July 11, 2025 | From City of New Orleans
CITY OF NEW ORLEANS ISSUES OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON JUDGEMENT LIST APPROPRIATIONS
In 2024, the City Council adopted an ordinance requiring the Administration to develop a plan to pay outstanding judgments owed by the City. Over the last several months, the Administration and City Council have been working closely together, alongside the City’s legal and financial advisors, to develop a robust funding plan that will provide the City additional revenue to pay outstanding judgments and minimize any impact to the General Fund.
On July 1, 2025, the Administration presented an overview of its proposal for this initiative. That plan recommended selling $90 million in revenue bonds, which are debts secured by ad valorem taxes for general municipal purposes. The Administration recommended dividing the sale into two tranches: $40 million in revenue bonds in 2025 and $50 million in 2027. This will allow the City to satisfy the remaining outstanding principal balance of the City’s current Unpaid Judgment List in full by the end of 2027. The Council’s action on Thursday provided preliminary approval for the issuance of up to $90 million in revenue bonds.
The City already appropriates $2 million annually in the Judgment Fund. The proposed structure to pay off the new debt once issued, along with a recommended ordinance to modify limitations on use of the Judgment Fund, would initially avoid any additional impact on the City’s General Fund beyond what is already appropriated in the Judgment Fund. As the City realizes savings from existing debt being fully paid off, a portion of those savings will also be used for debt service payments on the new revenue bonds.
The next steps to issue the proposed first tranche of revenue bonds are to seek State Bond Commission approval and then final City Council approval of the details of the sale. According to the timeline provided by the City’s bond counsel, if requisite approvals are granted timely, the first tranche of new bond revenue will be delivered to the City in October 2025.
This is an important initiative that the Administration and City Council have partnered on to settle the City’s outstanding judgments, while also preserving General Fund revenues to ensure a balanced budget heading into 2026 and beyond. Over the coming weeks, we plan to continue working together to move these efforts forward.