The New Orleans City Council has unanimously approved an ordinance outlining the powers will take to govern the Sewerage and Water Board.
Under the new ordinance, city council members now will confirm all appointments to the Sewerage and Water Board as well as the mayor's picks to be SWB executive director and general superintendent. The council will also approve the SWB's billing policies, rates and fees, and its operational and budget plans.
Council members say, these changes are long overdue.
"We have decided collectively that the status quo is not good enough," Council President J. P. Morrell said, adding that previous attempts to reform the SWB's governance, including the citizen board governance model, didn't work. "What I can tell you unequivically is that, for those of you who have endured the Sewerage and Water Board in the last few years, that model was irrevocably flawed and led to bad outcomes."
"This is what has been missing for decades," Councillor Amy McCarron said. "This legislation is not a punishment. It is not an indictment of any one person or singular policy. This is about making sense of the current governance structure of the Sewerage and Water Board."
Councilman Freddie King says the oversight is necessary because councilmembers are flooded with residents' complaints about the Sewerage and Water Board.
"We're acting too much as a triage department with the New Orleans City Council," King said.
Council gives itself oversight of agency, confirmation powers over board members and executives
Council gives itself oversight of agency, confirmation powers over board members and executives
