New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno convenes group to seek changes to S&WB

By Ben Myers

Source: The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com

June 2, 2026

Mayor Helena Moreno on Tuesday took a step toward folding the Sewerage & Water Board into city government by setting up a new advisory group to study how that might happen.

Any such move would be filled with fiscal and legal complexities and won’t happen any time soon. More immediately, the group — called the Public Utility Modernization Process Subgroup, or PUMPS – is expected to recommend changes to the S&WB’s governance, along with policies related to the S&WB’s financial stability, accountability and operational performance.

The first recommendations are expected within the next two months, and they will likely examine how the 11-member utility board is structured, said Andrew Tuozzolo, special counsel to the mayor.

“There are some obvious sort of oversight governance issues that would be addressed,” Tuozzolo said.

Moreno’s executive order setting up the group follows the Legislature’s push to give the City Council broad authority over the utility.

The group will include City Council President JP Morrell and District E Councilmember Jason Hughes, who chairs the council’s Public Works Committee, or their designees, according to the executive order. Tuozzolo said the rest of the committee members will be announced in a week or so. He would not say if it will include any S&WB representatives.

In a statement, S&WB Executive Director Randy Hayman said the agency had not been “formally notified of the executive order or received an invitation to participate,” adding that utility officials would “welcome the opportunity to participate and contribute in a meaningful manner.”

The group’s focus will eventually shift to how the S&WB “may be transferred to, consolidated with, or become more fully integrated into the City of New Orleans,” according to the executive order. Tuozzolo said these discussions will ramp up later this year and could involve any number of scenarios.

He said any changes to the board structure would require a city charter amendment, which requires voter approval.

“What we’ve said continuously is that we want to see the Sewerage & Water Board be more synchronized with city government,” he said.

The S&WB is a standalone agency with a convoluted mix of state and local regulations. The Bureau of Governmental Research and others have said the current S&WB governance misaligns accountability for operations and funding. The council approves water and sewer rates and must sign off on any changes to property taxes for drainage, while the governing board oversees operations.

The mayor presides over the governing board and appoints a majority of its members, but board members serve in staggered terms and Moreno has complained that she can’t remove any existing members. The new law giving council oversight — which Moreno supported — also allows the S&WB governing board to elect its own president, instead of defaulting to the mayor.

“One of the long-term problems with the Sewerage & Water Board’s performance is that it’s been hard to identify who is truly responsible and in charge,” Tuozzolo said. “People are sick and tired of the finger pointing and want to see results.”

Relations between the S&WB and City Hall have been tense since Moreno took office in January, especially since a series of water main ruptures caused four floods in Uptown neighborhoods. City and utility officials had been collaborating on a stormwater fee proposal to help fund the drainage system, but those talks fell apart after the water main crisis.

Moreno now wants a broader parcel fee to pay for a variety of infrastructure priorities, not just drainage. The administration wants an S&WB consultant to work on a parcel fee, but the S&WB board refused to take up a vote to allow for that. Tuozzolo said the administration will renew its request at the next S&WB board meeting on June 17.

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