Topics
GeographyHeadlinesInfrastructureKatrinaNeighborhoodsPeopleRecreation
|
FORWARD NEW ORLEANS
A Set of Principles
Revised May 10, 2006
The critical task of city government is to make citizens and businesses
believe that investing in the city's future makes sense. For this
reason the credibility of local government is critical to the city's
recovery and long-term prosperity.
Issue # 1 - Rebuilding Neighborhoods
To the maximum extent possible, individual property owners should
decide what to do with their property. To make informed
decisions, citizens must have accurate facts concerning flood safety,
city services, and the potential for blight in a given area; and
citizens should have clear, predictable, and stable rules for
rebuilding.
City officials must:
Make the rules for development in each area clear, predictable, and appropriate to post-storm realities.
Develop a realistic strategy that addresses
infrastructure, services, and blight within the confines of
realistically projected resources.
Make the rules for managing blight clear, consistent and
effective. Define property owner obligations to maintain
property, and pay property taxes; and define a reasonable and
predictable expropriation and resale process for owners who fail to
meet their obligations.
Provide citizens accurate information and specific time frames on what city services
will be available in a given neighborhood.
Work with federal government to insure accurate information re flood
maps, insurance, etc.
Issue # 2 - City Finances
The city is in financial crisis. The city has no reserves and is continuing to incur debt and deficits.
City officials must:
First and foremost ensure that a minimum level of basic city
services continue without interruption. These services are
defined as police and fire protection, sanitation, water
and sewer, streets, civil and criminal justice, street repair, and City
Planning
Commission.
Minimize operating losses and bring revenues into line with expenditures.
Right size city operations for current and future population levels.
Have zero tolerance for patronage or excessive spending.
Issue # 3 - Ethical City Government
Ethical government requires transparency with effective, aggressive
oversight. Elected officials must act in public interest and not
use offices to benefit themselves, their families, friends or
benefactors.
City officials must:
Support taking immediate steps to fill the position of Inspector General as provided for in the current City Charter.
Always provide transparency for the citizenry and recuse
themselves from policy decisions or votes which may in some
manner benefit themselves, their families, friends or benefactors.
Issue # 4 - Transparent, Standard, Competitive Bid Processes
Local voters adopted charter revisions in 1995 which require a
competitive selection process in answering professional services
contracts.
The selection of competent professionals in a fair and transparent manner is an obligation of city officials.
City officials must:
Work immediately on standardizing professional services
contracting to encompass a single process for all branches of city
government.
Ensure the evaluations of professional services contracting is
to be accomplished in an open transparent manner which provides full
disclosure.
Ensure performance measurements and monitoring of city contracts
are implemented during the first year of tenure in office.
Issue # 5 - City Planning Process
Consistent, predictable and fair rules and decisions for land use and
property development are vital to the city's economic
development. Having the City Council review individual zoning and
land use decisions undermines the integrity of sound planning practices
in city government.
City officials must:
Support and appropriate adequate funding and staffing for the City Planning Commission.
Support completion and adherence to a City Master Plan that
makes the rules for development in a given area clear, predictable and
fair; and gives the Master Plan the force of law.
Support a change to the City Charter restricting the City
Council's discretionary review of individual zoning, land use, planning
and preservation decisions.
Support City Planning Commission’s establishment of a program
for citizen participation, reporting, and transparency.
Issue # 6 - One Assessor
The current system of having seven different assessors in Orleans is
grossly unfair and inefficient, and exerts a corruption influence on
taxpayers and assessors.
City officials must:
Support and promote a consolidation to a one - assessor system
focused on ensuring accurate, systematic, and fair assessments.
Issue # 7 - Crime
An effective criminal justice system requires systemic competence in
all departments: this includes the police department, the District
Attorney's Office, the public defender, the Criminal Sheriff, the Clerk
of Court, and the judiciary. Each is indispensable to a healthy
criminal justice system.
City officials must:
Provide and support adequate funding for each component of the criminal justice system.
Mandate transparency, efficiency, and cooperation among member criminal justice system agencies.
Demand that criminal justice system agencies develop and articulate
strategies to restore waning public confidence in the system.
100 Day Accountability Report
After holding office for 100 days, elected city officials must be
willing to meet with business and community leaders to review each
official’s specific progress on these publicized critical issues.
The meetings will be open and transparent, and a continuous
accountability mechanism will be implemented.
|