NEW ORLEANS — Six weeks into her administration, Mayor Helena Moreno used her address at the GNO, Inc. annual luncheon to signal a coming overhaul of the city’s Safety and Permits department, outline steps to reduce red tape and detail efforts to the stabilize the New Orleans budget.
Speaking before around 1,200 business and civic leaders focused on regional economic development, Moreno encouraged the audience to view her administration as a reset.
“My theme for the inauguration was ALL IN. The leadership team I brought to city hall, every single one of them has that very specific mindset,” she said. “The past is the past. Put away what New Orleans government used to be. Now is a new day.”
Safety and Permits Reform
At the GNO, Inc. luncheon, Moreno announced that a new director of the Safety and Permits department has been selected, though she did not publicly name the appointee.
“I’m excited to report that while it did take me a minute to find the right candidate because I set the bar so high, we have selected a new director of Safety and Permits,” said Moreno. “I believe that Safety and Permits can no longer be what delays progress in our city. It can’t be what makes businesses go to other parishes because they feel like they can’t open a business in New Orleans. But we have finally found that right candidate.”
Moreno said a formal announcement naming the new director will be made soon.
Reducing Red Tape
Moreno also announced that in an effort to reduce red tape, the city is implementing DocuSign, allowing contracts, permits and other official documents to be signed electronically rather than routed through paper-based, in-person processes, speeding approvals and reducing administrative delays.
“We are reducing red tape every single day,” Moreno said.
Budget Stabilization
Moreno said her administration remains “laser-focused” on managing the city’s budget crisis, emphasizing internal restructuring.
“We are clawing our way out of the budget crisis that we are in by creating efficiencies, consolidating departments and work, eliminating positions, hiring freezes, overtime management, and reducing pressure on our general fund by moving some expenses to other budgets,” Moreno said.
She framed the work as part of a broader leadership approach introduced during her inauguration.
“My theme for the inauguration was ALL IN. The leadership team I brought to city hall, every single one of them has that very specific mindset.”
Infrastructure and City Services
Moreno said significant management and accountability reforms are already producing measurable results in infrastructure and basic services.
“In my first six weeks in office, I’m proud to report that we have repaired more than 1,000 street lights and launched the infrastructure coordination council,” she said.
The council operates similarly to the Super Bowl task force, maintaining that same level of coordination year-round.
The administration has created an in-house Street Maintenance Unit within the Department of Public Works that adds 50 employees to accelerate road and sidewalk repairs. The city also secured separate capital investments — including $2.8 million for lighting enhancements along I-10 and $6.25 million for street and sidewalk repaving — to support broader infrastructure improvements.
“I was able to do all of this by not touching our general fund. This was all done by thinking outside the box,” said Moreno.
