The Board of Mayor and Aldermen have cancelled a portion of its 6-year-old contract with Siemens Industries to make city buildings more energy efficient.

The 15-year $7.6 million contract was approved in December 2011 during the administration of former Mayor Paul Winfield. Under the contract, Siemens was to install changes to make lighting, water use and natural gas use more efficient in 44 of the city’s 50 buildings. The contract was supposed to save the city about $6.9 million in energy costs.

“We are asking them to terminate the provision that has a fee for a performance assurance service program, because the performance assurance is already built into the contract,” city attorney Nancy Thomas said. “We don’t need for them to come back and tell us theoretically how much we saved. It’s a 15-year cost if we continue that.”

Under the contract, she said, Siemen’s employees would evaluate the energy savings from changes the city made. “They would come in and tell us, ‘You saved so many dollars because you changed this light to LEDS.’”

Thomas said during discussions with Siemens, “We all felt our money could be spent on other things. They’re expecting this (the termination), they just want us to put in our minutes.”

In other action, the board:

• Approved a $48,000 loan to RiverFest.

The organization had asked the city to give it more money.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. estimated the city has already given RiverFest about $63,000.

“This ($48,000) shouldn’t be anything further than a loan,” he said, adding the committee would use the money to pay performers “prior to, and during the weekend.”

Flaggs said RiverFest would repay the loan from revenue generate through admission receipts and T-shirt sales revenues.

“The city of Vicksburg would be reimbursed $48,000 first, and then any additional money from the proceeds stay with the organization,” he said, adding he planned to audit the RiverFest receipts.

“I believe this will be the biggest and best we’ve ever had, but at the same time, I firmly believe in being accountable, and holding those that handle the money accountable.”