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THIS IS WDSU NEWS AT 6:00. SULA: AN ELABORATE PARTY THROWN BY MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL. AT 3000 PEOPLE INVITED. IT COST MORE THAN $60,000. THE TAXPAYER FLOATED THE BULK OF THE BILL. NOW, THERE ARE NEW QUESTIONS AS THE MAYOR’S OFFICE MAY HAVE TURNED TO COMPANIES THAT WOULD LATER BE AWARDED BUSINESS WITH THE CITY. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER TRAVERS MACKEL IS LIVE WITH THE DOCUMENTS YOU WILL ONLY SEE ON 6. TRAVERS: THE PARTY WAS A 2018 ESSENCE FEST KICKOFF EVENT. TO HELP COVER THE COST, TWO MAJOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES DONATED MONEY TO A NONPROFIT TO COVER NEARLY 40% OF THE COST. THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS CAME AT THE SAME TIME THE CITY WAS SOLICITING BIDS FOR LUCRATIVE FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS, WHICH WERE ULTIMATELY AWARDED TO THESE SAME TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES. INTERNAL RECORDS SHOW AT LEAST ONE HIGH RANKING CITY HALL STAFFER AT THE TIME TRIED TO BLOW THE WHISTLE ON THE WHOLE THING. BUT IT APPEARS NO ONE WAS LISTENING. THE PICTURES TELL THE STORY. INSIDE CANAL PLACE SHOPPING MALL, THE NEWLY ELECTED MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS THREW A HUGE PARTY. HER ESSENCE FEST KICK-OFF EVENT. ESSENCE PROVIDED THE HEADLINER , RAPPER M.C. LYTE BUT ALL OF THE PARTY PLANNING DETAILS WERE HANDLED THROUGH CITY HALL. IT HAPPENED IN JULY OF 2018, ABOUT 6 WEEKS AFTER MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL TOOK THE OATH OF OFFICE >> AS THE MAYOR OF THIS GREAT CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. TRAVERS: THE PARTY AT CANAL PLACE WAS ONE OF THE NEW ADMINISTRATION’S FIRST BIG EVENTS. INTERNAL RECORDS WDSU INVESTIGATES OBTAINED THROUGH A PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST SHOW TH THE MAYOR’S OFFICE INCREASED THE PARTY’S BUDGET 75%, FROM 36,000 TO 63,000. IT RAISED RED FLAGS INTERNALLY. >> ON THERE WERE THE EXPENSES NEEDED TO CREATE AN EVENT THAT WOULD BE RESPECTFUL AND CELEBRATE ESSENCE. TRAVERS: ELLEN LEE IS THE MAYOR’S DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. RECORDS SHOW THE CITY’S OFFICE OF CULTURAL ECONOMY WAS TASKED WITH ORGANIZING THE PARTY. THAT DEPARTMENT FALLS UNDER LEE. IS 63,000, IS 63,000 OVER BUDGET FOR THAT EVENT? >> THAT WAS THE BUDGET AND THA WAS THE COST OF THE EVENT. $63,000 IS WHERE WE WERE. THAT’S A COMBINATION OF RESOURCES FROM THE CITY AND SPONSORSHIPS. TRAVERS: THE SPONSORSHIPS HAVE CAUGHT THE EYE OF SOME POLITICAL OBSERVERS. THE POLITICAL SIGN DEPARTMENTS WAS RAN FOR YEARS BY ED CHERVENAK. >> THE OPTICS DON’T LOOK GOOD. TRAVERS: AT&T AND VERIZON WROTE CHECKS TO COVER THE COSTS. CITY OFFICIALS DISCUSSED A $10,000 CONTRIBUTION FOR THE MAYOR’S PARTY. LATER, A $15,000 CHECK FROM VERIZON. THE MONEY WOULD BE DONATED TO THE NOLA 2018 FOUNDATION. A NONPROFIT THAT RAISE MONEY FOR THE RENOVATION OF GALLIER HALL. IT IS TECHNICALLY LEGAL. AT THE TIME, THEY WERE SEEKING A FRANCHISE WITH CITY HALL TO EXPAND 5G COVERAGE TO NEW ORLEANS. >> THAT’S NOT A GOOD LOOK. TRAVERS: THE OFFICIAL CALENDAR EVEN SHOWS THE MAYOR MET WITH EACH COMPANY BEFORE THE PARTY. >> HOW ARE THEY CHOSEN? >> ASK ME A BETTER QUESTION. TRAVERS: THEY PAID $25,000 FOR THE PARTY AT THE SAME TIME THEY WERE SEEKING AGREEMENTS WITH THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. HOW WERE THEY SELECTED? >>>> I’M NOT AWARE THEY WERE SEEKING FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS. FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS ARE APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL. TRAVERS: DID YOU KNOW THEY PAID $25,000? >> I WAS AWARE THEY WERE PROVIDING’S PARTNERSHIPS -- SPONSORSHIPS. TRAVERS: AT&T AND VERIZON WERE NOT DOING BUSINESS WITH THE CITY WHEN THEY CUT THE CHECKS, ONLY SEEKING TWO. