The Natchez aldermen did the right thing Tuesday night; they just did it about two months too late.

Better late than never? Perhaps.

Our police officers and firefighters are worth every cent of the $2,700 raise they received this week.

They risk their lives for us daily.

Police Chief Mike Mullins has been asking for more money for his men and women for a while now.

With the raise new, certified officers will make $24,120, and firefighters will make $23,316, hopefully enough to give Mullins and Fire Chief Paul Johnson a better shot at keeping the folks they train around a little longer.

But the raise isn&8217;t enough to wipe clean the mess aldermen made in June when they upped their own paychecks considerably.

Not only did the three aldermen voting for the raise &8212; David Massey, Joyce Arceneaux Mathis and Theodore &8220;Bubber&8221; West &8212; think of themselves before their city employees, but they got the larger raise.

With Mayor Phillip West&8217;s tie-breaking vote the aldermen got a $3,800 raise, bringing them up to $22,300 &8212; an aldermen salary ranking third in the state.

Hopefully officers and firefighters can feel good about their salaries and take the raise as a well-deserved pat on the back.

But for the rest of us, the full story may be harder to forget.