New Orleans’ officials began this week by turning over every couch cushion in city government, scrambling to scrounge up loose change — including from the city's real estate manager and a pot of unspent federal pandemic aid — to try to ease the city’s cashflow crisis and ensure city workers continue to get paid.

The rush to find revenues comes after New Orleans’ original plan to address its cash crunch, selling $125 million in emergency bonds, was scuttled by state officials, who made clear last week that they would only sign off on the plan if local officials ceded control to a state fiscal administrator.

That was a nonstarter for the City Council, which later withdrew its request for approval from the State Bond Commission. City leaders, however, are attempting to revive that plan, and

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