As New Orleans city officials undertake a complicated effort to merge the Sewerage & Water Board with City Hall, they are hoping the two agencies can help solve each other’s financial problems.
That is possible, officials say, because the city and the S&WB have opposite issues: The city is short on operating cash but can issue capital bonds. And the S&WB has cash, but no bonding capacity.
“We’re in a famously terrible spot,” said Steve Nelson, the city’s infrastructure chief, of the city’s cash position at an S&WB board meeting on Monday. “But we have ample bonding capacity, and the board is almost a complete opposite.”…