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This is already old news -- the school committee approved the city council resolution on Tuesday night, and the city council scheduled an emergency meeting for Saturday.

What is notable about this new plan is that it overrules Mayor Solomon's premature declaration that the FY19 budget was settled, and in fact covers the deficit that Solomon insisted could be solved by illegally using pension funds.

(The payback plan is similar to one that Cranston put in place a few years back.)

It's also quite telling that the council's plan takes $600,000 from the legal budget (that Solomon boosted this year, no doubt expecting to be taken to court over the school budget) and about $1 million from the paving budget, which has basically become a slush fund.

And that's on top of $1 million from the contingency fund and $1 million from the surplus -- which all belies the mayor's contention that the city doesn't have any money.

The city council has finally found its spine, and is standing up against Solomon's misguided and short-sighted behavior.

And all it took was the threat of losing school sports and repeated protests by taxpayers and students to make that happen -- maybe next year, the council will take reasonable action first and not drag the city through another spring and summer of embarrassment.