City attorney: ‘Natchez has complied with the spirit of the law’

NATCHEZ — City attorney Jack Lazarus told aldermen and the public at the city’s budget hearing Thursday night that while the city was not in perfect compliance with state law, it was necessary to move forward.

“The clerk and staff are well aware of Mississippi code that requires before the budget be adopted, it is necessary to advertise at least seven days prior to the public hearing,” Lazarus said. “The city scrambled and have done our dead-level best.”

The city’s public notice advertising the budget public hearing was published online on The Natchez Democrat website on Aug. 31 and in the newspaper’s print editions on Sept. 1 and Sept. 4.

“When you look at the statutory requirement, it’s seven days and by our calculation, we have given the notice six days prior to the hearing,” he said. “Therefore, we contacted the office of the Mississippi Ethics Commission and the State Auditor to get guidance on whether we were in compliance. Of course, the bigger issue is the Sept. 15 deadline for adopting the budget. If we had republished and re-noticed, we would not have met that deadline.

“So, we have consulted today with the authorities and we are moving forward with the budget public hearing tonight knowing we are not in perfect compliance but on behalf of the staff, let me say this: the City of Natchez has complied with the spirit of that law, even if we have not complied with the letter of that law.”

Ward 2 Alderman Billie Joe Frazier thanked Lazarus for addressing the public notice issue.

“I am truly glad you brought this up. We do have citizens who are watching the budget,” Frazier said. “I am glad we got some clarification on that today.”

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