I will call upon members of the City Council to implement comparable reforms (i.e., the establishment of evaluation committees with expertise and diverse membership to review proposals in an open public process) in awarding professional services contracts by the legislative branch of city government. I will also prepare and present to the City Council a proposed ordinance that puts before voters in the Fall 2010 elections a ballot proposition to unite executive and legislative branch procurement policies in a single reformed procedure applicable to every city department, agency, board, commission, public benefit corporation, or other such public entity.

These actions send an important message, signifying my administration’s recognition that New Orleans is governed by both executive and legislative branch officials. Voters are sick and tired of armed warfare between the Mayor and City Council. I believe they would welcome a sign of willingness by the new administration to share power appropriately with the coordinate branch of city government. It’s also a simple fact of life that comprehensive reform in the procurement of professional services requires the support of both branches of city government as well as the support of voters in approving a ballot proposition to change the Home Rule Charter.

How we currently prepare and pass our budget is holding many parts of city government back.
Last year, New Orleans witnessed a budgeting process that was a slow-motion train wreck. The budget process unfolded over a period of several months and was characterized by acrimony and dysfunctional conflict between executive and legislative branch officials. This year, an even greater shortfall in city revenues promises more of the same. We must find a better way to conduct this essential function of city government.

As Mayor I will sign an Executive Order directing the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to begin the municipal budget process earlier in the year by releasing preliminary revenue projections to members of the City Council and to the public. I will direct the CAO to engage all stakeholders, public and private, in an open public dialogue during the third quarter of the year, setting budget priorities and promoting a broad consensus before the critical budget decisions are made in November.
I will prepare and present to the City Council a proposed ordinance that places these budget reforms in the City Code and in the Home Rule Charter, so future administrations will honor the right of all stakeholders, public and private, to participate in budget decisions that are critically related to their quality of life. There will be no doubt about my administration’s willingness to share information with public officials in the coordinate legislative branch of city government and to invite participation by all stakeholders in an open public process for setting budget priorities.

In these troubling economic times, New Orleans needs to address economic development aggressively and collaboratively, engaging business and labor, the media, and nongovernmental organizations. We need a coordinated strategy to generate new business activity, support existing businesses and to attract new companies, more jobs and increased economic investment.
As Mayor, I will sign a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) to establish the first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in city government. This PPP will create a new economic development organization to implement a long term, comprehensive, and coordinated plan for building the city’s economy.

New Orleans is not an island, and economic development is not exclusively a zero-sum game. I will call upon the new PPP to engage in a dialogue with other economic developments entities in the metropolitan area and at the state level about how we might cooperate to stimulate even more economic growth here.

Even before Katrina, New Orleans had housing conditions in many areas that were unacceptable. In the wake of Katrina’s destruction, blight has become an even more severe problem that threatens the revitalization of New Orleans’ neighborhoods.
As Mayor I will sign an Executive Order to make Sheriff house sales a priority in eradicating blight. I will direct housing enforcement personnel to hold monthly auctions on properties where owners have ignored administrative orders to make repairs. I will also direct that relevant city agencies make available to homeowners all appropriate counseling services and financial assistance to support them in making repairs and maintaining their properties in accordance with housing code requirements, because an effective program of housing code enforcement is not simply about punitive measures; it’s also about helping people maintain homeownership by helping them maintain their properties.

I will direct city housing officials to work cooperatively with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) in devising a coordinated strategy to eradicate blight. NORA should repair or demolish and put back into commerce as soon as possible property acquired through the Road Home Program. Our common goal must be to enlist the private housing market in the recovery and revitalization of New Orleans’ neighborhoods.

Until our city does a better job preventing crime, fighting crime and reducing crime, New Orleans will not be the best city it can be.
During mayoral transition, we will conduct a national search to hire a new Superintendent for the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). I will appoint a diverse citizen’s committee to implement the search process, and we will hire a Superintendent who is committed to reform and to making our city safer.

Within a week of that new Superintendent’s arrival, I will sign and personally deliver an Executive Order requiring the NOPD to compile and disclose data to members of the press and public in a monthly Crime Report Card enabling everyone to monitor and evaluate how we are performing on public safety. We need to let the sun shine in on police department operations, holding city government accountable for its performance in this vitally important area.