UPDATE: 9:20 A.M.: The New Orleans City Council unanimously approved the sale of $125 million in bonds to fill its 2025 budget gap. The council deferred items to tap its rainy day fund to cover New Orleans Police Department expenses to its regular meeting on Thursday.
After a few days to get the paperwork together, the New Orleans City Council meets Wednesday morning to approve selling $125 million of bonds to help it meet budget for the rest of 2025. It is also the beginning of state oversight.
The city of New Orleans officially borrows a bunch of a cash today -- and that means making good on the conditions agreed to in order to get the Louisiana Bond Commission to approve the deal.
"Wednesday is actually when we start beginning the process of having those weekly meetings to approve the expenditures of the $125 million loan to pay for payroll," said New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno.
Moreno says it's going to be a tedious, but necessary process that she welcomes, "because it brings in the state legislative auditor, as we talked about, and his team, to really be there to review everything that's happening."
It is that level of state oversight that convince the bond commission to sign off on the plan... without imposing a fiscal administrator to take over the city's day-to-day affairs.