Council approves agreement with Rebuilding Together New Orleans; public debate over funding source

The City Council approved a motion adding the council president as a signatory to an agreement with Rebuilding Together New Orleans and considered a related funding package that includes a $2,000,000 allocation referenced during public comment.

Olivia Parker, director of programming at Rebuilding Together, attended to answer questions. Public commenter Michael Eric Burnside raised concerns about the source of the $2,000,000 and whether the city could afford additional general-fund spending given recent administration statements about fiscal constraints. Burnside said: "There's $2,000,000 and the $2,000,000 comes from the general fund. ...it seems like a rather, bold choice."

Council Member D'Arusso (DeRousseau) responded with a factual clarification after reviewing the materials: "The money for Rebuilding Together New Orleans is CDBG Federal Fund, so it's not general fund dollars. I went back and looked, sir, because it's on the sheet." Council members then moved and passed the motion to add the council president as signatory and to approve the agreement; the vote recorded as affirmative.

Olivia Parker of Rebuilding Together said the organization executes home repair and rehabilitation work; she was present to answer council questions and the organization indicated readiness to coordinate with city staff and contractors.

Ending Council members asked staff to ensure the funding source is clearly documented in committee materials and for the administration to coordinate implementation with the nonprofit and federal grant rules.