NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans voters rejected all of Mayor LaToya Cantrell's tax proposals in Saturday's election.
Sunday morning, she said city officials were depending on that money coming in, and they are now back to the drawing board.
"Very disappointing. However, we have to pivot and look toward the future of this city," she said.
Cantrell said she plans to hold several strategic planning sessions this week after voters rejected all three of her tax proposals.
"Again, working through what some of the changes will come to from having to fill a gap of $25 million," Cantrell said.
She recently said she might have to lay off city employees if voters chose not to extend the three property taxes that expire in a year.
"We'll get through it, but we're going to have to do more with less, and there will be some cuts that will come with that," Cantrell said.
Proposition 1 would have merged two property taxes so their revenues could be used to maintain streets and buildings.
Proposition 2 was the most controversial. It would have slashed funding for the New Orleans Public Library and redirected money to early childhood education scholarships.
Proposition 3 would have created an economic development fund and provided money for more affordable housing.
"It was a tough night for the mayor," said Dr. Edward Chervenak, a political scientist at the University of New Orleans. "They made the argument all three of them are interconnected, so once one became unpopular, that probably spilled over to the other two propositions."
He said voters sent a message to the mayor by rejecting the proposals. He believes it stemmed from the debate surrounding the possibility of funding being cut from libraries.
"Once people began to realize money was going to be taken from the library, that turned them against those propositions," he said.
Voters in the French Quarter also rejected a five-year extension of a quarter-cent sales tax for extra police protection. The current millage expires on New Year's Eve.
Mayor Cantrell said her administration does not plan to put the three propositions back on the ballot next year.
