New Orleans Faces Big Public Safety Budget Cuts

The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate

Mayor LaToya Cantrell unveiled on Monday a 2021 spending plan that would cut city workers' pay by 10% through next year and slash as much as 40% from department budgets, raising the ire of union leaders who warned of cuts to services as the city contends with the financial impacts of the coronavirus.

The $633.5 million proposal, which sets the tone for negotiations with the City Council on the city budget that will run through the next month, is a more than 12% drop from this year's spending plan.

It lays out sharp cuts to the Department of Public Works, which is responsible for maintaining streets and other public infrastructure, along with boards charged with recommending zoning changes and handling other city functions.

The New Orleans Police Department will see a 8% cut, while the Fire Department will see a cut of 10%.

Other steep cuts are projected across the board, with 11 departments seeing their funding reduced by more than 20%.

Cantrell and Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño said in a special meeting Monday that the budget represented a conservative estimate of the city's finances, and didn't count on another round of federal coronavirus relief aid.

And while a federal rescue could come, to ensure the city's fiscal health in the meantime, they said the furloughs that took effect this month for city employees should continue through next year for all workers who earn  more than $30,000 per year, including public safety workers.

"This is a budget that reflects the needs of our residents, while preparing the city for some unknowns," Cantrell said. "The way that this is structured is not based on the unknowns. It's based on the realities."

Leaders from public safety unions warned that furloughs and other budget cuts could jeopardize the safety of residents and encourage an exodus of trained emergency workers.

Police officers have already seen their incomes fall due to restrictions on overtime and a lack of opportunities for off-duty details as a result of the cancellation of events due to the pandemic, said Eric Hessler, an attorney with the Police Association of New Orleans.

He noted the continuation of furloughs for officers comes as the city is seeing a spike in violent crimes.

"It doesn't bode well and for the life of me I don't know why they're doing that to police, fire and EMS, those are three of the things you'd think a city in our position wouldn't want to skimp on," he said.

Firefighters union President Aaron Mischler also warned that neighboring departments may end up luring his members away.

The hardest hit departments include Public Works, which will see its funding drop more than 40% to $34 million. That decrease includes cutting about 10% of its total positions.

The City Planning Commission, which is responsible for reviewing development proposals, is also slated for a 40% cut, will lose 6 of its 26 positions. The Vieux Carre Commission, the small agency that enforces the historic preservation rules in the French Quarter, is facing the deepest cut in the city at 42%, will lose two of its six spots.

Only a handful of agencies and departments will see their budgets increase next year and, within city government itself, nearly all of those are offices funded entirely by federal money that must be spent on specific purposes or dedicated revenue sources, such as the Office of Community Development.

The exception is Clerk of Court Arthur Morrell's office, which will see its $4 million budget increase by about $850,000.

Morrell sets his own budget, which is paid for from city funds, and has sued the city numerous times in recent years when the city has sought to impose cuts.

The cuts are a response to a sharp drop in sales taxes and other revenue spurred by the coronavirus.

Though New Orleans — an early hotspot for the virus — has some of the strictest COVID-19 restrictions in Louisiana and has seen its case numbers fall, conventions and other large gatherings that would have otherwise brought sales tax revenue to New Orleans have either been canceled or have moved online for next year.

The city has also cited a reluctance by many tourists to travel until a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, which means that, even if the city were to relax restrictions, officials don't believe they'd see the kind of revenue they'd need to avoid large cuts.

Already in 2020, the city has had to make tough decisions as it sought to stabilize finances and close a $45 million budget gap, such as hiring freezes, cutting of contracts, and placing limits on overtime.

But Cantrell has long warned that, absent government relief, other measures could be taken heading into 2021.

The budget unveiled Monday fulfills that promise, stretching existing furloughs through next year if the council and Civil Service Commission approve.

That commission approved the current furlough plans, which have seen about 670 "unclassified" employees, such as department heads and political appointees, and about 4,040 "classified," or rank-and-file employees, take one unpaid day per pay period.

Under the 2021 budget, employees would be furloughed for one day per pay period, or 26 furlough days over the course of the year, saving the city approximately $25 million if the commission approves.

Overall, nearly 300 positions will be cut from the city budget, though city officials said they are not currently planning layoffs, indicating that those spots are now unfilled.

The furloughs "are truly something that we are doing to avoid layoffs," Montaño said. "And we understand that people will be upset, but it will be temporary."

He said the city would retroactively reimburse employees for lost pay should stimulus money come through. Overall, the administration says it must cut about $110 million from the budget in 2021.

Some council members pushed Monday for the city to exempt more of its low-wage employees from furloughs, which, under the mayor's proposal, would exempt a little more than 500 people earning $30,000 annually.

Those and other suggestions are expected to be negotiated in the coming weeks as councilmembers take a critical look at the mayor's proposal.

"I want to see if we could bump that up to $35,000," council member-at-large Helena Moreno said of the salary level that would be exempted from furloughs. "For a single parent household, someone with a family, that's really tough... Every single dollar is so critical for these families."

To raise the threshold to $35,000, it would cost the city an additional $1.6 million and impact about 932 employees, Montaño said.