5:39:34shelter. Centering the experience of

5:39:36unhoused people is critical to putting

5:39:38legs to these commitments.

5:39:41Uh I shared an email with the members of

5:39:43the council yesterday uh addressing the

5:39:46funding considerations for the operating

5:39:48budget of the low barrier shelter. In

5:39:50brief, this shelter is is a critical

5:39:53node in the network of homeless response

5:39:54system in our city. Um and [snorts]

5:39:56while the continuum of care funding is

5:39:59restricted from supporting shelter

5:40:01operations, we are grateful to pursue

5:40:03and support creative sources of funding

5:40:06that can ensure that the operations of

5:40:08this critical resource continue.

5:40:13The opportunity and necessity of the

5:40:15moment is for the city council and the

5:40:16administration to identify recurring

5:40:19city revenues and to responsibly re

5:40:22reallocate existing resources and secure

5:40:24outside funding [snorts] before the

5:40:26final budget for this coming year is

5:40:28adopted. Outside funding should

5:40:30supplement not replace a defined public

5:40:33commitment to these shelter operations.

5:40:35Thank you for all that you do.

5:40:36>> Thank you. Thank you for what you do.

5:40:39Andronica followed by Sarah followed by

5:40:41Kim Mosby.

5:40:50Good afternoon council members. Andrea

5:40:51Mars, president of the Greater New

5:40:53Wellness Housing Alliance. I'm here

5:40:55today to talk about not just the low

5:40:57barrier shelter, but some of the

5:40:59disconnects that we talked about earlier

5:41:01when it comes to our housing system and

5:41:03how the the the very idea that this

5:41:07shelter was proposed for defunding in

5:41:09this process speaks to the larger

5:41:12problem. The fact of the matter is is

5:41:14when the mayor presented her budget,

5:41:15housing was not included at all. And

5:41:18nowhere is there more apparent than the

5:41:20idea that this shelter would be

5:41:22defunded. We understand and appreciate

5:41:24that there's been efforts after the

5:41:26initial outrage to what truly is a

5:41:29catastrophically bad idea was proposed

5:41:31and that there are thoughts and and

5:41:33prayers that the funding will be

5:41:35restored. But we need better than that.

5:41:37We need more than that. We need this

5:41:39city to stop failing its people when it

5:41:42comes to housing. The homeless shelter

5:41:45is the the last resort. It is the it is

5:41:49the safety net. the only safety net too

5:41:52many people have. And in this time and

5:41:55in this moment with what is happening in

5:41:57the state of Louisiana where the

5:42:00legislature criminalized homelessness,

5:42:03the idea that the city of New Orleans

5:42:05would offer this and much less offer

5:42:08that the alternative to this shelter be

5:42:10a detention center is outrageous. It is

5:42:15absolutely outrageous. We need real

5:42:18leadership. We need to prioritize the

5:42:21needs of these people and we need to

5:42:23make sure that we are understanding how

5:42:25the consequences of these decisions

5:42:28impact us. I mentioned this earlier. I'm

5:42:30going to mention it again particularly

5:42:33after the testimony we just heard of a

5:42:35gentleman with three children in his

5:42:37car. There are 2200 homeless children in

5:42:40this city. We are facing losing nine

5:42:43schools in the next 3 years. This is

5:42:47insanity.

5:42:49pure and simple. Put the people of this

5:42:52city first and put

5:42:57Sarah.

5:43:02Sarah, do you want to speak?

5:43:05Followed by Kim Mosby.

5:43:08>> Followed by Andreas Akuna.

5:43:12>> Um, hi Sarah Mosula, director of VR

5:43:15Louisiana and member of the Big Easy

5:43:16Budget Coalition. Um, quick thank you to

5:43:19uh uh Council Member McCarron and uh

5:43:22Council President uh Morurell for coming

5:43:25to the Big Easy Budget Coalition Town

5:43:27Hall a couple weeks ago and hearing

5:43:29people's concerns about the budget.

5:43:30Folks were asked a lot of questions

5:43:32about what surprised them about the

5:43:34budget and also what they wish was

5:43:35different. And people [snorts] said time

5:43:37and time again, just like they said in

5:43:39our survey, that they really don't want

5:43:42um youth programs, violence prevention

5:43:44programs, and housing programs to be cut

5:43:46so severely. Those are all and they were

5:43:49they were surprised, right, by a 51% cut

5:43:52at the time to the health department and

5:43:53a 2% cut to the police department. A

5:43:56budget really is a series of choices. Uh

5:43:58right now the council is faced with

5:44:00those very hard choices that have um

5:44:02cascading um cascading consequences. And

5:44:06really what is at stake is really safety

5:44:08in our communities and investment in our

5:44:10future. We're at a 50-year crime low in

5:44:13New Orleans, and no one entity is can

5:44:17take credit for that. But the but much

5:44:19of that effort comes from the

5:44:21coordination that comes within the

5:44:23public um with a public health approach

5:44:25and in the health department. Um we you

5:44:28know, you've heard all of the different

5:44:30uh programs that are important. I don't

5:44:33have time to name those with two

5:44:35minutes, but um community safety is an

5:44:37ecosystem and um that comprehensively

5:44:41approaches and addresses everything that

5:44:42happens before a shooting, before

5:44:44crisis, before the criminal legal system

5:44:46comes into play. Choosing to defund NOD

5:44:50um means defunding our future. And make

5:44:53no mistake, 60% cut is [snorts] de

5:44:56defunding a safer New Orleans. And I'll

5:45:00give one quick example. Well, I don't

5:45:01know. Oo, 15 seconds. Um, the MCIU takes

5:45:05a lot of um burden off of the police

5:45:08department. 36% burden reduction in fact

5:45:12just after they took a 100 cases in

5:45:142023. And so your question will be where

5:45:18>> Thank you, Sarah.

5:45:19>> Thank you,

5:45:22Kim Mosby, Andrea Sakuna, and then

5:45:25Joseph Anthony Marshall.

5:45:30So, I'm going to finish up for Sarah

5:45:31just real quick. Um, so if you ask Sarah

5:45:34where this money should come from, she's

5:45:35going to say, "Thank you for that

5:45:36question. Take the money from the single

5:45:38largest line item in the city's budget,

5:45:41NOPD." NOPD can sustain a $10 million

5:45:45cut. In fact, NOPD has reduced their

5:45:48overtime spend from $45 million last

5:45:51year to 10 million this year so far. So,

5:45:53that's a $35 million reduction in one

5:45:56year. So, let's take 10 million from the

5:45:58overtime budget and restore NOHHS,

5:46:01which reduces their burden. I ask that

5:46:04you don't defund our future and

5:46:05jeopardize our progress in community

5:46:07safety. All right, let's see if I can do

5:46:09mine in a minute and 20 seconds.

5:46:12Everyone in New Orleans wants to live in

5:46:14a safe, thriving community with schools

5:46:17where children and their grandbabies

5:46:18have the opportunity to develop into

5:46:20successful future leaders.

5:46:21Unfortunately, many lives are cut short

5:46:24in New Orleans through community

5:46:25violence, drug addiction, and domestic

5:46:27violence. We sent you an email about the

5:46:29dashboard, so I'm not going to go into

5:46:31the firearms homicide dashboard and how

5:46:33it shows inequality is embedded in our

5:46:35neighborhoods by the access to resources

5:46:37that we get. I want to thank you for the

5:46:40commitment to continue funding for OVP

5:46:43and Ambutu and their efforts [snorts] to

5:46:45end gun violence. They've made

5:46:46significant strides since 2023 in

5:46:49reducing shootings across the city. But

5:46:51they don't do this work alone. UMC's

5:46:53hospital-based violence intervention

5:46:55team and their trauma recovery center

5:46:57are ecosystem partners that ensure

5:46:59residents that are hurt by gun violence

5:47:01can heal instead of continuing the cycle

5:47:02and becoming tomorrow's perpetrators.

5:47:04The center for restorative approaches is

5:47:06a critical ecosystem partner that

5:47:08focuses on reducing violence in our

5:47:10schools so that our children can be

5:47:12safe.

5:47:14The ecosystem is more than just entities

5:47:16with violence prevention in their

5:47:17mission. Many of these programs make a

5:47:19difference by connecting their program

5:47:21participants to resources at other

5:47:23organizations. I call on this council to

5:47:25use our tax dollars to invest in

5:47:26programs and services that your

5:47:28constituents have consistently said over

5:47:31the last [snorts] four years keep us

5:47:32safe.

5:47:34Thank you.

5:47:35>> Thank you,

5:47:37Andreas, followed by Joseph Anthony

5:47:40Marshall, followed by Michelle Seymour.

5:47:48Good afternoon, Madam Chair, members of

5:47:50the council. My name is Andres Akuno.

5:47:52I'm speaking on behalf of Operation

5:47:53Restoration today. Uh, first I'd like to

5:47:56thank Dr. Agno, Jeanie Taylor, and the

5:47:58health department team, uh, Family

5:48:00Connects. All of Taylor's work is great

5:48:03and we really thank you for it. Our

5:48:05mission is to uplift women and girls

5:48:07that have been impacted by

5:48:08incarceration.

5:48:10And the Low Barrier Shelter, Right to

5:48:12Council, OSS, survivors of domestic

5:48:15violence, and violence prevention

5:48:17programs all deserve full funding to

5:48:19ensure that the most vulnerable of us

5:48:22are protected. With Louis with

5:48:24Louisiana's recent criminalization of

5:48:26homelessness, those displaced by by

5:48:30these proposed budget cuts or movement

5:48:32of the low barrier shelter may be

5:48:34arrested because of their living

5:48:35situation. These cuts may create

5:48:38problems like increasing the unhoused

5:48:40population, recidivism, and cost to

5:48:43taxpayers. These proposed cuts may allow

5:48:46for heavier enforcement of the

5:48:47aforementioned encampment laws that may

5:48:49lead to more arrests and people being

5:48:51trapped in an incredibly expensive legal

5:48:53system with limited options for hope.

5:48:57Operation Restoration serves unhoused

5:48:59women and domestic violence survivors

5:49:02and strongly opposes any cuts that

5:49:04negatively impact those people that we

5:49:06serve and any future clients. Thank you.

5:49:08>> Thank you.

5:49:11Joseph Anthony Marshall,

5:49:15Joseph Anthony Marshall,

5:49:17Michelle Seymour and Emma Rial

5:49:26and then after Ama is Katherine August

5:49:30Autry.

5:49:34>> All right. Good afternoon.

5:49:36>> Afternoon. I am Michelle Seymour and I

5:49:39am the director of the re-engagement

5:49:40center at the New Orleans Youth

5:49:41Alliance. We are also a co-convening

5:49:44partner with the Children and Youth

5:49:45Planning Board. And I am here because

5:49:47the proposed health department cuts

5:49:49including 5 million from the low barrier

5:49:51shelter are also cuts to systems that

5:49:55keep our young people and our families

5:49:56safe and stable.

5:49:58The young people and families that we

5:50:00serve are being so affected by this

5:50:03proposed 2027 budget that significantly

5:50:06reduces the health department's general

5:50:08fund budget by roughly 9.9 million with

5:50:10the potential loss of the low barrier

5:50:12shelter accounting to a for a

5:50:15significant portion of that reduction.

5:50:18At the re-engagement center, we work

5:50:20with opportunity youth, young people

5:50:22ages 16 to 24 who are disconnected from

5:50:25school and work. And we continue to see

5:50:28housing not as a separate issue but as a

5:50:31barrier that excuse me as a barrier that

5:50:35shapes whether a young person can remain

5:50:36connected to school, employment, health

5:50:40care and community. That is why the

5:50:42re-engagement center has elevated

5:50:44housing as an opportunity youth resource

5:50:47need and we have partnered with housing

5:50:49Louisiana in the big easy budget

5:50:52coalition and this need is growing.

5:50:55Regional homelessness has increased

5:50:56again since 2025.

