LA State Rep Stephanie Hilferty

Any property owner in Orleans, Jefferson, or St. Bernard Parish, if they turn over their tax bill and look on the backside, they will see where the money goes. A large portion goes to the local levee district.

That money should be used for flood protection: capital projects, levee maintenance, drainage-related infrastructure, and emergency readiness.

Instead, that money is now being used to fund what is basically private police details for select wealthy Lakefront neighborhoods.

Fortunately, Louisiana State Rep Stephanie Hilferty is sponsoring a bill—HB 1240—that will help stop this nonsense.

In addition, you should know that the levee district police chief, Joshua Rondeno, will make as much as $250,000 by 2029. The deal more than doubles the salary Rondeno’s predecessor earned.

The primary hurricane-related function of levee district police is to halt traffic so levee district personnel can close the gates. They also ride the system to ensure the gates remain closed. That is important work, but it is infrequent and could easily be handled by reassigned state police during storm events.

The current Landry-appointed levee board’s strange focus on policing select neighborhoods is a distraction that the people of metro New Orleans should be worried about.