For nearly as long as we can remember, late summer has been an embarrassing time for citizens of the City of Natchez.

Sadly, almost like clockwork, city leaders seem shocked at the state of the city’s finances as the current fiscal year winds down and they prepare to budget for the new year.

At a recent meeting, City Clerk Donnie Holloway asked to borrow $1 million to get the city through the end of the calendar year, when property tax revenues will begin flowing again.

Instead, aldermen approved only $350,000 to allow the city to skirt through the current payroll, leaving more problems looming ahead with no clear resolution in sight.

On Monday, city leaders met to discuss the city’s budget for the next fiscal year and collectively seemed shocked that the city’s payroll had grown by 13 people in recent months.

Even more surprising to them, it seems, is the significant rise in health insurance costs — up by more than $229,000 on the year, approximately half of which seems to be tied to the growing payroll.

City leaders need to quit using the problems and turnover at the city clerk’s office as an excuse.

Much blame has been placed at Holloway’s feet, and perhaps with some merit, perhaps not. But for city leaders to continue to plead ignorance of the city’s finances, shame on them.

But more importantly, let’s do something about it. If the city is struggling to pay its bills, let’s immediately trim the expenses across the board, starting with aldermen pay. If they’re not able to stay abreast of city finances, they don’t deserve to be bringing home a paycheck.