5:50:59Uh, our Covenant House New Orleans that

5:51:01houses unhoused young people has

5:51:03reported a number of young people in its

5:51:05care that has grown from 45 to over 170

5:51:09young people each night. The UMass plan

5:51:12already tells us what our response

5:51:14should be. It calls for safe housing,

5:51:16culturally appropriate prevention, and

5:51:18strong you serving social

5:51:20infrastructure.

5:51:22We cannot commit to these solutions

5:51:24while removing $5 million from one of

5:51:26our most accessible points of entry into

5:51:28shelter services and permanent housing.

5:51:32So, I'm asking the council to keep this

5:51:33funding to protect our health department

5:51:36and understand that housing policy is

5:51:38youth policy.

5:51:40>> Thank you,

5:51:42>> Amo

5:51:44followed by Katherine August Autry.

5:51:50Ama.

5:51:51Okay, Katherine, come on up. And then

5:51:53Titiana Saunders and Jordan Alexis

5:51:56Lindsay.

5:51:58>> Good afternoon. My name is Katherine

5:52:00August Archery. I am the clinical

5:52:02manager for the Family Connects program

5:52:04at Turo. Um, everybody kind of stole my

5:52:08talking points, but you all have heard

5:52:11how wonderful Family Connects is. So, I

5:52:14am just going to, like I always do, just

5:52:17talk from the heart. Um, we as nurses,

5:52:20we enter the homes, we enter those front

5:52:22doors and we see firsthand what's going

5:52:24on. We know that nursing is one of the

5:52:27most trusted uh professions every year

5:52:30except the year of 911. The first

5:52:32responders beat us um deservingly. But

5:52:35um they trust us and they let us know

5:52:38what's truly going on. And like we've

5:52:41said earlier, everyone there, we are

5:52:44safety nets. We connect them with

5:52:46resources. We screen them for mental

5:52:48health uh issues, depression, anxiety.

5:52:52We screen them for intimate partner

5:52:54violence, drug and substance use. So, we

5:52:56are there finding out that what's going

5:52:59on and we're able to sit there, talk to

5:53:01them, and get them connected to all of

5:53:03these needed services. Housing is our

5:53:07worst

5:53:09service to get our moms connected to. We

5:53:12have a mom now who is homeless as of two

5:53:17days ago who we are she's on Unity's

5:53:20waiting list. But I'm just saying this

5:53:22to say that the family connects program

5:53:25plays such a vital role in these parents

5:53:27who are at a most their most vulnerable

5:53:30state some of them and it is the most

5:53:32vulnerable. you're bringing home a new

5:53:34baby and you your hormones are every it

5:53:37is very a vulnerable state and

5:53:40navigating the systems is very hard. So

5:53:42someone there during that vulnerable

5:53:44state is much needed and that's what

5:53:46we're there for. So please whatever you

5:53:50all can do keep our funding because as

5:53:52they said the state is trying to mimic

5:53:54this and it is embarrassing if we have

5:53:56to cut it. Thank you.

5:53:57>> Thank you.

5:53:59Titiana Saunders,

5:54:01then Jordan Alexis Lindsay, then Milo

5:54:05Malone.

5:54:10Good afternoon, council members. And for

5:54:13the record, my name is Tatiana Sanders.

5:54:17Mhm. And I am a youth advisory uh I'm a

5:54:22youth advisory board member with the New

5:54:24Orleans Children and Youth Planning

5:54:26Board or CYPB.

5:54:28CYPB helped create

5:54:32the youth master plan shaped by hundreds

5:54:34of young people and community members. I

5:54:37am here because I'm concerned about this

5:54:40budget and the continue cuts to youth

5:54:43services along with others across the

5:54:46city. I've experienced this firsthand

5:54:49and how these programs make a

5:54:52difference. I was a ride [snorts]

5:54:53ambassador and for a long time and

5:54:58al I'm also a longtime

5:55:02user of the [snorts] opportunity pass a

5:55:04free transit that helped me get to my

5:55:08workforce training at Cafe Reconcile and

5:55:12access to other opportunities across the

5:55:14city. But when we look at the city

5:55:17budget

5:55:18and what we, you know, these investments

5:55:22that

5:55:23supposedly supposed to be doing what

5:55:26they're supposed to and for the record,

5:55:29I would like to name a few. The health

5:55:31budget, $428,000

5:55:35in a proposed cuts for to family

5:55:41connects, and for safety is $42,000.

5:55:44[snorts]

5:55:45in proposed cuts to Louisiana

5:55:48Center for Children Children's Right

5:55:51Rights and our juvenile public defender.

5:55:55And for the shelters,

5:55:58$5 million in proposed cuts to the low

5:56:01barrier shelter. These are not just

5:56:04numbers. They are affected by young and

5:56:08older people. Thank you.

5:56:10>> Thank you,

5:56:12Jordan.

5:56:15followed by Mila Malone

5:56:21and then Samantha Perner and Jan

5:56:24Tarantino.

5:56:27Hi. Well, my name is London, not Jordan.

5:56:30Um, hi, my name is London Lindsay. I'm a

5:56:33sophomore at Elanor McMain and I'm very

5:56:36concerned about this year's city budget.

5:56:38I want to remind you the resolution the

5:56:40city council signed in 2021 supporting

5:56:42the youth master plan. The youth master

5:56:44plan is a 10-year roadmap to improve

5:56:47outcomes for the youth across New

5:56:48Orleans. We need a safe space,

5:56:51transportation, education, job

5:56:52opportunities and support throughout the

5:56:54year. When fundraising for the youth,

5:56:57when fundraising for youth services is

5:56:59cut, those opportunities become harder

5:57:01to access. So I have to ask, why are we

5:57:04asking the people who have the least to

5:57:05do the most?

5:57:07So that's when the budget reflects when

5:57:10young people and the services depend on

5:57:13what we ask. We're asked to absorb more

5:57:16cuts when we physically cannot. And I'm

5:57:19asking you to look at the budget and the

5:57:22youth master plan in mind to protect the

5:57:24services investments that help young

5:57:26people succeed. You made a commitment to

5:57:29young people when you supported the

5:57:30youth master plan. Please make sure this

5:57:32budget reflects that and the commitment.

5:57:34Thank you.

5:57:35>> Thank you.

5:57:36Thank you, London. Milo Malone, then

5:57:40Samantha, then Jan Tarantino.

5:57:47Good afternoon, council members. Uh, my

5:57:48name is Milo Malone. Um, I am a I work

5:57:52in the public health sphere, but I am

5:57:54here today as an advocate and citizen

5:57:56and representing myself. Um, I

5:57:58originally was going to speak on behalf

5:58:00of the Family Connects Pro program and

5:58:01ask uh the council to continue its

5:58:03funding. I'm very encouraged to hear

5:58:05that that that is going to be a priority

5:58:06for you all. Um, obviously the low

5:58:08barrier shelter is also in my top

5:58:10priorities for this uh upcoming budget.

5:58:12However, I would like to draw attention

5:58:14to the fact that all of these programs

5:58:15we're discussing, all of these public

5:58:17health programs, these safety net

5:58:18programs um they are the most important

5:58:21part of the city government supporting

5:58:24its citizens. We heard a lot of

5:58:25testimony earlier um and speak speaking

5:58:27about economy, nighttime economy, locals

5:58:29going to restaurants, all of this. Um,

5:58:32locals can't go to restaurants if they

5:58:34are sick, if they don't have

5:58:35transportation, if there is violence in

5:58:37their city, if they are unable to access

5:58:40services. Um, public health, it really

5:58:42is everything. And we heard that the

5:58:44health department has been facing cuts

5:58:46since 2004. Um, there needs to be a

5:58:49stopping point. They do the most with

5:58:51the lease. Um, we saw how they're using

5:58:54uh so much grant, restricted grant

5:58:56funding for everything and they are

5:58:58stretching every single dollar that they

5:58:59have. Uh we need to try to support the

5:59:01health department as much as possible

5:59:02and I think that it is imperative that

5:59:04the council continues to prioritize the

5:59:06health and safety of the citizens of New

5:59:08Orleans because this city will not exist

5:59:10without healthy and safe citizens. Thank

5:59:13you.

5:59:13>> Thank you. Milo Samantha

5:59:19Jan Tarantino after Samantha then Eene

5:59:22Laspar

5:59:25sorry.

5:59:26>> All right. Uh first thank you to Dr.

5:59:29know and to Jeie and to NOHS

5:59:33staff for their work, dedication and

5:59:35honestly they represent a gold standard

5:59:37of city leadership. I really appreciate

5:59:39all the work that you guys do. Um so

5:59:41yes, my name is Samantha Florinor and I

5:59:43am the regional director of the New

5:59:44Orleans Food Policy Council and a deep

5:59:47partner of the city on matters of food

5:59:48and a here to ask that the city council

5:59:51please invest in our public health

5:59:53department and maintain their budget.

5:59:55Um, at 1.5% of the general budget, the

5:59:58New Orleans Health Department is

5:59:59operating at an investment well below

6:00:02not only the national average, but also

6:00:04our neighboring parishes, and we cannot

6:00:06afford to cut it by the proposed 61%.

6:00:10Um, the budget crisis demands that we

6:00:11prioritize what to invest in. Um, please

6:00:15invest in the people of New Orleans by

6:00:17investing in our public health,

6:00:18including the low barrier shelter, um,

6:00:20the personnel and family connects, among

6:00:23other programs. The health department

6:00:25has a high rate of return on investment

6:00:28in terms of our health, well-being, and

6:00:29safety. Furthermore, food policy lives

6:00:31in the health department. Um, they help

6:00:34residents navigate federal nutrition

6:00:35programs, including SNAP, and identify

6:00:37resources. Thankfully, these services

6:00:39are grant funded, but any strain on

6:00:41their resources is also a strain on

6:00:43their ability to meet these needs, and

6:00:45it's only going to get worse with the

6:00:47federal cuts happening to SNAP. uh

6:00:49[snorts] their success at accur

6:00:50acquiring grants should not be a

6:00:52punishment but rather a promise that

6:00:54they know how to stretch and leverage a

6:00:56dollar. Furthermore, with fewer federal

6:00:58and state dollars available to us, local

6:01:00investment is essential to our community

6:01:02survival and eventual prosperity. Thank

6:01:04you.

6:01:05>> Thank you.

6:01:08And Tarantino

6:01:11Eileen, come on up. Followed by Mary

6:01:13Claire Landry, followed by Sierra

6:01:15Gaines, and then Troy Basher.

6:01:20Hello, Lin Laspina with Bike Easy. I

6:01:22know the word transportation has been

6:01:23dropped a lot, so this is how

6:01:25transportation relates to our work with

6:01:27the health department. And kudos to Dr.

6:01:28Agno and her whole team for how great

6:01:30they are as partners to us. Um, I'm here

6:01:33today to talk about our partnership with

6:01:35the New Orleans Health Department and

6:01:36really h how much our work together has

6:01:39grown over the past few years. One of

6:01:41the thing I appreciate most along

6:01:43working with the health department is

6:01:44that they understand something that is

6:01:46fundamental to bike's work.

6:01:48Transportation is a public health issue.

6:01:52We've been fortunate to work alongside

6:01:54the health department through the safe

6:01:55streets for all safety action plan and

6:01:57in many of the con conversations around

6:02:00transportation safety vulnerable road

6:02:02users and how we make our streets safer

6:02:04for people walking, biking, rolling,

6:02:06taking transit and driving. That work

6:02:08has reinforced for us that improving

6:02:10street safety safety isn't just about

6:02:13what happens after a crash. It's about

6:02:15designing systems and policies that help

6:02:17prevent those crashes in the first

6:02:19place. The city's own safe streets for

6:02:22all analysis found that people walking

6:02:25and bicycling make up a disproport

6:02:27disproportionately large share of fatal

6:02:29and serious injury crashes in New

6:02:31Orleans. More recently, our partnership

6:02:34has grown around ebikes, and I'm

6:02:35particularly excited about that work.

