Anita, we can get started.

I think we have a quorum.

We sure do.

Roll call.

Councilmember Morrell.

Here.

Councilmember McCarrans.

Councilmember Harris.

Councilmember Green.

Here.

Councilmember Hughes.

Here.

We have four members.

We have a quorum.

We have the approval of minutes from the March 9th meeting.

Councilman Harris moves, Councilman Hughes seconds.

Please vote your machines.

Four years, donators, minutes are approved.

First up, we have the confirmation hearing of Alyssa Rambo for the Department of Finance.

Come on down.

She need help with their setup PowerPoint.

I don't have a PowerPoint.

Okay.

Yeah.

All right, we have what we have your we have your your that is just a little introduction.

Okay.

That the team did for me.

Um, just explains my roles and responsibilities.

Okay.

Uh why don't we just go over real quickly?

Because I know the public is watching all ten of them.

Um, Eugene.

Um I brought my team here today too.

Yeah.

Well, I I think I think maybe explain what the responsibilities of the director of finance are, because I don't think many people other than when the council has heated conversations with directors of finance, but understand kind of the importance of the job behind the scenes.

So maybe if you could use your uh handout and kind of go over what the responsibilities are.

You have a copy of the handout.

All right, I do now.

And if you don't mind before we get started on this, I would just like to open up with a little brief um few words.

Thank you.

Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to be here today.

I am honored to be considered for the role of director of finance for the city of New Orleans.

I come before you with a deep respect for the responsibility that this position holds, not just in managing numbers, but in safeguarding public trust.

At its core, this role is about ensuring that every dollar is accounted for, every decision is transparent, and every financial strategy supports the long-term stability of the city.

I've spent my career working to improve processes, strengthening controls, and providing leadership teams with the information they need to make sound decisions.

And I intend to bring that same discipline here to the city.

If confirmed, my priorities will be straightforward.

First and foremost, cash management.

Second, accuracy and timeliness.

And finally, accountability.

Strengthening processes and internal controls so that we not only meet expectations, but build confidence in how this city manages its resources.

I also recognize that success in this role depends on strong collaboration.

I'm committed to working closely with you, the council, CAO Jeruso, Department Leaders, and with my team to ensure alignment and responsiveness, especially when urgency is required.

I understand the weight of this position, and I am prepared to meet it with professionalism, responsiveness, and integrity.

Thank you again for your time and consideration.

And of course, now welcome your questions.

All right, Councilmember.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Good morning, and uh congratulations uh on your nomination and thank you for uh agreeing to serve.

Obviously, we're going through some some very challenging times.

Um I will admit the transition for me coming from the state legislature has been quite different.

Uh the flow of information um, you know, from from various departments is just a little too slow for me.

Um so tell me uh let's dig deeper.

You know, you mentioned responsiveness and communication.

Uh tell me how you see your role in terms of communication, flow of information to the council.

How accessible do you plan to be you know to the council?

Uh and and and tell me your idea of partnership with the council because I view this as a partnership.

Sure, sure.

So um over these last I guess 60 days now, I've really taken the time one to get to know each of y'all as best I can, but also understand um your needs as well as uh CAO GRISO's needs, um, which and that's where I'm trying to find the balancing act here because getting the information to him to make sure that he gets it to the mayor, and then getting the information to y'all has been trying a bit of a balancing act to decide when who do I tell first and when is it you know when is the answers coming along?

So trying to get on a schedule with him and um and the mayor so that I can give y'all re information on a cadence, whether it be weekly, like we're doing now with the cash management weekly meetings and the reports that are being presented there.

I can then immediately turn them over to y'all so that you can see that information as well.

Okay, um tell me about um, and look, I I know you're one person and I tell department heads all the time, I don't I don't necessarily need you to be the one responding to me, but I just need somebody who's gonna be responsive.

And if I send you know a communication, I don't expect to receive a response three days later, a week later.

Um I I'd like it, you know, in a in a fairly decent time frame.

Tell me about your staff, who's on your team, who reports into you, uh, and who do you foresee as that point person from your office to the council?

Sure.

So um behind me here today, I do have my chief of staff, Mike Conley, who just came on um earlier this month, and then I also have Trelana Humphrey, who is my assistant.

They sit right next to me and within my area, so we're in constant communication and they know my schedule well, so that if I'm not here, they also know my ideas and you know the strategies that I'm trying to put in place so that if I cannot respond, that they are there to respond for me or will get that answer from me to respond to you.

