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Over the past few weeks, we have been working hard to balance the city budget, something we by law have to do, and something any government should do simply out of common sense.

We, like everyone, have to live within our means. And thankfully, through the great work of our City Clerk, Megan McKenzie and her staff, along with great oversight by our city leaders, from aldermen to department directors, we have passed for the fifth year of our administration a balanced budget without raising taxes.

It truly is amazing what we have been able to accomplish by working together — and the additional funds, millions actually in state and federal grants and appropriations — have made all of the difference.

In fact, of a budget totalling $45 million, the vast majority of these funds, 63 percent, come from sources other than taxes. Ad Valorem, Sales and Casino taxes make up only about 37 percent of the money we take in. To make up the difference, we have been working hard to utilize sound financial strategies, issuance of bonds for municipal improvements, and soliciting major funds for projects important to Natchez — meaning more for our city and less our taxpayers have to pay.

During our administration, this strategy has allowed us to replenish our fleet of police cars, add new vehicles to our Fire Department, including a new pumper truck, and renovate all six of our city parks. We have paved more than 50 streets, with more improvements planned. We are now renovating our Convention Center, City Auditorium, Civic Center, and Duncan Park Golf Clubhouse. Renovations to our North Natchez Youth Center and City Hall are now complete, as are Phase One renovations to our City Council Chamber, Police Department, and Fire Department locations.

We have also significantly raised salaries to keep our city competitive with other cities. Our law enforcement and fire department personnel are now among the highest paid in our region, and we are about to give the fourth raise in four years to our Public Works employees, bringing them up significantly from where they once were.

We are truly blessed. The list of accomplishments could go on and on — all without raising taxes.

But we certainly have had our challenges. Inflation has made it difficult. Bids for city projects have repeatedly come in over budget. And aging infrastructure, like the Canal Street Bridge, and challenging projects, like Morgantown Road, have tapped city resources by millions. This understood, I am more grateful than ever that Natchez continues to do so well.

But this brings me to the title of this article, three words that we have been using lately, with some degree of sarcasm. “The Government Rate.”

Seems that in this post-COVID world, what used to be “the best rate” has become “the worst rate.” Of course, everyone has suffered from post covid inflation. We see it at the grocery store when we’re buying our food and definitely at the gas station when we’re filling up.

But what we’ve experienced as a government has been insane — and some projects we have tried to accomplish have been sacrificed to this inflation. To balance our budget, we had to put off our plans to raise Silver Street. And efforts to relight the Mississippi River bridges have been challenged by higher costs to say the least. Again, I could go on and on.

But we are not going to sacrifice progress. And we are not going to raise taxes. Inflation has already made things difficult enough for our citizens.

Since my first day in office, I have done my best to watch our city’s spending. I personally sign every check to see where the money goes. No computerized signatures for this mayor!

And in a meeting with our department directors just a few days ago, I urged them to treat the city’s money as if it was their own. Only spend what you would spend if it was coming out of your own checkbook. What would you pay a contractor to work at your own house? How much would you pay for a part for your own car, or supplies for your own office?

My counsel to them was this: just because it’s budgeted doesn’t mean we have to spend it. And there will be no tax increases. If we spend more than we have, then we will have to cut. And there will be no raises, no equipment upgrades. We must live within our means.

In the coming year we intend to do all in our power to fight “the government rate.”

And my prayer is that with God’s help we will succeed. Because Natchez Deserves More.

Dan M. Gibson is mayor of Natchez.