City Council to consider suing Mayor Cantrell
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New Orleans City Council members are expected to decide Thursday whether they will sue Mayor LaToya Cantrell in an effort to force her administration to pay NOLA Public Schools $20 million.
Why it matters: Cantrell's administration appears to be backing out on an agreement that the council says was already a done deal to avoid staffing cuts.
The big picture: The Orleans Parish School Board is suing to force Cantrell's administration to follow through on a previously announced $20 million settlement to a 2019 lawsuit.
- The council plans to meet in executive session, which is closed to the public, on Thursday to decide if it will join in the suit.
- About a dozen school administrators, teachers and parents told the council this week that there will be cuts to student services and staffing if the schools don't get the promised money.
Catch up quick: The money would help fill the district's $36 million budget hole, which interim superintendent Fateama Fulmore says came from lower-than-expected property sales tax income and a mistake in fiscal-versus-calendar-year budgeting.
- The council included the $20 million funding in the city's 2025 budget, which the mayor lauded in November when it passed.
Between the lines: The agreement also permanently removed the 2% administration fee that the city charges the school district for collecting the money from residents.
- School leaders say taxpayers didn't approve the fee when they passed the millage in 1993 and accuse the city of skimming off the top.
- City leaders say the fee is for services rendered since they are responsible for billing, collecting and disbursing the money.
- This issue was at the heart of the 2019 lawsuit.
Yes, but: Now city attorney Donesia Turner says Cantrell doesn't "agree with any of the terms" in the agreement and hopes to negotiate a new deal by April 1.
- "The (agreement) as written ... was not in the best interest of the city of New Orleans at this time," Turner told the council Tuesday.
- The city's financial leaders painted a troubling picture of cash flow with a presentation slide labeled "Spending is out of control."
- They are also concerned about a loss of federal and state money under the new Trump administration.
Zoom in: Romy Samuel, the city's finance director, told Council President JP Morrell that the city should "seriously consider" austerity measures.
- Morrell ended the meeting by introducing an ordinance that would pause all city spending on meals and non-essential travel.
- He tells Axios he'll talk more about the ordinance at Thursday's meeting.
- He also raised the possibility of changing the city's charter to give the council more control and insight into city expenses.
What's next: The council meeting is at 10am Thursday. Watch it live.
- The school board's lawsuit is in court Feb. 20.
- "The clock is ticking and very loudly," Budget Chairman Joe Giarrusso told city administrators.