All we want is a better quality of life for our fellow citizens
8th April 2019 · 0 Comments
The elderly services property tax millage failed. The tax increase measure would have generated nearly $7 million annually for the New Orleans Council on Aging. And while we admire Mayor Cantrell’s demand for transparency and accountability of independent NGO’s receiving tax dollars, we are disappointed that the New Orleans Council on Aging will not get the revenue stability it needs to serve more than 59,000 seniors, who comprise 12.9 percent of the New Orleans population.
Yes, the New Orleans Council on Aging has other revenue streams. Last year the agency got $2.5 million from the Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs, $1.4 million from the city and the rest from federal grants, and donations, for a total of $5 million. But like any government funding, those sources can dry up at any time, so the Council was hoping the dedicated millage would add stability to its service capability.
Hopefully, the New Orleans Council on Aging and Mayor LaToya Cantrell will have a meeting of the mind and agree to transparency and accountability on the Council’s part and guidance, advice on services, and support for a new ballot measure from the Mayor’s Administration.
During a recent meeting, Mayor Cantrell expressed frustration at non-governmental agencies that receive city tax dollars with no accountability to the city for how those dollars are spent.
Perhaps, the biggest lesson learned beyond the need for cooperation between government and NGOs, is that voters need to step up and support measures that help their fellow residents, even if it means paying more taxes.
Only 6.7 percent of voters participated in the elderly services’ millage election. The majority, 71 percent were opposed and 29 percent voted in favor of the measure.
However, given the tax fatigue experienced by New Orleanians, who are heavily taxed for property, food, retail items, and the soaring costs of insurance coverage, both flood and auto insurance, the high cost of utilities and the lack of living wages in the city’s tourism-driven economy, New Orleanians are routinely opposed to new taxes.
But sometimes, we must pay more to help fellow citizens have a better quality of life. The elderly are with us but for a moment. Should we not try to enrich their lives? There is a time for self-interests and a time for selflessness. Cantrell has urged the City Council to wait another year, so she can devise a “holistic approach” to funding senior services and allow oversight by the city.
The Council on Aging is not the only non-governmental agency that is under the Mayor’s accountability and fair share microscope. Cantrell has made it clear that agencies getting tax dollars must share the wealth and give back to the city. Cantrell is seeking funds for infrastructure repairs, Sewer & Water Board repairs.
She has asked Governor John Bel Edwards to provide a fair share of tax revenues from the hospitality sales tax for infrastructure and she is requesting a portion of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s reserve funds, which Cantrell would use for city emergencies.
The upcoming May 4 special millage election is based on Cantrell’s fair share agenda. Voters will not pay new taxes, however, the Audubon Institute, to which voters previously denied a millage extension, is putting its hand out again. The private foundation wanted an extension of the 3.31 mills it received in the past, instead a total 6.31 mills, including Audubon’s share, will be reallocated,
If the measure passes, Audubon’s millage would be reduced to 1.95 mills ($6.59 million a year) from 3.31 mills ($10.92 million); NORDC’s millage would be increased to 1.95 mills ($6.59 million) from 1.5 mills ($4.95 million); and Parks and Parkways’ millage would be increased to 1.8 mills ($6.08 million). City Park will get its first revenue from the city; a millage of .61 mills (nearly $2.06 million).
We agree with Mayor Cantrell’s efforts to get the City of New Orleans’ fair share of tax revenue. It is our hope that she also demands a fair share and a slice of the economic pie for African-American-owned businesses and job seekers. Reports indicate that some efforts, by the millage seekers, have been made to contract with Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) (City Park is the exception), the percentage of African-American businesses getting a piece of the action pales in comparison to the city’s 60 percent majority Black population.
We may not agree with every position Mayor Cantrell takes, but we definitely support innovative ways of bringing parity for the city’s majority to the table. We have high expectations that Cantrell will bring an unprecedented program of shared prosperity to the African-American community. If she does, her legacy as a change agent and a tough and fair administrator will set her apart from her predecessors.
This article originally published in the April 8, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
