New Orleans City Council

And the city is asking crews to pay more.

The New Orleans City Council unanimously approved a tiered fee system, meaning crews will pay different amounts based on parade size.

WWNO intern Jocelyn Burgess spoke with those involved with the Mardi Gras cruise about what it already costs to parade and what the added expense can mean for crews and their riders.

She spoke with WWNO's Bob Pavlovich for more.

So let's start with what the city council approved.

What will crews have to pay and why?

Yeah, so the new New Orleans City Council approved a tiered fee system based on parade size, where smaller crews are going to have to be paying like $5,000, medium-sized crews will be paying $7,500, and larger crews will be paying up to $10,000.

The city says it spends like $4 million more on Mardi Gras than it directly takes in.