On Tuesday, May 5 and Thursday, May 7, the New Orleans Building Corp. board and the City Council plan to vote on a deal to sell rights to future Caesars casino lease payments for $102.6 million in immediate cash. BGR supports the deal as a necessary step to rebuild the City’s depleted emergency reserves.
But the ordinance as introduced has no restrictions on how the money gets used. Without safeguards, this money could follow the path of the previous $100 million emergency reserve in 2023, which was spent on non-emergency purposes without public reporting (approximately $200 million was spent from reserves without policy guidance).
BGR is calling on the City Council to amend the ordinance before voting to add:
- Spending restrictions ensuring the money goes only to emergency reserves. (Note: After BGR raised this issue with the City in a draft of this report, the administration said it is preparing such an amendment.)
- A transparency requirement for regular public reporting on the fund balance and use of casino revenues.
The City Council should also commit to adopting a formal reserve management policy before the mayor proposes the 2027 budget to prevent future crises.
With these protections in place, this deal can meaningfully strengthen the City’s financial stability.