Forward New Orleans releases progress report on 2018 municipal elections platform
10th February 2020 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
On January 29, Forward New Orleans (FNO) released its first progress report on the city government’s progress in meeting the goals of FNO’s 2018 Municipal Elections Platform.
“We commend the city and its many partners for accomplishing significant progress in many platform areas so far. But serious issues remain,” the report stated in its introduction.
The report noted the New Orleans Police Department’s (NOPD) failure to meet its target of 50 net additional officers in 2019. The NOPD added 109 new officers in 2019, but lost 100. In 2020, they expect 120 new recruits. The report also conceded this is a nationwide problem for police departments.
“Unless it (the NOPD) can implement HR policies and strategies designed to retain officers and reduce attrition, NOPD will again fall short of the net 50-officer target,” the report stated.
On the positive side, the report acknowledged that NOPD officer pay is on par with comparable cities and the NOPD training facility is modern and run by top-notch staff.
“Public safety is a chief concern for New Orleans residents, and NOPD is working diligently under challenging conditions to best serve the community. FNO takes note of NOPD’s tremendous strides in technology advancements and consent decree compliance. Still, efforts to grow the NOPD through increased recruitment and retention are falling short,” said Gregory Rusovich, an FNO member and past chair of the Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region.
The report also called for the city to remain committed to the established goal of developing 7,500 affordable housing units by 2021. FNO said new housing units are becoming available because of programs administered by the Louisiana Housing Corporation, but is concerned that the city is not on pace to meet the 7,500 target. It said that any gains in affordable housing so far have been offset by a decrease in the utilization of housing choice vouchers from the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO).
“It’s not that individuals/households aren’t using the vouchers. The issue is HANO is unable to execute leases and renew leases and people are dropping off the program,” said Andreanecia Morris, executive director for HousingNOLA and an FNO member. “There are several reasons for this, including the backlog of inspections (over 7,000) – a property cannot be leased or have its lease renewed with a failing inspection or no inspection…Other impediments include landlords refusing vouchers either because they don’t want to participate in the program or they are asking for rents that exceed the payment standards.”
Henry Coaxum, president of Coaxum Enterprises and an FNO member, said the city needs to focus on improving drainage infrastructure, but he added that the city government seems committed to pursuing the funds needed to fix these issues in a timely manner.
“Every time we have a boil water advisory, it affects the citizens, the hotels and the restaurants,” Coaxum said. “This can has been kicked down the road for a generation and we have to address it now.”
There were plenty of positives in the report, too. Coaxum said the city made “outstanding” progress in supporting and promoting minority-owned businesses.
Kelisha Garrett, executive director of the New Orleans Black Chamber of Commerce and an FNO member, echoed his assessment.
Coaxum said it is important to remember that the FNO’s mission is to assist the government in reaching goals. It’s designed to be a collaborative effort by citizens and businesses to set standards and hold the government to them. While work remains to be done, Coaxum was happy with the report.
“Progress has been made in every area,” Coaxum said.
The office of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said it was pleased with the report and vowed to continue working towards progress.
“The administration is committed to transparency and accountability…We believe the report reflects strong progress that has been made in a number of areas – and highlights places where there is still more work to be done…A solid foundation has been laid,” wrote LaTonya Norton, press secretary for Mayor Cantrell.
Forward New Orleans is a coalition of 25 civic, community and neighborhood organizations advocating for excellence in city government. The progress report is available for public view online at ForwardNewOrleans.com.
This article originally published in the February 10, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