6:02:37Bike has been working with the health

6:02:39department on eBike policy

6:02:40recommendations and most importantly,

6:02:42education. As ebikes become a bigger

6:02:45part of how people get around New

6:02:46Orleans and now with the launch of the

6:02:48city's ebike route program, we're

6:02:49helping support the education component

6:02:51of that program. At [snorts] the end of

6:02:52the day, I've said this so many times,

6:02:54we all need to learn to share the road.

6:02:56is not the responsibility of just one

6:02:58user and the health department has been

6:03:00such a key on helping us get that

6:03:02message across and thank you.

6:03:03>> Thank you.

6:03:05>> Mary Claire Landry, then Sierra Gaines,

6:03:08then Troy Bush, then Lannne White.

6:03:11>> Uh good afternoon. Thank you for

6:03:12allowing me to be here. Uh my name is

6:03:14Mary Cla Landry. I'm the CEO of the New

6:03:16Orleans Family Justice Center and the

6:03:18Hope Community Center. Um I'm here to

6:03:21really support all of the work of the

6:03:23health department. Um I've been in this

6:03:26work for over four decades and uh the

6:03:29work that the health department has done

6:03:31in the last uh several years has been

6:03:34phenomenal and just has had the the the

6:03:37best outcomes that I have seen in this

6:03:39city for many many years. Uh we are one

6:03:42little piece of the health department's

6:03:44budget. uh we had the domestic violence

6:03:46air program and I wanted to come here

6:03:49because it is October domestic violence

6:03:51awareness month and so I did all these

6:03:54statistics for the last um nine months

6:03:57that we have been operating. Um the air

6:04:00department uh is responsible for

6:04:03responding to 9,000 incidents, 911

6:04:06calls, and we were able to engage 3,043

6:04:10of those victims that filtered into the

6:04:13Family Justice Center that we have been

6:04:15able to um help access over $3 million

6:04:19of direct assistance, rental assistance,

6:04:22transportation, medical services. Um we

6:04:25provided um 1382

6:04:28clients with rental assistance and

6:04:31housing um totaling 114,000 safe nights

6:04:35for victims of domestic violence and all

6:04:38of that is fed through the air program

6:04:41that we are able to do that early

6:04:43intervention and pro give them the

6:04:45access to all of those resources. Um

6:04:48this is just a t tip the top of the the

6:04:52bucket in terms of the needs. Um but the

6:04:55the most important outcome is that we've

6:04:58only had three domestic violence

6:05:01homicides in 2026

6:05:03and only one was connected to the family

6:05:06justice center. So that's one victim out

6:05:09of 2,884

6:05:11victims that we serve. That's less than

6:05:140.

6:05:16Thank you,

6:05:19Sierra.

6:05:22Sierra. All right. Troy Basher, Luanne

6:05:26White,

6:05:27and then Manuel Lawrence.

6:05:33>> Good afternoon. Um, I am Troy Bish. I'm

6:05:37representing the Center for Restorative

6:05:39Approaches. We are a proud member of the

6:05:41Big Easy Budget Coalition. I want to

6:05:43thank you council persons for staying

6:05:46hanging in here with us and for uh to

6:05:49the health department for uh providing

6:05:51[snorts] programs that not not only help

6:05:54our our residents to survive but to

6:05:56thrive. Uh over the past few years, New

6:05:59Orleans has made some of the highest

6:06:01investments in violence prevention in

6:06:03the country. And [snorts] as was noted

6:06:06by council person Morell and others here

6:06:09today, we are reaping the benefits of

6:06:11that with historically low crime rates.

6:06:14The center for restorative approaches

6:06:16violence prevention program is a part of

6:06:19that shift that we've seen. Any public

6:06:21school 5th through 12th grade students

6:06:23experiencing escalating violence uh can

6:06:26be referred for a circle. We facilitated

6:06:30223

6:06:32restorative conflict resolution circles

6:06:34touching a thousand lives with a 94%

6:06:38rate of peaceful resolution.

6:06:4194%. It cost us about $300,000 to do

6:06:45that. We received a $150,000 grant this

6:06:49award from the city this year. Uh with

6:06:51staffing cuts and our own investment, we

6:06:53were still able to ensure that our

6:06:55children receive the help that they

6:06:57needed this year. But we can't do that

6:06:59next year. Without city funding, the

6:07:01program will cease to exist. So in a

6:07:04world where aggression has become

6:07:05normalized as a way to solve problems

6:07:08and command respect, we normalize peace.

6:07:11Not only that, we see who children who

6:07:13come to us skeptical about this circle

6:07:15stuff. And they leave us not only as

6:07:17believers, but as advocate for their

6:07:19peers. We've heard uh let's do this

6:07:22circle with this kid because they going

6:07:25to get themselves killed. So imagine the

6:07:28pride we feel. Uh we are helping to make

6:07:30that shift, the shift from retaliation

6:07:33to advocating for peace and caring for

6:07:36our neighbors.

6:07:37>> Thank you, Troy. Lanne

6:07:41Luan, followed by Manuel Lawrence,

6:07:44followed by Terry Madison.

6:07:49I'm Lannne White. Appreciate y'all's

6:07:50long day.

6:07:53Um so I'm co-founder and executive

6:07:54director of Louva Services. is we are a

6:07:57permanent supportive housing. Hey,

6:07:58Taylor. Permanent supportive housing uh

6:08:01developer. We create rental housing for

6:08:04folks who are homeless or who have

6:08:07experienced homelessness. I'm here today

6:08:09to ask you like everyone else to protect

6:08:12uh funding for homeless services

6:08:15including the low low barrier shelter.

6:08:17I'm increasingly concerned about the

6:08:20direction we're taking in response to

6:08:22homelessness. We're seeing more emphasis

6:08:24on law enforcement criminalization at

6:08:26the very time when we should be

6:08:28investing in housing, shelter, outreach,

6:08:31mental health services, treatment

6:08:32facilities, and supportive services.

6:08:35Recently, a woman called Lewis services

6:08:38looking for housing. She was working and

6:08:41living in a hotel. She had wages, but

6:08:44she had got she her wages had gotten

6:08:46cut. So, she was running out of funds

6:08:49and she was looking for a place to stay.

6:08:52One of the things that she told me was

6:08:54that she was afraid she would be

6:08:55arrested if she became homeless. Now,

6:08:57how is that a thing? How is that a

6:08:59thing?

6:09:00>> Amen.

6:09:01>> So, think about that. She's working,

6:09:03doing everything that she can do to keep

6:09:04housing, but she Nobody should be

6:09:07concerned about getting arrested because

6:09:08they don't have a place to go. For

6:09:11years, I've heard the same myths. People

6:09:13want to be homeless. They don't want

6:09:14housing. If if they would make different

6:09:16choices, they wouldn't be homeless. Our

6:09:19experience at Lubis is that is not the

6:09:20reality at all. The low bear shelter is

6:09:23important part of our response to

6:09:25homelessness. It provides people with

6:09:27safe place to go when they have nowhere

6:09:28else. We should not be reducing the

6:09:30capacity at a time when people

6:09:32experiencing homelessness

6:09:34face increasing criminalization. But we

6:09:36also have remember that shelter is not

6:09:38the destination.

6:09:40It should be should be as some people

6:09:41have said a bridge to to housing. We

6:09:44need the entire continuum and we're

6:09:47asking for you to stand up for

6:09:48supporting all of that. All of that.

6:09:52>> Thank you, Len. And thank you for your

6:09:53work. Manuel Lawrence

6:09:58and then Terry Madison and Charles. I

6:10:00can't read your last name, but you're on

6:10:02Washington Avenue.

6:10:08>> Good evening. How you doing?

6:10:09>> Good evening.

6:10:10>> My name is Manuel Lawrence. I'm a guest

6:10:12at the Blueberry shelter, I've been

6:10:15there a year and a couple months.

6:10:19Um, for the most part, I can say that

6:10:22all of the guests and staff, they're

6:10:24great people and they do care and they

6:10:27do take their time to show us the things

6:10:29and and give us the the tools needed to

6:10:32go about daily life to survive. And they

6:10:35make sure that we do try to get jobs and

6:10:37everything. It's It's not really them,

6:10:40it's us not being this serious.

6:10:44So, I I would never take away the

6:10:46shelter cuz it it means a lot to me. It

6:10:49helped save me. I had many days I wanted

6:10:52to go sleeping on the corner. I had days

6:10:55I was high out there. I I've been to

6:10:58rehab. They they put me in the river

6:11:00oaks and and it it gave me all my

6:11:03medicine. It has me well. I feel I feel

6:11:06feel human. I feel love. I feel wanted,

6:11:10you know, but like I I don't get that

6:11:11from my family. I get that from them.

6:11:15They give me hope to try, you feel me?

6:11:18And most days I I don't if I don't have

6:11:20my dog, I don't have nothing.

6:11:24And and this all I have right here. And

6:11:27and they all I have at the end of the

6:11:29day. I please ask y'all don't take none

6:11:32of that from them. Please. You hear me?

6:11:34I swear like they great people. you just

6:11:37take the time to see him, y'all. I love

6:11:39all of them. I swear you cuz I love him.

6:11:43You I ain't going to never turn. I

6:11:45swear.

6:11:47I thank y'all.

6:11:49>> Thank you.

6:11:51>> Thank you.

6:11:53Harry Madison, followed by Charles, who

6:11:55lives on Washington Avenue, whose last

6:11:57name I cannot read.

6:12:06How y'all doing? My name Terry Madison.

6:12:09I came to the Leberarian shelter after

6:12:11being released from jail. And I thank

6:12:13Miss Tber for allowing me to come in

6:12:15there. When I came to the shelter, I had

6:12:18nothing. I had just been released from

6:12:19jail and I was a victim of in um

6:12:24I came identity fraud. They stole my

6:12:27money while I was in jail. So, I had

6:12:29nowhere to go. But the shelter that

6:12:32accepted me and I I mean it's just hard

6:12:34for me to say. You know what I'm saying?

6:12:36I'm I've been fighting to get my money

6:12:37back and find me a place to stay. I

6:12:40needed that. It's a it's a great place.

6:12:42You know, Miss Ta got a lovely staff,

6:12:45you know, and this guy here um

6:12:48>> Jeremy my my um social work cage worker.

6:12:53I drives him, you know. But it's a great

6:12:56place. It helped you get back on your

6:12:59feet without going back to the streets.

6:13:01You see what I'm saying? They gave me

6:13:03everything I needed to start over,

6:13:05without going backwards. You understand?

6:13:08The Larian Shelter pushed me forward,

6:13:11you know, and I'm still going forward.

6:13:13I'm going to get my place to stay soon

6:13:15as I get my record expl

6:13:18the ones that help me do this. So, I

6:13:20appreciate this shelter. I hope it keep

6:13:23going. Thank y'all.

6:13:24>> Thank you, Mr. Madison

6:13:28Charles

6:13:30followed by Earl

6:13:33Haggery.

6:13:36>> Charles.

6:13:38>> Okay. Charles, you here?

6:13:41>> Okay.

6:13:42>> Did you fill out of course?

6:13:43>> Earl. Yeah.

6:13:44>> Yeah. Come on up,

6:13:45>> Earl Higgins. Earl Higgins, how y'all

6:13:46doing? Um, let me be real quick. I can

6:13:49the community a lot, right? And, um, one

6:13:52day, and there's a many of of of of

6:13:56Bunch of stories I have young guys

6:13:58standing on the block. So we we decided

6:14:02to go engage.

6:14:04Turns out these guys had guns.

6:14:08And I'm sharing this story because of

6:14:10the the importance of violence

6:14:12interruptors.

6:14:14They get paid to do this.

6:14:17These guys had big guns. And when we

6:14:19noticed they had big guns, we didn't

6:14:21stop talking to them because they had

6:14:23big guns.

