Come Nov. 15th, French Quarter residents will vote to renew an existing sales tax on purchases in the French Quarter.
Michelle Courseault, Executive Director of the French Quarter Management District, joins WWL to advocate for the tax renewal and expresses the benefits, such as supplemental safety patrols, technological advancements, and enhanced communications between residents, businesses, and law enforcement.
According to the FQMD website, "The French Quarter tourist tax of 0.245% was originally passed in 2020. It funded the French Quarter Management District’s safety programs for five years. In that time, the FQMD has worked with state and local officials to make substantial improvements to the safety and security of the French Quarter."
Courseault explains, "Those little sneaker-sized cars that we have with the blue lights all through the French quarter are all paid for...primarily through this Quarter for the Quarter sales tax."
Another advancement of the FQMD was a French Quarter Task Force app that allows registered residents and business owners to use for reporting incidents and contacting law enforcement.
"You're able to record an issue right where you are," Corsseault says. "It captures our location right where you are, and one of those patrol officers will come out - we got that timing down to under two minutes. And that is an incredible response time, but it is a result of that collaborative group of people working together to keep the Quarter safe.
One of the main goals of the FQMD, according to Corseault, is to foster open communication between all parties that dwell and hold vested interests in FQ quality of life.
"The beauty of our board of commissioners is it's a representative balance between French Quarter businesses and French Quarter resident organizations," Corseault explains. "FQMD's superpower is that we can bring all those audiences to the table and facilitate discussions."
"What we've created is an environment where the officers are regular faces you see in the community," Corseault states. "You start to build relationships and build trust. Communications are really opened up between those residents and those business owners, and between those officers they see on duty consistently."
Use the above audio player to hear the full interview and details about the Nov 15th tax renewal. If the player isn't working, use the link here.