Preliminary, unaudited figures indicate New Orleans balanced its budget in 2011, according to chief administrative officer Andy Kopplin.
Kopplin told the City Council’s budget committee last week that the city spent $484 million from its general fund in 2011, down $12 million from 2010 and $4 million from 2009.
None of the money came from federal loans or the city’s reserves, he said. Spending from those sources totaled $80 million over the last two years.
“Our preliminary indications show that we balanced the 2011 budget while dealing with increased employee health care costs and skyrocketing pension obligations,” Kopplin said. “For the first time since Hurricane Katrina, it appears we have balanced the budget without taking charges against our fund balance.”
Spending from non-recurring revenues totaled $17 million in 2011, down from $35 million in 2010 and $56 million in 2009.
Revenues in the first two months of 2012 totaled $162.8 million, up from $149.2 million in the same period of 2011. The total includes $26.8 million of sales and hotel taxes, and $7.3 million from the property tax.
New Orleans operates on a calendar fiscal year.
