New Orleans withdraws request for loan approval from state following Murrill indictment kerfuffle 

The mayor of New Orleans says the city is withdrawing its request for a loan approval to maintain city services after it became clear the state intended to deny it. 

The approval was slated to go before the State Bond Commission next week, which must approve most debts taken on by public entities. The loan would have come from a private entity and would have helped finance city services during what has become a difficult budget era for the city. 

“I made the decision to withdraw our application before next week’s Bond Commission meeting because it had become clear that denial was imminent,” Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Fortunately, we have identified a path to get us through 2026 without needing Bond Commission approval for a third-party loan, but it won’t be easy.” 

“Beyond the Bond Commission matter, we are hearing warnings that some state leaders may pursue separate efforts to target the City’s finances, including the casino lease proceeds that recently strengthened our reserves and other critical funding sources,” Moreno added. 

Following Moreno’s announcement Thursday, Gov. Jeff Landry publicly posted a response letter in which he questioned how the city could need the maneuver. 

“How is it that the City one day needs $110 million and today it does not?” Landry wrote. 

Moreno responded in a letter of her own that the loan was part of a long-term plan to stabilize the city’s finances by allowing it to spread difficult budgetary corrections over a longer period of time. 

Moreno described moving forward without the loan as achievable, but more painful. 

Landry later shot back on X, the platform previously known as Twitter. 

“I understand your desire not to trade public letters, as that seems to be an indictable offense in the City of New Orleans,” Landry wrote. “Your letter confirms what has been the customary practice of the City; to utilize the State as an ATM to balance the City’s budget, when more fiscally responsible means are available. I commend the City for now taking the more fiscally responsible approach.” 

“Please remember the State and its citizens are not an ATM on Bourbon Street!,” Landry added. 

“The Louisiana Treasury Department and State Bond Commission stand ready to work with the City of New Orleans and assist them with any needs they have relative to their current financial difficulties,” Treasurer John Fleming, a Republican who chairs the commission, said in a statement to the Illuminator. 

Fleming told the New Orleans Times-Picayune the bond commission and treasury department “are not a party for punitive actions.” 

The withdrawal comes as tensions between the Democratic-controlled city and the Republican-controlled state government have been sharply rising. 

During the legislative session that ended last month, Republican lawmakers voted to eliminate nine judgeships, revoke funding for 10 district attorneys in the city and abolish the position of criminal district court clerk just days before newly-elected clerk Calvin Duncan, a former incarcerated person whose name has been cleared, was slated to take office. 

Gov. Jeff Landry also aggressively targeted New Orleans with line-item budget vetoes. 

After the New Orleans City Council attempted to fight back against the law eliminating Duncan’s position, Murrill sent letters to city officials threatening to remove them from office. 

Subsequently, a grand jury in New Orleans initiated an investigation into Murrill and ultimately indicted her for intimidating public officials earlier this month. A warrant was issued for her arrest, but stayed by the state Supreme Court.

Moreno has said she was not involved in the indictment, according to The Times-Picayune. 

Following the back-and-forth statements between Landry and Moreno Thursday, Landry also sent a letter to legislative leadership urging them to ask that the Legislative Auditor investigate ongoing construction on Decatur Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter, which local business owners have alleged is costing them money.