In 2011, Yenni put up a package of 6 property taxes designed
to primarily fund capital projects (buildings, vehicles, etc.). The Mayor,
along with Police Chief Steve Caraway and a representative of the Kenner Fire
Department, put on a Powerpoint presentation to any Civic Association that would
have them. In the end, despite his efforts, all 6 taxes were overwhelmingly
defeated by the voters.
Now, instead of new taxes, Yenni wants to
re-bond debt set to expire in 2018 and tie up that funding for an additional 15
years. The new funding will be used on a multitude of projects offered up by Yenni’s
Economic Development Committee. The Mayor has not offered exact details of his “2030
Vision” but potential projects include rehabbing the old Kenner High School,
extending West Napoleon to the Airport Access road, and beautification projects
throughout Kenner including Chateau Blvd. Here's a link to a July 2012 article about the Mayor's "Vision"
Billed "as part of the Kenner 2030 Plan for Improving Kenner's Political Climate", the Mayor fails to note that next year Kenner will have an opportunity to really improve "Kenner's Political Climate" when it can vote in a new Mayor and Council.
In an email to Kenner City Councilmembers obtained by ClickJefferson.com, Alicia Schulz, Executive Coordinator in the Mayor’s Office and writing on behalf of Deputy CAO Natalie Newton, says “Newton would like me to reach out to the leaders of the Kenner Civic Associations” and asks the Councilmembers to “please send me any listing you have of your Civic Associations’ contact and/or mailing information”.
While it is curious that Mayor Yenni does not already know
who the leaders are of the handful of Kenner Civic Associations, it is also
curious that Yenni is calling these “City Listening Sessions”. It is not clear
whether the City will be listening to the people or the people will be
listening to the City.
In any event, I’m sure Yenni, possibly with others, will do
the majority of the talking. The Mayor has been criticized for not seeking
citizen input in the past. At one point, he would leave the Council meetings before citizens had the opportunity to address the Council and he used his column to author a piece that criticized citizens for speaking out.
In the Mayor’s favor, this time around he just needs to
convince the 7 members of the Kenner City Council to go along with him and not
the voters. Obviously the Mayor learned a lesson in 2011 that he doesn’t want
to repeat. Unfortunately, for the people of Kenner, he didn't learn the lesson of less government and less government spending and would rather mortgage Kenner's future for some dubious projects.