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE OPTICS? THEY WROTE A CHECK AT THE SAME TIME THEY WERE TRYING TO DO BUSINESS WITH NEW ORLEANS. >> I THINK THESE ARE REALLY UNRELATED INCIDENTS. WE CAN TALK ABOUT OPTICS. IT IS A MARKETING EVENT. >> PEOPLE WHO WORK IN GOVERNMENT KIND OF GET INSIDE OF A BUBBLE AND ARE NOT REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT PERCEPTIONS. TRAVERS: STAFFERS PAINT A PICTURE ON THE PARTY BEING FUNDED AND PLANNED. ONE PERSON, THE HEAD OF THE MAYOR’S OFFICE OF CULTURAL ECONOMY AT THAT TIME, SAID HE WAS VERY CONCERNED, AND BLASTED OTHER STAFFERS FOR LACKING TRANSPARENCY. >> WHEN I LOOKED AT THE DOCUMENT , I SAW DYSFUNCTION IN THE OFFICE OF CULTURAL ECONOMY. >> MILLER EVEN POINTED THE CITY PAID $1800 FOR STILT WALKERS, AND THERE WERE NONE. >> THERE WERE THREE FLOORS AT THE CANAL PLACE EVENT. RECORDS SHOW AFTER THE PARTY WAS OVER, MILLER SOUNDED THE ALARM RE-SEPARATE TIMES ON THE $63,000 COST, SAYING ON JULY 23, WE NEED TO ASSIGN A DEEP DIVE INTO THE SERVICES, COST, AND PAYMENT. AT 63 THOUSAND DOLLARS, JUSTIFICATION WILL BE NEED FOR PUBLIC REQUEST. IN AUGUST 2018, SIX WEEKS AFTER THE PARTY, MILLER CALLS FOR THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OF THE MAYOR TO AUDIT INVOICES FROM THAT EVENT. >> DID THE CEOS OFFICE DO AN AUDIT? >> NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE. TRAVERS: WEEKS LATER, BRYCE MILLER LEFT HIS JOB. IF YOU REQUESTED IT A COUPLE OF TIMES, WHY WASN’T IT GIVEN? >>>> I’M NOT SURE WHAT THE ISSUE WAS FEELING THE AUDIT WAS NEEDED. TRAVERS: OTHERS DISAGREE. TRAVERS: YOU WOULD ASSUME SOMEONE RAISES RED FLAGS LIKE IN THOSE EMAILS THAT THE CEO WOULD TAKE A LOOK. THE COUNCIL GRANTED FRANCHISE ACHIEVEMENT TRAVERS: -- AGREEMENTS FOR AT&T AND VERIZON. THE COUNCIL WAS NOT MADE AWARE THAT AT&T AND VERIZON PARTIALLY FUNDED THE MAYOR’S ESSENCE PARTY UNTIL LOCAL MEDIA BROUGHT IT TO THEIR ATTENTION. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, AT&T SAYS "WE ARE PROUD OF OUR MANY YEARS OF SUPPORT FOR ESSENCE FESTIVAL. A NATIONAL CELEBRATION THAT WELCOMES 500,000 ATTENDEES FOR MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT, EMPOWERMENT, AND CULTURE. VERIZON SAYS "SINCE 2018, VERIZON HAS INVESTED MORE THAN $600,000 IN THE NEW ORLEANS COMMUNITY, SUPPORTING A NUMBER OF CHARITABLE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS. THIS YEAR, THE MAYOR MOVED THE PARTY BACK TO GALLIER HALL AND INVITED PEOPLE. CITY HALL SENT A STATEMENT SAYING "THAT EVENT CELEBRATED A HISTORIC ELECTION. TO SEE

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Mayor LaToya Cantrell threw a huge party to kick off the Essence Festival last year. Some 3,000 people were invited, and its budget was nearly double compared with previous years.Taxpayers footed the bulk of the bill, which totaled more than $60,000. Now there are new questions after it appears the mayor's office may have turned to companies that would later be awarded business with the city to cover the rest of the cost.Internal records show at least one high-ranking City Hall staffer at the time tried to blow the whistle on how the party was organized and financed.Cantrell threw the party at Canal Place, the three-story upscale mall. Previous Essence kickoff events have been held at Gallier Hall, which has a capacity of just more than 700. The Essence organization provided the headline, rapper MC Lyte. Big Freedia also performed, but all party planning details were handled through City Hall. It was the first big event for Cantrell, who six weeks earlier became the city’s first female mayor.Public records show the mayor’s office increased the Essence party budget 75%, from $36,000 under the Landrieu administration, to $63,000. “There were expenses needed to create an event that would be respectful and celebrate Essence," said Ellen Lee, the city’s director of economic and community development. She oversees the Office of Cultural Economy, which oversaw event planning for the city. Contributions follow meetings with mayorTo cover the additional cost, records reveal the city turned to the NOLA 2018 Foundation, a now-defunct nonprofit that was established to raise money for a Gallier Hall renovation and sponsor events for the city’s tricentennial. Yet the money the foundation provided came from telecommunications companies that were seeking franchises from the city. Cantrell’s schedule shows she met with a local AT&T executive in late May. City records show City Hall staffers discussing