‘Fair share’ deal brings funding for city infrastructure
20th May 2019 · 0 Comments
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
Raymond Cooper leaned back in his chair, breaking into a grin and waving his hand in resigned exasperation recently.
Less than a week before, his entire Carrollton/Uptown neighborhood had been under a boil water advisory for more than a day when a 114-year-old city water pipe burst to cause the critical loss in pressure that triggered the vexing advisory.
On top of that, a good section of the neighborhood was flooded by the geyser of water, and although Cooper’s street wasn’t flooded, he still expressed a striking cynicism about why the break, flood and boil advisory became just the latest in embarrassing failures of the city of New Orleans’ infrastructure.
Even the announcement May 6 that local and state leaders reached a hard-fought deal to bring a much-needed, substantial infusion of funding for the city’s creaky, embattled Sewerage & Water Board – to the tune of a one-time, $50-million payment, then roughly $26 million per year after that – couldn’t sway Cooper’s belief that the city’s leadership will continue to fail its citizenry.
When Mayor Cantrell and other city officials say that help is on the way to keep residents’ houses from flooding and prevent boil water advisories, Cooper can only offer a chuckle.
“Man, people don’t believe that,” Cooper said as he sat on his porch in the waning sunlight of a balmy spring day last week. “The more money they get, the more money they steal. All the time. Money comes in, but where does it go out?”
Glancing down the street at the potholes that stud the street where he has lived for more than 20 years, Cooper said the repeated breakdown of the city’s sewer infrastructure – as well as the ensuing media reports about the flummoxing failures – points to both incompetence and apathy on the part of city leaders.
“It’s both, if you look at it,” he said. “We pay taxes, but where is the money going? You ask them that, and no one knows. They talk one thing but they do something else.”
A few blocks away, Joyce West walks her sprightly dog Chic and, while not as pointedly negative as Cooper, expresses similar sentiments of frustration with the city and its crumbling infrastructure. She says the sewer drains on her street are constantly jammed with debris, never getting cleaned out or otherwise attended to.
“It just takes so long,” she said.
When the question turns to the recent funding windfall, West offers a little more optimism about finally taking steps to fix the city’s sewers, roads and drainage system.
“If we all work together, we should be able to do it,” she said. “We [residents] need to do our part, but [city leaders] need to do their part, too.”
The flooding two weeks ago was followed up a few days later when, on Mother’s Day morning, gloomy skies dumped several inches of water during a nasty thunderstorm, causing even more flooding in several areas of the city and further straining residents’ patience and optimism. The May 6 announcement of the long-sought “fair share” funding package came after weeks of arduous negotiations between Cantrell, the local delegation to the State House, Gov. John Bel Edwards and New Orleans tourism organizations.
The one-time, $50-million payment will be broken down into $28 million previously earmarked for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and the rest from $22 million in oddly-unused grant money traced all the way back to post-Hurricane Katrina help.
The ongoing, yearly payments will be comprised of several sources – hotel occupancy taxes, delayed loan repayments and other restructured, revised tax millages – that has city officials optimistic that progress on the city’s infrastructure can finally happen.
“We have a deal – and we are being true to our word: The people of New Orleans are getting more of their fair share, with critical revenue being directed towards our infrastructure at a time when the need is dire,” Cantrell said in a press release regarding the new funding. “I’m proud to say we found a way to get to a ‘win-win’ that secures vital funds and unprecedented recurring revenue, without ever losing sight of the City’s best interests in the long run. It wasn’t an easy road to get here, but it was far more important that we get this deal done right – than that it get done in a hurry.”
Cantrell’s office was not able to respond to follow-up questions from The Louisiana Weekly, but the mayor released a brief statement regarding the May 12 storms and flooding.
“My administration has been laser-focused on infrastructure as a whole and stormwater management in particular,” she said in the statement. “As we face our issues head on, we are using data and experience to better live with water.”
Julianna Padgett, board president for the Carrollton-Riverbend Neighborhood Association, told The Louisiana Weekly that, in the wake of the recent pipe burst and boil water advisory in the CRNA’s area, the news of the “fair share” funding was welcome news.
“The announcement of the tourism money is great,” Padgett said. “I think it is a creative and hard fought win and send congratulations to her.”
City Council vice president Helena Moreno declined to comment about the influx of funding and resident skepticism and frustration.
The S&WB, for its part, issued a press statement on the agreement.
“The Sewerage and Water Board (SWBNO) extends deep appreciation to Mayor Cantrell and all those involved in the negotiations for their tireless efforts to find additional funding streams for our city’s infrastructure needs,” the Board said in the release. “These funds are critical for protecting and improving the quality of life of the citizens of New Orleans, and we are grateful for the persistence of all who worked to achieve this goal.”
The S&WB subsequently issued a statement early last week after the Mother’s Day issues.
“As we work to continuously improve stormwater management infrastructure, the City and the Sewerage and Water Board will analyze today’s rain event and its impact,” it said. “Using pump station and rain gauge data, drainage surveys, and video analysis, we will work to determine rainwater volume versus drainage capacity and to identify potential opportunities for drainage improvements.”
Shortly after the first round of May flooding and in response to the funding announcement, Edwards’ office expressed relief that a “fair share” deal had finally been reached, as well as confidence that the funding will be used to finally address New Orleans’ decaying sewers, drainage system and other on-the-ground work that’s been needed for a long time.
“The Mayor requested funding to help with the Sewerage and Water Board’s needs,” Christina Stephens, a spokeswoman for the governor, told The Louisiana Weekly. “For several months, state, city and tourism officials have been meeting to discuss upfront funding for the Mayor’s needs and also a recurring funding source. The Governor’s role was making sure that all parties were working together on behalf of the people of the city of New Orleans, who deserve reliable drainage infrastructure.”
Stephen Perry, the president and CEO of New Orleans & Company, a leading civic tourism organization involved in the “fair share” negotiations, did not answer questions from The Louisiana Weekly. New Orleans & Company was previously the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
On May 8, the Louisiana State House passed three bills pertaining to the “fair share” deal, bringing the funding windfall one step closer to landing in city coffers.
Cantrell’s May 6 press statement concerning the negotiated deal concluded by attempting to alleviate the concerns and fears of New Orleans citizenry about the ability and desire on the part of the city administration to fix drainage leaks, backed-up sewer drains and gaping potholes scattered through New Orleans.
“We were told it couldn’t be done,” the statement said. “We were told not to try. And we stand here today with a commitment of $200 million more than we have ever had to invest in the infrastructure our people and all of our industries depend on.”
But on a hole-pocked, puddle-strewn section of Broadway Street in Gert Town, such sentiments were greeted with eye roles and shoulder shrugs by a group of men gathered outside a neighborhood bar.
“They say what they’re gonna do – all the time, they’re saying it,” said one. “They say that when they want our vote, then once they get our vote, they’re gone.”
He then added a level of sharp cynicism to his thoughts.
“I don’t even think they want to fix the streets,” he said. “They want to keep getting paid. Everybody has their hand in the pot.”
Another of the men added that the ratty roads and drainage lines happen throughout the city, not just in poorer neighborhoods. He offered his own experiences working for a contractor in an upper-class part of the city.
“They got million-dollar houses,” he said, “but their streets are still f***ed up.”
This article originally published in the May 20, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
