BATON ROUGE, La. —
From Jazz Fest to the Bayou Classic, the City of New Orleans thrives on tourism and major events. But the city is also plagued with crumbling roads, the threat of floods and an antiquated sewerage system.
Both of those arguments came to a head Tuesday at the House Ways and Means Committee meeting in the State Legislature.
“The can has been kicked and kicked and kicked...and I have been picking up that can every time it's been kicked,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.
Cantrell spoke passionately, asking committee members to redirect .25 percent of the hotel/motel tax this year and .5 percent in 2021 to the infrastructure fund for the Sewerage and Water Board, a department she feels is in desperate need of repair.
“I have boil water advisories that can come at any given time! I have 111 year old pipes that can burst again. At any time! We’re at a crossroad here. Hurricane Season: June 1. That’s a fact,” Cantrell said.
Committee members passed the proposal, which now goes before the full house. Tourism leaders in New Orleans, however, are against the move.
“What you have before you is a very earnest attempt to take down and destroy the largest economic development corporation in Louisiana,” Steve Perry with New Orleans and Company said.
Perry also spoke openly about the proposal. He’s in charge of marketing for some of the city’s biggest economic events. Perry believes this shift in money is a harmful move.
"What they did was pass a bill out of Ways and Means this morning, Rep. Neil Abramson and the Mayor, to disassemble New Orleans and Company, take away the dollars by which we pay for Super Bowl and Final Fours and State Police in New Orleans,” Perry said.
Perry says they’re still negotiating with the city and the state about how these dollars are shifted, but the Mayor is adamant about getting the money to the city and quickly.
"The state of Louisiana is the fabric of the city of New Orleans. But you, know if we have another hurricane event. There will be no more super bowls. There will be no more Sugar Bowls. There will be no more Essence Festivals. Bayou Classics. That’s a fact,” Cantrell said.
Perry said he’s already proposed a plan that would provide about $55 million in one time money and $25 million in recurring revenue.
Both the city and tourism leaders are still trying to find a compromise.