NATCHEZ — After two weeks of meetings with city department heads, the Natchez Board of Aldermen began the process of fine-tuning the 2009-2010 fiscal year budget Wednesday afternoon.

City Clerk Donnie Holloway informed the board that the matching grant the Natchez Senior Citizens Multipurpose Center receives from the Mississippi Department of Transportation for the transit program requires more matching funds from the city than originally thought.

In a proposed budget submitted earlier by senior citizen center Director Sabrina Bartley, the matching funds requested were increased from $140,000 to $168,700.

The $28,700 left the city officials scratching their heads on how to come up with the extra funding in an already stretched city budget.

Currently, the city gives the Natchez Senior Citizen Center $267,900. That number includes funding for matching grants.

“If we are already putting in $267 (thousand), and we are getting back all that we are getting back, I don’t think it is a bad investment,” Natchez Mayor Jake Middleton said. “Look at what all (the center) furnishes. (Bartley) has really grown that program.”

Holloway and City Data Processor Gary Valentine also distributed revised copies of the proposed city budget that included more detailed revenue projections for the city.

The projected revenues for the 2009-2010 fiscal year are $12,575,037. That includes $2,085,200 in ad valorem collections and $5,300,000 in sales tax collections.

“I’m trying to keep the numbers reasonable,” Valentine said. “We don’t want to overshoot on the high side. This is the way we have always done it and in the end, the actual always ends up fairly close to the projected.”

Valentine said when formulating the numbers he allowed for a 4 percent non-payment for personal property taxes. The board met in executive session to discuss personnel. They will meet again today at 4 p.m. to further discuss the budget.

“Everyone has a lot of thinking to go home and do tonight,” Middleton said.