NATCHEZ — The Natchez Board of Aldermen Tuesday unanimously approved a management agreement with the Natchez Convention Promotion Commission, ending a long, “contentious” negotiation process.

The aldermen and NCPC chairman Lance Harris had approximately 15 more minutes of discussion before the aldermen approved the agreement.

The city and NCPC — meeting both jointly and separately with their own groups — had approximately three hours of discussion behind closed doors at a specially called meeting last Monday.

The groups had been operating under an expired agreement since 2012.

City attorney Bob Latham said the two main differences of this agreement compared  to the last are that (1) the city will now be completely reimbursed by the NCPC to pay employees’ salaries and (2) the agreement makes clear that the NCPC has complete oversight of its employees. The agreement, for example, gives the NCPC hiring and firing power of employees, including the executive director of tourism.