NATCHEZ —Natchez aldermen concluded Tuesday no contract with a fine collection company that recently appeared before the board can be found in the city’s record.

City officials subsequently agreed to research the best way to collect overdue municipal court fines.

The board of aldermen heard a presentation from Natchez Municipal Judge Jim Blough at its Tuesday meeting regarding a reported 2011 agreement between the city and American Municipal Services of Carrollton, Texas.

AMS provides fine collection services for multiple cities in Mississippi. Deborah Sivira of AMS appeared before the board at its last meeting outlining the contract, potential monies the city is eligible to receive from the state if the city utilizes AMS, and to say Blough resisted using AMS by not turning over court documents so that AMS could begin the collections process.

After city hall staff spent several days searching the aldermen meeting records, the board agreed at Tuesday’s meeting that no record of the board’s approval of the contract could be found.

The contract had been signed by former Mayor Jake Middleton, Mayor Butch Brown said Middleton signed the agreement while attending an out-of-town conference. Middleton has said it would be unlike him to sign an agreement or contract without board approval.

Moving forward, Blough and the mayor and board of aldermen agreed to look at in-house options to collect fines as well as other companies, including a local company that has expressed interest in providing collection services. Receivable Solutions on Main Street provides collection services for the county justice court.

Sivira is expected to appear before the board to request approval of another contract. Ward 5 Alderman Mark Fortenbery requested Blough be present for that meeting.

Blough expressed his disagreement with adding 25 percent of the total fine on top of the cost to the defendant as AMS proposed. The collections company would keep the 25 percent added to the fine as the company’s fee, and the total payment for the fine would be remitted to the city.

Blough said if a defendant already cannot pay the fine against them, they would likely not be able to pay an increased fine.

Ward 6 Alderman Dan Dillard said the fact that someone cannot pay a fine does not excuse them from the responsibility of their actions.

Dillard said, however, he agreed, the board had to weigh its various options for collecting fines.

Blough pointed to instances in which other cities have come under fire and been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center for collection practices.

Lawsuits were recently filed against New Orleans, Biloxi, Jackson and other municipalities for creating “debtors’ prisons.” The cities have been accused of not properly determining whether impoverished defendants can pay fines or should be offered alternatives, such as community service.

Recent court settlements have forced courts to change practices in Alabama, Georgia and other states.

Blough said his court deals with delinquent fines every court session. An in-house remedy that may expedite collections is getting the court back to serving bench warrants in a routine manner, Blough said.

If a defendant does not pay their fine within four weeks of their court date, a bench warrant is issued for their arrest.

The Natchez Police Department does not have a designated warrant officer, and officers serve warrants when they can, Blough said. Aldermen discussed possibly designating an officer to issue warrant and/or using the municipal court officer to notify defendants of delinquent fines and impending warrants, which Brown said was done in his last tenure as mayor and resulted in increased collections.

Blough said a recently elected county constable has expressed interest in helping serve bench warrants. Blough said he would like to involve NPD patrol officers in the bench warrant process more, but that would likely involve paying overtime.

Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneux-Mathis said a collection agency may not be necessary if delinquent court fines are not inordinate.

Blough said he does not know the exact figure, but estimated the total fines outstanding total less than $100,000. Blough said he would figure up the outstanding fines and report the number back to the board. Some of the delinquent fines may be so outdated or for out-of-town defendants that the chance for collection is slim and may need to be purged, Blough said.

In other news from the meeting:

-The board recessed its meeting until 8:30 a.m. Thursday at which time they will review a proposed development agreement to essentially lease the railroad depot on the bluff to New Orleans hotelier Warren Reuther.

Local attorney Walter Brown represented Reuther at the meeting, but was not on the agenda, because Mayor Brown said he forgot to request the matter be put on the agenda following a meeting about the depot Monday afternoon.

After confirming City Attorney Hyde Carby had reviewed the agreement, Ward 2 Alderman Rickey Gray made a motion to approve the agreement.

Ward 3 Alderwoman Sarah Smith and Ward 5 Mark Fortenbery voicing concerns about voting on an agreement they had not reviewed.

“I think what some of the board members have a problem with is … out of (respect for us), you can’t let us do a little research on this,” Fortenbery said to attorney Brown.

The agreement was requested by Reuther to allow Reuther’s contractor to attend construction meetings and work in conjunction with the city’s contractor currently renovating the exterior of the depot.

The mayor expressed exasperation with the board wanting to delay a vote since the board already has a letter of intent with Reuther’s company.

“When somebody is ready to buy a house or a gold mine or jet plane … how many of you would rather sit down … and think about it rather than take the man’s money and run,” he said.

Gray withdrew his motion, and the board voted, at Arceneaux-Mathis’ suggestion, to review the agreement Thursday after Reuther said the aldermen’s request for time to review the agreement was reasonable.

-At the board’s request, Community Development Director James Johnston presented a spreadsheet outlining the ongoing projects for the current fiscal year in the city, which total approximately $8.7 million. Of that total, approximately 16 percent, or more than $1 million, is grant-matching funds the city is required to pay.

-The board voted to overlay Broadway Street in preparation for the Tricentennial celebration of the city’s founding, next year, and in conjunction with work on the Natchez Trails Project.