Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Over the past four years as your mayor, one of the toughest challenges I have had to face is how to deal with derelict and unkempt properties. Never does a day pass that one, if not multiple complaints, are called into City Hall reporting a “less-than-neighborly” neighbor.

As beautiful a city as Natchez is, we have far too many cases of properties that have fallen into a sad state of repair – and owners that either don’t have the means to take care of them or simply don’t care. Also at issue is the recurring problem of property owners in the city’s Historic District who repeatedly violate the city’s preservation ordinances.

Too often, I visit with citizens of Natchez, many of whom have either lived in our beautiful city for generations or have recently chosen to retire here, who find themselves living next to filth and squalor. Others, careful to follow the rules to make sure our historic district is respected, express to me their frustration with neighbors who do whatever they want, disregarding our ordinances and compromising the historic fabric of our community.

These property owners, conscientious and law-abiding, should not have to put up with neighbors who are just the opposite and don’t seem to care. Nor should they have to live in a city that does not enforce its ordinances.

Einstein is credited as saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” Seems this is exactly what we have been doing in Natchez.

In good faith, Natchez Code Enforcement has been going the extra mile with case after case, trying every means of achieving cooperation. A fair number of these cases have been successfully handled, but clearly many have not. And in a city currently leading the state in renovations and historic preservation projects, continuing to have properties that are severely neglected – or being “remuddled” instead of being remodeled, is unacceptable. Clearly, it’s time for a change.

Over the past several weeks, I have been working with our code enforcement staff to change our approach. We have also met with our Municipal Judge and City Attorney, and in a recent meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, we set the tone: It’s time to step up enforcement. Our city ordinances are clear: overgrown houses, accumulation of clutter, abandoned vehicles parked in yards, and other egregious conditions within the city limits are against the law. And the law will be enforced.

In addition, no longer will violations of our city’s preservation code be tolerated. By now, everyone should know that in our historic district, prior approval is required on certain renovations and improvements, even the use of certain paint colors, and property owners blatantly violating these provisions will be ticketed. And the process has already begun.

City code enforcement is now making follow-up inspections of over 300 properties that have been reported over the past year and half. We believe at least half of these properties continue to be in violation of our city ordinances. In these cases, tickets – not warnings – are being written, meaning fines can be imposed, sometimes for each day a property is in non-compliance.

We are confident our Municipal Court will support this stepped-up enforcement of our city ordinances, and the resulting penalties levied, if not paid, will be collected when property taxes are paid or by withholding these penalties from state income tax refunds through a law recently adopted by the Mississippi Legislature.

In addition, certified letters will soon be mailed to all property owners in the city’s Historic District, clearly spelling out the process to be followed when making improvements or alterations to properties within the district’s boundaries. We will also be installing new, attractive signage designating this district to alleviate confusion as to where boundary lines begin and end.

It is a proven fact that, throughout our state and nation, cities that overlook code enforcement and allow individuals to continue to violate ordinances end up in a state of decline, crime-ridden with boarded-up homes and undesirable neighborhoods.

We refuse to let that happen in Natchez.

So be on the lookout for tickets and stepped-up enforcement. Together, let’s work to make Natchez as beautiful – and as safe – as it can be. Because Natchez Deserves More.

Dan M. Gibson is mayor of Natchez.