A Message from Mayor Cantrell
"Community input on government processes and decisions is necessary, invaluable, and a sign of a functional, transparent government. Making City government a more attractive place to work, modernizing our finances and business processes, adopting technologies and innovations that help City employees work smarter and making City government accessible to residents is all part of meeting our people where they are and providing the services they need.
After talking directly with our greatest, most treasured assets – the residents of this city – we were able to adopt a $1.57 billion budget that will help provide high-level service to residents, businesses and visitors, while making continued investments in our dedicated workforce.
It has been a priority of my administration to re-envision how the City works with our public, understanding that residents are our customers. To this end, focusing on our forward-facing departments like Safety and Permits was our top priority, which we have now embedded in the Office of Business and External Services. In 2023, this department relocated to a new office space, improving their ability to serve constituents, employee morale, and recruiting efforts.
Meeting our people where they are also includes addressing the digital divide. With Louisiana recently receiving $1.6 billion in federal funding, we are ensuring residents have access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet service. This past year, the Office of Information Technology and Innovation (ITI) in partnership with ConnectLA, announced the launch of the Slow Internet Challenge to address the digital divide throughout the city and increase access to fast, reliable internet services for all residents, with an ambitious, but feasible goal, of eliminating the digital divide by 2029.
This year, we took bold, innovative approaches to serving our young people. We made sound investments in mental health programs across all public schools, expanded NORD summer programming, and broadened access to quality programs within the Mayor’s Office of Youth and Families. In the fall of 2023, we combined the Neighborhood Engagement Office’s Junior Civic Leadership Academy (JCLA) with the first three sessions of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council (MYAC). Both programs represent an investment into our youth so that they are prepared to advocate and lead.
None of these things can be accomplished without an accountable and dependable City government that both listens to and works on behalf of the people they serve. We are 'Doing the Work,' while continuing to focus on our priorities that will bring about transformational impacts for future generations of New Orleanians, setting our communities on a path to success, and building on the progress we have made."
Sincerely,
~ Mayor LaToya Cantrell
City of New Orleans
Department of Safety and Permits
The Department of Safety and Permits is made up of nine divisions and bureaus, which collectively work to ensure that safety standards are met for all construction and use of buildings and properties in the city of New Orleans.
One of the main priorities of the department was to make the One Stop Shop more accessible to residents, vendors, and business owners. The relocation from a smaller City Hall office space to the Orleans Tower has greatly improved their ability to serve constituents more efficiently and has increased employee morale and recruiting efforts. Additional departmental highlights include:
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Coordination of the online OneStopApp to include submission of SWBNO plumbing permits
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Substantially increased staff to a total of 79 full-time employees, including new hires for the implementation of the Healthy Homes program
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Implementation of Healthy Homes, establishing policies and procedures to protect the safety, health and welfare of Orleans Parish renters
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Office of Information Technology and Innovation
The Office of Information Technology and Innovation (ITI) continues to invest in innovative initiatives that significantly improve network infrastructure and security while increasing the City’s electronic capacity to deliver government services.
This year, ITI:
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Supported two laptop giveaway events, providing 500 free computers to residents
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Launched an updated nola.gov with improved navigation to services and information
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Launched Traffic Safety Dashboard in partnership with NOHD and Transportation Safety, displaying traffic crash data
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Launched weatherwise.nola.gov in partnership with NOHSEP, displaying overview of all City weather stations to provide real-time localized weather reporting
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Launched City-owned property dashboard showing the status of properties and structures owned by City of New Orleans and managed by Property Management
ITI also received a major grant award and continued investments to improve digital access and City operations:
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Awarded $390,000 Affordable Connectivity Plan (ACP) Outreach Grant and launched the ACP campaign with ORS and Resilience Force NOLA, with plans to reach over 40,000 households for improved, low-cost/no-cost internet connectivity
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Developed $30 million ARPA-funded Justice Tech Modernization Program, in partnership with the CAO Innovation Team
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Invested over $2 million in infrastructure improvements for network security upgrades and increased internet and Wi-Fi capacity
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Office of Youth and Families
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The Office of Youth and Families (OYF) continues to meet our young people where they are and provide them with avenues for support and become more engaged in their communities:
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Allocated $21 million for early childhood education programming
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Invested $2.4 million to support wage enhancements for early childhood educators
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Devoted $90,000 for mental health and parenting support
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Invested $900,000 in ARPA funds for Pathways and Summer Success programs
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Secured $100,000 in state funds for Pathways program
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Served over 300 youth through Pathways and Summer Success programs to support holistic efforts in public safety and increase prevention and intervention strategies
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Invested $400,000 for social workers to support NOLA-PS with truancy
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Contributed $200,000 toward United Way Summer Reading programs
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Launched NOLA Readers 2.0, in partnership with New Orleans Public Libraries (NOPL) and the Louisiana Children’s Museum, an innovative reading program for NOLA-PS second graders
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The Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council advises the Mayor on matters relating to youth, like crime, climate change and mental health. To date, it has engaged 70 civic-minded and diverse young people
In partnership with the Department of Parks and Parkways, NORD, City Park and Audubon Nature Institute, OYF is developing the Citywide Park and Recreation Master Plan, titled "The Big Green Easy," a vision plan with the two driving principles being equity and resilience.
