During a long meeting made longer by the frustrating topic at hand &045; money and the lack of it &045; Natchez Alderman Jake Middleton said the magic words.

&uot;We need to work together,&uot; he told his fellow aldermen and Adams County supervisors, who were invited to the joint meeting.

The two boards, both in the budgeting phase, met to discuss some familiar subjects Monday &045; including the county’s contribution to fire protection (the city wants more money) and the city’s payment for the juvenile justice center (the county wants its money).

We imagine it is frustrating to go through the same arguments year after year, especially when it seems little is accomplished.

The fact is, neither the city nor the county has money to play with this year. Both are planning cuts, with the county cutting even deeper because of the loss of International Paper tax revenue.

But besides agreeing on their lack of money, the boards did talk about the need to coordinate some of their projects &045; specifically, their road maintenance work. City attorney Walter Brown pointed out it would make much more sense for the two boards to work together and maximize their efforts and their money.

That arrangement makes great sense.

Whether you believe the city and county eventually need to consolidate &045; and we believe that idea needs thoughtful, careful consideration &045; we can all agree that we need to make sure services and work are not duplicated between the two governments. Natchez is the only incorporated city in the county; obviously, some things are going to overlap.

We hope both boards will continue to heed the simple advice to work together. It’s the only way both will survive.