Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is defending herself and Governor Jeff Landry against accusations that they are trying to take over the city of New Orleans's finances.
That defense comes after Murrill and Landry floated the idea of putting the city under a fiscal administrator after the city council voted to seek a $125 million loan from the Louisiana Bond Commission to cover payroll and other expenses for the rest of the year.
Murrill says she only has the city's best interests in mind.
"I think they ought to partner with us to make sure we can stablize New Orleans's budget," Murrill said. "When a municipality is spending money that it doesn't have on a continuous basis, they are financially unstable, and that's what brings us into the picture."
Murrill says the New Orleans City Government's relationship with the Landry Administration does not have to be adversarial. She told WWL's Tommy Tucker that the Landry Administration wants to work with city leaders to prevent another spending deficit such as the one the New Orleans is now facing from ever happening again.
"(They have overspent) their budget for three years in a row," Murrill said.
Murrill denied accusations of a power grab on her and Landry's parts, adding that the state can operate without New Orleans's revenue.
"It isn't true that New Orleans is this island that can operate on its own and that they somehow fund the rest of the state of Louisiana. They don't," Murrill said.
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