City Council approves $23M property tax hike
Plus: Gallier Hall is crumbling, Louisiana Weekly publisher is honored and a council recap
By Blake Paterson • November 5, 2026
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The New Orleans City Council voted unanimously Thursday to increase property tax collections and avoid a slew of unpopular cuts to city services.
But even with the new revenues, the council will still need to identify around $46 million in spending cuts to ensure next year’s budget is balanced.
The tax hike — proposed by Mayor Helena Moreno — will generate $23 million in new recurring revenues and ensure there’s funding in next year’s budget for the low-barrier homeless shelter, Mardi Gras post-parade clean-up, free legal services for renters facing eviction, tree trimming, grass cutting, traffic incident response, police and fire services, maternal health programs and more than 30 positions in the sanitation department.
Council members said that Thursday’s vote to “roll forward” the General Fund, Police/Fire, and Parks millages was difficult to stomach, but there was no other option.
“We have to attract businesses here and we can’t do that with the cuts that were proposed,” said District B Councilwoman and Budget Committee Chair Lesli Harris. “I see no other way to raise the money that we need to maintain essential city services.”
“A city cannot cut its way into prosperity,” said At-Large Councilman Matt Willard. “And I believe Tuesday’s election results were a referendum on that cut, cut, cut mentality.”
The city published a calculator online that allows property owners to estimate the effect on their tax bill. (The owner of a home valued at $350,000 with a homestead exemption would pay an additional $122.)
Moreno, in a statement following the vote, thanked the council for its leadership in passing what she described as a “modest, partial millage roll forward.”
“This is a responsible decision that will help us mitigate cuts to essential city services and move New Orleans closer to fiscal stability,” Moreno said.
The new revenues will come with tighter oversight, after voters on Tuesday approved an amendment to the city’s Home Rule Charter requiring departments to get council approval before spending more than what’s budgeted.
“How we will truly be judged as a council and administration is how we spend your money and what are the results,” said At-Large Councilman JP Morrell. “We are aware of that responsibility and we will make you proud how this money is spent to improve your quality of life and improve the city in which you live.”
Not all property owners will feel the squeeze. A report released Thursday by the Bureau of Governmental Research found that around 37% of New Orleans’ real estate value — or about $2.7 billion — is exempt from property taxes. That’s down from 65% in 1996 but is still “likely among the largest shares nationally,” the good government nonprofit wrote.
BGR said city leaders should develop a fee — which can apply to all property owners — to cover infrastructure needs, like drainage.
“We cannot continue to balance the budget solely on our homeowners,” District E Councilman Jason Hughes said Thursday, adding that they’ll have to make “some tough decisions” next year “to make sure our nonprofit, non-governmental entities are putting some skin in the game.”
The council must approve next year’s budget by Dec. 1, though it’s aiming to finalize the spending plan by Nov. 19.
More from Thursday’s City Council
The council approved a resolution authorizing a 45-year payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreement for the roughly $600 million Omni Headquarters Hotel. Under the deal, Omni will pay its full tax bill to the School Board and RTA, but pay other taxing bodies based on the average per-room taxes paid by competing hotels — an estimated $2.9 million a year, according to the city.
The council approved an ordinance allowing the Moreno administration to forgo a formal competitive selection process for professional service contracts worth up to $50,000. The previous threshold, adopted in 1995, was $15,000. Morrell said “surrounding public entities” have thresholds of $100,000. “The city will continue to comply with transparency and accountability measures as well as introducing new controls that include ensuring multiple price requests, reporting requirements and rules to prevent abuse of professional service contracts,” he said.
The council approved an ordinance authorizing Moreno to enter into a cooperative endeavor agreement with Community Foundation Realty, Inc. — a subsidiary of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation — “for the public purpose of supporting entrepreneurs in the energy sector in New Orleans through the creation of a business incubator.” District C Councilman Freddie King said the project will be located at the Naval Support Activity base in the Bywater and will require capital bond funds. (The CEA wasn’t attached on the online agenda.)
