An interesting issue under consideration by the City of Natchez may get lost in the flap over a gaming-centered development at Roth Hill Road&8217;s riverfront. Who will run the city&8217;s convention center?

The city seems poised to contract out the management of the convention center to a private firm, connected with the group planning to build a hotel adjacent to the convention center.

Plans on the table indicate that the management group would manage the privately owned hotel and partially manage the publicly owned Natchez Convention Center, Natchez City Auditorium and Natchez Community Center.

Allegedly, the city&8217;s payment to the group &8212; $240,000 per year &8212; would be cheaper than what the city currently pays to manage the facilities.

The city and the management group, however, say no employees will lose their jobs as a result of the agreement. Further, the group says it will hold rental rates for at least two years.

All of this seems interesting to say the least. If the management of the facility can be &8220;maximized&8221; by making things more efficient, why aren&8217;t we already doing that?

Further, if the facilities are not running at 100-percent efficiency now, why would virtually the same staff be capable of doing it when their checks are written by another company instead of the city? And how could they do it for less money?

Construction of the hotel hasn&8217;t begun yet, which makes us think the developers may be holding the convention center contract over the heads of the city. The hotel connection prevents the city from examining other privatization options, and may be eliminating better deals.

City leaders would be wise to keep the two issues separate and seek to understand how someone else can do a better job with the same people and with less money.