It was a headline straight out of 2006: “Sanitation to draft bills.”

It’s good news for sure, even if a bit behind the times.

If you live in Adams County, but outside the City of Natchez, the Adams County Sanitation Department can now draft your $13 monthly sanitation fee directly from your bank account, if you so authorize.

Drafting, direct deposit and online bill pay are services most of us simply expect when it comes to our paychecks, cell phone bills and bank notes.

Yet, local government in Natchez and Adams County is still in the dark ages on many levels.

With a move forward in the sanitation department, we hope the remaining governmental utilities that don’t offer a bank draft service can follow suit soon.

In addition, it’s high time basic information about county and city services such as permits, homestead exemption, tax rates and more be readily available online.

It’s a cost and a big change on the front end, but money, time and citizen heartache will be saved on the back end.

Hopefully the county can get some of those customers who simply “forget” to pay the garbage bill signed up for the bank draft system. If everyone pays their bills, the county will be able to provide more services to all of us.