*Council to DWP: Give us the $$

On a unanimous vote, council members demanded that the DWP board "honor their commitment" to transfer $73 million the city had been counting on to remain solvent. The board is made up of Villaraigosa appointees who have insisted on a rate increase that the council turned down (Villaraigosa had supported the rate hike). So you can see there's a lot mud-slinging back and forth, even as Controller Wendy Greuel warns that without an infusion of money from somebody, the city will run out of cash in four weeks. From the LAT:

During a testy exchange with council members Tuesday, Freeman said the failure to green-light an electricity rate increase had "decimated our financial future." On Monday, one of the nation's top bond rating agencies withdrew a "AA-" rating on two DWP bonds worth $720 million. Freeman said he understood that city officials need every "nickel that you can get," but added that the utility's board "has a responsibility for DWP not to get in a situation where we can't borrow money and our bond rating goes down, down, down. I think there is unanimity that we need a sizable increase to pay our bills and that hasn't happened," Freeman said.

Meanwhile, it's unclear how much legal authority Villaraigosa would have in ordering most city agencies to shut down two days a week as a way of saving cash. Much of the city workforce is unionized and supposedly protected from such unilateral decisions. At his press conference this morning, Villaraigosa seemed unsure on whether labor agreements could be broken this way.

*From Villaraigosa spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton, via Twitter: "Without the rate increase, DWP cannot transfer additional funds (they have already transferred $147mil) to the City's General Fund...For the naysayers who believe that the DWP can afford to transfer this money but refuses to do so... I suggest they look at Fitch Ratings report from yesterday and their withdrawal of DWP's bond rating..."

Earlier: Mayor calls for emergency steps