The council approved a $16 million 2027 Housing Trust Fund Budget and Implementation Plan.
The council approved a permit for three commercial short-term rentals on the third floor of 517 Gravier Street in the CBD. The three-story building is owned by Gravier Holdings LLC and also houses Lucky Dogs’ headquarters. Planning Commission staff recommended approval. (The permit application lists state Sen. Kirk Talbot, R-Metairie, as an owner of the property.)
The council rejected a conditional use permit for a commercial short-term rental at 2407 Gravier Street in the Tulane-Gravier area. The two-story, five-bedroom, single family residence is owned by JJJAGS Holdings, LLC and was granted an STR permit in 2023 that expired in 2024. Renee Celestin, co-owner of the property, said she and her husband, JC Celestin, invested in the neighborhood when there were “overgrown lots and blighted properties” and built four new construction homes for STRs. The three other properties are permitted. “It’s costing us $5,000 a month with no income because we don’t have a permit,” she said. There are 36 commercial STR licenses within a block radius of the site. A conditional use permit would allow a permanent entitlement for an STR at the property. The Planning Commission recommended denial.
The council approved a conditional use permit for a car wash at 4118-4126 South Carrollton Avenue, 4036-4052 Ulloa Street, and 4041-4051
Tulane Avenue. The property is owned by Mid-City Redevelopment, LLC.
The council approved a one-year extension to a contract with LSU allowing the university to pay for and construct roadway and drainage improvements along Gravier Street between Claiborne Avenue and Galvez Street.
The council approved an ordinance providing a “special event clean zone” for the Allstate Sugar Bowl from Jan. 11 to Jan. 16, 2027.
The council approved an ordinance authorizing Moreno to enter into a five-year contract with Cabrini High School that would allow it to use Desmare Park for athletic and recreational programming . The Catholic school will maintain the grass, ensure trash is removed, provide security and split all revenues after expenses with the NORD Foundation.
The council approved a motion directing the City Planning Commission to conduct a public hearing to consider renaming Westpark Drive to Femme Fatale Way. The Mardi Gras krewe in October broke ground on a $4 million headquarters and event venue nearby.
An emergency at Gallier Hall…
Last week, pieces of marble fell off the front of Gallier Hall onto the sidewalk below, the “largest being the size of a softball,” Harris said. “This represents a clear public safety hazard, as more could fall if left unaddressed.”
The City Council authorized the Dept. of Property Management on Thursday to enter into a $528,028 emergency contract with Cypress Building Conservation to stabilize the 19th century building, which served as the seat of government from 1853 to 1957.
Louisiana Weekly publisher retires
The City Council also honored Renette Dejoie-Hall following her retirement as publisher of The Louisiana Weekly. The publication was founded in 1925 by Dejoie-Hall’s grandfather and is the oldest African American-owned newspaper in the South.
“It’s important for those in the Fourth Estate to hold us as elected officials in government to account and The Weekly has never shied away from that,” Morrell said.
District D Councilman Eugene Green said his first job was delivering The Weekly. “As I look at over 100 years [of The Weekly], I see tremendous progress. And one of the reasons that progress exists is because we’ve been able to tell our story.”
Renette Dejoie-Hall (left) and Christopher Dejoie-Hall (right)
“I want to thank you for … giving a voice to those who are sometimes left voiceless in our news coverage,” Willard said.
King said he first met Dejoie-Hall in 2021 when he was seeking The Weekly’s endorsement. “I gave all these glowing politically correct remarks, and your response was, ‘Do you have a subscription to Louisiana Weekly?’ I said, ‘You got me there. I don’t.’ But I want you to know that ever since then I have been a faithful subscriber.”
“I’m just truly grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to … contribute to the community,” Dejoie-Hall said. “I still believe in the value of the printed paper.”
Dejoie-Hall’s son, Christopher Dejoie-Hall, is taking over as The Weekly’s new publisher.
“As she is stepping away, we still plan to keep doing what we’ve been doing, covering and giving a voice to those who often go unheard, and that’s what I plan to do going forward,” he said.
