Mayor’s second-in-command addresses possible state takeover of city spending

WWL Louisiana spoke with Joe Threat, New Orleans’ Chief Administrative Officer, at City Hall Wednesday. He and Mayor Latoya Cantrell had appeared at a special City Council meeting that morning.

The meeting was to introduce, among other measures, a resolution to require the Mayor’s Office to submit four years of financial history to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor for review. The LLA would then make recommendations as to how to avoid a massive deficit like this year’s again.

Wednesday afternoon, the state’s Fiscal Review Committee will meet in Baton Rouge to discuss the possibility of appointing a fiscal administrator for the city. The meeting was proposed in a post on X by Gov. Jeff Landry.

A fiscal administrator would have broad power over the city’s operations. According to state la