NATCHEZ &8212; The three additional people recently hired in the planning department cost the city $67,500 more than the department originally had budgeted this year for salaries and benefits.

A public records request filed by The Natchez Democrat showed the three staff members City Planner Andrew Smith hired cost the city a total of $100,000 in salaries and benefits.

The new hires include Planning Specialist Dawn Williams, Community Improvement Specialist Anita Smith and Land Use Planner Walter Huston.

The department originally had $153,855 budgeted for personnel salaries and benefits for that department, which included Smith, a secretary and Code Enforcement Officer Willie B. Jones before the additional hires.

Even with the departure of one of the department&8217;s code enforcement officers, Artimese Evans, in recent months, the new hires still raised the amount needed for Planning salaries and benefits to $221,355.

In a March 7 aldermen meeting, city officials discussed the hires at length.

At that time, Mayor Phillip West said paying the extra amount wouldn&8217;t be a problem given sales tax figures that have been higher than the previous fiscal year.

During that meeting, aldermen voted 4-3, with West breaking the tie, to ratify the hires and amend the budget to pay for them.

City Clerk Donnie Holloway said he&8217;s been given no direction by West or the Board of Aldermen as to where the money for the additional hires would come from if higher sales tax revenues don&8217;t continue.

&8220;With sales taxes up, it&8217;s no problem now, but (those revenues) are starting to slide,&8221; Holloway said.

Meanwhile, no information on the backgrounds or qualifications of the new hires is forthcoming.

Smith declined to discuss the new hires and stated that interviews with any of the three staffers would have to be approved through West or through the Personnel Department.

Both West and Personnel Director Pat Gibson said Smith would be the one to approve such interviews.

Calls to Williams, Smith and Huston requesting interviews were not returned.

A public records request to the city for the resumes of the three hires was denied. Gibson cited the part of Mississippi&8217;s Open Records Act that states job applications are generally exempted from disclosure. &8220;And in this case, those resumes are a large part of their applications,&8221; Gibson said.