NEW ORLEANS — On day 2 of budget hearings, a presentation about the City of New Orleans’ spending deficit was derailed by more than an hour of back-and-forth between council members and representatives from the Mayor’s Office.
The debate began with a presentation by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, Mike Waguespack. He reviewed an audit of the City’s finances from the prior year.
“Your spending debt is going to be about 160 million,” he said, “so you spent more than what you collected by 160 million. That’s what we anticipate for this year.” That is higher than the $100 million estimate put forth by City Council Budget Chair Joe Giarrusso and a local watchdog group last month…