New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno announced a plan Wednesday to hire 50 frontline workers in the city’s badly undermanned streets department.
The city will use around $8 million in leftover bond money to pay for the positions, Moreno said, which will require approval by the New Orleans City Council at an upcoming meeting. The new positions are designed to address routine and minor upkeep, like filling potholes or fixing cracked sidewalks.
Steve Nelson, the city’s deputy CAO for infrastructure and public works director, acknowledged Wednesday it could take up to a year to make all the new hires. Moreno said said the goal would be for the city to be able to make 50-100 pothole repairs a week, addressing a need that New Orleanians “have been asking for for a long time.”…