Mayor Mitch Landrieu will hold a town hall meeting on city finances Monday evening in City Council District E, at the Sanchez Center in the Lower 9th Ward. Monday’s meeting is the last of five community budget meetings this year.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m.; The Lens will live-blog it here.

The forums are designed to let the public weigh in on how Landrieu should spend public money next year.

District E, represented by Councilman James Gray, includes eastern New Orleans and the Lower 9th Ward.

At the last meeting, in Lakeview, a large group of firefighters and supporters were in attendance to urge Landrieu to pay more than $100 million — plus tens of millions more in interest — the city owes them for back pay and unpaid pension contributions, A state judge has since set a deadline for the city to begin paying out $142 million on the back pay lawsuit.

The meeting broke down several times when firefighters in the audience began shouting at the mayor. At one point, Landrieu responded to them saying his job was to represent every person in the city. Firefighters union president Nick Felton yelled, “No you don’t! You don’t represent me.”

For the first time this year, the District A meeting saw a large number of attendees objecting to Landrieu’s call to remove Confederate monuments around the city. Members of the audience erupted into applause nearly every time a speaker expressed opposition to removing the statues.

Landrieu said the city is convening a series of public meetings on the issue, and any decision will ultimately be made by the City Council, not him. But he said that, personally, he hoped the council would vote for removal.

“There are all kinds of history that in some cases do not need to be revered,” he said. “Now this is just my opinion. I’m the mayor. I’m going to be gone in two and a half years. … I don’t get everything I want. And I may not get it now.”

LIVE BLOG

Charles Maldonado is the editor of The Lens. He previously worked as The Lens' government accountability reporter, covering local politics and criminal justice. Prior to joining The Lens, he worked for...

8 replies on “Tonight’s live blog: Landrieu holding final town-hall meeting on 2016 budget”

  2. BTW – WE are wondering – how DOES the mayor arrive at these town hall meetings anyway? Limo? Police escort? Louisiana State Troopers?…The reason why WE ask is that WE could do for the mayor what WE been offering to do for Walt the Third (and WE ain’t talking Disney) cuz neither of these two guys (Walt and Mitch) got a creative bone in dere bodies (not even if you put the two of them together).
    08/11/2015 1:27 AM DST USA

  3. My Equalizer watch is on. Who’s on duty? It’s Tuesday (08/11/2015 1:31 AM DST USA) FOCUS!

  4. WE have to report to work at HOME MART at 7:00 AM. WE aint’s got all night. Now, who is on duty?
    08/11/2015 1:38 AM DST USA

  5. ASP had to do a deletion cuz his tail hit a delete R U SURE!? You see what happens when Steve (is) not on this?!
    08/11/2015 1:41 AM DST USA

  6. “THIS COULD TAKE ALL NIGHT.” This has nothing to do about that witch it apparently has to do. Get yo’ mindset out of da gutters of the New Orleans streets.
    08/11/2015 1:47 AM DST USA

  7. Now that’s what WE are talkin’ a’bout. THE LENS – present and accounted for.
    SUPERB.
    08/11/2015 1:53 AM DST USA

  8. The school lights don’t work but the cameras do. Send yo’ money to Dallas to pay yo’ ticket. Why does it feel like Nagin is still here! Nevermind. Movin’ ahead. Last time around, eighty percent of New Orleans flooded. Marti from FEMA was right on. Not to worry. Next time, the flooding be down to 60 percent, what with all the levee protection and daily checks that they have been doing on the New Orleans side. Jesus H. Holy Hispanic Christ – that should be a clue right there. You should read what is on those clipboards. It’s like Jack Nicholson at the Inn…”ALL WORK AND NO PLAY…”
    08/11/2015 4:22 AM DST USA

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