NATCHEZ — Natchez residents packed into the Natchez Coffee Co. Friday morning for hot coffee and their last chance to hear the remaining candidates in Tuesday’s general election take questions on hot topics in the city.

Mayoral candidates Larry L. “Butch” Brown, a Democrat, and Bill Furlow, an independent, were asked what changes they would make prior to the Natchez Board of Aldermen’s first meeting to bring more cohesion to the board.

Furlow said, if elected, he would like to meet with all of the aldermen individually prior to the first meeting because, he said, it is important for the mayor to understand what the aldermen want to accomplish. He said the meetings, at times, appear chaotic to outsiders, which he said stems from a lack of trust in city government and also a lack of order.

“I would want to make it clear to each of (the aldermen) before the first meeting that we will have decorum, and we will have decent behavior, and that we will operate by a set of rules, and the mayor will enforce those rules,” Furlow said.

Furlow said the meetings must be run in an organized fashion, and he said he has heard many times that the meetings are a joke and an embarrassment.

“More importantly than that is the fact that the disorganized way that they run their meetings leads to bad decision-making, ” he said.

Brown said he has already met face-to-face with the current and potential aldermen and has scheduled a retreat for the aldermen sometime in the middle of June before the board takes office to set the stage for orderly meetings.

“You can’t go into office, Mr. Furlow, telling people that they’re a joke,” Brown said. “What we’ve got to do is start off on a new slate…start over and have a good, orderly way to do business in this small community.”

Brown and Furlow were also asked how much they think Natchez can rely on funding from outside sources.

Brown said Natchez would be in a “big mess” now if it had not gotten outside funding in the past. Brown said when he previously served as mayor, he increased the city’s budget from about $7 million to $35 million using grants and other federal funding.

“You don’t build bypasses, you don’t build overpasses, you don’t build intersections and rejuvenate shopping centers and things like that without using other people’s money,” Brown said.

“Those things don’t just fall out of the sky, you’ve got to get out there, you’ve got to hustle it, and you’ve got to ask for it and you’ve got to know who to see, you’ve got to know where to go…if we don’t use it, someone else will,” Brown said. “Other people’s money is a lifeline for the city.”

Furlow said other people’s money is still taxpayer money.

“And to me, taxpayer money and taxpayers should be treated with respect, whether that money was collected at the Natchez Mall or collected by the IRS,” Furlow said.

Furlow said he did believe that the city should seek grants because the government sets up the programs with taxpayer dollars, but he said taxpayers and their money should not be treated cavalierly. Furlow also said that he did not believe that every grant-funded project that comes into Natchez is a good idea, such as the continuous-flow intersection by Natchez Regional Medical Center.

“I wish we could make the election a referendum on that intersection,” he said. “Everybody who thinks that intersection is logical, safe and a wise expenditure of $7 million of taxpayer money should vote for (Brown). Everybody who disagrees with those things ought to consider voting for me.”

Ward 6 Alderman candidates Dan Dillard, a Democrat, and Forrest Foster, an independent, and Ward 6 Alderman Democratic candidate Sarah Carter Smith were asked what they found to be the biggest concerns of the residents in their wards.

Ward 3 Alderman Republican incumbent Bob Pollard was not at the forum.

Dillard and Foster said they found Ward 6 residents were concerned with infrastructure issues such as drainage and street repair.

Dillard said the current board outsourced grass-cutting services to allow public works staff to attack other issues like derelict housing and street repairs and had great success.

Smith said she found Ward 3 residents were most concerned with the lack of decorum and trust in city government.

“How can we promote our city and bring businesses here…we have to bring back professionalism,” she said.

Smith said she also heard from many people that Natchez is not friendly enough to small businesses, which she said has made business owners choose to open their businesses outside of the city limits.

The aldermen candidates were also asked how they would like to see the mayor and the board create and implement a progressive and realistic plan for the next four years as a team.

Smith said many people talk about the lack of teamwork on the board. She said the setup in the Natchez City Council Chambers, with the aldermen on a stage in front of an audience, is unlike any board she has served on where the board members sit around a table and talk face-to-face.

“It’s almost like a show,” she said. “And it’s almost conducive to not working together.”

Foster said respect on the board is very important, because it will promote respect throughout the community.

“I’ve seen the lack of respect on our board,” he said. “Respect has to be brought to the board. How can we expect to have respect in our city, if we don’t have respect in our city government.”

Dillard said the aldermen are not always as divided as they appear in the media.

He said he has been on the losing end of votes, but he said he feels it is important for aldermen to speak their positions and not just vote to get along with the rest of the board.

Dillard said part of the problem on the current board is that the aldermen have had to take over some of the administrative responsibilities and have not been able to solely focus on their legislative responsibilities, which he said he hopes changes with a new administration.

“If the board can act has a legislative body and can move away from having to do administrative responsibilities, then we can make some progress,” he said.

The general election is Tuesday.

Click here for a video of the mayoral forum.