Um I try to employ a uh 24-hour rule that if I've um I can at least respond to your email within 24 hours, whether it be with you know, noting that I have received it and working on your question, or being able to give you the answer when you need it.

On the accounting side, I have my uh deputy director of finance, Frieda Robertson, who you may have met before.

She's been here for quite some time now.

Richardson, right?

I'm sorry, Richardson.

Richardson, sorry.

Um, so excuse me, Frida Richardson.

Um she is um critical, and she is very instrumental in getting the teams that we have.

We have accounting, we have revenue, we have treasury, we have our retirement, and we have the procurement teams.

She knows all of them well and their operations.

She helped us implement the brass system, so she knows that very well.

And so when I can't get the answer on my own, she is that next person that I'll go to and expect to answer if um if I can't get it.

Okay.

I'm noticing that the Office of Supply Diversity also um uh is under your purview.

Can you tell me about your goals for that department and I apologize, but that was supposed to be removed under this administration that's economic development.

Okay.

That was getting a little confused.

Yes.

All right, thank you.

Um I think that's all I have for now, but um thank you, Mr.

I think that's all I have for now, but um.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Thank you, Councilman Burger.

You're just next up, Councilman Barrish.

Thank you.

Uh thank you.

Um Alyssa, you've been in this position for how long?

Just over 60 days.

And in that 60 days, what have you learned about the function of city government?

Specifically your department.

Right.

So we have we have some work to do.

We have some cleanup to do, and we have a bit of a culture shift that has to happen to make that cleanup get us to a place where we can operate more efficiently and effectively so that I can get those timely answers to everyone.

We have a goal to get our 2025 audit completed by June 30th.

The team is is a bit nervous about that, but they know and they're looking forward to meeting that goal.

I spoke to one of my staff members on the way up in the elevator today that they're in full audit mode and um and and they know the routine.

So I said June 30th.

That's our that's what we're looking forward to.

And you know, we're asking for answers and we're and putting deadlines on these answers or on getting these answers a lot faster than they can respond right now, but rightfully so because they may have not been asked these questions before.

Do you have the resources and the personnel that you need to ensure that uh we are on strong financial footing?

So that's part of my analysis ongoing right now.

Um the team tells me that they are short staffed, and um, and we've had some people recently um we've lost a few people recently, and so we're trying to determine if we can replace them.

We do, as far as I know, we do not have a lot of um accountants on the register right now to be able to um hire immediately.

So if you guys know anyone interested in in being in this position, um we are looking for accountants because we did just lose some people.

How we have some sort of volunteer work volunteers from Whitney, how are they integrating into the team and what are they doing?

So sure.

So Whitney Um graciously uh agreed to come and do some work for us, and right now they really are trying to figure out where they can best be utilized.

They're reviewing all of our processes and um and kind of um interviewing the teams to be able to say where do you where can we fit in?

And the problem what we're seeing is um uh some of the stuff goes back way beyond than some you know than an accountant just walking in and untangling it.

So even when I look at something, I need you know, the other team members to be able to answer these questions for me.

I couldn't just do the work for them.

So it's really taking um a deeper dive in and will help me decide okay, do I need to hire on permanently, or is this just going to be um temporary help from Whitney?

You come from you know corporate background.

I've always said that government needs to run more like a corporation than as we are currently running.

What um operational ideas do you have to make sure that we can run more efficiently as a city so that we are operating more like a business than as whatever it is we're operating as now?

So, first and foremost, and and what you've seen already so far in our reporting, our monthly reporting is actually um coming in with an executive summary so that you can see um a in a quick view our budget to actual in the month that we are reporting for, and that this is not just a year to date or a a year-to-date look at an annual budget.

So what we're trying to what what we've moved toward this year was a quarterly budget.

Um I would like to get us to a monthly budget, and I know that is um you know not taken um you know excitedly by other team members, but we need to be able to monitor and truly um plan on a budget, I mean on um a monthly basis.

Do you believe that you have the wherewithal to get your team members to get to that point of the monthly budget?

I mean, this is something that the LLA has recommended.

I think it's something that we must implement to know where we are and to ensure that we're not back into this position, you know, in year upcoming years.

So that's why we started with the quarterly outlook this year.

Um it's going to take some time because you know, typically your budget is um based on prior years, and if we can't get the information from prior years reported in the proper month, right?

