Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s plan to charge extra sales taxes in the French Quarter to pay for more policing has cleared the City Council.
City lawmakers unanimously voted Thursday (April 23) to create a taxing district, a first step toward placing the measure on the Oct. 24 ballot.
Should French Quarter voters eventually agree, the measure would create an “economic development district” that could collect an extra quarter-cent sales tax in New Orleans’ premiere tourist spot. The money would help finance more police patrols, special security details, civilian patrols and a continued state police presence in that historic neighborhood, officials said.
“This ensures that plan remains in place and is paid for primarily by visitors to New Orleans as opposed to on the backs of businesses and residents of the Quarter,” said Ryan Berni, Landrieu’s chief strategist, who equated it to the many security districts that have cropped up around the city.
Landrieu has estimated the tax could generate $2 million a year.
Read the full article from The Times-Picayune at NOLA.com.