Tuesday’s rather ugly financial report from the City of Natchez’s auditor should come as no surprise.

Effectively, the auditor reported the city had spent approximately $1 million more than planned in the 2014-2015 budget. The city still has cash reserves so the overspending did not mean the city was in an immediate financial crisis.

But the report underscored this and significant other atrocious accounting matters in the city.

The city’s financial oversight has been a joke for many years. This started with the death of a long-time city employee, who apparently was the only person who understood how the city clerk’s office operated.

Then layer upon layer of problems — new software that apparently was not well researched and a string of failed city accountants and bookkeepers — has led to a debacle.

Taxpayers deserve better and the city must get a firm handle on both its spending and its financial accounting and oversight.

City leaders would be wise to take a step back and seek outside, professional help to perform a full report on where past spending plans when awry, recruit a qualified city clerk as well as staff needed to support that clerk, and ultimately provide the financial management a multimillion dollar public entity must have.

Residents’ trust of city finances has long been shot, but rebuilding that confidence will take much time and effort.

However, that rebuilding process must start immediately and will take constant attention and public communication to become a reality.