On trash fee hike, Mayor Helena Moreno cites New Orleans finances, says she has ‘no choice’

By Blake Paterson

Source: The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com

March 11, 2026

The City of New Orleans at one point last week had just $30,000 in its general fund, Mayor Helena Moreno said Wednesday, a low balance for an account that’s budgeted to fund $800 million in operating expenses this year.

But Moreno, who took office in January, said that “with some very aggressive moves,” she predicts that City Hall will dig itself out of its budget crisis by 2027 — much sooner than the four years that Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack has said he expected it will take.

Moreno discussed the city’s budget and her administration’s priorities during a wide-ranging conversation Wednesday morning with Becky Mowbray, CEO of the Bureau of Governmental Research, a local good government nonprofit.

The mayor laid out the city’s financial picture days after she announced plans to seek an increase in the $24 per month fee that households pay for once-per-week garbage and recycling pick-up. The fee only covers a fraction of what it costs the city to pay its contractors, requiring City Hall to spend $24 million out of this year’s general fund to fill the gap.

“Politically it’s horrible,” Moreno said of the increase, adding that she’s had to stay away from social media because “people hate it so much.”

“But we’re to the point where we have no choice,” she said.

Moreno reiterated that it will be up to the City Council to iron out the details of that fee increase and whether it will pay for additional services. She said New Orleans should follow Jefferson Parish and tie the fee to the cost of its sanitation contracts.

Moreno said she’ll also seek permission from state leaders later this year to issue another bond, after depleting a $125 million short-term loan the city secured in November to cover payroll expenses. Instead of securing another revenue anticipation note, Moreno said her goal will be to secure a longer-term bond that can be paid off over several years.

New Orleans’ finances have been hanging by a thread since before Moreno took office, thanks to overly rosy revenue estimates, failures to account for overtime spending and new state laws limiting traffic camera revenue.

The City Council at Moreno’s direction approved a 2026 budget that included $150 million in spending cuts to City Hall departments and once-per-pay-period furloughs for 14% of the city’s workforce, roughly 700 employees. The spending plan also relies on $75 million in new revenues, though there’s no guarantee all of the money will materialize.

Moreno said she has cash management meetings three times a week, where she reviews every expense, and that both she and her Chief Administrative Officer Joe Giarrusso are losing sleep over the city’s finances, often texting about it as early as 3 a.m.

City leaders have also continued to search for excess cash. On Tuesday, Council Budget Chair Lesli Harris announced a deal with the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans to transfer $5 million in reserves to city coffers. Moreno, in an interview following Wednesday’s event, said she also expects the New Orleans Building Corporation — a public benefit corporation that owns, leases, develops, and manages real estate assets for the city — to approve sending $15 million from its reserves at its meeting next week.

Moreno also provided an update at Wednesday’s event on the city’s efforts to secure an extension with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on a June deadline to spend down around $500 million in federal infrastructure grants.

Moreno said extending that deadline to 2028 has bipartisan support among Louisiana’s congressional delegation — including from House Speaker Mike Johnson — but nobody can seem to figure out how to get the application in front of the correct FEMA officials.

“We are stuck in this black hole of FEMA right now with our extension request,” Moreno said.

Moreno also detailed her plan to improve the city’s credit rating, which suffered a serious blow in February when Moody’s Ratings dropped it near the bottom of its investment grade and warned investors of moderate risk on future bond sale.

To receive an upgrade, Moody’s said the city needs to boost its reserves close to 40% of revenue and show it can operate without cash flow borrowing. Moreno said Wednesday she hopes to replenish the city’s reserves by offloading unused city buildings and renegotiating the city’s long-term lease agreements to receive upfront payments.

On public safety, Moreno said she supports a New Orleans Police Department proposal to use drone technology to remotely respond to 911 calls, pointing to similar efforts in Jefferson Parish. A pilot program is planned for the French Quarter, and Moreno said she expects it to expand to New Orleans East. She’s also asked NOPD to come up with a plan to beef up recruitment efforts beyond “putting up billboards and making commercials.”

Moreno told Mowbray that New Orleans “has to stop counting” itself out. She said that all too often, when she suggests reaching out “to whatever billionaire from another part of the country to do certain types of investments,” she’s met with resistance locally from folks who say New Orleans doesn’t have the market to attract their interest.

“With that kind of attitude, of course not,” Moreno said.

Moreno said she talks to Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois daily, describing her as an “absolute rockstar,” and echoed her call to reshape the narrative about New Orleans and Louisiana.

Moreno also said she wants to see major changes at the Regional Transit Authority. She said she’s spoken with Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng about rejoining the RTA but said she doesn’t expect that to happen “until they see some real reforms and until they see that the RTA is truly a regional transportation agency.”

Moreno said agencies like the RTA and the Housing Authority of New Orleans are in need of reform, but that she needs to focus on putting out the biggest fires first, namely stabilizing the budget and improving city services.

“We have one of the most amazing cities, not just in this country, but in this world. And if we just make it function,” Moreno said, drawing chuckles from the audience. “The sky is the limit.”