City employees wouldn’t be the only Lawrence workers who didn’t get a raise this year.

To deal with expected reductions in state funding, city officials have compiled a list of potential cuts in the current year’s budget. The list put before city commissioners included cuts to recreation programs and social service agencies, but notably included no reduction in the funds dedicated for employee raises this year.

The reason given for the decision to protect funding for longevity bonuses and staff pay increases was that reductions might affect the city’s ability to recruit and retain employees and be competitive with other employers. In many years, that rationale would make sense, but it falls a little flat in the current economic climate. In fact, it sounds like the whining of Wall Street bankers.

Employees in many fields are accepting no raises or even reductions in their salaries or hours and feeling fortunate to have a job. County officials already have put a hold on the automatic 1 percent pay increases their employees usually receive on their anniversary dates and are considering freezing merit raises. It doesn’t seem unreasonable for city commissioners to consider the same kind of action.

Raises for police and fire employees already have been committed through contract negotiations, but the city could save $360,000 by eliminating other salary increases and another $130,000 by freezing the longevity pay program. It isn’t that city employees don’t need or deserve the increases, but so do a lot of other taxpaying Lawrence residents who aren’t going to get a raise this year.

As city commissioners consider budget cuts, funds for employee raises should at least be on the table.