NATCHEZ — The Mississippi Ethics Commission issued a final order Wednesday finding the City of Natchez had violated the state Open Meetings Act when the mayor and board of aldermen went behind closed doors earlier this year to review garbage contract proposals.

In its ruling, the commission ordered the Natchez mayor and board of aldermen  to refrain from further violations and comply strictly with the Open Meetings Act.

The Commission did not fine the city for the violations.

The city could have been fined $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for any subsequent offenses.

The commission took the recommendations of hearing officer Sonia Shurden who in a preliminary report said the commission should “find the Mayor and Board of Aldermen for the City of Natchez violated Section 25-41-7, Miss. Code of 1972, by entering into executive session on April 23, May 1 and 3, 2018, to discuss proposals for the provision of garbage collection and recycling services.”

Following the closed door meetings, complaints were filed separately by The Natchez Democrat, Shadrack White on behalf of the Mississippi Justice Institute, Paul Sullivan on behalf of citizens John A. White, Paul Benoist, Ginger C. Schwager and William Mays and by Sullivan.

In his complaint, Sullivan also alleged that the city violated the Open Meetings Act by improperly going into executive session without following proper procedures as set forth in the Act.

After reviewing the complaint, the response by the city and the city’s meeting minutes, the Commission said it “appears as if the board followed proper procedure to enter executive session and sufficiently recorded the reasons for entering executive session in its minutes.”