NEW ORLEANS — After vowing to pay back around $30,000 in city funds for flight upgrades, Mayor LaToya Cantrell is now covering new extra expenses out of pocket.
That is according to Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montano, who said the mayor is still figuring out what method she will use to repay the city for previous flight upgrades.
"As far as an, actually I'm paying this much this month, no we've not had that conversation," Montano said. "I do know that she has started to pay for any upgrades thereafter with her own dollar amounts. There is definitely momentum in that regard."
Cantrell's first trip after her Oct. 4 announcement that she would repay funds, was a two-day trip to Amsterdam for a business conference featuring other world mayors. It's unclear whether the mayor seat was upgraded on that trip.
The mayor was also scheduled to fly to Argentina for a climate conference this month, but changed her plans a few days before, opting instead to attend virtually.
Cantrell initially refused to payback travel expenses, citing health, well-being and safety concerns. The mayor also insisted that the return on investment for the $30,000 would be a larger figure.
One trip to Miami in March cost $2,800, while other staff members paid around $500 for the same flight. Another flight to Washington, D.C. cost her $2,300, while other staff members paid $250 for their travel.
However, after calls from other political figures, like City Council President Helena Moreno, to dock $30,000 from the mayor's salary. Cantrell eventually said she would repay the city for the upgrades, saying that her staff learned that city employee rules about spending limits also applied to her.
"As it relates to the thorough review of our policy by the CAO and the law department and keeping in much on that policy, not embedding anything relative to the emergency declaration," Cantrell said on Oct. 4. "I am in fact deemed an employee of the City of New Orleans.