NATCHEZ &045; They did not pass the collection plate, but organizers of an effort toward an employee-owned paper mill met with business leaders Tuesday to give them information and ask for moral support.

International Paper’s Natchez mill is scheduled to close next month, leaving the 400 or so employees who still work there without a job.

Since IP announced the planned closure in January, community leaders have been looking at ways to keep the mill open &045; whether it’s another buyer or an ESOP, an employee stock option plan.

&uot;It’s obvious this is a definite option to keep this thing open and keep people employed,&uot; Natchez Mayor F.L. &uot;Hank&uot; Smith told those gathered for a brief reception at Monmouth.

Organizers now are working on a business plan for the mill, which manufactures chemical cellulose, a dissolving pulp product. It is the only IP mill that produces chemical cellulose, so IP is getting out of that particular market altogether.

The next step after the business plan is securing investors and capital, said Jim Megson, a consultant from Boston’s ICA Group who is working on the project. The ICA Group is a non-profit organization that works to save jobs through employee-owned ventures.

The investment capital likely can’t come from the Natchez community alone, although Megson said it would help to have support from local banks and businesses.

&uot;Support from the local community would be a good showing,&uot; he said.

According to a study released earlier this year, employee-owned companies are 14 percent more productive and 4 percent more profitable than their counterparts, Megson said.

&uot;Long-term, this is a win-win for the town and a win-win for the employees,&uot; he said.

The ESOP is certainly not a done deal, though.

Monty Payne of PACE International, a union representative, said he is more optimistic about the project this week than last week. &uot;But there’s still a long way to go,&uot; he said.

Megson said the organizers won’t pursue the plan if it looks like it won’t be viable. &uot;Unless we produce a plan we think is going to work, we won’t offer it,&uot; he said.