New Orleans City Council puts library, housing taxes on November ballot

The New Orleans City Council agreed Thursday to ask voters to renew taxes for public libraries, a move that if approved would preserve library funding at its current rate for the next two decades. 

Council members also signed off on a pitch to renew a tax that provides funding for affordable housing, a step housing advocates have called critical in light of rising rents and home prices across the city. 

Members agreed to put both requests on the Nov. 13 ballot, alongside runoffs for council, mayor and other municipal elections. 

"The public has certainly been loud and clear in its support for our library system, and today's action responds directly to that need," said Councilmember Helena Moreno, a co-sponsor of the library renewal. 

Both renewals represent a departure from last year's failed bid by Mayor LaToya Cantrell to shift multiple millages toward infrastructure, affordable housing and other funding needs while cutting funding to the city's libraries.

But Cantrell supports both of the latest proposals, her chief of staff said Thursday.

"I think she wants to take a holistic approach to financing for the city, but at the end of the day, we are not going to oppose" funds set aside for affordable housing, John Pourciau said. Voters also have the option to review the library's strategic plan before deciding whether to approve the renewed tax, he added. 

Without the council's action, both taxes would have expired. No decisions have been made about 3.24 mills of taxes, largely supporting housing and infrastructure, that are also due to expire at the end of the year. 

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