A few disgruntled taxpayers have put Natchez Mayor F.L. &uot;Hank&uot; Smith and the board of aldermen between a rock and a hard place. The City of Natchez seems to be about $330,000 short of the funds it needs for this fiscal year.

Its budget works much like a simple household budget — only on a much bigger scale.

If you don’t have enough money to pay for your expenses, you have two options: Raise more money or cut expenses.

It’s a spot many people are accustomed to each month as they struggle to make their budget ends meet. And the city is no different.

The city had options.

Last month when the city was working on this year’s budget, city leaders proposed a plan that would increase the money coming into the city by raising taxes. They calculated exactly the amount necessary to prevent cutting current city services. The tax plan — the first increase in 15 years — was cut nearly in half after upset residents expressed their displeasure with it at a public hearing.

Those outspoken residents got their way, forcing the city’s hand. Now aldermen and other city leaders have to find a way out.

Last week, Mayor Smith announced a city-wide hiring freeze and asked each city department to analyze how their department could cut expenditures by 3 percent.

What will that mean?

No one knows yet, but it’s quite likely that jobs may be cut.

We hope the situation doesn’t come to that, but another option may not be available.

We trust that the mayor and aldermen will use their best judgment when deciding on a plan of action.

At this point, few options exist. It’s simply a matter of what will be cut.

We only see one way out from underneath the current budget rock.

If anyone else sees another way, please let us know — quickly, before our city services are cut.