City Councilman Grant Olson, R-Ward 5, asked an interesting question at last week’s City Council meeting — should there be a spending freeze during the COVID-19 pandemic?

It’s a good question from a new council member. And while we agree with Council members Kim Ecklund, R-At Large, and Tony Dolce, R-Ward 2 and council president, that there isn’t much spending that can be frozen due to the barebones nature of the city’s budget, one wonders if it would behoove the city to use the state of emergency to freeze scheduled pay increases this year to save money.

Pay freezes during a time of emergency have happened before. E.J. McMahon, director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, noted in a recent op-ed that the state has authorized its power to freeze pay increases in New York City in the 1970s and more recently when implementing control boards in Buffalo and Nassau County.

Mayor Eddie Sundquist noted that the city’s emergency designation creates the possibility of federal reimbursement for some services provided. That is true. It is also likely that the city — and most other levels of local government — are looking at drastically reduced revenues from sales taxes and possibly property taxes as a result of the COVID-19 shutdowns of local businesses. Thousands of county residents are likely to be depending on federal emergency support payments to help keep their households afloat until businesses reopen while business owners count the days until they can reopen. No one knows how long it will take for things to get back to normal once the state’s emergency declaration is lifted.

Council members should discuss a pay freeze for the rest of the year. That would mean suspending negotiated step increases that are part of union contracts, and that’s especially tough for those police officers and firefighters who are still responding to emergencies and putting themselves at direct risk of contracting the novel coronavirus.

Others who are working from home are not carrying the same risk. Perhaps an equitable solution would be to freeze pay for those who are working from home and not dealing with the public. Workers in the private sector are staring at the same situation — if they’re able to work. Taking action now might forestall some serious budget issues down the road.

Olson might be on to something worth discussing. While services need to be provided, there might be a way to save money during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s worth talking about the next time the City Council meets — and, frankly, at all meetings where employees are paid with taxpayer dollars.