NATCHEZ — After hours spent poring over numbers and identifying mistakes, the city has a proposed 2015-2016 budget ready for public review. 

And while state law says the city must have a proposed budget ready by Sept. 15 — a deadline the city met — some aldermen said most numbers within that budget are subject to change.

“There are still some little errors and hiccups with what they (the Natchez City Clerk’s office personnel) proposed Friday,” Ward 6 Alderman Dan Dillard said. “It’s really more of a draft, and there are still issues that need to be corrected.”

After cutting 5 percent from each department’s budget, the city’s projected total expenditures for the 2015-2016 year are $33.34 million. Total revenue is projected at $35.58 million — giving the city an anticipated $2.24 million surplus.

Dillard said his biggest issue with the 2015-2016 proposed budget is there is no way to compare it to last year’s revenues without a complete city audit, which is still in the hands of The Gillon Group — the city’s independent audit firm.

Assistant City Clerk Wendy McClain said it takes approximately 300 hours to prepare the city’s audit, which The Gillon Group has been working on since the city submitted its financial records — 53 days after its state-mandated deadline — on Aug. 21.

“They said they would let me know when it’s almost ready,” McClain said..

If projected revenues and expenses are correct according to the latest proposed budget, Aldermen Tony Fields, Rickey Gray and Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis said they have no outstanding problems with the proposed budget.

“I think right now, we have a good budget to work with,” Fields said. “I do believe after it’s adopted, though, we will look at some revisions.”

Those revisions, Fields said, should deal with making more budget trims, rather than inflations.

Fields said he couldn’t currently name any specific departments that would need extra cuts.

Fortenbery said next year’s proposed budget budget is a good working start, but there is room for improvement.

“We just have to be careful with our spending, hiring and pay raises,” he said. “Other than that, I guess it looks OK. If I had to give it a grade, it would probably be a C right now.”

The city did not vote to increase its ad valorem tax millage rate, which is 42.73 mills.

Property value within the city has increased, however, which caused the value of a mill to rise $7,000 per mill.

A mill is a unit governments use to determine the value of property tax. One mill is equal to one-tenth of a cent on every dollar of assessed property value.

If the city is able to spend within its budgeted revenues, Arceneaux-Mathis said the city should be in good shape for the 2015-2016 year.

Arceneaux-Mathis, like other aldermen, said the city needs to comb through the proposed budget and get public input before the board adopts the budget on Oct. 1.

“Our goal is to keep a surplus,” Arceneaux-Mathis said. “We don’t want to be in the negative.”

A public hearing to discuss the budget will be at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the city council chambers, 124 S. Pearl St.