John Mott Coffey
NATCHEZ, Miss. (Sept. 14) – City aldermen today approved a budget for funding municipal operations in the coming year that totals nearly $37 million, an increase from about $33 million Natchez has been running on the past 12 months.
“I think this is a very ambitious budget,” said Alderman Dan Dillard, who noted city officials are banking on a thriving Natchez economy to help generate the largest revenue growth for the city in a decade.
“Its projections of a revenue stream are the highest they’ve been in the previous 10 years,” Dillard said.
The new budget does include a windfall from federal funds the city received from the American Rescue Plan, which was enacted by the U.S. Congress earlier this year to help local governments recover from the economic recession caused by the COVID pandemic. About $3.5 million in ARP funds were allocated to Natchez.
The city budget for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 does not set a property tax increase, but landowners whose properties have increased in assessed value will pay more next year.
The six-member Board of Aldermen approved the budget at today’s meeting with little discussion about how the $37 million will be spent. Aldermen did attach a measure to freeze any salary increases and major equipment purchases until early 2022, when city officials know with more certainty how revenues are doing.
Mayor Dan Gibson said “it’s amazing” how Natchez has overcome last year’s COVID-induced economic downturn to bounce back with more businesses and jobs producing more revenues for the city. He noted the budget will end the current fiscal year Sept. 30 with about $900,000 in leftover money.
—
The Natchez board agreed to move forward on a workforce development plan that could involve a multimillion-dollar conversion of the old city convention center into a job-training facility.
As presented by Mayor Dan Gibson, the initiative envisions Natchez joining Adams County and the public schools in using already-allocated federal funds to refurbish the Steckler building on the Natchez High School campus. It was built as the Natchez Convention Center and later transferred to the school system.
Gibson pointed to the importance of a better-trained workforce to attract new businesses to Natchez. He said he wants to use $1 million of the $3.5 million allocated to Natchez by the federal American Rescue Plan to help recover from the economic slump caused by the COVID pandemic.
The Natchez-Adams County workforce development initiative’s first step should be to hire a director for this, Gibson said. He wants Tuwanna Higgins-Williams to fill this position. She has experience in workforce development at the state Department of Employment Security and Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
The Board of Aldermen today voted 4-2 to begin discussions with the Adams County Board of Supervisors and Natchez-Adams School District Board of Trustees for this. Aldermen Billie Joe Frazier and Felicia Irving were the two dissenters. They said more information is needed and more people considered to be the workforce development director.
—
The city will continue its billboard moratorium on the new placement of large signs along Natchez thoroughfares. Aldermen voted to extend the five-year ban until 2025. This comes as applications have recently been filed to place two billboards on Martin Luther King Street by the Family Dollar store and on the nearby Pilgrim Boulevard. The Board of Aldermen imposed the moratorium in 2016 amid concerns about a proliferation of billboards on the city’s much-traveled corridors.
—
Mayor Gibson said he hopes this week to hire a new city dog catcher as vicious canines roam Natchez killing household pets. Since Randy Myers retired in June as Natchez’ animal control officer, a search has been underway for a replacement. Gibson said today he hopes to have someone hired by Friday, when the mayor is having a community meeting with residents concerned about the recent wave of dogs marauding Natchez neighborhoods.
The meeting will be held 3 p.m. at the Natchez City Council Chambers on South Pearl Street across from City Hall.
Comments