Contempt all around in firefighter dispute as New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu battles house arrest

Negotiations between New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the city's firefighters were at a standstill as of Thursday evening (Sept. 10), replaced by acrimony and public recriminations.

Landrieu faces weekend house arrest starting Friday if he doesn't come up with a plan to pay firefighters $75 million in back pay, but his chief administrative officer, Andy Kopplin, said the administration is done making offers until the firefighters give some ground.

"We aren't going to negotiate with ourselves," he said.

Landrieu seems to be counting on a last minute intervention by the courts.

Civil District Court Judge Kern Reese last week held Landrieu in contempt and gave him until Friday at 5 p.m. to come up with a reasonable plan to satisfy the $75 million judgment lest he be placed on house arrest for this weekend and every subsequent weekend until a deal was in place.

Read more: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/09/contempt_all_around_in_firefig.html#incart_2box_nola_river_orleans_news