The senior city alderwoman has now led the freshmen alderpersons down into the same rabbit hole the former mayor and board of aldermen created and allowed with disastrous consequences. Dual employment reporting never works well, and usually does not work at all. This is because the agendas of the persons being reported to always differ.

In the case of the prior administration, the board of aldermen completely abdicated its responsibility and allowed the former mayor a free hand in allowing his appointee to act, unchecked, and to ignore responsibilities to the Natchez Convention Promotion Commission (NCPC) and the public. Records disappeared and presumably were destroyed. Conventions were not timely noticed to all stakeholders in the tourism community. There appears to be evidence of steering of work to some vendors. This sort of behavior causes damage to tourism stakeholders, supporting investors and taxpayers. NCPC’s earlier efforts to address and reel in unacceptable behavior were quashed during the closing months of the prior administration on the heels of the former mayor’s appointee announcing in an audio-taped NCPC meeting that his instructions from the former mayor were to secret his goings-on, because disclosure would cause suspicion (and presumably questions from the NCPC and the public). It has now been approximately two and a half years that NCPC commissioners have strived to do their job but have faced interference, meddling and incompetence from the city.

It is correct that the city has an Office of Tourism Management (COTM). Presumably, this is the hire on which Mrs. Arceneaux-Mathis is focused, because a separate political subdivision with its own state charter, the NCPC, is in need of and has the power to hire its own director and employees. Under the legislation, a plain reading leads to the conclusion that the NCPC is not required to pay any salaries or bills of the COTM.

I encourage the NCPC to move forward with hiring an executive director and other personnel it needs, and to refuse to pay any salaries or invoices presented to it by the COTM. This is what the legislation contemplates, and the fact it has not been handled correctly in the past by the prior mayor or aldermen is by no means binding on the NCPC.

Local taxpayers are tired of incompetence, inefficiencies and rigged deals.

 

Paul H. Benoist

Natchez resident