NATCHEZ — The Natchez Board of Aldermen voted Tuesday to declare a special meeting for Monday so aldermen can meet as a group with the Adams County Board of Supervisors to discuss the Emergency 911 system.

The move came after Police Chief Danny White brought the E911 interlocal agreement to the board for discussion. White said that because the board has not approved the agreement, the city cannot receive its portion of the funding the E911 board directs to first responders for dispatching emergency calls.

White said if he is able to receive the funds, he would be able to adjust the pay for dispatchers.

“I just lost two dispatchers, two patrolmen and two jailers to the sheriff’s office,” he said. “They make $5,000 more there, and so do the jailers and patrol — that is why we continue losing employees. Walmart is going to start paying $10 an hour, and that is more than Natchez pays dispatch.”

The new agreement goes back to a change in the 911 system in April, when dispatching duties were split between the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and the Natchez Police Department.

Under the old system, all 911 calls were routed through Natchez Police no matter where they originated, and if the sheriff’s office was the proper jurisdiction to respond the call was then transferred to the sheriff’s office.

Now, if the call originates outside the county, it is routed directly to the sheriff’s office.

The aldermen balked at the agreement at the time of the switch because they felt they had not been given enough notice of the change.

Monday, they contended it cut out one delay to create another.

“If a fire is called from the county, it is answered at the sheriff’s office, and it has to be transferred to the police department to be transferred to the fire department,” Mayor pro tem Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis said.

Fire Chief Aaron Wesley said he did not think the new system was effective, and said he thought dispatch should be at one location.

When Arceneaux-Mathis asked White and Wesley what Mayor Butch Brown’s opinion on the matter was, Wesley said he had spoken with the mayor on the matter.

“(The fire department) and police, we are actually getting together one piece (of the funding), and the sheriff’s office is getting half, we (in the city) are having to split our half because the fire and police are together,” Wesley said. “The mayor feels somewhat we should be getting more than what they are getting, and in so many words he did not want to sign it because he feels like we are coming up on a short end. But waiting and waiting and waiting puts us on a short end.”

Wesley said the mayor had also suggested the city file a lawsuit.

Brown did not attend Tuesday’s meeting. He was hospitalized last month after suffering two strokes.

Alderman Mark Fortenbery said the issue of the funding was secondary, noting a time he called 911 and was asked to hold.

“Throw the money out the window, I am worried about the citizens of the community,” he said. “When I called and I went through, I am thankful I wasn’t watching someone get shot, because 30 seconds is too long.”

The aldermen decided to meet with the supervisors to discuss the matter before making any decision.

In other news:

4The aldermen adopted a resolution approving a move for the Convention and Visitors Bureau to consolidate the CVB’s logo gift shop with the National Park Service’s Eastern National Bookstore into a single entity known as The Natchez Shop, which will be operated by Eastern National.

CVB Director Kevin Kirby said the move would free up CVB employees — none of whom will lose their jobs — to work in other capacities.

“We are finding out what their strengths, passions and loves are and will place them where they will be most successful,” he said.

One option under discussion is having CVB employees work some hours at the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture to allow it to stay open later hours and on Saturdays, Kirby said.

4The board passed a motion by Fortenbery to approach President of New Orleans Hotel Group Warren Reuther about finding a way to help the city find matching funds for grant-funded work done on the outside of the Broadway Street Depot.

New Orleans Hotel Group owns the Natchez Grand Hotel, manages the Natchez Convention Center and has leased the depot.

Paul Jackson and Sons is renovating the exterior on a $879,000 bid, and the board voted Monday to make a $109,875 payment on some of the work, which is being substantially paid for by the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Fortenbery said he thinks Reuther should be approached because he will receive the benefit of the renovation work.

But the aldermen also complained that — while the funds would be reimbursed — they felt plans for the project did not indicate where the money would come from while the city waited for reimbursement.

“These expenditures have been budgeted in here with no inclination identifying revenues,” Alderman Dan Dillard said.

“I think the administration needs to step up here and do the things they need to identify these issues and not look at the back of the room and say, ‘I don’t know where these money comes from.’”

Alderwoman Sarah Smith said in the future, the clerk, grant writer and city administration need to get together at the beginning of the year and identify what grants they will seek and identify where the money will come from in advance.

Alderman Tony Fields said that, in the administration’s defense, the expenses in question were all things the board had already approved.

“In the future, we need to get all that ironed out on the front end,” he said. “Right now we are playing catch up.”

The board members made similar comments about other grant-related expenses during the meeting.

4The board approved a motion to create a special account so the city can receive donations for the purchase of 10 thermal cameras for the fire department.

The motion came at the request of Dennis Short, who along with his wife Darby is leading an effort to raise $50,000 for the purchases.