We’re not certain whether or not Natchez Mayor Jake Middleton knows a Twitter Tweet from a URL, but he was wise to ask those who do to help the city.

Middleton’s team of information technology specialists has been working to assess the City of Natchez’s technological deficiencies and opportunities.

What team members found was not surprising given what is known of the city’s antiquated financial reporting software.

Tuesday’s report from the volunteer tech wizards used the phrase “woefully needful” in referencing the city’s IT needs.

It’s long time that the city explore how technology might actually help it operate more efficiently and, in the process, likely give taxpayers a better bang for their buck.

As the tech committee pointed out, some departments, such as the Engineering Department already use a great deal of digital technology.

Other city departments remain distinctly analog.

The world has long been a digital one, and Natchez needs to catch up, soon. It’s quite likely that a good IT director could pay for himself by finding technological efficiencies in government.

In addition, this position could be yet another wonderful opportunity for the city and county governments to pool resources for the benefit of all county taxpayers.

The county’s technological needs are just as “woeful” as the city’s and partnering together could give all taxpayers better value.

Clearly Natchez and Adams County are finally waking up and realizing, it’s time to get into the 1990s, if not the 2000s, before we fall another decade behind.