NEW ORLEANS — How did a $160 million deficit slip through the cracks? The City Council has criticized Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration for failing to sound the alarm sooner. But documents and interviews suggest there may have been red flags as early as a year ago.

Early Warnings About Overtime Spending

It was revealed at a recent City Council meeting that, back in April 2024, NOPD warned that its overtime spending was becoming unsustainable.

"There are people in departments who are budget analysts; their job is to tell you if you’re overspending or running into a potential crisis, like the April series of emails within the police department. April of 2024, when the budget analyst in the police department said if we don’t stop misusing overtime, we’re going to run into a crisis. Yo

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