NATCHEZ — The city public works department expanded Tuesday with the approved consolidation of engineering services within the city.

In a unanimous vote, the Natchez Board of Aldermen approved a plan to move forward with an expanded public works department, which would receive $200,000 in funds annually.

With that expansion, the city officially put to rest any notion of hiring a city engineer to replace David Gardner, who retired March 31.

“The term ‘city engineer’ is now completely off the table,” Mayor Butch Brown said. “We’re going to try and keep those services less than $200,000 — and that’s a far cry from what we were paying previously.”

However, the new plan for an expanded public works department does come with a few caveats.

With the expansion, Brown said the city may need to hire an assistant and secretary for Natchez Public Works Supervisor Justin Dollar.

No estimated salary requirements for those new positions have been established.

However, even with these new positions, Brown said he is still confident the city will save money.

Previously, the city budgeted $280,000 a year for engineering services, which was provided by Gardner and Natchez Water Works.

“We already have a lot of able people in public works, so this just makes the most sense,” Brown said.

Along with overseeing city engineering, public works will also handle all street and traffic issues within the city.

If the city needs to consult a registered engineer, Brown said public works would most likely use services provided by Jordan Kaiser & Sessions LLC, a local civil engineering, surveying and testing firm.

Because the decision was based on qualification, Brown said no bidding requirements were needed for the city to adopt the consolidated plan.