A week after securing a deal with state officials to keep New Orleans government funded through the end of the year, Mayor-elect Helena Moreno has taken the reins on crafting a municipal budget for 2026.

The City Council must approve next year's budget by Dec. 1, and the body is taking its cues from Moreno, now the council vice president, as she and her transition team dive deeply into city finances to come up with a spending plan that reflects her first-year priorities.

Moreno's proposal will replace a plan put forward by Mayor LaToya Cantrell in October , which the mayor-elect in recent weeks has described as unworkable. That plan featured $200 million in spending cuts.

Moreno, in an interview Monday, said next year's budget will have to include even steeper spending cuts than Ca

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