Budget Town Halls are back, baby!
Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s team has brought back the annual budget meetings! This is an important move for transparency. Save the date for the hearing in your district!
What’s the point:
To solicit the Community’s input on the 2023 City Budget (Here’s the 2022 Budget for reference)
What to expect:
The Mayor will present information on the budget process and hear suggestions, feedback, and ideas from the audience.*
Before each Town Hall, The Office of Neighborhood Engagement will host a Resource Fair from 5-6pm, where there will be representatives from a variety of City Departments to help you navigate questions or issues you’re facing with the City.
*we’ve requested more information from the Mayor’s team about what’s on the table for discussion, and how feedback will inform the budget decisions.
Where to show up:
Tuesday, August 9: District D Beacon Light Church (1937 Mirabeau Ave.)
Thursday, August 11: District C Morris F.X. Jeff Sr. Recreation Center (2529 General Meyer Ave.)
Monday, August 15: District E Household of Faith (9300 I-10 Service Rd.)
Tuesday, August 16: District B Ashe' Power House Theater (1731 Baronne St.)
Thursday, August 18: District A Lakeview Christian Center (5885 Fleur De Lis Dr.)
The schedule for each date is the same. Doors open at 5pm, 5-6pm Resource Fair, 6-8pm Town Hall.
How this fits into the annual budget process
The budget is a yearlong process, but most of the public opportunities to engage are in the second half of the year. Learn more about who makes the budget, where the money comes from, and where it goes here.
Our take: We need a better budget
CBNO works to help New Orleanians understand, navigate, and influence the decisions that impact you; and the budget is one of the major decisions that impacts your every day life. If you care about your trash being picked up, potholes, flooding, and public safety, then you care about the budget.
What you can do:
This is your money. Get involved!
Attend the meeting in your district and bring a neighbor.
Call or email your councilpeople and neighborhood liaison and tell them:
What you want to see out of this process, and
How you want the City to balance the needs you see in your community
You don’t need to be an expert! Tell them about the issues that matter to you and why.
What the City can do:
Be Accountable - Be clear what feedback you’re looking for community to provide, and how the feedback will impact the result. Communicate your priorities, and make clear how spending will meet the goal.
Be Transparent - Show us the money! Publicize the budget and spending in a machine-readable format so residents, advocates, and City officials can track progress toward goals and hold the City accountable.
Do proactive & equitable community engagement. Design a process that specifically seeks input from people often left out like people of color, renters, young people, and low-income people. Have a discussion before decisions are made, and make clear how input will be used. Use this as an opportunity to build trust.
Learn more about the budget in our Residents’ Guide to the Budget Process.
