NATCHEZ, Miss. – City officials and workers are struggling to pick up debris left from the hurricane-produced storms that swept through Natchez the past couple of months.
City public works crews are short-handed, Mayor Dan Gibson said Tuesday as he and aldermen discussed the need and costs of gathering the fallen trees, limbs and other storm debris left from Hurricane Delta, which came through Oct. 9. The winds of another storm – Laura – took a similar path through Natchez Aug. 27.
Gibson said the city has not been deemed to be hit hard enough to qualify for federal disaster-relief funds to help pay for storm-recovery costs. He said a private company assessed the city’s Duncan Park area and estimated clean-up costs for that part of town alone to be about $250,000.
The Board of Aldermen earlier this month did declare Natchez in a state of emergency to help make the city potentially eligible for state or federal disaster-relief funds.
Gibson noted the city has applied for reimbursements for COVID-related expenses that total about $370,000. He awaits details on the provision of those funds and how they can be spent. State and federal governments earlier this year earmarked disaster funds funneled through the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency for cities and counties impacted by the pandemic.
Gibson expressed hopes Tuesday that Natchez dodges the winds of Hurricane Zeta, which hit Louisiana and Mississippi on Wednesday.
Natchez residents since the previous storms have piled yard rubbish on curbsides for the city’s contracted trash collectors to haul away, but they will not if too large to easily grab by hand.
Alderman Dan Dillard on Tuesday pointed to the need for Natchez to have a large dump truck outfitted with equipment capable of grabbing such debris.
In a separate matter, city officials are seeking bidders who want to cut grass and demolish structures as Natchez attempts to clean up blighted properties that have been declared public nuisances. There’s a list of about 150 private properties that need mowing and 50 structures slated for demolition, said city public works chief Justin Dollar.
While the mayor and city board have set aside about $67,000 for this project, its uncertain how many can be cleaned up. The board agreed Tuesday to seek bids from grass-cutting and demolition crews to determine how much they’ll charge for the work.
The audit report of how city government officials managed Natchez’ finances three years ago shows sloppy bookkeeping, but Mayor Dan Gibson said “we’re making great progress in setting our books straight.”
Gibson and the Board of Aldermen on Tuesday received the annual audit report for the fiscal year that began October 2017. Starting with the fact the report is a year past its original due date, the auditor cited various money-management flaws, including bank accounts not being balanced on a timely basis and insufficient reporting of funds that were transferred in the 2017-2018 budget year. The audit report also said staff shortages and high turnover in the city clerk’s office did result in poor financial management.
Current City Clerk Servia Fortenberry began working November 2019 as the city’s fifth chief financial officer since 2016, and “she’s doing such a great job,” Gibson said.
Fortenberry leads the day-to-day management of a city budget that totals about $33 million for the fiscal year that began this month.
“Hopefully, we’ll see the improvements going forward,” said Gibson, who was elected mayor in July.
The audited fiscal year 2018 took place while Darryl Grennell was mayor. However, the city’s financial management problems go back prior to Grennell beginning his one term as mayor in 2016.
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