New Orleans City council revokes property tax exemption for operator of The Willows
5th August 2024 · 0 Comments
By Katie Jane Fernelius and Safura Syed
Contributing Writers
(VeriteNews.org) — In a landmark vote, the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to revoke the property tax exemption for Global Ministries Foundation, the nonprofit operator of The Willows Apartments, an apartment complex in New Orleans East infamous for its disrepair and neglect. The Tennessee-based religious nonprofit is notorious for poor living conditions at its properties across the country.
The vote comes on the heels of a state amendment and city ordinance passed just last year allowing the city to revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofit apart-ment landlords with three or more code enforcement violations that endanger tenant health and safety.
Testimony and photo evidence presented by code enforcement officials painted a picture of a deteriorating apartment complex with broken windows, multiple leaks, mold and substandard construction. According to code enforcement officials, the Willows had 40 code enforcement cases over the last seven years. In May, the complex racked up nine violations.
“We don’t have another single piece of property in the city of New Orleans that has had that many cases,” said Anthony Davis, director of Code Enforcement.
No representative from the Global Ministries Foundation was present at the hearing despite being notified in advance. The group did not respond to a request for comment as of last Thursday.
Housing advocates applauded the council’s decision to revoke the tax exemption but also asked for the council to take further steps to protect tenants by funding an anti-displacement fund created in 2022 to support tenants who must move out of substandard housing.
“We need that anti-displacement fund,” said Frank Southhall, an organizer with Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative, in a public comment. “Two years ago, when the tenants at Oakmont organized, you guys helped support their moving out with rental assistance and a moving fund and a hotel and so much more. We need to be able to do that for all of our tenants in the city who are living in these harsh conditions.”
The nonprofit will not be able to restore its tax-exempt status until it undergoes another public hearing and vote by the council. This will prevent it from using a change in ownership to evade the punishment.
“We worked long and hard to change these laws, win a statewide vote of the people, and ensure this process was legal and efficient,” Council President Helena Moreno said in a statement. “The people of this state spoke loud and clear that slumlords should not be rewarded with property tax exemptions. Now that that work is done, the people have won a great victory, and we can finally deliver real accountability to this slum landlord.”
Another meeting, another call for ceasefire resolution
Approximately two dozen protesters came out to push the council to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In recent meetings, protesters have used public comment periods for agenda items to make their case, and councilmembers have regularly interrupted them to complain that those comments aren’t germane to the items at hand. But this week, in a change of course, the protesters instead stood up in the middle of the meeting and chanted “ceasefire now” before marching out of the chambers.
Outside City Hall, protesters pointed to a recent ceasefire resolution passed by the city council in Birmingham, Alabama following a similar campaign of public pressure as a sign of hope. In addition to calling for a ceasefire, that resolution included a denunciation of both antisemitism and Islamophobia, as well as a call for “the swift and secure exchange of all hostages […] and the immediate provision of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.”
As of July 10, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed an estimated 38,000 people and displaced more than two million Palestinians from their homes. Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 last year killed more than 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 253 hostages.
Streamlining water bill complaint process
Following a council vote, the Sewerage & Water Board will now get $3.5 million in funding to hire an outside contractor to handle contested bills going forward. Councilmembers hope that the move will simplify the process for customers who want to challenge unexpectedly large bills.
“We are keenly aware that there are billing problems at Sewerage & Water Board,” Councilmember Joseph Giarrusso, who authored the bill, said. “So, the council is allocating money to begin with for the time when customers receive an inaccurate or erroneous bill to have a contractor come in and review that bill.”
Currently, customers who want to challenge a bill must go through a multi-step process with Sewerage & Water Board, according to Councilmember JP Morrell. That process involves contacting S&WB’s customer service to prompt an internal investigation and then participating in a hearing before a third party can review the bill and make a recommendation. The new funding will allow S&WB to put a third-party contractor in charge of the entire process.
“What we found in the last year and a half trying to do that process is that there are a tremendous amount of people that fall out in those first few steps [with S&WB],” Morrell said. “We’ve simplified this process.”
The funding will also pay for an audit of the current billing system.
Musicians will get base pay at city events
The council also voted unanimously to establish a guaranteed minimum wage for musicians at city-funded events. The ordinance ensures that each musician will receive $200 per hour of performance, and acts with 10 or more musicians will receive at least $2,000 per performance. These base rates will be adjusted for inflation every January, starting in 2026.
The ordinance passed with an amendment that acknowledged the importance of musician’s unions and the ability for musicians to choose to perform for free or at reduced rates. The legislation will also require city entities that have hired musicians to submit detailed quarterly reports.
Councilmembers and public speakers said the ordinance acknowledges the important role music has in the cultural and economic identity of New Orleans.
“All people deserve living wages,” said Bob Murrell, a city resident and former City Council candidate, during public comment. “Musicians and live entertainers are the lifeblood of the tourism industry that became the lifeblood of this city.”
Monique Blossom with the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center thanked the council for the ordinance. She said that her organization was happy to support an initiative to establish a minimum wage for musicians.
“From a housing perspective, it continues to be more and more expensive for renters and homeowners alike to live and work in New Orleans,” Blossom said. “And while this body can’t fix our problem with our state and federal minimum wage, smart ordinances like this are the way to address stagnant wages, and keep our musicians and culture bearers and their communities thriving in New Orleans.”
The council’s economic development committee sent the ordinance, which was introduced by Moreno and Morrell, to the main body last week after a unanimous vote.
This article originally published in the August 5, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