6:14:25But what happened was these guys, these

6:14:27young guys decided to stay there and

6:14:29talk with us. Not only that, they

6:14:31decided to go and put the guns up and

6:14:33talk to us about voting. It's an amazing

6:14:36experience for me because most of the

6:14:38time people don't want to hear nothing

6:14:39about voting. And I'm sharing that only

6:14:42because the importance of violence

6:14:44interruptors. That's only one of many

6:14:48stories I have.

6:14:50I would like to think that day that we

6:14:54intervene with something very very

6:14:56terrible happening.

6:14:58So just imagine on a larger scale when

6:15:00they have guys that go out in the

6:15:02community and do that on a daily basis.

6:15:05Was it dangerous? Maybe.

6:15:08But it would have been more dangerous if

6:15:09I hadn't to take the time. We had to

6:15:11take the time and say, "Hey, listen."

6:15:13Because when we found out after many of

6:15:15those encounters,

6:15:17that's the lack in the community.

6:15:19listening to what these young people

6:15:21have and say and what they want to do.

6:15:25The importance of it is is this.

6:15:28The city agreed to

6:15:31second chances wholeheartedly

6:15:34and we want to we want to make sure that

6:15:38that continues that guys like me,

6:15:41formerly incarcerated people come home

6:15:43and have an opportunity to disrupt

6:15:44violence in the communities. Thank you

6:15:46for letting me share.

6:15:47>> Thank you so much.

6:15:49Why Frank Southpaw?

6:15:52Mr. South Hall, you still here? All

6:15:55right. Melanie Richardson, followed by

6:15:57Chelsea Morgan.

6:16:01And then after that, Bob Danton, Sarah

6:16:05Jane Gidry,

6:16:07and then Barkstair Horton Shire.

6:16:12Are you Melanie?

6:16:14Chelsea, come on up.

6:16:21Good afternoon, council members. My name

6:16:23is Chelsea Morgan, the community impact

6:16:25vice president for the American Heart

6:16:27Association here in Louisiana. We

6:16:30recognize the city's budget challenges

6:16:33requires very hard choices and we

6:16:36appreciate the work that you are doing.

6:16:38As a longtime collaborator with the New

6:16:40Orleans Department of Health and Human

6:16:41Services, we ask that preserving the

6:16:44department's capacity to remain a

6:16:47priority. It is a core part of the

6:16:50city's infrastructure, and a key

6:16:52connector between community needs and

6:16:54effective policy. Together, we have

6:16:57advanced smoke-free protections,

6:16:59improved nutrition standards, expanded

6:17:02CPR and AED access, and supported

6:17:05maternal and infant health initiatives.

6:17:08None of that is possible without NOHS.

6:17:15They are helping to ensure the needs and

6:17:18voices of New Orleans residents are

6:17:20heard and reflected in public health

6:17:22policies and priorities. We know this is

6:17:26a hard budget year and we ask when

6:17:28additional funds become available,

6:17:31restoration of NOHS funding be a

6:17:35priority. Thank you for your time, for

6:17:38allowing us to be heard, and for your

6:17:40continued support of public health in

6:17:42New Orleans.

6:17:43>> Thank you,

6:17:45Bob Dansen,

6:17:48then Sarah Jane, then Barksdale.

6:17:53>> Good afternoon. Thank you all again for

6:17:55remaining here with us. My name is Bob

6:17:57Danton, and I'm here today both in my

6:17:59role as policy manager for Ride New

6:18:01Orleans as well as as a citizen of New

6:18:03Orleans. Over the past year and some,

6:18:05I've had the distinct honor of working

6:18:07closely with the everyday heroes who

6:18:09make up the New Orleans Health

6:18:10Department and the injury prevention and

6:18:12transportation safety team in

6:18:14particular. They work tirelessly to keep

6:18:16each and every one of us safe in our

6:18:18city and to make New Orleans a better

6:18:20place to live. During the restructuring

6:18:22of city offices that followed the

6:18:24mayoral transition this year, the health

6:18:26department absorbed numerous critical

6:18:27roles previously held by other offices

6:18:30which were dismantled or downsized,

6:18:32shouldering additional workloads in

6:18:34youth and family programming, safe

6:18:36transportation, and other critical areas

6:18:38without complaint. They also work

6:18:41tirelessly to secure grant funding to

6:18:43sustain many of these critical programs

6:18:45within a department whose budget is

6:18:47already far below what it ought to be to

6:18:49maintain critical operations that

6:18:51meaningfully improve the [clears throat]

6:18:52lives of each and every resident of our

6:18:54city. Every day they are tasked with

6:18:57doing more with less. I understand the

6:19:00position that our city's finances are in

6:19:02today. I've looked at the numbers and

6:19:04I'm here to tell you that the proposed

6:19:06cut to the health department's general

6:19:07fund budget of over $10 million, over

6:19:1060% of their 2026 general fund

6:19:13allocation, is nothing short of

6:19:14unconscionable.

6:19:16In the midst of a budget deficit, the

6:19:18mayor's proposed budget nevertheless

6:19:20manages to find millions of dollars to

6:19:22increase the general fund allocation for

6:19:24the police department in the name of

6:19:26keeping us safe. The health department

6:19:29keeps us safe. If we want a safe city,

6:19:33we need to invest in one where youth

6:19:35have opportunities, where families have

6:19:37support, and where citizens are not left

6:19:39to die on our streets. If we want our

6:19:42city to be safe, we need at the very

6:19:44least to maintain the already minimal

6:19:47investment we make in our health

6:19:49department and to the critical human

6:19:51services they provide. We simply cannot

6:19:53afford not to. Thank you.

6:19:55>> Thank you.

6:19:57Why Frank South call Sarah Jane Gry then

6:20:00Bark is going to close us out.

6:20:04>> Good uh afternoon everyone. My name is

6:20:06Yasing Frank South. I'm the organizing

6:20:08community engagement manager at Jane

6:20:10Place and we're a proud member of the

6:20:12Big Easy Budget Coalition. Um thank you

6:20:14to everyone in the department health.

6:20:17Thank you to Council members for still

6:20:18being here. I know it's a long day. My

6:20:21brain is fried. So thank you. Um, I also

6:20:24want to say I serve on the Boris Santosa

6:20:26mobile mutual aid project for unhoused

6:20:28folks. I've worked with various other

6:20:30non-staff mutual aid solidarity projects

6:20:32in our city. Um, thank you in uh for

6:20:35funding these public health

6:20:37interventions in the past and continue

6:20:40to prioritize them. At JP Place, we

6:20:42understand the need to examine

6:20:43intersectional needs to address the

6:20:44housing crisis. It's not enough [snorts]

6:20:46to simply house folks. We must address

6:20:49the complex social, emotional, mental

6:20:50health needs of our residents. Prime

6:20:52isn't merely issue of people desiring to

6:20:54cause havoc and harm. Rather, it's about

6:20:56the lack of resources and lack of

6:20:58addressing real health needs in our

6:21:00society. Jane Place is a full support of

6:21:02Ubuntu, the center for restorative

6:21:04approaches which has done legendary work

6:21:07like on the global scale. People are

6:21:09coming our city to learn from Troy Bush

6:21:11and folks at CRA as well as Yubuntu um

6:21:15in our city. Uh furthermore, we are full

6:21:18supporters of preserving low barriers,

6:21:20shelter, any intervention that keeps

6:21:22people off the streets um in holistic

6:21:24way. But we need to ensure [snorts] that

6:21:26unhoused and formally unhoused folks are

6:21:28front and center in any planning and

6:21:30execution of a new center. Not just

6:21:33folks chosen by one provider, but all

6:21:35the providers unity, the Harry Tom

6:21:37Center, folks from people's council,

6:21:39mutual aid groups such as Santos, no

6:21:40harm. By bringing everyone together,

6:21:42nonprofit and volunteer meet in

6:21:44solidarity, we can arrive at

6:21:46comprehensive solutions. Let's also form

6:21:48a task force to get the state legislator

6:21:50to fund this work. We are the economic

6:21:52center of this city. I don't know why we

6:21:55don't exercise our I'm trying to think

6:21:58uh fist more to fight back. This is our

6:22:01money. We need it. So, let's come gather

6:22:02a city to get this money. It's our tax

6:22:05dollars. So, thank you.

6:22:07>> Thank you, Mayor Jane.

6:22:13Good afternoon, council members. My name

6:22:15is Sarah Jane Gry. I'm the director of

6:22:17policy and advocacy at Crescent Care.

6:22:19We're a federally qualified health

6:22:21center based here [snorts] in New

6:22:22Orleans, serving over 14,000 patients

6:22:25annually. And I'm here in support of the

6:22:27New Orleans Health and Human Services

6:22:29and the critical public health

6:22:31infrastructure that they provide. We

6:22:33recognize the city's financial

6:22:35challenges and understand the difficult

6:22:37situation um that we are all in as a

6:22:40city. We've already seen uh health and

6:22:42human services proactively make

6:22:45difficult decisions year after year with

6:22:47more impacts to come. But with HR1

6:22:50bringing significant changes to Medicaid

6:22:53and SNAP eligibility, threatening food

6:22:55security and healthc care coverage for

6:22:57thousands of Louisiana residents, our

6:22:59local public health infrastructure will

6:23:01become even more essential. At

6:23:04Cresantare, [clears throat] we know the

6:23:05importance of services like the mobile

6:23:07crisis intervention unit, maternal

6:23:09health initiatives, and community-based

6:23:11prevention. These programs help keep

6:23:14people healthy and connected to care. We

6:23:17need to be healthy to go to work, to go

6:23:19to school, to go to festivals, and to go

6:23:21to our city council meetings. Public

6:23:23health is public safety. And as we

6:23:26navigate these difficult budget

6:23:28decisions, we must recognize that cuts

6:23:30and preventative services today will

6:23:33create greater costs and consequences

6:23:36tomorrow. Thank you.

6:23:37>> Thank you.

6:23:39Are you Melanie?

6:23:42I can't hear you. What What's your name?

6:23:46What? Jennifer, come on up.

6:23:52>> Thank you. My name is Jenny Hall. I'm

6:23:53the policy director at Women with a

6:23:55Vision and a Big Easy Budget Coalition

6:23:57member. I really appreciate Dr.

6:24:00outlining all that they're doing to um

6:24:02keep making progress toward their goals

6:24:04despite having to do so much more with

6:24:07less. They should not have to do that.

6:24:09Um, but if budgets are a reflection of

6:24:13our values, looking at the proposed 2027

6:24:16budget, I would think that this

6:24:18administration does not value the health

6:24:19of its residents. Many of the programs

6:24:22that um have already been talked about.

6:24:24We've talked about the dire consequences

6:24:26of cut cutting them. Um, they're also

6:24:29programs that are most valued by

6:24:31community members. We've pulled them

6:24:33year after year with Big Easy Budget

6:24:35Coalition.

6:24:36Um, one thing that hasn't been mentioned

6:24:38as well is the domestic abuse fatality

6:24:41review. It was kind of skipped over on

6:24:43the slides, but I know that one of the

6:24:45things that they'll be tasked with is

6:24:46picking up the slack for the state deer,

6:24:49which was defunded. Again, asking a

6:24:52small group to do more with less. Um,

6:24:55and a lot of the programs that are being

6:24:57cut are the exact recommendations that

6:24:59come out of the Daffer every time we

6:25:01meet. I review those cases. This is not

6:25:03abstract. These are real people's lives

6:25:05that are lost and that are impacted by

6:25:07violence. Um, this work is essential,

6:25:10but we really need funding behind the

6:25:12recommendations that we make, not more

6:25:14on our plate to cover um, other cuts

6:25:17that the state is making. Once again,

6:25:21um

6:25:22I also have to say that in a state with

6:25:25the second highest maternal mortality,

6:25:27losing any dollar that goes to maternal

6:25:29child health feels unconscionable.