Because if things are being reported or accrued or accounted for in a month that is not where the actual service took place or where the expense is needing to be accounted for, it's going to skew the budget and it's going to skew the planning for a future year.

So this year is really going to be about us taking the time to try to get the expenses and the revenue matched appropriately in the months that they need to be, so that next year and moving forward, we can start planning to know that in January this happens, in February, this happens, and so on and so forth.

As we're talking about looking, taking a look at those monthly um statements and getting to that point.

Um, I know councilmember McCarran, uh, council member Willard and myself have asked for an amended budget to take into consideration the RAN.

Where are you in that process of getting that over to us?

So we're currently trying to review our Q2 expenses, and we've asked all team members citywide to put in their Q2 plan, and when we get that plan, we'll have a better idea overall of the things that need to be adjusted for, and then we can include the RAN in that operation.

So, what is what is the timeline?

The um I'll speak with CAO Ju Risell on that one.

Okay.

Um finally, how are you working with the other team members?

I know in the past there was some friction between director of finance, budget director, CAO, uh Gilbert Montano.

How are you working as a team together to make sure that we're not finding ourselves in this position again?

So we meet regularly.

Um, you know, we we start with a a weekly meeting on cash to kind of talk about what we're spending and and what we're receiving in each week, but we also meet, you know, just on the fly with I meet with the CAO's team members regularly to make sure that what they're reporting and what they're seeing agrees with what I am also reporting and seeing.

Um so we're working really hard to make sure that we are aligned.

It's been um, you know, because it's just been a little slower for me trying to make sure that I have all the tools and all of the um resources that they have access to, I'm trying to make sure that I have those similar tools and resources so that I can get to my answers just as fast as they can get to theirs.

Councilman McKairn.

Thank you, thanks, Alyssa, for being here.

Um to piggyback on that sort of last question, you talked about the the you guys working together.

Um thing I think that so Department of Finance responsible for revenue estimating committee, which includes uh a chief economist.

Have you all hired chief economists yet?

We are bringing one on on a contract basis, and the contract is in um process right now.

Okay.

How will I guess historically the chief economists has worked, I guess, alongside Department of Finance and perhaps the CAO on making those predictions for revenues?

How is your department gonna work with the economists based on predicting revenues coming in throughout the year?

For example, permits, annual permits, and licenses or something that are renewed throughout the year at different points.

So in March, you know, we should be able to say we have this many of businesses that are renewing.

So that should translate to this much revenue.

Um, and then how we can incorporate that into our our estimations because right now, you know, we in the beginning of the year we're waiting for our biggest tax uh revenue, which is property tax, but then throughout the year we have ebbs and flows.

So, how is the economist going to actually base predictions on data from the past and from what you all have so we can make sure that we are on the right page for revenue?

Yeah, I think it's going to take um because this person is new and and new to the city, uh, just like me, it's going to take some time to kind of get up to speed with understanding historicals and understanding not only how things have happened in the past, but now how do we want them?

And so, you know, if we talk about um increasing fees or increasing um audits, for example, to to make sure that we're getting all those things, how will that impact our forecasting?

And so I think it's um while we have this person coming in as soon as possible, we're hoping that for the um mid-year kind of look and see she will have been acclimated enough to be able to make those recommendations if changes are needed.

Okay.

Because I mean, are you gonna ensure like that you're working with safety and permits on on the permits that are supposed to be coming through, like short-term rental permits that are renewed throughout the year?

I mean, those there's plenty of departments that are revenue generating that may have that data.

How are you gonna work make sure you're working together to get that accurate data?

And and as you said, it was kind of to the response that I just gave, making sure that I have those tools and resources and that it's available to me.

That's something that um I I appreciate self-service, and so I don't um feel like I need to be able to go to someone else to get that.

I want to be able to have those answers and that um those that data available to me when I need it.

Great.

Um, one thing I'll bring up too is this uh new thing that I think you told us about yesterday, and if you wanted to talk about that, is the 311 you can enter into a 311 complaint now if somebody might need a tax sales tax audit if you want to talk about that.

I think that's something that's new the department has implemented.

Yeah, so I'm not sure if this is um brand new or if just renewed, but um team members were asking about the concept of how do they report businesses that they may not believe or are compliant, or that may be trying to evade taxes in some way.

And so, in order to give them that um maybe anonymous um feel, or just the approach at jumping right in um to take action, uh we've added an um, I guess a drop-down menu item for uh sales tax audit maybe potential, or for um for just a a review or a um inspection of that business to make sure that they are operating um like they should be.

