Some New Orleans City Council members are threatening to withhold money from the Cantrell Administration amid a slew of construction projects across the city sitting idle and taking seemingly forever to complete.
Officials blame worker shortages, inflation, and supply chain issues for exacerbating the lengthy delays.
The city's chief administration officer admits they bit off more than they could chew.
"We grew too fast without having the proper structures in place," CAO Gilbert Montaño says they have learned a lot of lessons trying to beat deadlines to spend Katrina funding. "There's a lot of money that went into the streets of New Orleans, more than any historical amount, close to a billion dollars."
He says they can and will find solutions.
"There's a lot of operational efficiencies that can be better enhanced."
Montaño says worker shortages, inflation, and supply chain issues only exacerbate the challenges. The city’s CAO adds that city council members trying to defund city departments in response will not help.
"It's significantly problematic and frankly counter to what the frustration is," he insisted. "Passing these bills only hurts."
Meanwhile, residents vent frustration with unfinished repair projects.
"It was one year ago this week when they first began to rip up our street. One year later, half the street is impassable," Lakeview resident Natalie Naquin Harvey said in a post marking the first birthday of work on her road.
Montaño stressed the need to improve communication with residents.