6:25:32Especially um since that ranking, we

6:25:36have restricted essential uh medications

6:25:40that are used in the management of um

6:25:42pregnancy and miscarriage and hemorrhage

6:25:44which will result in more deaths and

6:25:46injury. Um, please continue funding the

6:25:50health department. They need all they

6:25:52can get.

6:25:53>> Thank you, Parkdale.

6:25:56[applause]

6:26:00>> Good afternoon, council members. Dr.

6:26:03Veo. My name is Bark Hortonstein. I'm

6:26:05the director of the mental health unit

6:26:07at the public defenders office. My work

6:26:09centers at the intersection of mental

6:26:11health and uh criminal legal systems. As

6:26:15such, I've been a pleasure of mine has

6:26:18been to be a partner of the health

6:26:21department and to work with other

6:26:22stakeholders to try to address some of

6:26:25the challenges that happen for people

6:26:26who are incarcerated.

6:26:29I wanted to address the council today to

6:26:30help you understand that connection.

6:26:32Now, I believe a budget is a moral

6:26:33document, but it is also a financial

6:26:36balancing. When you cut money from the

6:26:38health department, you increase

6:26:40expenditures at the jail and you

6:26:42increase system involvement. A simple

6:26:44example of this is the program instead

6:26:46that helps to facilitate our mental

6:26:47health division diversion

6:26:48[clears throat] system which is a

6:26:50program that the public defender and the

6:26:51district attorney worked on jointly and

6:26:53instead operates in community to assist

6:26:56clients to divert them uh from

6:26:59incarceration. Instead connects our

6:27:01clients to services in the community. It

6:27:03turns on their phones. It secures social

6:27:05security payments. It assists with

6:27:06medication and treatment. This is

6:27:08funding from the health department and

6:27:11this is keeping people from occupying

6:27:12jail beds where they sit and become

6:27:15worse and cost more money at the same

6:27:18time.

6:27:22The jail is far more expensive and

6:27:24rather than improving lives, it leads to

6:27:25further destabilization. It increases

6:27:28costs both financial and human.

6:27:30Everything is tied together. The loss of

6:27:32housing contributes to incarceration.

6:27:35We need support and stabilization like

6:27:36the low barrier shelter, the health

6:27:38department, and the crisis hotline. Not

6:27:40less, more. We need to invest in these

6:27:43success stories.

6:27:46Whether a budget is a moral document or

6:27:48a financial balancing test, the answer

6:27:50is to increase the funding of

6:27:52alternatives to incarceration and

6:27:54increasing the opportunity for

6:27:56stabilization.

6:27:58Please fund the health department and

6:28:00accomplish those laable goals.

6:28:02>> Thank you.

6:28:06I uh look, I want to thank everybody who

6:28:09came here at 9:00 this morning, who's

6:28:12been sitting here uh since 9:30 this

6:28:14morning. I want to thank every provider

6:28:17who's been here, every person in our

6:28:20health department, Dr. Vegno, your team,

6:28:22Taylor,

6:28:25all the good work that you do. Um but

6:28:27most of all, I want to thank the

6:28:29residents of the low barrier shelter who

6:28:31came here today.

6:28:36to express their support of our low

6:28:39barrier shelter and how it helps them

6:28:42get on their feet. We heard from people

6:28:44who found job opportunities at the low

6:28:47barrier shelter who got addiction

6:28:49treatment at the low barrier shelter. A

6:28:51person who doesn't want to leave their

6:28:53pet behind and they're at the low

6:28:56barrier shelter. It is a necessity that

6:28:59we keep these 300 beds in the city of

6:29:02New Orleans and this especially at a

6:29:05time when the state of Louisiana is

6:29:07criminalizing street sleeping. So I want

6:29:11to thank my colleagues in advance and

6:29:13the administration for their support of

6:29:15the low barrier shelter because I know

6:29:17that we will get that support. Um but

6:29:20again just thank you to everybody who

6:29:22turned out today to show your support of

6:29:26the community. We need you more than

6:29:28ever. Thank you.

6:29:30>> Council member,

6:29:34>> I know I

6:29:35>> Council member Green,

6:29:36>> I know sometimes I just kind of quietly

6:29:38press the button, but I just wanted to

6:29:40also thank the um residents of and the

6:29:43staff of the low barrier shelter

6:29:45especially and also the office of

6:29:47homeless services and strategies with

6:29:49whom I work directly. We've made

6:29:51tremendous progress and we don't want to

6:29:52stop we don't want to stop that progress

6:29:54from going on. When I became a council

6:29:56member four years ago, unfortunately,

6:29:58there were on the streets of New

6:29:59Orleans, over 500 people who died of

6:30:01drug overdoses and the like. And um

6:30:04working with those who are unhoused, um

6:30:07working with those who have drug

6:30:09addiction issues, we've been able to cut

6:30:11into that tremendously. So, I think that

6:30:13we all on the council recognize the role

6:30:16that the health department has played

6:30:18even including in traffic safety and

6:30:20reducing fatalities from traffic

6:30:22accidents. So, I want you all to know

6:30:24that we certainly share with everyone

6:30:26here your commitment to wanting to help

6:30:28keep our residents safer. Now, we're

6:30:30going to need your help, too, because

6:30:32you've heard the word mentioned very

6:30:34often here today. The state. The state.

6:30:38Even the lieutenant governor admits that

6:30:40the state of Louisiana generates

6:30:41billions of dollars in economic impact

6:30:44based on the activity that stays that

6:30:46takes place here in the city of New

6:30:47Orleans. We're going to need help with

6:30:49letters. We're going to need help with

6:30:50com communications at committee meetings

6:30:53because there are a lot of resources

6:30:55that should be made available to the

6:30:56city of New Orleans that aren't. But I

6:30:58don't want to go into the negative

6:30:59because the only way to get something

6:31:01done is through communications and we're

6:31:03going to enhance our communications with

6:31:04the state. But I do want to thank

6:31:06everyone here and have you to continue

6:31:08to recognize that the city of New

6:31:10Orleans is under challenges. But there

6:31:12are opportunities I think that exist on

6:31:14a state and federal level to c to

6:31:16curtail some of those um challenges that

6:31:18and the experiences that is resulting

6:31:20right now in New Orleans. So thank you

6:31:22again for being here and especially to

6:31:24the courage of those within the low

6:31:25barrier shelter for being here today.

6:31:27This entire council stands wanting to

6:31:29make sure that the low barrier shelter

6:31:32continues to operate and provide

6:31:33services. Thank you. Thank you Dr.

6:31:36>> Thank you.

6:31:38>> And Dr. Vega, if you can believe it, we

6:31:40have EMS and mosquito control. Do you

6:31:43want to move that to another day?

6:31:44>> Uh, it's up to them. They they have

6:31:46separate presentations. It's up to them.

6:31:48>> EMS mosquito, come on up.

6:31:58>> Hallelujah.

6:32:00>> All right.

6:32:10We'll see you

6:32:14guys.

6:32:18[clears throat]

6:32:22>> All right, Chief.

6:32:24>> You rolling. You rolling. All right.

6:32:30And Claudia, I know you're going to be

6:32:32quick and just hand us some bugs.

6:32:34>> [laughter]

6:32:34>> Okay.

6:32:44>> No,

6:32:47this is 17. This is 17. Oh,

6:32:50>> 17. We had to We had to change it. So,

6:33:02>> I don't know that one.

6:33:04We do have problems.

6:33:06>> Yeah. No, never mind.

6:33:11>> What?

6:33:16>> No, not that. [laughter]

6:33:21>> We have

6:33:23>> Are you If you're going up, can you can

6:33:24you throw some upstairs for me?

6:33:26>> It's the revised date.

6:33:28>> Yeah. Chief,

6:33:29>> if you want to get started, you can rock

6:33:30and roll.

6:33:31>> Okay.

6:33:36All right. Well, good afternoon

6:33:37everyone. Uh, it's been a long day, so

6:33:39I'll go right through our presentation.

6:33:42I'm Bill Sron. I'm chief of New Orleans

6:33:44EMS. Uh, before I start our

6:33:46presentation, I did want to start off uh

6:33:48by commending the New Orleans Health

6:33:50Department for the work in providing the

6:33:51worldclass public health uh and safety

6:33:54net programs to the people of our city.

6:33:56Even though we are a public safety

6:33:58agency, many uh do not know that we've

6:34:00been actually a division of the New

6:34:02Orleans Health Department for 41 years

6:34:04and are very proud to be part of the

6:34:05NOHD team. We do ask the city pro

6:34:09preserve funding to maintain the many

6:34:10NOD programs that save lives. Cuts to

6:34:13NOHD safety net programs will put more

6:34:16strain on other agencies like ours and

6:34:18other service providers that already

6:34:19struggle to meet current demand. My

6:34:21second thank you goes out to our amazing

6:34:23staff and uh our our our team does an

6:34:26amazing job uh serving the people and

6:34:29visitors of New Orleans uh as they uh

6:34:32call us during sometimes their uh

6:34:34darkest hour. And so I'm very proud of

6:34:36our team. They are amazing. Uh and I

6:34:39will get started here. So just a little

6:34:41bit about our department just so uh just

6:34:44remind you of who we are and what we do.

6:34:46We uh we do about 72,000 calls for

6:34:49service a year. That's every 7 minutes.

6:34:52We work about 300 uh special events.

6:34:54That includes the convention center paid

6:34:56details and unpaid upstaff details for

6:35:00larger events. We have a 30% response

6:35:03time compliance measured against the 90%

6:35:05standard. That obviously is something

6:35:07that we've been working on for the past

6:35:09uh several years. And so um as staffing

6:35:12improves that that number will also

6:35:14improve. And then we have a 60% unit

6:35:17utilization hour which means uh which is

6:35:20against the 40% standard. That means

6:35:22that 60% of the time our units are tied

6:35:25up on calls and so uh that is a high

6:35:27number and we certainly need to get that

6:35:29down. That will also uh improve with

6:35:31standard or with staffing. Uh we are

6:35:34still utilizing the Acadian surge

6:35:36contract to meet our daily 911 coverage.

6:35:39Uh and so they provide anywhere from

6:35:41four to six units a day uh within the

6:35:43911 system. Our workforce uh we

6:35:46currently have um 119 FTEEs which equals

6:35:50129 individuals. We have 38 vacancies uh

6:35:54and our force target uh is to get to our

6:35:57precoid number of the 157 FTEES which

6:36:00equals about 167 staff. We do have

6:36:03full-time as well as part-time staff and

6:36:06PRN staff uh that work in our

6:36:08department. Our workforce is our most

6:36:11important asset and so we need to do

6:36:13everything that we can do to preserve

6:36:14that uh and bring more folks onto our

6:36:17team.

6:36:18This is our org chart. I circled the

6:36:20area on our org chart where all of our

6:36:22vacancies are located. We have no ad

6:36:25well we have an admin vacancy, but

6:36:26that's not going to be filled until we

6:36:28completely fill our field operations

6:36:30staff. And so that's what's circled in

6:36:32red. Uh all of our field operations uh

6:36:36team uh is our frontline staff that

6:36:38provides uh that 911 service.

6:36:42Our revenue, we do an annual um we we uh

6:36:46on average bill out about $53 million.

6:36:49Uh we have a net return of about $20

6:36:52million. that includes uh current

6:36:54patient billing as well as um aged

6:36:57collections that we work uh to try to uh

6:36:59to recoup that uh that billing. And then

6:37:02we get about $900,000 uh net in uh uh

6:37:06detail fees as we work special events or

6:37:08or whatever that might be.

6:37:11So that means we bring in around 21 $22

6:37:15million a year.

6:37:18This is our adopted 27 budget. So um we

6:37:22uh our 26 budget in personnel was 14.9

6:37:26uh 27 is going to be 12.3 that is a a

6:37:292.5 variance uh and so that is uh as

6:37:32they reconcile um unstaffed uh and

6:37:35unfilled positions that that number

6:37:37decreased. our other operating uh in in

6:37:402026 we were at 3.78

6:37:43and then we're going to 3.73 which uh

6:37:46has only a $50,000 variant. And so we

6:37:49are pretty much staying even to where we

6:37:51are this year and other operating uh for

6:37:54a grand total of u from 18.7 this year

6:37:57to 16.1 uh in 2027.

