Council prepares for annual meeting
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on January 16, 2007 1:56 PM
Goldsboro City Council members will travel to New Bern at the end of the month for their annual retreat.
The three-day event will give council members a chance to set goals and priorities for the coming year and look, also, at their vision for the city over the next decade.
Mayor Al King, members of the city management team and department heads also are expected to attend the retreat, which is scheduled to begin the morning of Jan. 31 at the New Bern Sheraton and conclude Feb. 2.
Last year, officials used the time away from City Hall to create a working list of goals for the near future, one they referred to several times at their 2006 meetings when making decisions on projects and funding for them.
Reconstruction of the Paramount Theater and upgrading the city's technology were tagged as top priorities -- items that were both ultimately approved by the body.
Council members also heard individual needs from specific department heads -- a request from recently retired Fire Chief Bobby Greenfield for a new fire truck, and one from General Services Director Joe Sawyer for air conditioning units for his fleet of vehicles.
Many of the requests made were granted during the past year.
Also on the schedule for this year's retreat is further discussion of the Learning Organization. City Manager Joe Huffman introduced this topic as a way for leaders to more effectively communicate with city staff.
He said he hopes that by adopting this way of conducting business, council members and other officials will embrace teamwork and group think in their approach.