NATCHEZ &045; Any public works director can tell you his job has as much to do with material prices as potholes, and as much to do with budgets as speed bumps.

Take Ronnie Ivey, for example. Natchez’s director of operations for public works said he and director of administration Eric Smith have urged their workers to cut costs wherever they can without cutting quality.

&uot;Each morning, they walk around their vehicles to see if there’s any maintenance to be done that could save us major problems down the road,&uot; Ivey said. Buying only the most necessary materials and replacing equipment that would cost more to repair than replace are other cost-saving measures.

And Ivey isn’t alone. City Clerk Donnie Holloway said he and other city officials let department heads know at each of their quarterly budget meetings that, especially in tough economic times, they must cut costs wherever possible.

And at least for now, it looks as though most city departments could make it under budget for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. Figures for the fiscal year through May, the last available, showed the city had received 73 percent of budgeted general fund revenues and had spent about 70 percent.

&uot;That’s about where it has been&uot; in previous years, Holloway said. &uot;We’re just asking that department heads restrain from hiring new people and from spending other monies wherever they can. Everybody knows things are tight.&uot;

Meanwhile, department heads say they’re working to make sure they stay within their budgets.

For his part, Ivey said he’s giving his workers an incentive. &uot;I tell them that the more we can show we’ve saved money, the better case I can make for raises for our workers at budget time,&uot; he said.