PROCUREMENT AND DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY

New Orleans Home Rule Charter art. VI, ch. 3

in effect

New Orleans Home Rule Charter, art. VI, § 6-301 Procurement of Movable Property.

Section 6-301. - Procurement of Movable Property. (1) The Department of Finance shall be responsible for the procurement of all movable property to be paid for from any appropriation made by the Council. (2) (a) Before procuring any movable property, the Department of Finance shall ascertain whether or not movable property is available for transfer to satisfy any requisition, and if such is available, the transfer shall be made in lieu of all or a portion of the procurement with appropriate credits and charges to the budget units involved. (b) If such property is not available for transfer, the Department of Finance shall procure it from the lowest responsible bidder who conforms to the terms and specifications prepared by the Department, except in cases where competitive bids are not required by state or municipal law.

New Orleans Home Rule Charter, art. VI, § 6-302 Procurement of Immovable Property.

Section 6-302. - Procurement of Immovable Property. (1) The Bureau of Purchasing shall be responsible for the procurement of all immovable property, but only in conformity with the instructions of the Department of Property Management. (2) Requisitions for the procurement of immovable property which have been approved by the appropriate accounting officer as to availability of unencumbered fund balances shall be submitted to the Department of Property Management, which department shall ascertain whether property owned or leased by the City is available for the purpose requested. If such property is available, the Director of Property Management shall arrange for its assignment or transfer in cooperation with the budget units involved. If such property is not available, the Department of Finance shall procure the necessary property by purchase, lease, exchange or expropriation. (3) No immovable property shall be acquired by the City without the approval of the City Planning Commission as to its use, and where necessary, the approval of the Board of City Trusts. If either fails to act within thirty days of a request for approval, its approval shall be presumed. (4) All expropriation proceedings shall be instituted in the name of the City through the Department of Law.

New Orleans Home Rule Charter, art. VI, § 6-303 Insurance.

Section 6-303. - Insurance. (1) Insurance against fire, windstorm, and other hazards may be procured for the protection of the property of the City in such amounts and under such conditions as the Council shall ordain. (2) The City may, without waiver of its governmental immunity, procure public liability, bodily injury, and property damage insurance covering such risks and in such amounts as the Council may ordain, provided all such policies of insurance shall contain a stipulation that the insurer shall not assert the governmental immunity of the City as a defense of any suit on such policies. (3) All insurance shall be procured by the Department of Finance from companies licensed by the state to insure the types and amounts of risks involved.

New Orleans Home Rule Charter, art. VI, § 6-304 Surety Bonds.

Section 6-304. - Surety Bonds. Except as herein otherwise provided, the Council shall determine which officers and employees shall be required to furnish surety bonds and shall determine the amount of each such bond. The Department of Finance shall procure all such surety bonds from companies licensed to do business in the state. All such bonds shall be in favor of the City, and the premiums thereon shall be borne by the City.

New Orleans Home Rule Charter, art. VI, § 6-305 Disposition of Movable Property.

Section 6-305. - Disposition of Movable Property. Boards, department heads, and other officers having movable property which is not useful to them shall from time to time and at least annually furnish a list thereof to the Department of Finance. The Department of Finance shall examine such property, and if the same is found to be usable, it shall be returned to the central storehouse or inventoried for subsequent issue upon requisition. If it is found to be unusable for public purposes, the Director of Finance, after fixing a minimum price shall cause the property to be exchanged or sold at public auction to the highest bidder for not less than the minimum price established after advertisement in the official journal twice, and the proceeds shall be placed in the General Fund. By ordinance approved by two-thirds of all its members, the Council may authorize the sale without public bid of movable property not needed for public purposes at a shop or store operated by or under the authority of the City of New Orleans, and the proceeds shall be placed in the General Fund or another fund as specified in the ordinance.

New Orleans Home Rule Charter, art. VI, § 6-306 Disposition of Immovable Property.

Section 6-306. - Disposition of Immovable Property. (1) The Department of Property Management shall from time to time, and not less than once in two years, review the immovable property of the City and make recommendations to the Council and the City Planning Commission for the disposition of such property as is no longer needed. (2) With the prior approval of the Mayor and the City Planning Commission, the Council may ordain the sale or exchange of immovable property no longer needed. In its resolution of approval, the City Planning Commission may impose restrictions as to future use of such property in order to insure that its use will be in conformity with the plans developed or in process of development by the Commission. The Director of Finance, after fixing a minimum price, shall, either individually or through a person appointed by the Director, cause the property to be sold at public auction to the highest bidder for not less than the minimum price after advertisement in the official journal three times, and the net proceeds shall be placed the Capital Projects Fund. However, immovable property may be transferred for purposes of rehabilitation without public auction, in accordance with procedures authorized by state law.

New Orleans Home Rule Charter, art. VI, § 6-307 New Orleans Municipal Trust Fund.

