Council members also questioned whether the Cantrell administration is properly tracking and allocating millions in funds dedicated to short-term rental enforcement.
Entergy threatened to bring litigation against the city or try to change the profit rate again next year, which would cost customers an additional $7 million in regulatory costs, the company claimed.
The exemption the company wants to transfer predates new rules calling for local input.
The majority of city schools earned a C or a D in the Louisiana Department of Education annual A-F letter grade ratings released Wednesday. The ratings take into account state standardized tests and other factors.
Sen. Troy Carter told The Lens that the fines were levied in error, and there were never any true violations on the house.
Last week, Mayor Cantrell sided with Entergy over the City Council, saying the company should be allowed to collect a greater profit from customers.
The state identified issues with the schools last year after monitoring them as part of a federal consent decree. They were placed on corrective action plans months ago. It’s not clear why the district waited until last week to respond.
Coalition that includes the city among its members still supports lower rate of profit for utility, despite the mayor's recent support for Entergy.
Also at Thursday’s budget hearing, the Orleans Public Defender’s Office advocated for greater funding, saying their current budget isn’t enough to end a year-long hiring freeze.
Earlier this year, officials asked for as many as 16 new STR enforcement employees. That later went down to three. Emails show that top-ranking officials were nervous about how new enforcement rules would affect city tax revenue.
