NATCHEZ — Despite vehement pledges to make budget cuts several months into the budget review process, the board of aldermen has yet to make any conclusive decisions.

“Making tough decisions” to whittle away budgetary fat has practically become a city catchphrase, yet Thursday’s meeting didn’t even net a meeting of the full board.

Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis didn’t attend the meeting as she is on vacation, and aldermen Bob Pollard and Dan Dillard didn’t attend due to work conflicts.

That left aldermen Mark Fortenbery, James “Ricky” Gray, Ernest “Tony” Fields, City Clerk Donnie Holloway, City Attorney Everett Sanders and Mayor Jake Middleton to chat about possible cuts.

Middleton said he did not want to have an in-depth conversation regarding the budget without the full board present, and Holloway agreed.

“We need to get the whole board on the same page,” Holloway said.

But Gray recognized that the board has not made any decisions on cuts.

“We can’t keep prolonging this,” he said.

The board has been meeting regularly to comb through the budget, and at its last work session June 16, officials said decisions were being made to be voted on at their next board meeting.

However, when the June 22 meeting rolled around, no votes were cast to make any cuts that were discussed — privatizing recreation grass cutting, layoffs, ending the city’s lease of a portion of the former Marketplace Café or lowering alderman pay.

The only official action taken by the board is to enact a hiring freeze applicable to all city departments aside from police and fire.

Another board meeting next week will likely pass without major decisions, as the board will not meet for another budget hearing until next Thursday.

“Let’s be ready to make some decisions on Thursday — study up,” Middleton said.

What the aldermen will be considering until then is changing city employee health care plans.

Holloway pitched increasing deductibles for doctor’s visits and pharmaceuticals.

Collectively, the increase proposed — which would be between $5 and $10 — would save the city $56,000 a year.

Middleton also suggested increasing how much an employee pays a month toward health insurance from $20 to $25, which would create $80,000 a year in city savings.

Gray and Holloway both said they do not favor that option.

The city officials present at Thursday’s meeting came to a collective goal for the next three years in their terms — stop borrowing money to balance the budget.

“That’s definitely a reachable goal,” Fields said.

Middleton said he anticipates the city will have to borrow money again in the next fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, but he would like to see the amount lowered from $1.3 million the city had to borrow to balance the 2008-2009 fiscal year budget.

“I think there are a lot of things we can bear down on,” Fortenbery said.