Section 6-307. - New Orleans Municipal Trust Fund. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6-306 of this Chapter, all net proceeds resulting from a sale of any immovable property owned by the City having a sale price of more than five million dollars, including but not limited to the New Orleans International Airport, shall be placed in an expendable trust fund to be designated as the New Orleans Municipal Trust Fund. Specific donations or bequests to the New Orleans Municipal Trust Fund shall also be placed in the fund. The Council may from time to time appropriate additional funds to be placed in the Municipal Trust Fund. No appropriations shall be made from the fund except in accordance with paragraph (2) of this section. (2) The Council may by ordinance make appropriations from the New Orleans Municipal Trust Fund to the General Fund provided that the total appropriations in any fiscal year shall not exceed eighty percent of the amount reasonably anticipated to be earned on the amount contained in the fund during that fiscal year. The Council may by ordinance approved by a two-thirds vote of all its members appropriate to the Capital Projects Fund in any fiscal year up to fifty percent of the amount contained in the Municipal Trust Fund on the first day of that fiscal year. (3) The provisions of this section may be declared inapplicable to all or any portion of the proceeds of a sale of immovable property owned by the City if a resolution is adopted by affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the membership of the Council which states the Council's determination that: (a) The immovable property was used for an essential public service, such as sewerage, water, drainage, recreation, port, or railroad purposes, and the proceeds from the sale are necessary to continue to provide the service, either for replacement of the property sold or for capital improvements by the City department, board or agency for whose benefit the property was used; or (b) The immovable property was used primarily for office space or other essential support of City employees or activities, and the proceeds from the sale of the property are necessary to provide for replacement of that space or support; or (c) The immovable property is or was acquired pursuant to the terms of a donation, trust, contract, or law which would preclude the deposit of the proceeds from the sale of the property into the Municipal Trust Fund. The Council shall hold a public hearing on any resolution to declare this section inapplicable to a sale of immovable property, which hearing shall be advertised in the official journal once a week during the two weeks preceding the public hearing. (4) If the City disposes of immovable property by means of an exchange of property with additional cash compensation to the City, and the total value of the property and cash exceeds five million dollars, the provisions of this section shall apply to the cash proceeds of the transaction. (5) Despite its name, the Municipal Trust Fund shall not be subject to the provisions of Chapter 18 of Article IV of this Charter. However, conditional donations to the Municipal Trust Fund shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 18 of Article IV of the Charter.

New Orleans Home Rule Charter, art. VI, § 6-308 Contracts.

Section 6-308. - Contracts. (1) All formal written contracts to which the City is a party, except those executed pursuant to paragraph (5)(c) of this section, shall be signed by the Mayor or, under the Mayor's authorization, by the Chief Administrative Officer or the Director of Property Management. Contracts may be proposed by any officer, department or board but, before being presented for signature, shall be approved by the Department of Law as to form and legality. The City shall establish and maintain a program to encourage disadvantaged business enterprises to participate in any such contracts. (2) Prior to signature, contracts involving financial obligations by the City shall be approved also by the Department of Finance as to the availability of funds in the amounts and for the purposes set forth therein. Such contracts shall not extend beyond the term for which an appropriation to finance such obligations shall have been made. This paragraph shall not apply to obligations for the procurement of services from regulated utilities, telecommunication services, and sanitation services. (3) All construction of public buildings shall be done by contract in conformity with applicable state or municipal law. (4) Contracts for the leasing of property belonging to the City for periods of more than one year shall be subject to requirements which may be imposed by ordinance. (5) (a) Except in the purchase of unique or noncompetitive articles, competitive bids shall be secured before any purchase, by contract or otherwise, is made or before any contract is awarded for construction, alteration, repair or maintenance or for the rendering of any services to the City, other than professional services, and the purchase shall be made from or the contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after advertisement prescribed by ordinance or by applicable state or municipal law. (b) Contracts for professional services administered by the offices, departments, boards, and other agencies of the Executive Branch shall be awarded on the basis of a competitive selection process which shall be established by executive order of the Mayor. The competitive selection shall be made by a selection committee composed of at least three (3) individuals from within local government with relevant subject matter expertise who will review and evaluate proposals and make selections in meetings noticed and open to the public. The Committee's records shall be public. The Mayor shall not be a member of any such selection committee but may authorize, by executive order, exceptions to such competitive selection process resulting from emergencies that pose a threat to public health, safety, and welfare, as authorized by law. (c) Contracts for professional services administered by the Council, pursuant to its Charter functions, legislative authority and responsibilities, and regulatory authority and responsibilities, shall be awarded on the basis of a competitive selection process which shall be established by rule of the Council. Such contracts shall be signed by the Council president upon authorization by Motion adopted by a majority of the entire membership of the Council, except that pursuant to Section 4-403(2), contracts to employ special counsel shall require a two-thirds vote of the Council's entire membership. The Council rule may except contracts executed solely to assist the office of an individual councilmember. (d) Each such order or rule and any amendment thereto shall be published once in the official journal and shall be the subject of a public hearing at least seven days prior to its effective date. The Executive Branch or Council competitive selection processes may include a threshold amount below which the competitive selection process shall not be required. The amount of the threshold shall be established by ordinance. (6) The Director of Finance shall require of successful bidders a performance bond and, where appropriate, a labor and materials bond. The Director may in the exercise of sound discretion permit a bidder to file an annual bond to cover bids that may be made by, or the performance of contracts that may be awarded to, such bidder during an annual period. Such bond shall be in such amount as the Department of Finance may determine and may be increased or decreased from time to time as the Department may require, in order to keep it commensurate with the bids made or contracts awarded during the annual period. (7) The Council may by ordinance provide for the manner of executing other contracts and may in the case of any contract require the signatures of other officers in addition to those specified in this Section as it may deem proper for the protection of the interests of the City.

Source: City of New Orleans, Code of Ordinances and Home Rule Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/la/new_orleans/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PAI_HORUCH_ARTVIFIADPR_CH3PRDIPRFetched: 10/28/2026