Prop-like checks are fine for sweepstakes and contests, but perhaps not flaunted in Natchez meetings, particularly when the check represents a false reality.

Last week, the City of Natchez received what it thought was a legitimate, if ceremonially oversized, check representing the $400,000 presumed proceeds from a complex financial bond deal.

A few days later, the truth came out. The check may not have been made of rubber, but the amount appeared to have been written in disappearing ink.

The $400,000 total quickly faded when the city realized the amount represented the gross amount &8212; before all the financial parties took their fees.

By midday on Friday, the bond deal still had not been closed.

Since the markets fluctuate minute by minute, no one was certain how much the city will actually receive. The best guess was somewhere around $170,000.

Regardless of whether the city didn&8217;t ask enough questions or the people putting the deal together misled city leaders, something smells bad.

The paperwork hadn&8217;t been finalized last week and yet the promises were already going up in smoke.

We know most of the city&8217;s leadership jumped into the deal with the best intentions &8212; if everything works out as promised, the city could save more than $2 million.

But we worry those good intentions and poor information may wind up costing the city &8212; and its taxpayers &8212; down the road, regardless of what the folks with the humongous checks may say.