NATCHEZ — New Natchez Police Chief Danny White now has one less question to answer for his inquisitive grandchildren.

“My grandkids had been after me, ‘Did you make chief yet?’ I would just say, ‘No, baby,’” White said Thursday after he was officially sworn in by Judge Jim Blough as chief of the Natchez Police Department.

“It took me a minute, but I’m chief now,” White said smiling at his grandchildren in the audience.

It took White more than a minute, in reality. He served as interim chief for nine months, but he said he is ready to lead the department in the right direction.

“We’ve got some things planned, and I plan to lead this department and do the right thing,” he said. “The community can feel safe because we are out there.”

White was appointed chief after serving as interim chief during a swirl of controversy that surrounded the long search period.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen asked former chief Mike Mullins to retire early in November 2011.

Disagreements about who to appoint as chief spurred a walkout by three Natchez aldermen and protests outside of City Hall.

Now that all that is behind him, White said he has plans for cleaning up the city that have started by cleaning up the police department.

The department spent approximately $1,200 painting several areas inside the building using inmate labor to cut costs by several thousand dollars.

White said to clean up the city, the department must first clean up itself. He said he is also continuing to meet with his staff members one-on-one.

“I want to sit down and let them know what I expect for them and what the city expects from them,” White said.

Mayor Butch Brown said at the swearing-in ceremony that he was pleased to be a part of making White’s appointment official. Brown said he and White share similar opinions on law enforcement.

“I feel very confident in having (White) be our representative for law enforcement in the city.”