Um one last question going back to my team just said um the economists, will that contract need to go through council just in case we need to expedite things?

Yes, I will let you know.

I'm not sure how what the terms are for the contract, but um I will make sure that if it needs to go through y'all that y'all will know about it so that it can be done okay, great.

Thank you.

Yes.

All right, uh couple of quick questions and observations.

So I I can tell you, count similar to Councilmember Hughes, coming from the state level, when we dealt with the Department of the Treasury, and we dealt with almost everybody who handled the actual cash, the numbers were always the numbers.

And I can tell you in my first term here, what's been frustrating?

This is from your predecessors, the numbers weren't always the numbers.

And in particular, it was evident in our interactions, and it was very jarring to always be in an argument with the Department of Finance as to what the actual numbers are versus the opinions of the director of finance on how money was spent and who was spending it.

And what I found very interesting is that when it comes to spending money on the administration's behalf, it's the CAO.

The CAO decides which money goes out the door.

And similarly, when it comes to the council, what's the council and our chief of staff?

But from your predecessor, there was more of a focus on telling everyone who should or shouldn't spend money and not giving us clear answers on how much money's in the bank.

And something that I think is very informative, not just to the council but to the public, is that there is a distinct separation between how much money is in the bank and how much projected revenue will come into the bank.

Because if the public knew how much money was in the bank in any given day, especially considering the current financial state of the city, it would be terrifying.

I mean, there are times, ladies and gentlemen, where we've had 30 grand of the bank for the whole entire city of New Orleans because as money comes in, especially in a cash crunch, with no safety net of uh significant revenue balance, the money goes almost immediately out.

And so your job right now is more important than ever because we have to know exactly how much money's in the bank to make sure all the bills are being paid.

Do you have confidence that with the team you have you can meet that demand?

So, yes, the answer the short answer is yes.

Um, when I came in, you guys have heard um the number of over a hundred different bank accounts, and that includes um short-term investments as well, right?

So my goal immediately, and and it was in my first week that I was asked, how much money do we have?

And I'm like, I mean, I can tell you what's in the bank accounts, but that doesn't mean that's how much money is available for general fund spending.

So what I did almost um I wouldn't say immediately, so it took about a month to make this happen is that we set up a process where um the monies that come in they get reconciled and then they go to the general fund bank account.

Then when the um expenses are approved to go out, that money leaves the general fund bank account and goes to our operating account so that it is flowing out, and once it goes into that bank account, I can no longer use it.

We have also been confused sometimes about um outstanding checks.

And so we're we were not maybe accounting for outstanding checks, so then it was a surprise when a check was to try to come and clear it, you know, millions of dollars.

So with this new process of pushing it into this operating account, you don't have to worry about your outstanding checks because you've already accounted for those.

So now when someone asks me how much is available and is in our general fund account, I know I'm going to be looking at that one bank account, and I can say with confidence that's how much money we have in general fund to spend this week.

Could be other monies coming in, like you said, every day and you know, and next week again.

Um, but right now I am spending nearly everything that I'm moving in a general fund, I'm also then spending um out of general funds.

Right.

And I think it's all it's equally important.

Something that we saw at the tail of the last administration was there were different departments within the city that would draw down from the general fund without communicating with the CAO, without communicating with the Department of Finance, and to your point when you've got a very tenuous balance, someone can't write checks on the account without prior authority.

Have y'all rectified that problem?

Does everyone go through you now to write a check?

That is um, yes.

We have had requests to have for departments to have their own bank accounts, and um, even just in my term now that I have not agreed to, I have been working with the LLA to try to offer other solutions for these, you know, expenditures that they believe to be very um, I can't remember the word that they used for it, but things that were needing to be done immediately, and that our processes weren't going to work for them.

Um I'm here to say that we need more controls, and that's what I'm going to do.

And it is um it has been painful for my team, but it has been painful for those other departments who have always had this sort of ability to do what they wanted to do.

And I can tell you something else that I hopefully is rectified.

We had a lot of very bizarre interactions with the previous administration, insofar as revenue was constantly coming up with like really one off bizarre takes on revenue raising.

I'll give you an example.

Two that came to mind.

The first was um there was an effort, and I guess part of what I'm trying to avoid is if there is an idea for a revenue raising measure, even if it's something that might exist in statute but has not been done for 10, 20, 30 years.

