FERRIDAY &8212; With the halfway term of the Ferriday Mayor lingering, aldermen are giving Mayor Gene Allen a report card.

District D Alderman Johnnie Brown&8217;s concerns are numerous, yet simple he said.

&8220;I don&8217;t know what it&8217;s going to take to get him to address the problems people have,&8221; Brown said. &8220;When he got in office we didn&8217;t have money, now we&8217;ve got money and need to get some things done.&8221;

Projects including a new convention center, cleaning up Ferriday and improving community and business interaction were included as term goals for the mayor. Improving the financial position of workers in the town and moving toward an &8220;everybody receives a paycheck&8221; sort of town are the things District C Alderman Jerome Harris wants to continue to track.

&8220;He&8217;s done an excellent financial job,&8221; Harris said. &8220;Our biggest problem is we don&8217;t have enough man power to do anything with. We need more manpower.&8221;

Manpower and updating those taking care of the city&8217;s maintenance duties were a common feeling for the members in the push toward town improvement.

&8220;We were in the hole when he took over and now were out and it&8217;s time to start being more active in addressing the town&8217;s cleaning concerns,&8221; Brown said. &8220;We shouldn&8217;t have to say things in the meetings that are in ordinances and I just hope as a board, community and administration we could recognize we do have funds. I am not saying we are trying to break the town, but the council is in the business of helping people and I hear complaints all the time.&8221;

Harris said he thought that the hurricanes and efforts by the town to bring in new businesses would have been more effective at this point. A commissioner as well as updated equipment for the employers of the town is also needed, he said.

&8220;I would like to see this community clean and with better equipment for employers to work with,&8221; Harris said.

The town commissioner is a position that has not been filled by the town since Allen&8217;s term, but should be, Harris said.

&8220;My main interest is to improve the pay for our community labor and to have a commissioner to connect different positions,&8221; he said.

Financial infrastructure was something Allen felt the town now had, but form to go alongside that newly laid foundation was what he now wanted to see. All aldermen agreed that financially Ferriday was in a better position, but more time for improvement was necessary.

&8220;I think we&8217;re doing pretty good. Financially we are a lot better than we were when we started,&8221; District A alderwoman Robin Charpentier said. &8220;It&8217;s simply a matter of not having time to do things, but for the most part I am pleased with the position we are in.&8221;

Continuing to promote town interaction with politics while pushing for town revitalization highlight the council&8217;s goals. pAllen said leadership comes in many forms and can be successful and fail, but the town council must stay positive to continue to grow.

&8220;In order to be a good leader you have to be a good listener and follower,&8221; Allen said. &8220;In order for the community to grow you have to bring some leadership to the table and not always criticize.&8221;