The late, great comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello has nothing on the ludicrous and embarrassing skit recently played out by the Natchez mayor and board of aldermen.

In recent days, the city has hired three new people to work in the office of the beleaguered city planner, Andrew Smith.

Exactly who authorized the hires remains a mystery, along with how the positions will be funded.

Trying to get a straight answer from all the parties involved is a little like trying to make sense of Abbott and Costello&8217;s famous &8220;Who&8217;s on first?&8221; routine.

Questions over the effectiveness of Smith&8217;s undermanned department prompted the new hires.

Apparently, all of the folks close to the issue &8212; Smith, the mayor and the aldermen &8212; agree Smith needed additional help in the department. Beyond that, however, the debate about how many people the city hired, who authorized them and whether or not the city can afford three new hires is anyone&8217;s guess.

Some kind of discussion about the issue occurred at a work session at which no minutes were taken.

It seems all involved heard or thought they heard different things. Depending upon who is asked, either the aldermen approved all three hires, two hires or none of the hires.

Because no one involved thought you, the taxpayer, would ever need to know what, exactly, was discussed at the work session, no one bothered to write anything down. So now we&8217;re left playing the childhood game of &8220;Gossip&8221; in an effort to decipher what occurred.

Now the city leaders are caught pointing fingers at one another trying to determine who is responsible for the collective &8220;stubbed toe&8221; caused by the gaffe.

City leaders&8217; reaction to the hiring debacle conjures up images of Abbott and Costello, only the skit should be titled, &8220;Who&8217;s responsible and who&8217;s taking notes.&8221;