Town Hall Meeting July 22, 2014 

Call To Order & Pledge Of Allegiance 

Format • Introductions / General Overview • Explore The Source Of The Problem • Solution: Freddy’s 5 Point Plan • Elected Official Commentary • Open Microphone / Questions / Responses • Closing Remarks & Next Steps 

Introduction • “Fix My Streets” Organization • Twitter/Instagram @FixMyStreets • Hastag #FixMyStreets • http://FaceBook.com/FixMyStreets • http://FixMyStreetsNOLA.com • Email: [email protected] 

Introduction • Thank you to all in attendance, both citizens and elected officials. • Purpose is not about finding fault or giving examples of problems. We know the problems. This exercise should be productive in content and the comments made. 

Source Of The Problem History / Background Information / Previous Solutions 

Source Of The Problem • 40 Years Of Neglect • Roads build on swampland + high water table • Apparent lack of intra-department communication in City Government 

Source Of The Problem • Katrina Disaster ! ! ! ! 

Source Of The Problem ! • Only 19 out of the 50 largest cities in each state pay higher mileage/taxes. • http://cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ocfo/publication/attachments/2012%20Tax %20Rates%20and%20Tax%20Burdens_NATIONWIDE.pdf 

Source Of The Problem • Property taxes are suppose to and described as a tool to maintain infrastructure (from the Assessors website): ! ! 

Source Of The Problem • Low millage priority 

Source Of The Problem • Budgetary low priority as well • 1.5% of Total Adopted Budget of ~$850M • (Total budget includes grants and external funds) • 2.9% of The General Fund Budget of ~$500M • (General Fund includes property tax contributions) • (see chart on next slide) 

Source Of The Problem 

Source Of The Problem • Lack of complete and full understanding of the problem, lots of unanswered questions: • What will it cost to really fix our streets? • Millions or billions? • Over how long of a period of time will it take? • Where will funds come from? 

We Need Solutions First We’ll Identify Some Goals 

Solutions / Goals • Citizen Solidarity and Support • Going to require a lot of volunteer hours • Will need to support creative endeavors • Realize we might potentially have to pay more 

Solutions / Goals • Inclusivity / Everyone needs to be on-board • All impacted areas of the city have to be involved 

Solutions / Goals • Cooperation! • Private entities • Public entities • State DOTD • Federal Government 

Solutions / Goals • Transparency & Trust • Responsiveness and openness from all parties • Periodic Reporting • (Monthly updates to the general public) 

Solutions / Goals • Creativity! • finding appropriate level of expertise to aid in finding and executing solutions 

Solutions / Goals • Sustainability! • We need to commit to the long-haul • Solutions need to be realistic and maintainable 

Freddy’s 5 Point Plan 

Freddy’s 5 Point Plan 1. Town Hall Meeting 2. Organize executive and sub-committees 3. Form citizens group to survey & evaluate streets 4. Resolve committee and citizen group data into report 5. Evaluate options & disseminate full report at future Town Hall meeting 

Freddy’s 5 Point Plan • Background Of Success • We have a proven track record for success in solving tough problem 

Freddy’s 5 Point Plan 1. Town Hall Meeting! • THIS MEETING TODAY IS STEP 1! • Call To Action For Citizens and Public Officials • Have Town hall meetings to get the citizens input and ideas for improvement 

Freddy’s 5 Point Plan 2. Organization of Committees! • Establish Executive Committee • Sub-committees: • Budgetary committee • State & Federal Highway Committee • Survey Committee • Estimation Committee 

Freddy’s 5 Point Plan 3. Citizen Group To Survey Problem Areas! • Survey and Inspection Citizens group to gather, evaluate and report back to the Executive Committee the damage areas with detailed reporting 

Freddy’s 5 Point Plan 4. Estimation and Cost Evaluation! • Estimating and Cost evaluation committee to put a price or cost estimate and prioritize the areas that are the worst to best in need of repairs 

Freddy’s 5 Point Plan 5. Evaluate shortfalls and course of action! • Work with city, state and federal governments to determine what monies are available, needed and where the funds will come from. • Determine if it is possible to re-prioritize the budget to allocate more money to street repair. • Find cost saving methods. • What can the citizens do to help with additional funding, maintains taxes or paving lien programs to generate additional funding 

Freddy’s 5 Point Plan • Summary • Town Hall Meeting - Have regular Town hall meeting with citizens and elected officials to explore new ideas and monitor progress. • Executive Committee - Form an executive committee to coordinate all aspects of the street recovery program • Survey and Inspect - The citizens will perform necessary surveys and inspect all streets to determine the magnitude of our problem • Cost and necessary funding - Evaluate the cost to repair our streets and what funds are available or additional needed for these improvements. • Funding Sources - Determine all available funding sources or explore new ideas for additional funding sources. 

Public Official Commentary 

Reading of Citizen Cards 

Response to Citizen Cards By Officials & FixMyStreet Organization 

Closing Remarks • Need to stop “Kicking The Can” • This is everybody’s problem. • How much worse does this problem have to be? • Are you ready to invest your time, talent and treasures to resolve this problem?= 

Closing Remarks • Let’s stop saying “can’t” and partner with the City to save the neighborhoods we love. • Tonight is the easy part. • Putting the plan in place with an implementation is going to be harder. • The plan needs commitment from everybody. • Our commitment and dedication will determine our success or failure 

Closing Remarks • ARE YOU UP TO THE TASK? 

Closing Remarks • “Fix My Streets” Organization • Twitter/Instagram @FixMyStreets • Hastag #FixMyStreets • http://FaceBook.com/FixMyStreets • http://FixMyStreetsNOLA.com • Email: [email protected]