New Orleans City Council Adopts Sanitation Fee Hike: Residential Rate Rises to $32.25 a Month
New Orleans is a city in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. The New Orleans City Council adopted several pieces of legislation at its regular meeting on October 1, including a revised ordinance raising sanitation fees, according to the meeting summary published on the council's website.
Ordinance No. 35,384, as amended, raises monthly sanitation fees to $32.25 for residential customers and $64.50 for non-residential customers from October 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027. The increases are intended to keep pace with rising collection costs and bring sanitation revenues more closely in line with the cost of providing services. Beginning January 1, 2028, a new fee structure based on service costs will take effect. The ordinance retains protections for low-income residents age 65 and older, allowing eligible households to receive an annual exemption from sanitation charge increases above the applicable historical rate.
The council also adopted Ordinance No. 35,495, establishing a Carnival Gap Adjustment for Parades Fee (GAP Fee) to help offset the city's costs for all aspects of Carnival parades. The amendment replaces the original $850-per-float fee, capped at $45,000 per organization, with a three-tier flat fee based on pull units: $4,250 for 14-27 pull units, $6,500 for 28-36, and $8,500 for 37-45. The fee must be paid by April 30 following the parade, with prepayment allowed from September 1 based on the previous parade's pull-unit count; organizations that land in a higher tier must pay the difference by April 30.
Ordinance No. 35,543 strengthens oversight of public-project contractors, requiring compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, key disclosures during bidding, and a fair process to disqualify contractors lacking qualifications, experience, or capacity, with penalties for violations.
On housing, the council adopted Resolution R-26-362 supporting the assignment and extension of an existing Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement for River Garden Apartments II in the Lower Garden District to help finance a nearly $10 million renovation. The property includes 310 mixed-income rental units and 25,000 square feet of commercial space; affordable units would increase from 124 to 153.
Motion M-26-368 directs the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) to develop and approve a plan to repay $13 million it owes the city, with the board required to approve a repayment proposal by October 1, 2026, and present it to the council.
Before the meeting, the council honored Susan Larson on her retirement as host of WWNO's The Reading Life and Bookmark programming, praising her book The Booklover's Guide to New Orleans as the definitive literary travel companion for the city.
(Source: New Orleans City Council, council.nola.gov, October 1 meeting summary)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，Bart Everson 摄，CC BY 2.0 授权
