Thank all of you who attended the first Stennis Institute Forum on Greater Government Efficiency sponsored by the City of Natchez, the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce and F.O.R. Natchez.

The crowd’s positive response to Dr. Edward French’s presentation reinforced what I have learned these past 30 years as an attorney and later a documentary film producer focused on museums.

When we gain understanding, we feel excited. In my museum films, the experts present evidence that helps viewers achieve that “ah-ha” moment — that Eureka moment when suddenly everything clicks and we start to see things in a different light.

I believe this is the way forward for Natchez-Adams. Let’s all get educated about the challenges facing our local governments and the possible solutions. Let’s learn the pros and cons of all the pathways available to us to modernize and improve our governments. We don’t need to have a war to make good decisions. The opposite is true. We need to work together.

With the confidence that comes from knowing the facts, we can make up our own minds. We don’t have to be swayed by emotion or confused by innuendo posted on social media. Truth, not chaos, will set us free.

A threshold question is what do we want to accomplish by changing our local governments? Is the goal to create a new way of governing that is more efficient? Is the goal to get rid of certain officials that we don’t like? What do we want our governments to do on our behalf?

Where do we want to be two, five or 10 years from now? Without a common goal, we can expect endless deadlock, strained relationships with friends and colleagues and decisions that from the get-go are guaranteed to divide us.

Based on French’s presentation, I believe one common goal should be to change our 19th century form of government (our “special charter”) to one of the three modern forms favored in the state code. Natchez is the oldest incorporated municipality in Mississippi.

We are older than the state. As French said, if we are happy with the way our city government functions, then do nothing. If we are not satisfied, then change to one of the other forms. Not only is this doable and practical, the state Legislature would probably approve.

You can read about the options in the Stennis Institute publication edited by Dr. Dallas Breen, “A Primer on Forms of Municipal Government in Mississippi & How to Change Them,” available on their website:

Mayor-Council or “Strong Mayor” (Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Columbus, Greenwood, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Laurel, Meridian and Tupelo);

Council-Manager (D’Iberville, Diamondhead, Gautier, Grenada, Moorhead, Pascagoula and Picayune);

Mayor-Board or “Weak Mayor” or “Code-Charter” (Over 95% of Mississippi’s 300 municipalities);

A broader question is should we have a “metropolitan government” in which Natchez and Adams merge together? What would that look like? Would it be the city annexing the county or the county as the only government left standing after the city is dissolved; or would it be something entirely new and different? Is there a “win-win” solution as opposed to a “we win, you lose” proposition?

A well-planned metro government would take years to accomplish, but that’s no reason not to consider it.

There are also a variety of individual services that cities and counties across the USA have successfully merged to save costs and improve delivery while maintaining independent governments.

We already combine some services in Natchez-Adams. I’d like to know how we might combine more services and do a better job at it.

A final question is do we have consensus as a community that change is needed?

I believe we do. Come to the Stennis Institute forum on City-County Relations 5-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Natchez Convention Center. Listen to national experts. Learn from case studies. Bring questions and get fact-based feedback.

Together, let’s discover the many practical action steps that we can take now and, in the future, to make our local governments more efficient.

We will always be better together.

Chesney Doyle is president of FOR Natchez.