After days of behind-the-scenes wrangling, Carnival krewe captains and city officials said Thursday they are getting closer to solving the puzzle of how to provide enough police protection to allow all Carnival parades to follow their original routes, which were shortened in 2022.
Key to that success was a decision announced by Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration Wednesday to pay New Orleans Police Department officers who are assigned to parades as much or more as the supplementary officers the city plans to hire to augment its depleted police force.
Meanwhile, Carnival krewes, which are responsible for rounding up qualified law enforcement officers from across the state, report that the goal seems to be coming into reach.
Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño said late Wednesday that the city will pay most NOPD officers at least the same $50 per hour wage that City Hall has offered to the auxiliary officers recruited by the krewes. If they work Fat Tuesday, NOPD officers will be paid the $75 per hour wage offered to police from other jurisdictions, he said.
The extra compensation will cost taxpayers be between $700,000 and $1 million, and will come from the city's reserves, Montaño said.
Due to a shortage of police officers and other service personnel last year, the lengths of all of the city’s parade paths were shortened. In October, the city announced that the routes would remain trimmed this Carnival season, to the...
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