New Orleans voters to decide on tighter City Hall spending rules

The big picture: New Orleans needs a way to lock the budget, says City Council President JP Morrell, who proposed this amendment.

• The council approves the city's budget annually, but members say it is often treated as a suggestion.

• The amendment would require departments to get council approval before spending more than their budgeted amount.
• The mayoral administration's financial leaders would also be required to submit monthly spending reports to the council, a step members say would have alerted them to problems earlier.

Zoom out: City Council proposed this charter change in response to the dire financial situation that developed under former Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration.

• The city went into a multimillion-dollar hole last year and had to take out a loan to pay employees.
• One of the big problems, officials say, was overtime spending, especially at NOPD.
• Officials have been working to add more accountability and visibility this year.

What's next: The item is listed at the bottom of the ballot under the state constitutional amendments.

• The sample ballot shows it as "PW HRC Amendment - Amends Sec. 6-103 - CC."
• If approved, the revised charter takes effect Jan. 1.