The human body works amazingly well in crisis mode.

The nervous system, glandular system and muscular system all work together with stunning efficiency to react to fearful and dangerous situations.

When it’s alerted to danger, the brain signals for adrenaline and other hormones be released. This creates a state of alertness that raises heart rate, increases respiration, dilates the pupils, slows down digestion and allows muscles to contract.

In doing so the body has an amazing ability to focus and react. The only problem is that body can only stay in crisis for short spurts at a time. It cannot sustain such levels of adrenaline over a long period of time.

Eventually the body enters an exhaustion stage. A person becomes more susceptible to disease because the body’s defenses are spent.

It seems as if the City of Natchez has been in crisis mode for a while. Leaders seem to be spending most of their time reacting and not planning.

This didn’t start with Mayor Jake Middleton. No. Other leaders who seemed to thrive on crisis and confrontation added to this heightened sense of crisis long before Middleton took the oath of office.

Pecan factory showdowns, city planner crises and other controversies have added to this feeling.

Like the human body, city government cannot stay in crisis mode for long without being exhausted.

Some recent incidents are symptoms that can only be explained by exhaustion and frustration within city government.

Budget goals are being overspent, deadlines for grant money are un-met, department heads are storming out of meetings and a loan has been taken out to cover missing funds that may not be missing after all.

Constantly reacting to the next crisis, leaders have little or no time to sit down and plan.

Take police cars for example. The city replaces police cars every three or four years. Because as cars age the cost of repairs outweighs the value of the cars Police Chief Mike Mullins said it was more cost effective to buy new cars on a three to four year interval. Mayor Middleton says that is not good enough. He says that the city is going to drive police cars until the “transmission falls out.”

That may sound good to some people, at first. It sounds reactionary to me. As a taxpayer, I want what is best for the city budget and for the police. It doesn’t take long for $3,000 repairs to mount up. Police cars receive more wear and tear than your average car. I wouldn’t want an officer stranded on the side of the road because his transmission went out all for the sake of penny-pinching.

To be sure, the issue needs to be examined and costs compared. These are all issues that need to be weighed in order to make a calm and informed decision.

City leaders only have to look as far as the Mississippi River to see an effective response to crisis with planning and forethought.

One year ago, area leaders on both sides of the river scrambled to react to a rising river that closed roads and threatened businesses. Floodwaters submerged Silver Street, closed the casino and inundated the Vidalia Riverfront.

This year’s high water has been a non-event for area leaders as they applied lessons learned last year. Sandbag levees built to higher specifications have allowed streets to remain relatively dry on both sides of the river. The area’s response to the river was one proactive, informed by knowledge and planning.

And that is a more healthy place to be.

Ben Hillyer is the Web editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3540 or ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com.