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Pay as you go
Saturday, July 30, 2005
The state is supposed to reimburse the city of New Orleans for police and other services to Harrah's mammoth gambling hall on Canal Street, but Mayor Ray Nagin can't get the governor or Legislature to make good on their promise.

Despite a $1.2 billion increase in the state budget this year, Gov. Kathleen Blanco claims there is no way to pay the city the $12 million it is owed. Her poor-mouthing simply isn't believable.

Besides, the state has a formal agreement to reimburse the city for the roughly $3.6 million per year it spends on support services to Harrah's. The money is supposed to be paid, period. Yet the state allocated only $1 million for the city in the budget approved during the legislative session this spring. That is essentially the same amount the city got in each of the previous couple of years, which leaves roughly $12 million unpaid since 2001.

In frustration, Mayor Nagin said this week that the city simply can't continue to provide the services if it isn't going to be reimbursed. Good for him. New Orleans has many pressing needs, and it can't afford to focus so many resources on Harrah's without any hope of getting the money back.

For instance, the city is spending $1.5 million per year on police overtime to provide round-the-clock protection at the casino. Given the level of violence in New Orleans, that money would be better spent on crime-fighting efforts citywide.

Despite the efforts of the New Orleans legislative delegation, the city's request for reimbursement keeps getting bogged down in the state budget process. Lawmakers from elsewhere in Louisiana claim that the city gets enough from the state and from Harrah's already.

But this argument ignores the strain on city services from the huge gambling operation that the state allowed to be built here. And it also ignores the fact that the state, which approved the license allowing the casino to be built, promised to repay the city for expenses related to Harrah's.

If lawmakers don't understand that the state ought to pay its debts, Gov. Blanco should.

http://www.nola.com