If there’s a photo opportunity having to do with economic development, you can usually count on leaders from the city and county to be there.

But when it comes to funding, apparently the city isn’t sure it will be around in six months. Natchez aldermen said this week they are only going to fund the Natchez-Adams County Economic Development Authority on a six-month basis, rather than for a full year, because they don’t believe the EDA is producing results fast enough.

Some aldermen say if the city doesn’t start seeing results inside city limits, one option is for the city hire its own economic development director.

The county, meanwhile, has promised to fund the authority fully for the year, and some supervisors said they don’t understand the city’s reluctance.

So yet again, our community can’t agree on the right plan for economic development.

This is exactly the problem Natchez has had for years. Ask any developer or state official outside our community, and they’ll tell you Natchez’s problem is that folks don’t get along and bicker over big projects like economic development.

How much further behind are we going to have to get before our leaders realize that working together is absolutely key to moving forward?

Economic development projects don’t happen overnight. And often they happen with the help of volunteers &045;&045; an EDA board and chairman who have been going above and beyond to try to lure jobs and companies to our community.

To be fair, the problem might simply lie in communication, and EDA Chairman Woody Allen said he would make sure he communicates with city leaders as he does with the county.

But city leaders also need to realize that what happens in the county benefits the city, and vice versa. For that matter, anything that happens right across the river helps us, too.

We need to have a community mindset when we approach economic development, and this kind of division is only going to hurt us.

Let’s get it together and work together.