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‘I don’t make idle threats’: Cantrell warns of cuts to city services if property taxes aren’t raised

She says that for too long, the city has relied on federal and state dollars to handle day-to-day operations. And that’s a practice she says she’s ending.

NEW ORLEANS — The lines for appeals were long at City Hall after the Orleans Parish Assessor raised property values for thousands of properties.

The concern for many people was higher property tax bills.

Now, as the City Council prepares to vote on New Orleans’ budget for 2020, Mayor LaToya Cantrell his counting on an increase in property taxes.

“We absolutely need to have an adequate budget to provide basic city services,” she said.

After a re-assessment, a government agency “roll back” millages to keep taxes from going up. They can, however, later vote to roll forward a millage. In other words, a property tax increase.

Cantrell had sought to roll forward the city’s millages 100 percent but later asked the council to roll them forward 50 percent.

Part of the reason Cantrell is pushing for higher property taxes is to get away from the practice of using one-time money -- think federal dollars that came in after Katrina -- to pay for the city’s day-to-day operations.

“Pay raises for police officers? One-time money did that,” Cantrell said. “That’s no longer available.”

The mayor has proposed a $722 million budget for next year, and property taxes would make up nearly a quarter of that.

She is asking the council to approve another $6.9 million in property taxes. She says that for many homeowners, it would only cost them a few extra bucks a month.

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“It is $2.06 every month for a home values at $200,000,” she said. “Looking at a home that’s over $500,000, we’re looking at $6 per month.”

But that’s only a part of a homeowner’s tax bill. Several other government agencies also collect property taxes -- and could also vote to raise their amounts this year because of the reassessments.

This is the first time in years that the city has not had to dip into its “rainy day” fund to cover expenses. And while the city is in a better financial position these days, Cantrell says that when it comes to the city’s budget, she has no option but to ask for more from property owners.

“We are doing better financially, but understand this: We have been running government on one-time money,” Cantrell said. “And so that budget number you dropped for 2019 doesn’t reflect a budget deficit of one-time money of 49 million that we had to find.”

The City Council is expected to vote on the budget Nov. 21. The Cantrell administration has said that without the extra money, we could see drastic cuts, including furloughs and layoffs.

Her administration has warned of things such as slower response times from police and fire, cuts to recycling, closing down rec centers or libraries -- or even longer waits to fill potholes if they can't get the extra money.

“I don’t make idle threats,” Cantrell said. “I’m telling you if we don’t see a modest roll forward -- $6.9 million? Come on. Yes, we will have to look at how we can make cuts.”

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