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Council approves series of routine budget and program measures; calls local tax and improvement district elections
Summary
The New Orleans City Council on Thursday approved multiple ordinances and motions on first reading and by vote, including notices to call local tax renewal and neighborhood improvement district elections, several grant appropriations and cooperative endeavor agreement amendments.
New Orleans City Council members voted on a bundle of routine and program-specific measures Thursday, advancing grant appropriations, extending cooperative agreements and calling local elections.
The council adopted a notice to begin the process for a November 15, 2025 French Quarter Economic Development District sales-tax renewal. The resolution gives public notice under LSA-R.S. 42:19.1 of FQEDD’s intent to place a five-year, 0.245-cent sales-tax renewal on the Nov. 15 ballot; if approved, the tax would run from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2031. Councilmember discussion framed the vote as a legally required step to give residents and state legislators notice before a formal election-call vote planned for Aug. 7, 2025. The notice passed on a roll call vote with a quorum present.
On the consent calendar and in subsequent votes, the council approved multiple budget adjustments and grant appropriations to support public-health and homeland-security projects. Those items included transfers within the Health Department budget to fund delivery of medications and supplies during large-scale public-health emergencies and appropriations of state and private grant funds for fiscal year 2023 projects. Each ordinance on the agenda that required a roll-call vote passed unanimously by recorded voice or machine vote (most recorded as “6 yeas, no nays” during the meeting).
The council also approved cooperative endeavor agreement amendments for local programs. Among them were an extension and funding increase for Healing Minds NOLA’s agreement to support the city’s Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) program; an extension for the Bluecrew bike-share cooperative agreement and a separate agreement authorizing expansion of the bike-share program; and an extension and amendment to a community climate-action grant administered by the New Orleans Community Support Foundation. Each amendment was described by staff as routine program administration and passed by council vote.
Other procedural actions included establishing official polling places for precincts ahead of fall elections and calling elections for neighborhood improvement and crime prevention districts (Lakewood and Broadmoor NIDs were explicitly called for the Nov. 15, 2025 ballot). Several zoning and restoration-tax-abatement items were deferred to future meetings.
The council also moved to advertise a request for qualifications to evaluate and recommend administration options for property held in the Wisner Trust; that motion was adopted unanimously and will start a formal consultant-selection process.
Ending: The measures advanced routine administrative and programmatic items needed to maintain funding and scheduling for local services; council members said some items will return for second readings or for more detailed hearings at future meetings.
