The ceremonial scissors may need a vacation soon. With the weeks dwindling down for several incumbent leaders in Natchez and Vidalia, the area has seen a flurry of recent ribbon cuttings.

Last week Natchez celebrated the “completion” of four projects in two days’ time.

We appreciate that the leaders want to celebrate what they perceive as their accomplishments in office.

And some of the projects truly deserve some attention — the St. Catherine Street phase of the trails project and the Bridge of Sighs in particular.

Other projects — the colonnade renovation, the work on the exterior of the former Broadway street train depot and the technology center in Vidalia — all have some asterisks beside their names.

The depot remains a mess after the City of Natchez plowed into a private deal with a developer to handle the inside renovations, a deal that created more turmoil and distrust of city hall that could have been averted had the city been more open through the process and sought proposals for any developers.

The colonnades renovation is similar to the depot in that the city plowed into a project that it seemingly knew it couldn’t afford, and it then got crossways with the contractor, who alleges the scope of the work changed midstream.

In Vidalia, the city’s exiting leadership is touting the state-of-the-art fiber optic build out that it plans to do, but we question whether or not the city should compete with private business in the endeavor. Plus, we hope that the city’s new leadership considers whether or not spending more money on this project is wise until all of the city’s finances are accounted for and the public understands the city’s true financial position.

Ribbon cuttings are good and necessary, but we hope going forward more attention is paid toward the public’s best interest than the elected officials’ own egos.