NATCHEZ — The City of Natchez is looking at water, inspection, permit and other services to determine if rates should be raised.

Mayor Butch Brown told the Natchez Board of Aldermen Tuesday at its meeting that he has consulted “several people” and discovered that the city’s rates are low compared to other cities.

“I’ve discovered in our inspection department we have not had a change in permit or inspection fees probably for close to 15 or 18 years,” he said.

Brown said the city does not even charge for some house inspections that he believes are $100 in Concordia Parish.

Brown said the goal would be to get city departments where they can stand alone and pay their own bills.

Ward 3 Alderwoman Sarah Smith said she would like to see rates increased incrementally in the future, so the city would not get to a point where it had a considerable hike in rates all at once.