New Orleans City Council 2027 Budget Hearings Day 2 – September 30, 2026

The New Orleans City Council held Day 2 of its 2027 proposed budget hearings on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. The agenda listed a 9:15 a.m. start, while the minutes recorded a 9:00 a.m. start. The hearing covered the Orleans Parish Coroner and the public safety portfolio: NOPD, NOFD, the Firefighter Pension Fund, NOCEM, JJIC, and OPCD. Council members pressed for detailed actuals, service impact analyses, and transparency; no formal votes were taken.

Public Comments & Testimony

• During the Coroner portion, Larry Morgan tried to raise complaints about police and the district attorney but was ruled out of order because the comments were not relevant to the Coroner's budget; he was advised to wait for the NOPD presentation.
• Larry Morgan later spoke during the NOPD portion, saying the Black community believes a large percentage of services are not delivered to it, criticizing police accountability and the district attorney's tenure.
• Edith Romero, self-identified as representing IN Surveillance, thanked councilmembers for budget questions and said the NOPD budget was not transparent and appeared to rise by at least $3 million despite a mayoral claim of a decrease. She cited an OIG report on overtime and asked for transparency on overtime, surveillance cameras, and police drones, advocating that funds be redirected to community safety resources.
• Sarah Whittington of the ACLU of Louisiana called the budget a moral document. She said it appeared to include potentially up to $5 million more for NOPD while $5 million was cut from low-barrier shelters, and argued this would push unhoused people into the criminal legal system instead of breaking cycles.
• Catherine Stoma, RN Clinical Manager for Manning Family Children's at the JJIC medical clinic, described 24/7 nursing, pediatric, psychiatric, and social work services for youth at JJIC, and asked the council to continue supporting that care.

Orleans Parish Coroner

• The Coroner's office requested at least a flat 2027 operating budget of approximately $4.249 million, with an increase to $4.556 million if possible to reduce overtime costs; it has 26.44 FTEs.
• The office projected $31,000 in self-generated revenue; the mayor's proposed budget reportedly showed $23,000. The Coroner deferred the difference to the administration.
• Coroner testimony noted year-to-date overtime of about $300,000 versus about $800,000 the prior year, and a $1.3 million professional services contract for forensic psychiatrists and coroner emergency certificates. He said he provides expert testimony, mainly in murder trials.
• In response to Councilmember Willard, the Coroner said overdose deaths fell from over 500 in 2022 to 184 to date in 2026, but remain at an unacceptable level; he warned about fentanyl and designer drugs and urged wider Narcan distribution.

New Orleans Police Department

• Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick presented crime-reduction data: murders down 65% since 2022; fatal shootings down 67%; non-fatal shootings down 62%; armed robberies down 56%; carjackings down 66%. She said New Orleans and Washington, D.C. were cited at the UN for major crime drops.
• Comptroller Charlene Rollins presented a proposed 2027 general fund budget of about $167 million ($150 million personnel, $16.2 million other operating), compared with a projected $170 million 2026 year-end spend.
• The proposal includes $10 million in reductions from NOPD's 2027 request: $2 million from overtime, $4.3 million from civilian staffing, equal to 62 FTEs (68 actual positions because part-time positions are combined into FTEs). NOPD would budget 975 commissioned officers and 293 civilians.
• Other operating reductions include cutting the Axon contract from $5.5 million to $3 million (affecting body-worn cameras, TASER, and in-car cameras), eliminating a $1.3 million outsourced traffic-crash investigation contract, and $452,000 in telephone savings.
• Kirkpatrick said overtime was managed below a mid-year cut to $15 million after a 2024 spike tied to the Bourbon Street attack, the Super Bowl, and a snowstorm.
• Recruitment improved: applications up 65% and test-takers up 28%; a class of 20 graduates Friday would bring sworn staffing to about 926, against a goal of 1,200.
• On parking and towing, 71 positions transferred to NOPD, but at least 15 could not be onboarded because of background and NCIC access requirements; current staffing was given as 59, and NOPD hired four tow-truck drivers.
• Councilmembers expressed strong concern about eliminating the traffic investigation contract, warning of long waits and pulling patrol officers from 911 calls. Kirkpatrick said an in-house police support technician model would take about three months and roughly $650,000 to stand up; Councilmember Morrell suggested competitively rebidding the contract and bringing secondary employment in-house to generate revenue.
• The crime lab retrofit was estimated at about $9 million and is not in the proposed budget; DNA backlog is currently minimal, but the State Police lab move and exhaustion of DNA funds could create a new backlog.
• Councilmember Green defended NOPD funding as a moral choice focused on victims, noted recruitment gains, and projected the lowest murder rate in 57 years.

New Orleans Fire Department

• Superintendent Roman Nelson proposed a 2027 budget with $125.9 million in personnel and $1.17 million in other operating, a $5.47 million reduction from 2026, achieved mainly through attrition and pension adjustments while preserving PIAL Class 1 fire protection.
• The department reported completion of the FAA airport rescue and firefighting inspection, the move to the new headquarters at 401 City Park Avenue, and continued mobile data terminal and K9 critical-incident stress work.
• Councilmember Morrell questioned the attrition reduction of 29 firefighter FTEs. Nelson said about 90 applicants cleared the hiring process but are on hold due to the hiring freeze; apparatus may run with three instead of four firefighters but service should be maintained.
• Fire officials noted 58 members on DROP and over 25 who completed DROP but continue working, complicating terminal-leave projections; terminal leave was budgeted.
• Councilmember Willard confirmed 35 positions were moved to the general fund after a SAFA grant ended; the fire department has 644 proposed FTEs and about eight vacancies.

