Tagged: ray nagin

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wwno/local-wwno-876427.mp3

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has announced budget cuts he says are to the "bare bones." He said next year's budget approved by the City Council gave him no choice but to slash spending.

Mayor Nagin said City Hall and other offices will be closed on Fridays. Police will have to make do with the amount of fuel it used at levels set last year. City workers will be paying more money for reduced health care.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is under fire on several matters that he confronted in a wide-ranging news conference outside City Hall.

It was set up to announce direct flights to Mexico and Honduras. But after only a few questions were posed on that subject, Mayor Nagin stood alone in front of the podium and answered questions about how he's been making the news lately.

About his former technology director, Greg Meffert, picking up the tab for a Hawaiian vacation for the Nagin family in 2004.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is reviewing the budget approved after a 12-hour City Council session. Whether he signs it isn't clear. The mayor wanted a tax increase to fill a $24 million budget shortfall. The council instead plugged much of the deficit with the city's disaster loans. Nagin calls the tactic a "financial train wreck."

The council has control of about half the $1.1 billion budget. Federal and state grants make up the rest.