New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell’s administration is offering a compromise in the debate over whether to lower property tax rates in response to skyrocketing property assessments throughout the city. Administration officials had originally asked the City Council to keep the rates the same next year — a maneuver called a “roll forward” — which was expected to result in more than $25 million in additional property tax revenue. But now they’re suggesting a partial roll forward, which would mean smaller tax increases for property owners in the city. 

That detail came out during Wednesday’s meeting of the Revenue Estimating Conference, which voted to adopt a revenue forecast for 2020. The body is made up of Mayor Cantrell, Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño, Chief Financial Officer Norman White, Councilman Jared Brossett and Councilwoman Kristen Palmer. 

That revenue forecast will be the basis for Cantrell’s proposed budget, which she will present to the City Council at its Thursday meeting. 

According to the adopted projection, next year’s recurring general fund revenue will increase by about $26 million, a number that includes property and sales taxes as well as other revenue sources, like fines and fees. The biggest chunk of that will come from $14 million in new property tax revenue — a 9.5 percent increase above this year. That figure takes into account the partial roll forward. Over the summer, officials estimated that a full roll forward would have resulted in a $26 million increase in property taxes alone. 

Credit by - The LENS

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