I think there needs to be constant communication with both your other departments in the administration as well as the council, because sometimes trying to implement things that haven't been around for a very long time creates absolute chaos.

One example was there was an effort in the previous administration to go back to aggressively requiring festival bonds in order to get permits.

And the reality is that the requirement and statute for a festival bond goes back decades.

The challenge is it really is something that have not been done in years because most banks and other institutions don't do festival bonds anymore.

Uh basically, if you have the requisite insurance to put on the event, that is essential liability, and there are very few financial institutions that'll issue a revenue bond to a festival to give to a city to make sure that they're compliant with their sales tax um remission.

So there was also an effort at one point to require that uh local fundraisers that have previously, let's say, for example, a church fundraiser or a French Quarterfest that are nonprofits that do not remit sales tax to weeks before an event, say, well, now we want you to remit sales tax.

Like if you're going to look at different potential mechanisms for revenue raising, you have to socialize that with the council.

You have to socialize it with the affected parties and see A, is it even appropriate, or B, how can we do that in a way that doesn't disrupt the events?

Because if you don't have the festival, that certainly has an impact on the city's bottom line because all of the ancillary expenditures that are made at a festival, all the sales tax remit from the vendors who are selling different products or buying different things locally to do the festivals.

If the festival is canceled because of an activity by the department, we don't get any of that revenue.

So just look at the council as a partner and help us figure out ways if there are different things that we can do differently.

I know you and I previously spoke about, for example, really pushing most festivals and even small uh monthly events to go cashless because when the events are fully cashless, the city receives its revenue immediately at point of sale.

If we can do things collectively to make it easier and easier to get permitted, if your event is cashless, that is a way for us to get the parties on the front end to make sure all the vendors are remitting the sales tax as quickly as possible the city with minimal effort on our half on our behalf.

So if there's things we can do working with you to make this process seamless and make tax collection easier, please use us as that and use us as a resource to bounce ideas off of because some of these ideas can be good, some of them can be really bad, and before spending resources and time or even building out budget productions on collections that realistically can't be collected, let's try to get that stuff nipped in the bud on the front end.

Any other comments from the dais?

Uh hearing none, I will move for confirmation.

Seconded by Councilmember Harris, please vote your machines.

Five years, no nays, you've recommended for confirmation from the council.

Congratulations and thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, we have Mr.

James Williams for the Aviation Board.

I think Eugene's leaving because he's embarrassed where you went to high school.

Like he's running out of here real fast.

But as he should be.

He and I, he and I and Jonathan Stewart are members of the great Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, so that makes up for it.

Well, that is true.

Sorry, Councilman Hughes.

That's right.

The the the uh the the question we ask everyone is why do you want to be on the aviation board?

So thank you for the question.

Thank you, everybody, and I really consider this an honor to be here.

Um as someone, look in my practice, I travel a lot.

I've litigated cases in more than a dozen states, two foreign countries.

The airport is the front porch to the city.

And just like any front porch, if the front porch is all raggedy and clogged and it doesn't look good and it doesn't make a good impression, it sets the tone when you come into the city.

And so for a city and a state and a region that's built on hospitality and tourism and welcoming people to our city, um, the state of the airport, the efficiency of the airport, the functionality of the airport, the welcoming nature of the airport is crucial as we continue to draw visitors to our city for our own benefit and for our economic benefit, not just for the city, but for our citizens.

And so um being asked to serve, I couldn't think of a better place to serve than to try to uh make better the first point of entry, the first impression you will of our city.

Councilman Reese.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Uh I'll be quick.

Uh, attorney Williams, uh good morning.

Uh I won't hold against you the fact that you're a member of Alpha Fi Alpha.

The fact that you went to 35 makes up for that.

On a serious note, um, you know, uh I appreciate you being willing to uh serve in this very consequential appointment.

Um I had a front row seat as a former legislator of your leadership on the LSU Board of Supervisors.

You thought big, you created a culture of high expectations that trickled down, and we saw great things happen at Louisiana State University and other campuses.

You know, in my unpopular opinion, as we look to grow our city, our region, our business climate, our convention industry, our airport is gonna play a critical role in that.

And while our airport is beautiful and is shiny, in my opinion, it's time to take it to the next level.

We call ourselves Armstrong International.

I think we have one transatlantic flight right now, a couple Caribbean flights.

I'm I'm I'm grateful for that.

But now we have to think bigger.

