Political grit or political grandstanding?

That’s a call London taxpayers can make after Mayor Joe Fontana took the unusual step of urging London police officers to voluntarily reduce their 2014 pay hike as council heads into the final budget season of his mayoral term.

The mayor issued the unexpected request in a media release Friday, one day after the board that oversees the police force endorsed a 2014 budget of $92.8 million, nearly $3 million more than this year.

“Taxpayers are bearing the burden of automatic pay raises for public servants when they themselves are often looking at a reduction in income,” Fontana said in his call for cops to cut their 2014 raise by 0.5%.

“Other public service sectors have had to pull back on wages and I’m asking our police officers to think about doing the same, for half of one per cent.”

Fontana’s challenge irked the London Police Association president, who called it “disingenuous” and “unfair” of the mayor.

“To me it smacks of posturing, to put something out in the media, knowing we can’t defend ourselves on this particular issue because (the contract) was something already agreed upon,” Rick Robson said.

“He’s aware of the process and how it works.”

The mayor’s move trains a spotlight on his role in bargaining the existing police contract.

Fontana was on the police services board that negotiated the deal in 2012, a pact that gave officers an 11.18% pay raise over four years.

While there’s widespread consensus London police spending is unsustainable — their budget has nearly doubled in just more than a decade — even critics of their hefty annual hikes question Fontana’s move.

“That approach isn’t going to be effective because (officers) negotiated a contract they thought was in good faith, with the mayor as part of the negotiating team,” said Coun. Joni Baechler.

“If it wasn’t reasonable (when it was finalized) the board shouldn’t have negotiated it.”

The mayor’s statement notes his respect for London police but urges them to “seriously consider” his suggested rollback.

“I know this isn’t going to make me popular, but my job is to encourage all our departments to find workable ways to keep our spending in line with the city’s income,” Fontana said.

“If we all hold our costs by keeping increases to the bare minimum, London will be in a stronger economic position.”

The $92.8-million 2014 budget endorsed by the police services board goes to city council for approval this winter.

Fontana no longer has any influence on the police board. He was forced to step down about a year ago when he was criminally charged.