Councilman Jason Williams said he was prompted to the delay the vote and create new regulations after meeting with the local community group Eye on Surveillance
Agencies are increasing cleaning, limiting trips, and schools are preparing for the potential of prolonged closures.
The proposal would reduce the Regional Transit Authority's payments to the tourism industry to $3 to $4 million a year, down from roughly $7 million.
The governing board of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center was told by its legal counsel at a Wednesday meeting that state law prevented them from requiring contractors to pay their employees higher wages than the federal minimum of $7.25.
The cameras may be used for law enforcement purposes, raising concerns from privacy advocates.
The plan will ad $4 to the average residential customer's monthly bills, but the City Council, Entergy and advocates all agree that savings will outweigh costs.
All four council members at the meeting said they were in favor of the idea, and a spokesperson for Mayor LaToya Cantrell said she was working with the council to create a draft ordinance.
If the City Council ratifies the changes, the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation will change from a marketing agency for the city’s tourism industry to a fund that supports New Orleans’ “cultural economy and culture-bearers.”
The council decided the new factory was worth it, despite aspects of both applications that violate local rules.
Port employees told The Lens that the debate over the mural evolved into a wider conversation over how the Port leadership handles issues of race, the treatment of non-white employees and the lack of people of color in senior staff positions.
