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NATCHEZ — The Natchez Mayor and Board of Aldermen expected to hear results from its FY 2023 audit, but that didn’t happen.

Carr Hammond, CPA and managing partner at Silas Simmons, the accounting firm the city contracts with for its audits, was not available to attend Tuesday’s board meeting, but sent word to Mayor Dan Gibson that the audit was not ready to present.

“Mr. Hammond said the audit will be ready this Friday or perhaps on Monday,” Gibson said.

He suggested the city may schedule a special meeting to be briefed on the audit.

Ward 1 Alderwoman Valencia Hall said aldermen were expecting the city’s audit to be completed and presented by June. 30.

“We will not be satisfied with any audits late in this administration again and that has been made aware to all parties involved,” Gibson said.

Hammond was not available on Tuesday to answer questions about the audit or why it has yet to be completed.

In other business, aldermen approved the renewal of its self-insured health insurance benefits for city employees. The city’s insurance broker is Fred Parker of Byrne Insurance Agency.

It’s the fifth straight year, city employees will not have to pay an increase for health insurance benefits.

Parker said Gerber, the company that reinsures the city’s health insurance plan, is planning an increase of about $30 per employee. However, he said moving the handful of employees who have illnesses that require huge health expenditures to the Samaritan Fund, will allow the city to save enough money to forgo an increase in expenses for the city and its employees.

The Samaritan Fund is a nonprofit organization that solicits donations that are provided directly to those who are facing devastating health diagnoses in an effort to bring peace of mind to allow for healing.

“Fred, you have our complete endorsement on behalf of the City of Natchez. We are a very happy customer and you have been of great benefit to our city, our employees,” Gibson said. “We are already going on a million and a half to $2 million that we have saved the city in health insurance costs. You have done a lot of this, taking losses yourself, to make sure the city policies run smoothly.

“The real winners here are our employees. Since we enacted these changes to the city’s health insurance program in 2020, I have yet to receive one complaint from a city employee,” Gibson said.