New Orleans Trash Audit Reveals Wasteful Spending | New Orleans News

New Orleans’ trash system is in deep trouble after a damning state audit revealed massive waste — literally and financially. The city was paying contractors for thousands of invalid addresses, including retired homes, vacant lots, and even a hotel, while running a $21 million deficit. A requested review ahead of potential fee hikes found the current $24 monthly rate (unchanged since 2011) is woefully outdated — it should be at least $34.62 to cover inflation, and likely more to fix the shortfall. Nearly 8% of addresses — over 12,000 — may have been improperly included, with nearly 5,000 marked as retired. Over 400 duplicate addresses led to $318K in overpayments. Worse, the city and Sewerage and Water Board weren’t syncing records, meaning thousands got service without being billed. Now City Council faces tough choices: fix the broken system or pass the cost onto residents. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/bad602c1926056ad