City Of New Orleans: Mayor Cantrell Issues Statement On Sewerage & Water Board Legislation

New Orleans LA

13 May, 2022

1:29 PM

Description

Press release from the City of New Orleans: May 11, 2022 NEW ORLEANS — Mayor LaToya Cantrell today issued the following statement regarding the passage of Louisiana HB 652 from the Senate Government Affairs Committee: "Today our Orleans Delegation to the Louisiana Legislature and local partners secured a win-win for the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, the City of New Orleans, and our residents," said Mayor Cantrell. "Through legislative amendments, we were able to put more tools in the toolbox for the Sewerage and Water Board to address outstanding billing issues, while ensuring continued progress for operations. We've seen dramatic improvements, reduced flooding, and real infrastructure investments over the last four years. The passage of this legislation is yet another crucial step in regaining public trust in SWBNO's billing process." Amendments made to the legislation provide for local oversight, rather than duplicate regulatory functions, and ensure that local transparency and accountability can continue. The legislation will also establish a "working group" to outline changes to billing procedures. All in all, HB 652 phases out previous limitations in state statutes that restricted local authorities' ability to take the necessary steps to fix the billing issues that have impacted New Orleanians for so long. Mayor Cantrell's administration also looks forward to working with local partners on an ordinance that establishes: Certain dates for bill hearings to ensure customers are guaranteed due process within a prescribed window of time, A process for local appeals, and More flexibility to provide for full implementation of automatic metering and any associated variance thresholds. This press release was produced by the City of New Orleans. The views expressed here are the author's own.