Firefighter Pension Fund

• Chief Innovation Officer Jonathan Wisby said the city faced a roughly $100 million 2027 budget shortfall and proposed an $8.5 million reduction in the city's fire pension contribution after discussions with pension board and union representatives.
• The city's 2027 requested pension contribution was $56.7 million for the old and new funds. Adding fire pension obligation bonds and a $5 million longevity settlement, the city's fixed fire-pension costs were about $76 million, approximately 10% of the general fund.
• The city's proposal would make lower payments in the near term and higher payments later, still reaching full funding by 2040. Wisby acknowledged the pension board has not accepted the proposal; it has only been discussed with representatives.
• Councilmembers Morrell and Willard said if the pension proposal is not settled, the council should probably budget for the worst-case scenario rather than assume acceptance. Wisby said the 2027 allocation would keep payments going until about October, providing time to negotiate.

Office of Coordination & Emergency Management (NOCEM)

• Director Derek Hesson proposed a 2027 general fund budget of $2.74 million, down 17% from the $3.32 million 2026 adopted budget, a cut of about $574,000.
• NOCEM eliminated a hazard mitigation program manager (moved to the grant office), a hazard mitigation coordinator, and a principal emergency management coordinator. Other reductions include the RAVE alert contract, RAVE panic button, vehicle fleet replacement, EOC technology upgrades, and parade trackers.
• NOCEM's budgeted general fund staffing falls from 14 positions in 2024 to 9 in 2027, a 45% reduction; the non-general fund increases from $73.9 million to $80.2 million, but is mostly grant-funded pass-through, not staffing capacity.
• Hesson advocated for funding an Access and Functional Needs Disaster Accessibility Coordinator and a Mass Care Coordinator from the Environmental Improvement Fund, saying they are critical for shelters and inclusive disaster response.
• Council members asked about planned EOC technology upgrades and a 2027 city-assisted evacuation exercise to be run through the Smoothie King Center, federally reimbursable.

Juvenile Justice Intervention Center (JJIC)

• Director Shelle Williams said the 2027 budget reduces overtime and operating costs but includes no planned staff reductions or reductions in the standard of care for youth.
• JJIC projects a 22% reduction in overtime; renegotiated janitorial and medical contracts; deactivated 12 of 31 cell phones; and realized $13,000 in annual savings. The medical services contract with Children's Hospital is $1.4 million, about a third of the budget.
• A jail management software subscription (Tyler Tech e-supervision) costs $181,000 per year and was previously paid with ARPA funds; JJIC needs a funding source or risks losing access to its youth tracking system.
• With an Umbutu Village programming partnership, JJIC reported zero critical incidents since the start of 2026, four minor incidents, and zero staff or youth injuries. Staff-to-youth ratio is 1:8, and the daily population is in the 40s compared with 76 or more previously.
• Goals include the school lunch reimbursement program, grants for juvenile justice reform, expanding the intensive in-home supervision program with a 70-75% success rate, college pathways with Southern University at New Orleans, and transitioning from 12-hour to 8-hour shifts.

Orleans Parish Communications District (OPCD)

• Executive Director Carl Fassel said 911 answer times are in the 70-80% range for the 90% in-15-seconds standard because 10 call-taker positions are frozen; full staffing in the 2027 request is expected to restore compliance.
• OPCD's total proposed 2027 budget is $26 million, up from $24 million in 2026, but its request from the city is down 2%, or 7% including the prior year's extra $1 million overtime allocation.
• The state legislature increased the cellular 911 fee from $1.25 to $2 per line per month, generating roughly $2 million; $1 million offsets the city request and the rest funds deferred needs.
• Completed work includes the NOFD fire alerting system, APCO-accredited training, three CPE graduates in senior leadership, and a recruit class of 14 starting October 13.
• OPCD noted the NICE records system remains broken, causing about three-week delays in public records responses; the Cisco non-emergency telephony system is beyond end of life; insurance costs are elevated after a prior carrier declined renewal.
• Council members asked for a line-item breakdown of subscriptions and the $512,000 repairs and maintenance line; OPCD agreed to provide it.

Key Outcomes

• No formal council votes were taken during the hearing.
• The council requested follow-up data from NOPD, including actual expenditures for 2024-2026, an itemized civilian FTE reduction analysis, the cost of a police support technician program, and parking and towing staffing details.
• Several councilmembers signaled that preserving an alternative to sworn-officer traffic crash response and funding the crime lab and DNA capacity are priorities.
• On the fire pension, the council asked the administration to continue negotiations and indicated it may budget conservatively if no agreement is reached.
• Funding for JJIC's $181,000 jail management software remains unresolved; council and staff will need to identify a sustainable funding source.
• The Chair announced the council will reconvene Monday at 9:30 a.m. for the next budget hearing.