6:38:02And most of that um is in the personnel

6:38:05uh saving side from those unfilled

6:38:06positions uh that we're able to uh as we

6:38:10recruit positions, we're able to go to

6:38:12the administration and get them filled.

6:38:14And so we have we've always done that

6:38:16with them with the real-time budgeting

6:38:18and we have no concerns about that

6:38:19moving forward.

6:38:21Brandy, did you have anything on that?

6:38:23You good? Okay.

6:38:26Uh key components to the 27 budget on

6:38:28the personnel side, we did have the

6:38:29uniform pay increases. Thank you to

6:38:31civil service uh commission for that as

6:38:34well as the council. And so thank you

6:38:35very much. Uh that that did take effect

6:38:37last pay period. And so uh we certainly

6:38:41hope that we're going to be able to

6:38:42better uh retain staff and then recruit

6:38:44more staff uh with those pay

6:38:46adjustments.

6:38:49As far as other operating, as I said

6:38:50before, we are maintaining our current

6:38:52funding level to support our operations.

6:38:55In our non-general fund side, um we um

6:38:59we only have two programs uh for the for

6:39:02the um for the non-general fund. Um and

6:39:06so we this year was a 2.5 and 27 will be

6:39:10a 94 U,000. Uh and those two programs uh

6:39:14we have we're currently in the uh the

6:39:16last year of our DOJ um opioid grant

6:39:19with Odyssey House that was originally

6:39:21awarded 1.3 million in September of

6:39:242023. Uh the end of uh that program is

6:39:27coming in September of 2027. So that's

6:39:30currently sun setting. And then we also

6:39:32utilized uh health department Simon

6:39:34Cickle's legacy fund uh to fund our

6:39:37prehosp blood program. And so uh we we

6:39:40are currently using that funding to help

6:39:42support that program as we don't bill

6:39:44patients for blood.

6:39:49Highlights for this year. Uh we did uh

6:39:52reach our 400th patient this year uh in

6:39:55in our in our nationally recognized

6:39:57prehosp blood program. We are one of

6:39:59only two programs the state uh and we

6:40:02have certainly been uh busy with that

6:40:04program and we have been saving lives

6:40:05and so we're very proud of that program.

6:40:07uh that will continue. We expanded our

6:40:09advanced practice parame medicine

6:40:11program uh to deliver higher acuity care

6:40:13in the field and so we uh have

6:40:15paramedics that are trained at higher

6:40:17procedures and can provide that uh those

6:40:20procedures. Uh we have a uniform

6:40:22compensation increase this year which

6:40:24was greatly appreciated. We protected

6:40:26our core 911 services despite

6:40:28significant uh fiscal and staffing

6:40:30pressures. And then we did implement

6:40:32spending controls while still

6:40:34maintaining excellent patient care.

6:40:39our budget efficiencies this year. We

6:40:41prioritized resourcing for our essential

6:40:43core services and we implemented

6:40:45enhanced spending control measures such

6:40:47as suspending non-essential purchases

6:40:49and equipment updates and we uh limited

6:40:52overtime spending.

6:40:55Our goals for 2027 uh obviously to

6:40:58protect our 911 response capacity. We're

6:41:01going to uh we we need to make sure we

6:41:03maintain sufficient staffing uh and

6:41:05resources to do that. Uh also

6:41:08stabilizing our workforce. We're

6:41:09focusing on uh lateral hire recruitment

6:41:12for advanced providers such as advanced

6:41:13EMTs and paramedics. We're also doing

6:41:16now in-house training for advanced EMTs

6:41:18and paramedics to uh provide promotional

6:41:21opportunities to our current staff. And

6:41:23then we're going to um re uh do another

6:41:26EMT recruit academy next year to bring

6:41:28in uh uh people from the community and

6:41:32train them as EMTs uh through our

6:41:34system. Our all another goal is to uh

6:41:36improve our response time. That that

6:41:38will uh improve as we increase staffing

6:41:40and unit deployment. We're going to

6:41:42protect our revenue. Uh mainly with this

6:41:44is going to need to reduce our surge

6:41:46unit utilization and recapture a greater

6:41:49percentage of our billable call volume.

6:41:51We are currently losing about $9 million

6:41:53a year to the Acadian contract. And so

6:41:56we need to increase our staffing. As

6:41:58that staffing increases, we're going to

6:42:00be able to put our own units on the

6:42:02street and recoup that billable uh those

6:42:04billable calls. And so we're hoping that

6:42:06that will gradually happen in 2027 as

6:42:09we're able to uh to bring on more staff.

6:42:12And then as we're doing this year, we're

6:42:13just going to maintain our fiscal

6:42:15discipline with aggressive management of

6:42:17overtime, purchasing, and non-essential

6:42:19spending.

6:42:21In closing, I want to thank the council

6:42:23for your support uh for our amazing

6:42:25team. Uh the council uh and the

6:42:27administration has been great partners

6:42:30uh in making sure that our resources are

6:42:33there and our staffing is taken care of.

6:42:35Uh and and so we really thank you for

6:42:38your support and I'll entertain any

6:42:40questions.

6:42:41>> Thank you. Um I just want to say, you

6:42:43know, appreciate you and your team also

6:42:46for staying here all day and and being

6:42:48with us. um as much as you can, you

6:42:51know, increasing that in-house

6:42:52workforce. You know, this council is

6:42:54here to support you in that. Um and so

6:42:56we look forward to continuing to work on

6:42:58that with you. Um did any other members

6:43:00have council member Green?

6:43:02>> Yes. Thank you. I appreciate the work

6:43:04that you do and it's always good to be

6:43:06at the ceremonies where you're welcoming

6:43:08new members of your staff.

6:43:11>> Somebody's going to ask me about this.

6:43:12So, I want you to explain the difference

6:43:14or why there is a difference between the

6:43:16gross billing and the net returns. I

6:43:19mean, it's significant, but it's

6:43:20important. It's but it's important for

6:43:22people to understand that we can't just

6:43:24go out and there's, hey, there's $30

6:43:26million. Let's go and get it. Can you

6:43:28explain that?

6:43:29>> So, for example, if I if we bill out um

6:43:31if we bill a patient $1,500 for their

6:43:34ambulance ride, they have u let's say

6:43:38Medicare, right? Medicare is only going

6:43:40to pay us a few hundred bucks off that

6:43:41bill. So that means we're writing off a

6:43:44majority of that bill. Now, we do bill

6:43:46the patient. We don't have aggressive

6:43:48collections and so we don't go after

6:43:49people. We don't send them to credit

6:43:51bureaus, things like that. We do a very

6:43:53passive collections. Uh and so we do end

6:43:56up writing off a significant amount of

6:43:58our bills uh for stuff that's

6:44:00uncollectible. Um plus we have unknown

6:44:03patients. We have other, you know, other

6:44:05things that we can't bill for. Uh that's

6:44:07just that's just the world of medical

6:44:08bill. I wish I can bill everything at

6:44:10100%. But we have to go according to

6:44:12what the plans are. And so the plans may

6:44:14pay you only up to a certain while I

6:44:16might bill out $1,500. I may only get

6:44:19back $500 or $600 from that claim. Uh

6:44:21and we may or may not get the balance

6:44:23paid off uh for from the patient cuz

6:44:25also remember 30% of our patient volume

6:44:28is Medicaid patients. And so we we

6:44:30legally can't bill a Medicaid patient

6:44:32for the balance bill, right? And so we

6:44:36ought to now we're losing 30% of our

6:44:38volume just right there.

6:44:39>> Right. You also provide um services for

6:44:41some people who are from other places

6:44:43out of town. It's not going to be able

6:44:45to collect from them even if you felt

6:44:47that there was a need to collect. Could

6:44:49you talk about that because I don't know

6:44:50that people pay attention to the fact

6:44:52that EMS provides services to a s a

6:44:55number of people who come from out of

6:44:57out of town.

6:44:58>> Yeah. So if you call 911 and we provide

6:45:00you a service, you get a bill for it. Uh

6:45:02and it I mean it just depends on who

6:45:03your provider are. Uh we we do our best

6:45:06to get as much information as possible

6:45:08as far as what your insurance is. Our

6:45:10billing company is great when it comes

6:45:11to reaching into the into the insurance

6:45:13uh marketplace systems to find what

6:45:16insurance that you may have. And so

6:45:18while we might not get the information

6:45:19at the at at the beginning, we'll find

6:45:22your insurance plan as it's put through

6:45:23the system and then we're able to build

6:45:25that. But as I said before, Medicare and

6:45:27Medicaid are 30% each of our volume.

6:45:30insurance only rep those with private

6:45:32insurance uh represents about 20% of our

6:45:35our call volume and then self uh

6:45:37self-pay which some people who have no

6:45:39insurance at all represents about

6:45:41another 20% of our volume. So, um, you

6:45:44know, we only have, um, you know, we're

6:45:46only able to bill for, uh, you know,

6:45:48what's paid, right? And so, the rest of

6:45:50it, we do keep it, uh, and our eight

6:45:53[clears throat] with. So, there's a we

6:45:54have a a contract biller that does our

6:45:57normal our normal billing, and then we

6:45:59have a secondary contract that does aged

6:46:01billing that does continue to work those

6:46:04accounts until we're able to get them

6:46:06paid. Sometimes people get like if it's

6:46:09a car accident, they may get a

6:46:10settlement. Uh or uh you know, they may

6:46:13we may be able to work with somebody to

6:46:15pay u 50 bucks a month until you pay

6:46:17your bill off. And so it does take a

6:46:19while to to to get up to uh you know,

6:46:22getting 100% paid, but uh medical

6:46:24billing is is never 100%. So we we're

6:46:27definitely getting uh what we can back.

6:46:29So yeah.

6:46:30>> Thank you. Can you talk about our

6:46:31relationship with the state of

6:46:33Louisiana, some of the positives, if you

6:46:35will, or some and some of the

6:46:37challenges?

6:46:38>> Well, we work very closely with the

6:46:39state on several projects uh as far as

6:46:42uh you know uh

6:46:45with uh like uh EMS for children. We

6:46:48definitely work with them. That's a

6:46:49state program. We also work with our

6:46:51state and also our other EMS partners

6:46:53with making sure that we have the same

6:46:55systems and programs in place that we're

6:46:57interoperable and we can work together.

6:46:59Uh we also work with med the state

6:47:01Medicaid program or LDH when it comes to

6:47:03our IGT or intergovernmental transfer.

6:47:06And so we pay into the LDH Medicaid fund

6:47:09just like all the other services do. And

6:47:11so for example this year we paid in 1.5

6:47:14million uh but then we were able to make

6:47:16we able to have 7.9 million back in

6:47:20billing right and so all the services

6:47:22participate in that fund. We're one of

6:47:24the major providers in that fund. And so

6:47:26that's just one of the things that we

6:47:28work with that we're able to pay into

6:47:29that fund uh to to get those increased

6:47:32enhanced payments for Medicaid and

6:47:34that's done through LDH.

6:47:36>> Yes. I want to thank you and your staff.

6:47:38Um I've chosen to over the past four

6:47:41years go to the scene of accidents often

6:47:43and the scenes of crimes and um it is

6:47:47such a relief to family members to not

6:47:49have to wait for a half hour for

6:47:51somebody from EMS to show up. I've been

6:47:53to scenes where I've even witnessed

6:47:55them. Accidents involving motorcycles,

6:47:57accidents involving bicycles,

6:47:59unfortunately, shootings. But, um, it's

6:48:02important to for the public to know that

6:48:04when we fund EMS, we're not funding it

6:48:06with the expectation that we're getting

6:48:08back money. We're funding it because

6:48:10it's what people need and it makes a

6:48:12tremendous difference and it helps save

6:48:14lives. There are a number of reasons

6:48:15that our um our murder rate is down.

