For a nation addicted to spending, having someone say, “Hold on, let’s stop spending anything that isn’t absolutely necessary,” is a bit alarming, but refreshing.

Natchez Alderman Dan Dillard hoisted the fiscal red flag this week saying the city needs to curb all non-essential spending until further notice.

His reasoning was simple: Flooding that closed the city’s lone casino is expected to nip approximately $120,000 from the city’s bank account through lost taxes.

That’s no small figure, even for a municipality with a multi-million-dollar budget.

Since the city’s finances have been thin for a few years, Dillard’s alarm was on point.

The city, like most Americans have had to do, needs to be extremely careful as it works through the remaining three and a half months of this fiscal year.

Calling for a spending freeze and overall fiscal restraint is warranted, particularly when the city knows its revenue stream is likely to dip temporarily with the loss of the gaming dollars.

Natchez is already struggling with what many residents see as important, but seemingly difficult things such as cutting the grass in the medians and keeping city streets in good shape.

Such problems always come down to money and makes residents ask, “What could the city cut to free up funds?”

The answer still may lie in researching how the city and county can pool resources more carefully.

Would finding more ways to share services between the city and county ultimately help both entities? We have to believe the answer is, “Yes.”