NATCHEZ — County supervisors approved the Natchez-Adams County Port’s approximately $2.4 million revenue budget Friday with the understanding the port employees would not receive pay raises.

District 3 Supervisor Angela Hutchins at a previous meeting had asked Port Director Anthony Hauer about a $35,000 increase in salaries and wages, and Hauer said he had budgeted a 3.5-percent raise for employees.

Hutchins said she is all for raises, but not when the port is projecting to lose $277,170 in revenue.“How are you going to give raises when you are losing revenue?” Hutchins asked.

Many Natchez-Adams County Port commissioners admitted that an article in Tuesday’s The Natchez Democrat was the first they had heard of plans to give employees raises.

Port Commission President Wilbur Johnson said he could understand why Hauer would want to give his employees raises, but he agreed the commission had to look at revenue when considering raises.

Johnson said if supervisors would approve the budget if the raises were out of the question, he could agree to taking the raises off the table.

District 2 Supervisor David Carter said he was also concerned commissioners had not spent enough time attempting to cut the budget. Though the port is losing $277,170 in revenue, the port’s proposed budget before raises were taken off the table only reduced expenses by $7,636, which brought the budget to the breakeven point.

“You are saying you have cut it, but you haven’t,” Carter said. “All you have really cut is $7,000, which is not much.”

Commissioner Bubba Kaiser said the board had hired a new accounting firm, which should help going forward.

“In defense of the board, they had an accounting firm that to the best of my knowledge is not even registered as public accountants in Mississippi,” Kaiser said. “As far as the budget dropping (approximately) $277,000, last year’s projections, which again were done with an accountant that did not have a license in Mississippi, showed a $269,000 profit.

“We realize, though we are not through with September (one of the port’s busiest months), we are probably going to be at a $40,000 to $50,000 loss.”

One error example Kaiser said was the firm, which he did not name, put grants in revenues but did not expense them.

Now with Natchez accounting firm Silas Simmons handling the port’s finances, and having an accountant attend meetings to answer questions and offer suggestions, Kaiser said the port commission is beginning to get a true sense of its financials.

Kaiser said he also thinks going forward changes could be made to decrease overtime,

“There are different ways to do things that we are addressing,” Kaiser said. “I think it will get better in the future.”

District 5 Supervisor Calvin Butler said the last question supervisors had for the port’s budget was the $100,000 payments the port had been making over the past several years. The payments relate to debt the county took out to make improvements at the port, including building a T-dock.

The port and county formed a gentlemen’s agreement 20 years ago when the debt was taken out that the port would pay what it could when the port is making money.

County Administrator Joe Murray said receiving the $100,000 is a budgeted revenue for the county for this year’s budget and the next.

Johnson said the intention of the commission is to pay the county the $100,000 when it can. Over the 20 years, the port has paid approximately $1 million on the $3 million debt.

Board President Mike Lazarus said the port did not appear to have the $100,000 this year. Lazarus said he had gotten a call from the commission’s accountant, and right now the port is deep in a hole and does not look like it would climb out of that hole by the end of the fiscal year.

“You can’t pay what you don’t have,” Lazarus said. “I understand that.”

Port Commissioner Lee Jones said he told Lazarus five months ago, and he’d say it again at Friday’s meeting.

“The $100,000 will not be coming this year,” he said. “That is the truth. It is not coming.”

Carter motioned to approve the budget and Hutchins seconded it. Carter said he heard some positive things from commissioners and that it sounded like the county and port were getting on the same page after a couple years of controversy.

“I am glad to see the port is acknowledging and embracing change,” Carter said. “I am glad you do have a true sense of your financials with a new accountant. I think we have a lot more communication now.”