NATCHEZ &045; By his own admission, Alderman Jake Middleton came to Tuesday’s alderman meeting prepared to force a vote on how the city will fund the EDA in the future.

In a July 20 meeting with county supervisors, city officials &045; with the exception of Middleton &045; said they want to devote the $100,000 the city pays the Economic Development Authority each year to community development.

&uot;Community development&uot; could include downtown revitalization, addressing housing needs and improving infrastructure, among other things, Mayor Phillip West has said &045; comments made at a time when the city is strapped for cash for such purposes.

Options include the city hiring its own economic and community development director or asking that the funds it gives the EDA be used for community development, although city officials have since said they’re tending toward the latter option.

In the July 20 meeting, Middleton was the lone official to speak out against devoting EDA funds to community development, saying he believes &uot;that money should be in industrial development.&uot;

And on Tuesday, he said, &uot;I came to press a vote&uot; on the issue.

But Middleton decided against that when aldermen decided, in an executive session at the start of Tuesday’s aldermen meeting, to meet Aug. 18 with EDA board members on that issue during that day’s EDA meeting.

&uot;So I think by (Aug. 18) we’ll be in a place to announce what we’ll do&uot; with regards to EDA funding, Middleton said.

The county pays $175,000 a year to help fund the EDA.