NEW ORLEANS — The city of New Orleans struggles to find contractors for critical infrastructure work because, according to city council members, the city hasn't been paying for their work.
Those contractors are responsible for getting street lights and traffic lights back up and running. Now, Councilmember Helena Moreno is calling for the legislative auditor to look through the city's paperwork.
Back in February, Eyewitness News sat down with Sarah McLaughlin Porteous with the city's Department of Public Works.
"We had a three or four-month gap where we did not have a regular streetlight repair and maintenance contractor so that you know that just the number of outages just continued to grow and grow and grow," McLaughlin said in February.
Fast forward to now, Tuesday at a council meeting, Councilman Eugene Green said, "Our vendors say they haven’t been paid and they paid their workers and they don't have the ability to continue."
Council President JP Morrell also condemned the practice at the meeting.
"We had a contractor who did traffic lights. All Star Electric, this council fought repeatedly on an almost monthly basis to try and get their invoices paid timely and despite our best efforts to fight our own city to get their payments timely, they walked," Morrell said. "Because every business in this city cannot afford to float their bills, to float their payments because the city is incompetent."
It's typical to find red flashing lights instead of streetlights like those at the intersection of Common and South Rampart Streets. And drivers say they are frustrated.
"It's making me mad.... No lights every time the traffic is too hard," One driver said.
Another said, "I have friends who are literally afraid, afraid of crossing the street because of the street lights being out."
Tuesday, Councilwoman Helena Moreno said, "It’s actually embarrassing that I have to call in the legislative auditor to really get in there and dig through everything to figure out what is so wrong with the city of New Orleans, why we cannot get the basic stuff right of paying our vendors."
So while the interstate, remains in darkness, drivers are pleading for city leaders to shine some light on their roadways.
According to Councilwoman Moreno, the city owes one firm $7 million for projects completed last year.
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