And so I I know given your leadership and your vision, uh, you're gonna you're gonna think big and and and help us go to that next level.

So thank you for uh answering the mayor's call to serve.

Thank you for your kind words.

Uh uh, I'm gonna I feel very strongly about the airport, and despite the fact that it is a beautiful, shiny, pretty object, I know because I have tremendous faith in you as an attorney and as someone who corrects listing ships, you are aware of the OIG report regarding the tremendous amount of operational problems at the airport.

Yes.

And I really look to people like you and others who are working diligently to revise these problems, that you're gonna address them head on.

I think the fact that, and I've been I've been very public about the fact that the fact that the Armstrong International Airport has not held a committee meeting in years is a problem.

They have not held a committee, a subcommittee meeting of the airport, whether it be for DBE participation, construction, in years.

And when we asked the current leadership, why not?

Their response, Mr.

Williams is we ain't got to.

And when you're approving multi-million dollar contracts with no public input, no public consideration, at quick board meetings where you simply just all vote quietly and leave, it speaks to I think sometimes, as you know, our airport is a self-contained entity.

All the money it raises stays in the airport, and all that federal money stays there.

And because I think sometimes elected officials and city government go, well, it's not our money, we don't care how it's spent, they feel like you don't need that same degree of public scrutiny.

But what I will tell you is that that works for a well till it doesn't, and you get a bad audit from the federal government, and suddenly you're in some weird quasi receivership and mired and scandal.

And what I've seen there, and I would encourage everyone to read the OIG report because it's very, I believe, Mr.

Hughes, we're probably gonna have a GME at some point just going over it, but they are playing very fast and very loose with tremendous amounts of money, and just because the airport operates at a surplus doesn't mean you need to spend that money willy-nilly because it will come back to bite you.

And part of why I am so excited that you have chosen to answer the call to be on this board is because I know you, James, and you don't stand for that kind of nonsense.

And so I absolutely unequivocally support your nomination because I know someone like you is the person gonna go in there and say, why the hell haven't we had a DBE subcommittee meeting in five years?

Like, how do you explain to the entire city of New Orleans you take these things seriously when you can't, I mean, a subcommittee meeting, not once a quarter, not once a year, haven't had one in years.

That's a problem.

And I know you're the one who can fix it.

So I move to confirm, second by Councilmember Hughes, on fair vote your machines, three A's, no nays.

You are move for full confirmation of the council.

Thank you very much for being here today.

Appreciate you.

Thank you.

All right.

Jonathan Stewart, sewage and water board.

Come on down.

You get the other hard question.

Why do you want to be on the sewage or waterboard right now?

Good morning, uh, Chairman and other uh city council members.

Um, I think that the answer to that question is quite simple.

I'm I'm ready prepared to serve.

Um, I think over the last two months we've seen the need of uh improvement in sewage and water board, sewage and water board is a hot topic.

Um it affects every resident of the city, particularly um one thing that's overlooked is how it affects our younger children when we have to cancel school because there's a water league on it in Mainbreak that prevents them from having running water in school, um, in addition to the board advisories.

Uh so I'm looking to use my expertise and kind of help the management side, financial side, and what whatever I can do to move sewage and waterboard forward uh for the residents of this city.

Council Brees.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Uh Ms.

Powell, I don't know if the prerequisite today is to be a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, but it seems like that's all we we're nominating today.

But on a serious note, Mr.

Stewart, um, you know, uh I've had an opportunity to serve with you on the city planning commission, uh, and I've I've had a front row seat um just the way you approach complex problems, uh, extraordinary temperament, uh, phenomenal dedication, and Lord knows we need all of that for sewage and water board.

Uh, in my short time being a member of this council and chair of public works, uh, just want to share a couple of observations that I hope you will bring to the board.

Uh, number one, that board operates in a bubble, and as far too disconnected from the public, uh, gross lack of transparency.

Uh, and I think that it would behoove the board to become more transparent, to become more connected to the residents, and to get out of Saint off of St.

Joseph Street uh and get more connected to reality.

Uh, number two, there needs to be greater accountability.

Uh, and that that starts with the board, and that needs to trickle down.

Um, you know, it goes without saying there there are no shortage of issues within sewage and water board.

And my request that the board be a board.

And and and and I know that you're gonna bring that, and I will leave that at that, but thank you for answering the mayor's call to serve.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Thank you.

Council Barrish.

Jonathan, um, you and I have served on Optec together, and I know that you're gonna do great in this position.

