Not long into a new mayor’s term, the city finds itself in a difficult position &045; with three open department head spots to fill.

Aldermen are already looking for a city planner and public works director, and now aldermen they must find a new city engineer to replace David Gardner, who will take over for retiring James Thorpe at the Natchez Water Works.

All three of these positions are key to the daily work of the city. The engineering department alone currently oversees $17.3 million worth of construction projects.

Other departments are feeling the effects of not having a leader.

For one thing, members of the planning and preservation boards recently told aldermen that they are having a difficult time making decisions without

staff reports

from the planning department to guide them.

And, while we’re excited about the city’s new emphasis on beautification, it’s hard to undertake such projects without a director for public works.

As the city looks for new team members, we hope the mayor and aldermen will remember that the success we’ve had in the past with these positions has most often come when there was a team spirit among department heads and other city employees.

A strong city team fostered such multi-million dollar projects as bluff stabilization, the convention center and the Natchez Visitor Reception Center, not to mention attracted countless grants for smaller projects as well as several conventions for the city to host.

We want aldermen to find the best qualified people to fill these positions &045; people who will not only lead their individual departments to success but will also be ready and willing to become part of the larger city team.

That said, we cannot let these positions linger unfilled for too long without losing momentum for the future.

Natchez is a city that can sell itself to anyone interested in living and working here. But aldermen must also sell the idea team spirit to potential department heads &045; and it starts with them.