6:48:20One of those reasons is because you're

6:48:22able to respond. Sometimes it's

6:48:23something that we don't talk about and I

6:48:25look you and tell look at you and tell

6:48:27you we don't want to talk about it. But

6:48:28one of the reasons that we have fewer

6:48:30homicides is because we have EMS

6:48:33responding in a timely manner to scenes

6:48:35that I think in the past we can all say

6:48:38wouldn't have been responded to in as

6:48:39timely a manner. And also with

6:48:41technology, it's important to keep you

6:48:43up to keep you in the financing loop

6:48:46whenever the technology is necessary

6:48:48because it saves lives. Maybe you could

6:48:50count maybe you could talk for a second

6:48:52about technology so people feel and

6:48:54understand why we provide the funding to

6:48:57to EMS that is necessary and is so

6:49:00important. How is technology saving

6:49:01lives in terms of what EMS does?

6:49:03>> Well, technology is really important. So

6:49:05we uh well, let me go back to the to the

6:49:08murder rate you commented about. So

6:49:10since our our prehosh blood program

6:49:13started, we have done studies that have

6:49:14shown a significant increase in survival

6:49:17rates for patients to who we've given

6:49:19blood to. Majority of those patients are

6:49:22those with penetrating trauma, gunshots,

6:49:24stabbings. Uh so in a sense we are

6:49:28moving people who have had fatal

6:49:29shootings or fatal stabbings to non

6:49:31fatal shootings and stabbings and

6:49:33they're able to survive with the blood

6:49:35that we've given. So we do like to think

6:49:37that we have contributed to uh to the

6:49:39decrease in the murder rate in the city

6:49:41for sure. Uh however, we do, you know,

6:49:43definitely don't want to take away from

6:49:44the work of the police department and

6:49:46criminal justice system for doing that

6:49:48and the community partners.

6:49:50>> Um technology wise, you know, we um you

6:49:53know, we're paperless, right? Medical

6:49:55billing is all paperless now. So we have

6:49:56to have the technology in place to do

6:49:58that. And so, you know, everything is

6:50:00computers and connecting with 911

6:50:02dispatch and the and the trucks. Uh we

6:50:05also have a significant amount of

6:50:06technology as far as um you know we have

6:50:09a Lucas device on every truck which is

6:50:11the mechanical CPR device. There's not

6:50:14many services in the country that have

6:50:15that not only on every ambulance but

6:50:17also every firet truck, every frontline

6:50:19vehicle. We have state-of-the-art

6:50:21cardiac monitors treating people who

6:50:23have cardiac issues. Uh we have

6:50:25significant amount of equipment out

6:50:27there and so uh we certainly do uh

6:50:30invest in innovative technology and

6:50:32procedures. Thank you for pursuing the

6:50:34technology because it makes a difference

6:50:35and again

6:50:36>> thank you for allowing us to Yes. Thank

6:50:38you.

6:50:38>> All right. Appreciate your work and it's

6:50:40important to recognize that when we were

6:50:41talking about murders, it's not putting

6:50:43us pitting us against anyone. I mean New

6:50:45Orleans Police Department homicide

6:50:47investigations response times is so

6:50:50important. But it is important to

6:50:51recognize that if you saved a few lives,

6:50:54it makes a difference in the famil

6:50:56family's lives. That's what I want to

6:50:57emphasize more than anything else.

6:50:58Because when I emphasize murder

6:51:00reduction, it's about reducing the

6:51:01number of victims of crime, reducing the

6:51:03number of families that are suffering.

6:51:05And some of that reduction is because

6:51:07we're able to provide them with

6:51:09emergency services in a very timely

6:51:11manner. So, thank you EMS for the work

6:51:13that you do. It's

6:51:14>> would have had more of my team here, but

6:51:16uh it's been it's been an 8 hour day. We

6:51:19understand. In fact, if they had been

6:51:20here all day, then I'd be saying, "How

6:51:22are you all here all day?"

6:51:24>> All right. Thank you.

6:51:25>> Any other questions?

6:51:26>> No. Thank you for being here and staying

6:51:28with us. I appreciate it.

6:51:29>> Well, thank you for your time and your

6:51:31long day as well. Thank you.

6:51:32>> Thank you.

6:51:34>> Thank you.

6:51:35>> Finally, we have the mosquito

6:51:38and rodent

6:51:39>> clutter. You know, just just roll

6:51:41through it. [laughter]

6:51:43>> All right. Thank you so much.

6:51:45>> Speaking of blood,

6:51:48>> we appreciate um allowing us to present

6:51:50our budget. My name is Claudia Regal.

6:51:53director of the city of New Orleans

6:51:54mosquito termite and rodent control

6:51:56board and this is Dr. Carrie Katone.

6:51:58She's our assistant director. All right.

6:52:01So, um looking at we're going to start.

6:52:03So, just for everyone to know, we

6:52:05provide the uh mosquito and pest control

6:52:08uh for the city of New Orleans,

6:52:10including city buildings. Our

6:52:12organization was founded back in 1964.

6:52:15Um so, we've been around for quite a

6:52:17long time. Um when you look at our org

6:52:20chart, we are general fund and uh grant

6:52:24funded. We have a total of 44 employees.

6:52:27The general fund has 34 FTEES with 3.75

6:52:32vacancies in it. Um our grant projects

6:52:35right now have 5.25.

6:52:38Um and we have about three FTEEs of

6:52:40interns. So that can be anywhere from 10

6:52:43to 12 people. Uh, so anyone listening,

6:52:46if you have high school kids or college

6:52:48kids in the area, please contact us by

6:52:50January. All right, pretty important.

6:52:52So, we'll talk about the grants. Um, and

6:52:54some of ours, uh, the openings have come

6:52:57from retirements or people moving out of

6:53:00state, things like that. Um, our

6:53:03proposed budget uh for this year,

6:53:05there's actually an addition uh in

6:53:08personnel. I believe that is uh the

6:53:10money putting back from uh furlows.

6:53:13Other operating stays the same. Whoops,

6:53:16there we go. Stays the same. So there

6:53:18was a variance of just shy of $300,000.

6:53:22The key components of our proposed

6:53:23budget uh from the general fund. It

6:53:26helps pay for the personnel that conduct

6:53:30mosquito abatement, rodent abatement,

6:53:32termite and pest management. And we have

6:53:34a couple of people in there. They're

6:53:36administrative. Uh but I will remind you

6:53:38that everyone in our agency is cross

6:53:41trainined. So for other operating the

6:53:44budget really just covers that sort of

6:53:46day-to-day the trash the the things that

6:53:48we just absolutely need to have to be

6:53:50operational. Um but it doesn't cover the

6:53:52bulk of the insecticides. So um you know

6:53:56we do what we can do to purchase those

6:53:58and manage our stock. But it does pay

6:54:00for the surveillance of in-house

6:54:02testing. Um some of our source reduction

6:54:05that we do do uh like permits and with

6:54:08DEEQ things like that. Um it does pay

6:54:10for some of the adulticides. Um

6:54:15not quite a full city treatment, but

6:54:17that's what that is. And then also some

6:54:19of our safety equipment that we need and

6:54:21keep the uh equipment up to rent uh

6:54:23running up to to specs. Uh our rodent

6:54:26treatment, we've been doing a lot of

6:54:27work. We're using carbon dioxide. you

6:54:29have to be a pesticide applicator to do

6:54:30it, but it's made significant in uh

6:54:33progress and improvements uh downtown.

6:54:35And then also we have mosquito fish for

6:54:37biological control. So that's a great

6:54:39thing uh for everyone uh what we're

6:54:42doing now. So for us, we just really

6:54:43have to manage our stock of products

6:54:45that we have, right? So when we have

6:54:47funds, we're able to buy them. Here it

6:54:48is. The last couple of years, 2025 was

6:54:51one of the most active West Nile seasons

6:54:53that we've had since the introduction of

6:54:55West Nile back in the early 2000s. So,

6:54:58unfortunately, we've had to use much of

6:55:00that stock. Um, we had three human cases

6:55:03last year, which is great. I mean, I'm

6:55:06sorry for everyone who got sick, but as

6:55:08far as if you compare our numbers uh to

6:55:102012 where we had 19, we've been able to

6:55:13improve some of the technology and

6:55:15methodology uh to get those counts down.

6:55:17[clears throat]

6:55:18So, that is the the big concern here

6:55:20with uh inventory for the 2027

6:55:24non-general fund. Um, so you can see

6:55:27there's a lot of changes that happen

6:55:28there and one because that money is very

6:55:30variable. So we find money every which

6:55:32way you can imagine through federal

6:55:34grants. We actually are one of the seven

6:55:36CDC funded centers in the United States.

6:55:39That's a large project. It covers

6:55:41everything from Texas to Florida. Uh we

6:55:43have a lot of collaborators there. Uh

6:55:45which is a great thing. So that helps

6:55:47support um people in a lot of things. Um

6:55:52and then also um we're pretty proud of

6:55:54the efforts that we take to find money.

6:55:57So that can be everything from product

6:55:59testing for fee for service. We take

6:56:01donations, we sell things any which way

6:56:05people can we can find money, we go do

6:56:07it. All right. Uh patents like

6:56:10everything. So that's pretty important.

6:56:13Uh but those funds are often pretty

6:56:16specific as Dr. Agno had stated. you

6:56:18know, they're intended for those uses.

6:56:21Yes, of course, we do help lean on the

6:56:23general fund. Everyone is cross-trained,

6:56:26so when we need to move people, we do

6:56:28that. But it does help pay for, you

6:56:31know, again, stuff and supplies and and

6:56:34things like that.

6:56:36Um, all right. For the not I think we

6:56:39did this one, but for the non-general

6:56:41fund component, so these are all the

6:56:42grants. Uh, it is really programmatic

6:56:45support. uh our general fund cannot

6:56:47afford having interns and those are

6:56:50seasonal workers that are absolutely

6:56:52essential in workforce development but

6:56:54it also allows for us to s deal with the

6:56:58surge right of pests. Part-time

6:57:00employees are also there. We like

6:57:02part-time employees uh because you don't

6:57:04need to pay the insurance overhead uh

6:57:06and they do a great job, right? So

6:57:08sometimes somebody is just looking for a

6:57:09part-time person and in fact we are now.

6:57:12So if there happens to be somebody there

6:57:14that's retired or is interested in

6:57:16running traps for example two days a

6:57:18week uh please contact us and then of

6:57:21course all the details of the Gulf South

6:57:23Vector. I would absolutely encourage

6:57:25everyone to go to vector outreach.org.

6:57:27We just uh got funded for year four and

6:57:29this is a difficult federal you know

6:57:31situation with with grants but we've

6:57:34been able to survive. And I wanted to

6:57:35make a note that for everybody that the

6:57:37Khagen tick act uh was approved and

6:57:41funded. So this is wonderful for

6:57:44enhanced laboratory capacity and vector

6:57:46control. Um that all goes um to the

6:57:50folks uh CDC in Fort Collins for other

6:57:53operating. Of course it it we have to

6:57:55meet those objectives of those projects

6:57:57but um it also helps you know buy the

6:58:01things that we need to support the d the

6:58:03department uh for the [clears throat]

6:58:04golf vector we've uh have trained over

6:58:0670,000 people. So I'm going to kick it

6:58:09over to Carrie here and she'll talk

6:58:10about the efficiencies. Sure. Great.

6:58:12Thank you so much. Yeah. So Claudia's

6:58:14already mentioned two or three times

6:58:15that we do cross trainin our employees.

