FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

September 1, 2022

Members of the Council presenting a proclamation to representatives of WWL-TV in honor of its 65th anniversary

Following Favorable Recommendations from Advisory Committee, Council Votes to Establish New SWBNO Billing Guidelines  

In light of the increased number of calls and complaints received by various Council offices in regard to customer bills, the Council passed Ordinance 33,832 today to provide a uniform and comprehensive set of regulations and standards for the regulation of the SWBNO. 

The legislation outlines a new billing dispute process in regards to the following to protect SWBNO customers from harmful practices while their bills are in dispute:

• Right to appeal - Any SWBNO customer shall have the right to appeal their billed amount
• Collections - SWBNO is prohibited from referring a customer bill in dispute to collections
• Service disconnect - SWBNO is prohibited from discontinuing utility service to a customer when a bill is in dispute

Today’s ordinance received favorable recommendations at both the joint Climate/Utilities meeting held on August 10, as well as this week’s inaugural SWBNO Advisory Committee. 

Council Seeks Input for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

The Council adopted Resolution R-22-392, establishing a 30-day comment period for parties to respond to two applications from ENO related to electric vehicle infrastructure. The procedural schedule allows parties to have a say in how electric vehicle infrastructure will be deployed and the projects will be financed. 

Comments are due October 3, 2022.

Photo courtesy of entergy.com

Additional Updates to Classified Pay Plan to Increase Competitiveness of Government Positions 

Councilmembers passed another round of updates to the Classified Pay Plan today relative to Service Wide Increases, Cost of Living Adjustments, and the position of Police Human Service Administrator. 

The first of the three motions (M-22-385) approves a series of across-the-board hiring rate increases, raising the current hiring rates of all classified city classifications by 10% over the next three years. In conjunction with the implementation of these pay plan changes, a pay policy is also being recommended to guarantee that all city classified employees receive a 5% percent increase in 2023, and a 2.5% increase both in 2024 and 2025, provided that no base rate shall be above the maximum established in the pay plan.

Motion M-22-386 approves an amendment relative to Cost of Living Adjustment. The motion authorizes a one-time discretionary Cost of Living Payment of five percent to address the increasing difficulties of recruitment and retention issues in a period of persistent inflationary pressures. These payments should be implemented as soon as possible and based on the feasibility of implementation by the City's and Sewerage and Water Board's payroll systems or no later than December 31.

Finally, the Council passed Motion M-22-389 approving an amendment requested by the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) in order to attract a viable applicant pool to fill the specialized vacancy for the position of Police Human Resource Administrator, having noted the previous salary inadequate in accomplishing the department’s recruitment goal.

Budget Ordinances Approving Funds for Early Childhood Education, Homeland Security, Disaster Recovery, and More

The Council adopted a series of City Budget-related ordinances to appropriate local and federal funding to support key programming and initiatives across the city. Those include:

• Four budget ordinances (33,814, 33,815, 33,816 & 33,817) appropriating Federal funds to New Orleans Homeland Security to purchase Radiological and Nuclear detection equipment for the region and to pay salaries to the employees working the grant;
• Two budget ordinances (33,819 & 33,820) to appropriate State Funds to use as reimbursement for an early childhood education program called City Seats;
• Two budget ordinances (33,824 & 33,825) to appropriate State Funds awarded to the Office of Community Development for the City’s activities under the CDBG Disaster Recovery Long Term Community Recovery Program; and 
• Ordinance 33,834 to transfer funding from the Office of Youth and Families to the Health Department to support the alternative dispatch program

New Surcharge to Offset Fuel Costs for Local Taxicabs & DFTs

In an effort to offset rising fuel prices, the Council passed Ordinance 33,833, which establishes a temporary fuel surcharge of $1.00 for licensed taxicabs and DFTs until December 31 of this year, bringing the total meter fare for taxis to $3.50 for the first 1/8th of a mile, and an additional $.30 for each following 1/8th of a mile. 

The ordinance also requires taxis to post notification of the additional surcharge in the vehicles to notify passengers of increased costs.