Ed French, Ph.D., made very entertaining what could have been some dry information about the way municipal governments are organized and function in our state.

French was in Natchez on May 7 to present the first of two forums aimed at educating us on how city and county government here can be consolidated, an event organized and sponsored by the City of Natchez, The Natchez–Adams Chamber of Commerce and FOR Natchez.

The second forum, set for May 21 at the convention center, will focus on consolidation.

We, meaning citizens of Natchez and Adams County, have talked for many years about consolidating government, but the interest in doing so now seems to have real legs, and that’s a very good thing.

French is a professor and department head in the department of political science and public administration, as well as the founding director of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development, at Mississippi State University. His efforts to liven up the information and make it more understandable for us lay people were much appreciated because what he shared provided an important base of knowledge for those of us in Natchez and Adams County who are advocates for consolidating city and county government.

Consolidating city and county government here is a must. It is something that should have happened years ago.

Imagine the capital improvement and infrastructure improvement projects that could have taken place in Natchez had we consolidated government 20 years ago. But that’s spilled milk.

Natchez and Adams County citizens are headed in the right direction on this effort now. When I walked in the door of the convention center last Tuesday night, I wondered if more than a handful of people would show up. To my surprise, more than 200 citizens attended and most stayed for the entirety of the presentation and asked thoughtful questions afterward. In a community our size, that indicates much interest. It was exciting to see.

If you couldn’t attend, you can find a video of the entire presentation in the story about the forum on our website. For those of you reading this digitally, here’s a link: https:https://www.natchezdemocrat.com//2019/05/08/opening-the-door-forum-introduces-forms-of-municipal-governments-in-state/

Consolidating county and city government will be a difficult pill for many to swallow, mainly because of the number of jobs that would be eliminated. However, business owners in Natchez and Adams County are forced to make those difficult decisions every day in order to do what’s best for the health of the business. Those decisions hurt, but they are what are best for the good of the whole, and that’s certainly the case for citizens here.

Together, the city of Natchez and Adams County budgets represent roughly $73 million. Say we can consolidate government and save 40 percent of expenses in doing so, which is really a conservative estimate. We would have about $30 million a year that could be used to lower taxes or spend on capital improvements and industrial economic investment. With that kind of savings, we could move forward quickly with the Friends of Natchez downtown development plan in its entirety.

The effort will not be an easy one. It will require business, civic and government leaders to come together, listen to each other and mainly compromise for the good of the cause. It was gratifying Tuesday night to see community leaders of all kinds together at this first forum. I am looking forward to May 21 and learning about what others have experienced.

Good things are happening here and many more are on the horizon for our community, as it should be for the most historic and most beautiful city in the South.

What a great time to return to Natchez!

Jan Griffey is general manager of The Natchez Democrat. You may reach her at jan.griffey@natchezdemocrat.com or 601-445-3566.