6:58:17So um it doesn't matter who you are in

6:58:20or in our organization, you know how to

6:58:22do multiple things. So not only does

6:58:24this help us better prioritize even from

6:58:27the day-to-day, but it certainly does

6:58:29increase our overall departmental

6:58:31efficiency. Um we invest in mosquito

6:58:35surveillance um to make our datadriven

6:58:38decisions for mosquito abatement. So all

6:58:40of our abatement spray mission decisions

6:58:42are done using scientific data. Um this

6:58:46increases not only the effectiveness but

6:58:48it allows us to really have targeted

6:58:50treatments. Um and this is really best

6:58:53practices in for any mosquito abatement

6:58:56district.

6:58:58So we conduct a lot of pest control and

6:59:00termite control at city buildings. Um so

6:59:03this actually saves probably hundreds of

6:59:05thousands of dollars in property damage

6:59:08from pests, especially termites. Um

6:59:11[clears throat] and it also uh prevents

6:59:15those costs associated with having to

6:59:17contract services for every city

6:59:19department or every you know city

6:59:21facility. Um so some of our 2027 goals

6:59:25certainly we absolutely prioritize the

6:59:28protection of our citizens from from

6:59:30medically important mosquitoes.

6:59:33Um we have maintained low levels of

6:59:36rodents in commercial areas. This is

6:59:38something that is ongoing. um and it's

6:59:40done by collaborating with other city

6:59:42agencies and private industry as well.

6:59:45Uh in 2027, we also want to initiate um

6:59:49as part of a cooperative cooperative

6:59:52endeavor with Siojan Waterboard uh we

6:59:54want to start implementing integrated

6:59:56aquatic weed management uh for long-term

6:59:59sustainability.

7:00:02We have a very tremendous staff, very

7:00:05high level performers and uh we are able

7:00:08to meet our project deliverables in

7:00:10order to maintain and find new revenue

7:00:12sources. When Claudia says that we look

7:00:14for every which way to find another

7:00:16dollar, we do. Um we even have

7:00:19nationally recognized subject matter

7:00:21experts on staff. We're very very proud

7:00:23of that. Um, as part of the arts of a

7:00:26arts council grant, we are having a

7:00:29yellow fever mosquito statue put on our

7:00:31front lawn. So, that is actually very

7:00:34exciting. Not only is it going to be

7:00:36educational,

7:00:37uh, but it's also going to highlight the

7:00:39historic importance of mosquito control

7:00:42for the city of New Orleans.

7:00:45And you know ongoing goals every year we

7:00:48educate the public, businesses and

7:00:50government about best practices and

7:00:53mitigating conducive conditions uh to

7:00:55prevent pest infestation.

7:00:58Education is a big part of saving money

7:01:01overall. Anytime you get a microphone in

7:01:04front of us normally at some point we

7:01:05are going to be talking about either

7:01:07dumpsters or sanitation or standing

7:01:09water things like that. The more aware

7:01:12people are, the more those pest issues

7:01:14can be mitigated, which saves us money.

7:01:17>> You know, the one thing I just wanted to

7:01:19just state also on the 2027 goals, you

7:01:22know, you know, nuisance mosquitoes are

7:01:24a problem. We get most of our calls

7:01:26usually in the springtime and in the

7:01:28fall, but honestly, with the inventory

7:01:31that we have, we will have to prioritize

7:01:34the mosquitoes of medical importance. So

7:01:37that may be a problem, you know, likely

7:01:39with uh when people are outside and it's

7:01:42right getting at dusk and these

7:01:44mosquitoes are coming out. But just

7:01:46today, we had five more locations

7:01:49throughout the city of New Orleans on

7:01:51the east bank and the west bank that had

7:01:53mosquitoes that tested for West Nile.

7:01:55[clears throat] So we are still very

7:01:57much in the season. We've had two human

7:01:59cases. Um last year we had three in

7:02:02totality. So, it's very important that

7:02:05people wear their repellent, of course,

7:02:07turn over their containers and do all of

7:02:09that. But the issue with the flood water

7:02:12mosquitoes is they come from the marsh

7:02:14and so that often requires aerial

7:02:17abatement uh to be effective.

7:02:20So, I just wanted to mention just a

7:02:21couple more things and we'll wrap it up.

7:02:23But, um so tomorrow, what day? Today's

7:02:26Thursday. So, Saturday was going to be

7:02:27Nola Bugfest. We are going to have to

7:02:30move it to the 17th. We had to make a

7:02:32decision earlier in the week. This is a

7:02:34100% outside money funded uh pro uh

7:02:38event. It's a community event. Um we

7:02:41really talk about education for mosquito

7:02:44and vector control. We've done it's a

7:02:46STEM event. This year's uh theme is

7:02:49habitat in nature exploring the vibrant

7:02:51world of insects and rodents. We had

7:02:52over 1500 people last year. Uh we have

7:02:55over I think close to 40 exhibits. You

7:02:58can see us on the website. Oh yeah, on

7:03:00the website and um we have um multiple

7:03:03universities. So again, if you've got

7:03:06students that are thinking about

7:03:08college, uh many of the local

7:03:09universities are there um and also from

7:03:12the southeast. It's a great opportunity.

7:03:14Um so with that, if you have any

7:03:16questions, we're happy to answer them.

7:03:18>> Council member Green.

7:03:20>> Yes. First, thank you for um sharing

7:03:22your facilities and your information

7:03:24with folks. Um for those who don't know,

7:03:27um at the corner of Leon C. Simon and

7:03:29Allegian Fields is a great resource to

7:03:32find out about your your building to

7:03:35find out about how what we can do to

7:03:38kind of make it more comfortable for

7:03:39people to live in our city while

7:03:41respecting nature. So, I do appreciate

7:03:43that. Um, I also want to invite everyone

7:03:46to come out for the Bugfest. I've been

7:03:48to the Bugfest and it's not just a

7:03:49festival, it's an information gathering

7:03:51opportunity, too. So, I want everybody

7:03:53to know that you'll have a good time,

7:03:55but it's great to see the young people

7:03:56there who are enjoying themselves and

7:03:58now you're right across the street from

7:04:00LSU New Orleans and so they're going to

7:04:01be

7:04:02>> very excited about that,

7:04:02>> right? They're going to be walking

7:04:03there. Talk to me about one other thing

7:04:05because also in your name, but in the

7:04:07work that you do is termites.

7:04:09>> Just today on on um St. Down the street

7:04:13from us, Mr. Willard, um a tree fell, a

7:04:17palm tree fell, and we didn't know that

7:04:18it was riddled with termites, but it

7:04:20fell. And now you can see the in the

7:04:22middle of it. What can we do or what

7:04:24should we as citizens know especially on

7:04:26public property property but on private

7:04:28property what we can do to kind of

7:04:31mitigate the effects that termites have

7:04:33in our city.

7:04:34>> Okay. So mitigating the effects of

7:04:35termites. So this was a a commercial

7:04:37property. This was

7:04:39>> a neutral ground.

7:04:40>> Okay.

7:04:41>> Right off. So on things like like

7:04:43neutral ground properties, we would love

7:04:46to hear from folks that think that that

7:04:48there might be a tree infested somewhere

7:04:50right now. I mean, as much as we would

7:04:52love to canvas the area and check every

7:04:55single tree for termites and treat every

7:04:57single tree for termites, it's actually

7:04:58like my background, what I went to

7:05:00school for, uh we simply cannot do it

7:05:03with with the staff that that we have.

7:05:05And this is another one of those

7:05:06projects that is um funded through extra

7:05:10mural means. Okay? So, it's not general

7:05:12fund, but um we do have ways of treating

7:05:16trees that are at risk. Sometimes with

7:05:19some of this revenue generating projects

7:05:21that we have, we actually do a lot of

7:05:23product testing and sometimes we need

7:05:26infested trees to include it on these

7:05:29projects. So, it's no cost to the city,

7:05:31>> right? And it's revenue generating.

7:05:33So, um,

7:05:36a lot of times it's a 311 ticket that

7:05:39that people can call 311 and, um, let us

7:05:43know about a questionable tree with

7:05:46termites on city property and

7:05:49>> and we'll take a look at it. You know,

7:05:50one of the things that's really

7:05:51important for every homeowner to deal

7:05:53with to have a terite treatment.

7:05:56>> And so, it's not a matter if here in

7:05:58this town, it's a matter of when. So, if

7:06:01they do have a tree that's in the

7:06:03sidewalk and let's say they have a

7:06:04baiting system, have the pest management

7:06:07company drop a couple of bait stations,

7:06:10you know, around there. It'll help. So,

7:06:13look, we also have online at our YouTube

7:06:15channel, we've got a four-part series

7:06:18all about termites and termite

7:06:20treatments and termite biology. So, to

7:06:22me, that's sort of step number one. Many

7:06:24years ago, like when I first came to

7:06:27Louisiana in 20 uh like almost 25 years

7:06:29ago, the Louisiana Department of Agon

7:06:32forestry actually had a project where

7:06:34they were able to procure funding

7:06:37through federal government, USDA, ARS to

7:06:40treat trees. Uh but that funding has

7:06:43gone away because it was an earmark and

7:06:46so remember when the ear marks were all

7:06:47getting uh stopped. So I think look I

7:06:50mean New Orleans is the belt buckle of

7:06:53the of the termite

7:06:55>> belt person in of the termite belt. So,

7:06:58everyone should be thinking about

7:07:00termites, but as Carrie, you know, said

7:07:02is that the step number one if you're

7:07:04not sure or if you see mud tubes or

7:07:06something, we we do have abilities to go

7:07:09in at least and check,

7:07:10>> right? But it's important to recognize

7:07:12that, you know, termites are going to be

7:07:14around, but they have an impact. A big

7:07:16branch just fell in huge

7:07:18>> in commission in um council member

7:07:20McCarron's district. It was in city

7:07:21park. It's

7:07:22>> I don't know if you saw right. You saw

7:07:24it. So, I mean because of termites. So,

7:07:25we have the one that fell today. So, I I

7:07:28wanted you to say what you said that if

7:07:30you see something on public property,

7:07:32remember there are maybe 90,000 trees

7:07:35somewhere or the other on public

7:07:36property here between the parks and

7:07:38between the neutral grounds, but you can

7:07:40file a 311 request because we don't see

7:07:43it all the time. So many trees,

7:07:45>> but but it can be treated though. No, it

7:07:47can be

7:07:48>> I mean,

7:07:49>> you have to figure it out. Yes, often

7:07:51times they can many but I do want to let

7:07:53people know that many of the named trees

7:07:55in well up in City Park actually city

7:07:57park pays us to treat those trees and

7:08:00many of those trees have been treated

7:08:01for over 30 years and um so those those

7:08:06name trees are protected. We're actually

7:08:07talking to downtown development district

7:08:09right now about [clears throat] canal

7:08:10street trees um any city property trees

7:08:14those are all included. So

7:08:15>> all right and once again I'll close with

7:08:17thank you for your hospitality and for

7:08:19hosting meetings. Our meeting last

7:08:21Saturday had over 200 people and they

7:08:23got a lot of information from it. So

7:08:25thank you for hosting neighborhood

7:08:26engagement and just thank you also for

7:08:28your enthusiasm. Your presentation

7:08:30during those um events really makes

7:08:32people motivated to know that government

7:08:34is doing certain things that they may

7:08:36not know about but they find out through

7:08:38those meetings. So thank you.

7:08:39>> Thank you.

7:08:40>> All right. Bugfest 2027 here we come.

7:08:43>> Yes. please come.

7:08:45>> Thank you.

7:08:45>> Yeah, thank you so much.

7:08:46>> Um, and thank you to my colleagues, but

7:08:48most importantly, Brandy, council staff

7:08:51for sticking it out. This has been a

7:08:53long day. Looking forward at the

7:08:56schedule, we might have a couple long

7:08:58days ahead of us, but hopefully not this

7:09:01long. So, thank you. With that, I move

7:09:02to adjourn. Seconded by Council Member

7:09:04McCarron. All in favor?

7:09:07>> Oh, not a meeting. All right. A hearing.

7:09:08Thank you. See, thank you, council

7:09:10staff, for keeping me straight, Ashley.

7:09:12>> All right. Awesome.

7:09:14>> If you want to report