The New Orleans City Council voted 5-2 Thursday in favor of a motion directing the French Market Corporation to change the locks on the city-owned apartment formerly reserved for use by the mayor of New Orleans.
The vote should mean the apartment will be put up for rent to the general public.
The council voted in August 2023 to revoke the mayor's office use of the apartment, but no one was able to tell the council whether or not the mayor had turned in the keys.
Last year, the New Orleans Office of Inspector General said allowing the mayor free use of the apartment may violate the city charter as well as the state constitution. The OIG determined the city could make as much as $41,000 a year from renting the unit.
Public records obtained by the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission after the council's August vote found the apartment had not been leased to anyone else and was vacant.
Council Vice President J.P. Morrell last week asked the mayor to tell them whether or not she still had the keys, and if she still had any personal property in the apartment.
The mayor's office didn't answer until days later, in a news release issued around 1 a.m. Wednesday. In it, the mayor's office said there were no impediments to French Market Corporation, which manages the property for the city, gaining access to the property.
She did not specify whether or not she still retained keys to the unit.
The vote gives the mayor two weeks, until May 21, to make sure all personal belongings are out.
