Despite a last-minute rush to the finish line, the bill to reorganize the Natchez-Adams County Economic and Community Development Authority beat this week’s legislative deadline.

Its hurried passage was necessary after the original bill was killed by lawmakers who wrongly assumed it involved spending state money.

However, rushing through the process required dropping the stipulation of how the EDA would be funded. The result of dropping the funding section is, as one supervisor said, a &uot;gentleman’s agreement&uot; on the funding issue.

Last year, the city and county agreed to stick to a 60-40 split, with the city paying 40 percent of the bill, the county 60 percent.

Fortunately the funding issues haven’t been key sticking points recently.

But the potential is certainly there. And we fear that if the economy continues its slowdown, city and county finances will remain tight. As finances become tighter, someone will suggest we use economic development money to spend on other needs – the suggestion pops up almost each year.

But rather than cutting the EDA’s budget, we think the city and county should work hard to find more money for its uses. Economic development is rarely a matter of luck. Nissan Motor Company isn’t building a nearly $1 billion operation in central Mississippi on a fluke.

Hardly.

EDA officials near Jackson worked extremely hard to secure that deal. And, more important, the state came up the funding – in the way of tax breaks and incentives – to stand out from the others in the crowd.

And that &uot;do what it takes&uot; attitude – along with an abundance of funding – is exactly what our EDA needs to succeed.