New Parade Ordinance in Slidell
Mardi Gras is always a fun and exciting time around New Orleans and the Northshore. Next year, there will be a bit of a twist as a new ordinance will call for doubling the permit fees for krewes that will have a parade in Slidell. Not only will the fees be doubled but the Slidell City Council also has passed an ordinance that will only allow up to eight Carnival parades, they can be scheduled up to three weeks before Mardi Gras and this will include walking/wagon parades on Carnival day. 
The Krewe of Selene president, Traci Plaisance, is all for a slow increase but a 100% increase in one year is very hard to take. This means that nighttime parades will go from $4,000 to $8,000, daytime parades will go from $2,000 to $8,000 and walking parades will stay the same at $500. Residents and businesses have had to pay the growing cost in taxes for years. The city put the regulations and cost into place to help trim back the costs. In 2022 an overtime police officer was paide around $40,000 during Carnival season but this jumped tremendously in 2023 to $60,000.
The city feels that the price increase is fair and not as heavy a pill to swallow for the krewes because there has not been a price increase in sixteen years. Krewes also are compensated for the costs with the parade tax that riders have to pay to ride in the krewe’s parade. Krewes that will be included in the ordinance in 2025 are Krewe of Titans, Krewe of Poseidon, Krewe of Antheia, Krewe of Mona Lisa and Moonpie, Krewe de Paws, Krewe of Dionysus, Krewe of Selene and Krewe of KIDZ.
“It’s not that I’m going to fold,” Plaisance said. “It’s just another kick in the head.”
It’s the cost of doing business, ” Andy Frisard, Krewe of Dionysus, said.