a $10,000 contribution from the company, and days later the money was donated to the foundation. A meeting between the mayor and Verizon took place later in June, followed by a $15,000 gift to the nonprofit. Both companies at the time were seeking franchise agreements to provide 5G wireless services in New Orleans. While the City Council has the final say on such deals, its members typically follow the mayor’s guidance. After the council updated city regulations for broadband networks, AT&T and Verizon each received 5G franchises in March. “The optics don’t look very good,” said Ed Chervanak, former head of the political science department at the University of New Orleans and a longtime observer of City Hall. Lee said she was not aware the companies were seeking franchise agreements at the time but did know that they helped pay for the mayor’s Essence kickoff party. “I think these are really unrelated incidents. We can talk about optics, but the reality is (the mayor’s Essence party) is a marketing event,” Lee said, adding that the council had final say on the franchise agreements.City Council President Helena Moreno said the council was not made aware that AT&T and Verizon had partially funded the mayor’s Essence event until after the news media brought it to her attention.Office director notes red flagsIn emails and weekly department updates, City Hall staffers paint a picture of how the party was questionably funded and planned. Brice Miller, then head of the Office of Cultural Economy, had to approve all spending for the mayor’s Essence event. In a June 19, 2018, email to Lee, he mentions that he is “very concerned with the planning and execution of the event.”In subsequent messages, he identifies “critical” problems that include vendors that haven’t been hired with just days to go before the party.Miller also noted city employees who were assigned to his office after Cantrell became mayor failed to keep him in the loop about their event planning work. “Neither employee is willing to follow protocol ... Implying they report to the mayor." He also expressed concern that those involved with the event planning “lack transparency.”After the party, Miller let his supervisor at City Hall know that at least one vendor listed on an invoice submitted to the city didn’t provide the services listed. Records show stilt walkers received $1,800 to perform at Canal Place but none were present at the venue, according to emails.After raising concerns about the $63,000 cost of the event, Miller suggested to Lee that the city’s top aide to the mayor, chief administrative officer Gilbert Montaño, audit spending for the event.Asked whether such an audit had been conducted, Lee responded “not to my knowledge.”Miller, who left his job as director of the Office of Cultural Economy in early September 2018, declined interview requests from WDSU.AT&T, Verizon respondAT&T responded via email to questions for this story. In statement, the company noted its long support for the Essence Festival and other local events in New Orleans. When asked specifically who requested a contribution to the mayor’s welcome event, AT&T said it came from the NOLA 2018 Foundation.A statement from Verizon listed recipients of $600,000 in contributions to the New Orleans community since 2018, including the mayor’s party last year.The mayor’s party to start this year’s Essence Festival was held at Gallier Hall. Just hours before this story aired, the mayor’s communications director, Beau Tidwell, issued a statement. It reads, in part:“Last year’s Essence event was an official Tricentennial event, celebrating New Orleans’ rich culture and unique heritage — and also celebrating the City’s long and storied history of partnership with Essence in providing culture, entertainment and investment in our community. The event celebrated the historic election of the first female mayor of the City, an African American woman embodying the true spirit of Essence, and it promoted black female leaders who were elected mayor in major cities across the country. Due to the magnitude of the occasion, the cost for last year’s Essence party was larger than the year prior.”