The New Orleans City Council voted Monday to approve the city's budget for 2026.
The budget cuts spending in the neighborhood of $150 million, including unpaid furloughs of one day per pay-period for non-essential city employees.
"It's tough, and there were some difficult decisions that we had to make," said Councilmember and mayor-elect Helena Moreno, "including the fact that we're looking at furloughs for the upcoming year."
Moreno said she will make it her priority, once she is sworn in as mayor, to get the city out of furloughs as soon as possible.
While the cuts may be steep, members of the city council said it would be easier on the city than the 30 percent across-the-board cuts proposed by the current mayor, LaToya Cantrell.
All told, the city plans to spend more than $801 million in 2026.