The Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (NOSEP) urged the council Monday to treat emergency preparedness funding as an essential public-safety priority after department leaders described tight staffing and a possible loss of federal homeland-security grant funds.

NOSEP Director told the committee the office could operate under the proposed reductions but warned that vacancies and unclassified pay cuts would harm morale and the agency's ability to staff prolonged activations. The director noted the department runs the city's NOLA Ready outreach, the flood-warning network, hazard mitigation and other emergency management systems and highlighted recent strain during major events and special-event activations.

The director said the regional Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant award of roughly $4.5 million for the region — with about $1.7 million previously anticipated for New Orleans — appeared to have been reallocated by federal authorities to the State of Louisiana, a change the director called "troubling" because it would undercut planned investments in security, training and technology.

Community members and advocacy groups pressed the council for the opposite approach: instead of cuts, increase NOSEP funding. The Cut the Check campaign and allied community speakers asked the council to boost NOSEP by 10% and to redirect proposed police increases toward evacuation capacity, neighborhood hubs, portable power for medically vulnerable residents and translated alert systems.

Council members and NOSEP staff also discussed operational ideas to reduce costs without undermining core functions — including leveraging volunteer networks, partnering with universities for training and reviewing procurement timelines to speed purchases — but council members said final budget decisions would be made as part of the broader process.

No committee vote was taken on NOSEP's budget during the hearing, and staff said they would brief council members on grant-status details and work with the administration on mitigation options.