Pretty soon we're all gonna have budget PTSD

First of all, these budget phone calls are bad.  The townhalls Mitch used to do were also bad in that they had no discernible effect on the Mayor's budget proposal which, often, was already basically written by the time the meetings happened. It's less clear the Cantrell people have things so well in hand. But that still doesn't mean the "public input" gathered over the phone will have much impact. At least with the townhall format, there was an air of unpredictability.  Sure the public comments were just as rambling and off-topic but they weren't pre-approved.

Since the campaign ended, Cantrell has shied from town hall-style events and open-ended news conferences with reporters, preferring to speak at luncheons and breakfast meetings. But by her second telephone town hall, she had seemed to grow more comfortable responding to residents on the fly, though callers were screened before being put through to the mayor.

When you remove the possibility that things could go completely off the rails, the value of these sessions falls dramatically.  Most calls say little about budget priorities as such and focus instead on "quality of life issues," often comically specific to the particular caller.  Here, for what it's worth, is me live-tweeting the October 4 call.  Most of what we heard there were local gripes about particular potholes or streetlights. Although there were a few good ones in there. One caller asked a good question about NORA held property.  There was a question about drug testing.  Oh and this one (via the Advocate write-up) was especially on point.

Allison DeJong called on Cantrell to honor a pledge she made during her mayoral campaign and increase pay for city employees and those who are working on city contracts to $15 an hour. New Orleans now has a "living wage" ordinance, but the rate is currently set at $11.05 an hour.

“I ask you find the money in the budget to do that because we know that $15 isn’t enough, really, it’s more like $18 or $19 (an hour) to live in this city with the affordable housing crisis we’re seeing,” DeJong said.

But those are far and few between.  Plus they're difficult to get past the call screener without buttering the mayor up a bit.

But residents on both calls seemed happy that at least someone was listening.

The conversations often turned into public gripe opportunities, even as most callers were extremely warm to the mayor, congratulating her on the election and striking an optimistic tone. And it was easy to see why: Cantrell is clearly a good listener, and has a unique ability to empathize in a way that connects with the public.

Right. You have to compliment these people when you talk to them. It's what makes them good listeners.  Although, I'm not sure the NOLA.com article interprets this last exchange properly.

When one resident told Cantrell that he thinks post-traumatic stress disorder is a root cause of many of the city's problems, Cantrell agreed: "I think many of us are suffering from PTSD, man."

Recall an earlier occasion on which the mayor had to process a heavy dose of public feedback regarding her choice of Warren Riley for the city's Homeland Security post.  Cantrell acquiesced to the complaints but also condescendingly concluded that they must have stemmed from "lingering trauma" rather than rational policy concern.  I can't help but wonder if the caller her was referencing that on the sly.