NEW ORLEANS, La. — The New Orleans City Council voted unanimously Thursday to roll forward a combined 4.039 mills on property tax bills, a revenue step Mayor Helena Moreno’s team says should bring in $23,270,000 and soften a lingering fiscal crunch that has shadowed budget hearings since September.
City budget planners expect roughly $21.5 million of that money to land in the general fund, with the balance earmarked for Audubon Commission work and City Park upgrades. Chief Administrative Officer Joe Giarrusso put the yearly yield near $23.2 million and said the roll-forward should trim a deficit once near $100 million down toward a $40 million hole, taking some proposed cuts off the table.
Supporters cast the increase as insurance against deeper service losses. Council Vice President Matthew Willard said a successful roll-forward could help protect citywide sanitation after Mardi Gras and special events, low-barrier shelter capacity, public defenders, the district attorney’s office, juvenile court, and health department programs for mothers and babies.
Councilman Jason Hughes argued against holiday-season layoffs of city staff as a way to close the books. Councilwoman Lesli Harris said she saw no workable alternative for funding core services. Eugene Green, another councilmember, said he disliked raising taxes but believed city government cannot keep meeting neighborhood demands on a flat resource base year after year.
Homeowners can run their own estimates through the city’s millage impact calculator online. A final 2027 budget vote is still ahead, with the council aiming for Nov. 19 before wrapping the spending plan for the coming year.
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