As is often the case, Thursday's meeting of the City Council's Budget Committee offered both good news and bad news about New Orleans' financial condition. For every reassuring report about current conditions came a reminder of long-term problems and dangers.
On the seemingly bright side, the committee was told, city agencies were on track through May to spend $5 million less in 2013 than called for in their budgets. The biggest chunk of that, almost $3 million, is attributable to the fact that the average number of inmates at Orleans Parish Prison is running well below the 1,850 anticipated, meaning the city has to pay less to feed and house them.