Does anyone else find it strange that the mayor of a city purporting to face a budget crisis would go so far out of her way to sabotage a solid source of future revenue already blessed by a court ruling and careful negotiations with high profile concerned parties? It seems strange to me. But here we are.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Monday vetoed $20 million New Orleans had promised for renovations to Charity Hospital, deepening a feud over the city's right to proceeds from a donated swath of oil-rich Louisiana coastline.
The city's $20 million pledge to Tulane University, which plans to turn the long-vacant Depression-era hospital into a new research center, emerged from negotiations over who should receive proceeds from the 38,000-acre plot around Port Fourchon, which is owned by the Wisner Trust. Tulane is one of several legacy recipients of money generated by that land.
Up until this point, the mayor's (illegal, according to the judge) extension of the Wisner Trust granted her wide discretion over the funds to distribute as personal political patronage, even if it deprived the city of a larger pot of revenue overall. While that's not an ideal situation, it's not hard to understand her motivation to maintain control over the money. But Cantrell won't be the mayor much longer so it's not clear why it matters to her that the office she is vacating maintain control over the smaller pot of money going forward.
What piece of this story are we missing?
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