The New Orleans City Council has taken the first steps towards zeroing out Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s travel and entertainment budget after her administration claimed city finances are so dire it must impose a new period of austerity and budget cuts,

She described the money owed as “not a gift or consolation prize.” Orleans Parish School Board finance chair Olin Parker told reporters in a news conference earlier in Februar

Orleans Parish School Board President Katie Baudouin said if the $20 million doesn't materialize from the city, the board is still committed to filling the gaps.

The deal was supposed to end a lawsuit filed by the school board in 2019, accusing the city of keeping money meant for public schools, and would offset the district's at least $36 million deficit.

City Council members are expected to tighten the city's purse strings Tuesday after Mayor LaToya Cantrell backed out on a $20 million funding deal with the Orleans Parish School Board. Why it matters: Things are about to be tit-for-tat in the long-running spat between Cantrell and the council.