NATCHEZ — The Natchez Planning Commission needs a plan.

Eight of the nine commission members’ terms have expired and commission members are now serving without being reappointed.

Natchez City Planner Robert Nix said the issue needs to be resolved sooner rather than later so the commission can return to operating with appropriately appointed commissioners.

Nix said City Attorney Everett Sanders advised him there is nothing legally wrong with commissioners continuing to serve after their terms have expired, but Nix would still like to have the issue resolved.

“All of the appointments are valid,” Nix said. “We do have a properly constituted planning commission. At this point, the appointments just need to be renewed or replaced for the record.”

The Natchez Board of Aldermen is responsible for appointing members to the commission. Two new people have presented resumes and showed interest in serving on the commission, Nix said.

Nix has presented the issue to the board on at least two occasions, but no action has been taken.

The Natchez Planning Commission is responsible for granting approval for construction projects within the city limits of Natchez. The commission ensures that projects are in line with city ordinances and codes.

Terms for commissioners are six years long.

Nix said having commissioners either reappointed or selecting new members to join the commission is important.

“First of all you need to have a clear record of appointments and reappointments,” Nix said. “Secondly, any question that might could rise about the legitimacy of a decision made by the commission because of the expired terms, would be eliminated.

“Even though, based on our attorney’s advisement, the appointments are still effective, if a person wanted to challenge a decision, they could use this as an additional basis for their complaint.”

Nix said none of the current members have shown any interest in leaving their seat.

Several aldermen that new commissioners attend training “to bring them up to speed.”

Nix said there is training material available through the American Planning Association, but local training could be provided over time.

“We can go over the ordinances and the way they have been applied in the past and have our attorney brief them,” Nix said. “There is training we can provide, but it is not the kind of thing you can do in one session. There are a lot of issues they deal with that are more complex than they seem on the surface.”