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Department of Finance
As we continue to collectively navigate global inflation, supply chain delays and other lasting consequences of the pandemic, the City has remained steadfast in our fiscal responsibility.
On Dec. 1, 2023, the City successfully passed the $1.57 billion 2024 Budget.
Our sizeable $196 million unassigned Fund Balance is a testament to prudent fiscal management throughout the challenges posed by the pandemic. The City’s financial strength presented a unique opportunity to invest in our future with the allocation of a portion of the fund balance to high-priority, multi-year projects aimed at creating a safe and vibrant city for generations to come.
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Office of Human Rights and Equity
Mayor Cantrell created the Office of Human Rights and Equity (OHRE) during her first term to promote and protect universal human rights and advocate for equity in government. OHRE continues this work today:
- Appointed new Director Kahlida Lloyd
- Participated in the Welcoming Interactive Conference
- Welcomed Refugee Puppet Little Amal to the city during her 6,000-mile journey across the U. S.
- City of New Orleans became a certified Welcoming City for our policies and programs committed to immigrant inclusion
- Attended World Refugee and Immigrant Day celebrations with partner organizations Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants, Familias Unidas en Acción and Home is Here NOLA
- Attended the Human Rights Campaign Dinner
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Mayor's Neighborhood Engagement Office
The Mayor’s Neighborhood Engagement Office (NEO) is the City’s permanent mechanism for public participation in government decision-making. NEO creates opportunities for dialogue, information sharing, partnership and action between City government and neighborhood residents and leaders.
Some notable accomplishments include:
- Launched Junior Civic Leadership Academy with OYF – free, six-week interactive program that provides an in-depth look at City government while empowering youth to become leaders in their communities
- Distributed Neighborhood Enrichment Grants – encouraged residents, organizations and community leaders to work to bring green infrastructure and beautification to their neighborhoods through $5,000 - $7,500 awards
- 2023 Neighborhood Summit with over 1,000 residents celebrated the strength, history and diversity of our city's neighborhoods, bringing together community leaders, non-profit agencies and City government
- Workshops included public safety, infrastructure and quality of life
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Intergovernmental Relations
International Relations: Sister City Agreements
Sister Cities International was created at President Eisenhower’s 1956 White House summit on citizen diplomacy, where he envisioned a network that would be a champion for peace and prosperity by fostering bonds between people from different communities around the world. President Eisenhower reasoned that people from different cultures could understand, appreciate, and celebrate their differences while building partnerships that would lessen the chance of new conflicts. The Cantrell Administration made it a priority to uplift our city to live up to her full potential as the world class city that she is.
- Ascona, Switzerland - return Sister City agreement signing
- Cap Haitian, Haiti - launched Project for the Restoration and Transformation of the house of Anténor Firmin, the Haitian historical figure, into a Memorial and Multipurpose Cultural Center here in New Orleans with partners
- Cape Coast, Ghana – Cape Coast welcomed faculty and students from the Museum Study program of Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO) during their cultural exchange visit
- Kumasi, Ghana – signed agreement this fall and also welcomed the SUNO members that traveled to Ghana
- Mérida, Mexico – hosted a cultural exchange during their Noche Blanca Festival, featuring a combined band from local universities and a local chef
- Orléans, France - Mayor Cantrell completed a return Sister City agreement signing while in France through the International Association of Francophone Mayors
- Hosted partners and Sister Cities from ten countries for the International Arts Festival, which included a Sister City Summit to share best practices on topics of tourism, cultural economy, education, utility supply and water management
State Relations:
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the City and the Orleans delegation to the Louisiana Legislature, all five City-sponsored bills passed with minimal opposition during the state legislative session.
Some bills include:
- Blight Remediation Bill that will aid our continuous efforts to beautify our city, improve the quality of life of all residents and boost our local economy by holding irresponsible property owners more accountable
- A proposed constitutional amendment approved by voters in November 2023 that will allow local governments to offer our first responders property tax breaks, improving our retention and recruitment incentives
- House Bill that authorizes the City and the State to continue negotiations regarding the City’s acquisition of the State’s portion of Duncan Plaza
The City secured over $50 million in priority 1 capital outlay funds, over $30 million in priority five capital outlay funds and over $7 million in cash for the City’s capital outlay projects. The Orleans Delegation also secured $1.75 million in supplemental appropriations, including:
- Pathways Program: $650,000
- Parent Leader Training Institute: $150,000
- Crime Cameras: $50,000
- Treme/Seventh Ward Street Lights, Signage, Infrastructure: $250,000
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