One of the things that we have been doing is trying to get greater accountability from the leadership there, and as a board member, I think you will have to be partners with us on demanding that accountability.

Um so I guess my question to you is are you committed to doing that?

Absolutely.

Um I think that's the only way that we can make sure that we have uh running water, uh prevent ball advisories and have uh prevent fullet flooding uh to residents' homes is making sure that we have that accountability and we hold the hold the sewage and water board accountable.

I one of the interesting things, and uh councilmember Hughes, I think you'll echo this as many times as they've been before us.

I've never seen any board member attend a city council meeting.

I think that that's something that we should consider in the future is to at least have the board chair come and attend to see what we're asking and asking the hard questions and making sure that the board is again asking the hard questions of leadership over there.

We have issues with communication, uh constant water main breaks, getting information timely, and it has been, especially this term, very troublesome.

And and again, I think you serving on this board, you're gonna hold them to account, but I do think that having board members come to city council just to see what's happening here is gonna be crucial.

Absolutely.

Councilember McHairn.

Yeah, I want to echo what my um other council members have said is no board members have ever reached out to me at least, maybe not even to you on our water main breaks that we've been on site with all week.

Um nobody's communicated to us about it.

Um, and the board is ultimately responsible for you know managing the operations here.

So it's good, it has to be a true partnership going forward because residents are suffering, like you mentioned.

Anytime we have a boil water advisory, I have little kids too.

You know, if it's shut down and my their school shut down, I gotta figure out where they're going to you know, camp or to my parents' house if they're available.

So it's a lot of coordination that's happening for everybody.

It's not just the people that are affected directly by the water.

So you know, I I hope that you can commit to being a true partner with us, being here, being community communicative, and being on site with us too, because that that's really important.

Absolutely.

Yeah, just to add briefly, um, tomorrow uh councilberry and I have a joint utilities public works meeting dealing with sewage and water board.

And I believe last night, Councilmember Hughes and sewage and water board released some kind of plan.

They the new plan they now have.

And what I will tell you is that you're joining an organization that has the lowest approval rating of any organization in the city of New Orleans.

They they have an approval rating that's like I mean if if it could go negative, it will right.

It it's it I mean, I believe it currently is the 17 percent.

And when you have the public tremendously outraged by the sheer amount of breaks in a short period of time, when you have people from the governor to the mayor down to main accountability dropping plans in the afternoon with no heads up to any organizations, that doesn't inspire confidence.

It seems like a reaction to try and change the narrative.

And I was called repeatedly this morning, Councilmember Hughes to get my opinion on the report, and I said, I haven't read it yet because it was sent to us and it was sent to everyone else.

And it is typical and it is standard for the sewage and water board to both react to when events happen, not have follow-through, and yet constantly yell nothing to see here.

And as I've said repeatedly, this is an organization that is funded by millages that voters have to vote on, and their approval rating is 17%.

And they have done nothing that I can see as a board or as an organization to inspire public confidence.

And I say that because when we began that struggle, it started with me sitting down with Gasson Corbin and the board saying, help us to help you, let's do this together.

And they literally told me, Billing's not a problem, there's nothing to see here.

You more so than Mr.

Williams, I would argue, are stepping into an organization that isn't free fall.

And you're gonna have to be the pilot that somehow stabilizes this plane even to get it to land crash land properly at this point.

And we as a council are gonna do everything we can to support you and support people at sewage and waterboard who want to do the right thing, but there needs to be a sea change in the culture of leadership over there.

Because right now, the lack of urgency is accelerating sewage and waterboard towards its demise.

And I know you as a person, I've seen you on other boards, you have the sense of urgency to respond to the outcries of the people and the businesses.

I mean, we talk about the kids that are affected, and we all have children, but what happens to a restaurant when it literally has to shut down for a day because the water is not usable.

I mean, and we don't give them a break, they just take it on the chin.

So I know you have the sense of urgency to change things.

I know you have the sense of urgency to move this forward, and we look forward to working with you on it.

Um I will oh, Councilman Hughes beat me.

Councilman Harris beat me too.

All right.

Fourier's no nays, move the council full approval.

Appreciate it, thank you.

Thank you, Councilman.

I believe John Milizano is not here today, so we will defer him to the next meeting.

Uh Councilman Hughes moves that we adjourn, Councilman McCarron seconds, all in favor say aye.

Four years, no nays, we're adjourned.