NATCHEZ — The Natchez Board of Aldermen will host the first of several work sessions today to plan out the 2015-2016 budget.

The board will meet with department heads at 4 p.m. in the city hall conference room, 124 S. Pearl St.

Assistant City Clerk Wendy McClain said the board would meet with department heads from planning, information technology, police, fire and municipal court departments to go over the departments’ budget requests.

“The board will ask about anything they requested that may look out of the ordinary,” McClain said.

Each department head will have 30 minutes to discuss their budget needs with the board.

Natchez Deputy Clerk Diane Holland said while each department head is limited to 30 minutes, past year’s work sessions have stretched late into the night.

“They can get pretty long,” Holland said.

With the 2014-2015 fiscal year ending Sept. 30, McClain said she is hoping the board can pass a sound budget by Oct. 1.

“Right now, I think that is a reasonable goal,” McClain said.

The board will meet again at 4 p.m. Tuesday with public works, inspections, transit and recreation departments to look over their budget requests.

The board adopted last year’s budget 14 days late, and McClain said she hopes that won’t be the same case this year.

“We’ve been working hard to get this ready in time,” she said.

Both work sessions are open to the public.