New Orleans administration officials are bracing for potential impacts to city operations under a constrained 2026 budget that’s already forced it to freeze hiring and look for new ways to raise revenue.

During the first day of annual budget hearings before the City Council Tuesday, Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration said a hiring freeze and under-funded city departments could mean payroll delays, reduced services and other shortcomings.

“These are conversations that families have at night when they're talking about their own budgets, what can I cut, what can I save," Councilmember Lesli Harris said. "We as a city family need to have those conversations and be really real about it."

The hearings come as the city manages the fallout of a multimillion deficit and expected revenue lo

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