City Government
Councilmember Fielkow opened the city’s professional services contracting process to the public via open meetings law, quite an important legislative accomplishment. The previous Mayor vetoed the ordinance, yet Mayor Landrieu recently issued executive orders that included, among other things, new procedures for the issuance of professional service contracts and the ability of the public to view how these contracts are awarded.
Government Affairs Committee In an effort to promote further transparency, Councilman Fielkow authored the ‘Subcontractor Ordinance’, which requires the identification of all contractors and subcontractors that the City does business with through a sworn affidavit, which will become a standard component to all city contracts. Failure to comply with the new law will result in the City suspending payment to any company that does not provide this information. This Ordinance promotes transparency and openness by having companies that do business with the City reveal all individuals that have an ownership stake in them – down to the subcontractor level.
In addition to requiring transparency in City Contracts, he also made a significant step towards ensuring that the public has access to City Council. Per Councilmember Fielkow’s suggestion, one City Council meeting of every four will be held at 3pm so that those constituents with daytime commitments can attend.
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Budget & Economic Development
Leading the development of a public private partnership (PPP) for economic development, Councilmember Fielkow is creating a business and economic development organization that brings public and private economic development functions together under a single entity which can then manage the many different aspects of a city’s economic development. The PPP for economic development will have several key functions and responsibilities, including the following: Business Retention, Business Expansion, Marketing, Prospect Engagement, Prospect Negotiation, Small Business Services, Entrepreneurship Development, Public Policy, Strategic Planning and Attracting International business Opportunities.
Economic Development & Special Projects Additionally, Councilmember Fielkow successfully fought an effort to limit local and disadvantaged business participation by submitting a Resolution opposing a House Bill to repeal requirements for selecting Disadvantaged Business Enterprises as subcontractors. Locally owned businesses and socially or economically disadvantaged businesses, coined DBE’s, received a boost after the City Council’s unanimous passage of an ordinance codifying local and DBE goals for municipal contracts. The proposed State Bill threatened the progress made in New Orleans regarding codified local and DBE goals. The city’s codified DBE ordinance established a goal that a minimum of 50 percent of any project funded by the city must be controlled by local businesses. It also establishes an overall goal that a minimum of 35 percent of any project funded by the city must be controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged businesses.
Budget, Audit, & Board of Review Committee As chair of the Budget Committee, he pushed for Budget Reform in which the Mayor’s office would prepare the City’s Budget two weeks earlier than usual (October 15th), ensuring that the Council has enough time to analyze it as well as hold public hearings. The Reform also requires that detailed information, which was not necessary before, be inserted into the Budget.
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Youth & Education
Co-chair of the Youth and Recreation Committee, Councilmember Fielkow is also a father of five and highly motivated to promote equality amongst playgrounds in neighborhoods throughout the City. The current disparity of playgrounds is one of the main factors that prompted him to run for a seat on the New Orleans City Council more than four years ago. CM Fielkow’s efforts for equity of recreation facilities and programs culminated in a Charter amendment that was passed by a 74% vote of the public on October 2nd, 2010. The amendment will abolish the New Orleans Recreation Department as a City Hall department and replace it with a new agency, the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission.
The Commission will be a public private partnership governed by a 13 member board made up of members of the private sector as well as elected officials. Youth & Recreation Committee This model was recommended after several years of evaluation of “best practices” of municipal recreation by the City Council Youth and Recreation Committee, the New Orleans Recreation Department Citizens Advisory Panel (NORD CAP) and a month of close partnership with the Landrieu Administration. The new NORD Commission would sidestep the pitfalls that have plagued NORD due to a lack of continuity among public officials. Among the goals of the new NORD Commission are equity among all neighborhood recreation facilities and programs, as well as making sure that there is adequate funding for the Commission to succeed.
In addition to improving NORD, CM Fielkow initiates and organizes several youth programs throughout the year. In June of 2010, he organized a second annual trip to Birmingham with 130 children from various New Orleans neighborhoods. The trip combined sports with Civil Rights in an effort to engage kids in learning about the history of our region. In August 2010, Council President Fielkow and the New Orleans Public Library partnered to bring 40 New Orleans youth, between the ages of 12 – 15, to the Vero Beach Sports Village, formerly Dodgertown. The all expenses paid recreational and educational trip focused on team building, conflict resolution, life skills and literacy while having fun at the Vero Beach Sports Village located in Vero Beach, Florida, which is now being operated by Minor League Baseball TM.
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Disaster & Recovery
From hurricanes to the most recent oil spill, New Orleans and the surrounding area have faced several catastrophes in recent years. Because of our experiences, we are becoming the model city for preparedness and recovery from disasters, be they man-made or natural. The City Council received reports from area parish leaders, as well as visited the affected areas to actively follow the progress of the spill and clean-up efforts. Councilmembers also participated in conference calls and meetings with federal, regional and local officials focusing on coastal protection strategies and available resources for citizens and businesses.
Disaster & Recovery Committee These efforts resulted in: Resolutions encouraging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expedite the implementation of local coastal protection plans; legislation to expedite construction of coastal protection measures, and support funding for claims, coastal restoration, hurricane protection and flood control, and the immediate sharing of offshore oil and gas lease revenues; a response strategy and clean up efforts coordinated between federal, state and local officials and neighboring parishes
Disasters do more than physical damage, however. Katrina, for instance, damaged our City’s reputation. Thus, Tulane University President Scott Cowen and CM Fielkow jointly created the Fleur de Lis Ambassador program to combat the national misperception of New Orleans’ recovery, proliferated in many ways by the national media. Due to the Deepwater Horizon spill, we are re-energizing the Ambassador program. Our mission is to continue to rebrand our City in the eyes of America, spreading the message that New Orleans is an economically viable, livable city with recovery mechanisms in place.
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