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Council limits mayor—s emergency powers, terminates sanitation proclamation for French Quarter
Summary
By a 5-1-1 vote, the New Orleans City Council on July 10 terminated a mayoral emergency proclamation that had declared a trash disaster in the French Quarter and the Downtown Development District, citing concern that the mayor—s unilateral cancellation of a low-bid emergency sanitation contract created the emergency.
The New Orleans City Council voted on July 10 to terminate a mayoral proclamation of emergency that had declared a sanitation "disaster" in parts of the city, including the French Quarter and the Downtown Development District.
The motion, M25 3 92, introduced by Council member King, would terminate the mayoral proclamation of emergency number 2025-06628 and prevent the mayor, for the period beginning on the date of the motion and continuing until Dec. 22, 2025, from issuing another declaration of emergency related to the absence of a sanitation vendor in Service Area 5. Council members said the emergency was created when the mayor—s office prematurely canceled an existing emergency sanitation contract while litigation remained pending.
King argued that allowing the proclamation to stand would set a precedent permitting a mayor to terminate a contractor and then claim the termination itself created an emergency that justifies bypassing procurement checks. "The precedent that would be set today if we allow this to stand is that mayors could manufacture emergencies to create contracts," King said, urging the council to act to protect transparency and competitive procurement. The motion drew extended discussion from other council members and public speakers including representatives of the French Quarter Management District and local residents.
Supporters of terminating the proclamation noted that the council previously authorized an emergency low-bid contract to maintain trash collection while litigation over procurement was pending and that a currently performing low-bid vendor (IV Waste) remained in place through the end of the year. Opponents said the council should not interfere with executive emergency authority in circumstances they argued were urgent.
Public testimony included remarks from Glade Bilby, a commissioner of the French Quarter Management District, who said residents and businesses in the Quarter were united in preferring the existing provider. A public speaker, Frank Scurlock, urged the council to inspect any contractors proposed to replace the current provider and to verify capacity and licensing.
Action taken: The motion to terminate the mayoral emergency proclamation passed with a recorded vote of 5 yeas, 1 nay and 1 recusal (motion recorded as adopted). The council also adopted a related motion to limit future proclamations on the same topic during the specified period.
The council directed staff to coordinate with the Department of Sanitation and the CAO on steps to ensure continuity of service while litigation and procurement issues proceed.
