New Orleans mayor-elect Helena Moreno says she’s already making cuts to next year’s budget to stave off a $222 million projected budget deficit.
Moreno told WWL’s Newell Normand that her cuts are more strategic than the 30-percent-across-the-board cuts proposed by outgoing mayor LaToya Cantrell. Those cuts include eliminating positions in city hall.
“A reduction of 35 unclassified positions that are under mayoral control: I have not decided what these positions will be, but that will be what I will review when we adopt the budget,” Moreno said. “Also, 75 percent of probationary employees: these are employees who have not been with the city for a year or more. That’s roughly 62 people. We also have a hiring freeze of 75 percent of the vacant positions.”…