City Council retreat begins
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on February 24, 2016 1:46 PM
The Goldsboro City Council will begin the first day of its two-day annual retreat today, gathering at the Goldsboro Events Center at 1501 S. Slocumb St.
To kick off the two-day retreat, City Manager Scott Stevens will provide the council with a review of what happened at last year's retreat.
The current sitting council this year is different from the City Council that participated in the 2015 retreat, with four new members sitting on the council this year following the November 2015 general election.
Following the recap of last year's developments by Stevens, Rose Williams, with the North Carolina League of Municipalities, will make a presentation to the council.
Wayne County Public Schools Superintendent Michael Dunsmore will follow Ms. Williams' presentation with his own.
City Finance Director Kaye Scott will provide a six-month financial update to bring the council up to speed on the current financial situation of the city.
The last thing scheduled to be brought before the council before it takes a lunch break is an update from Interim Police Chief Mike West, who will discuss the possibility of getting shot spotter technology for the city and provide crime data for 2015 to the council.
Shot spotter technology was discussed at the 2015 council retreat by former Police Chief Jeff Stewart. The technology records when a shot is fired from a gun, triangulates the shot's position and immediately beams the location to officers in the area.
Following lunch, Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. Director Julie Metz and Craig Newton from the North Carolina Department of Transportation will give a presentation on the historic Union Station in downtown Goldsboro.
After that, an accounting firm -- Davenport and Co. -- will update the city on its debt profile.
Then, Allen Anderson and Jimmy Rowe will detail demolition and code enforcement procedures the city conducts to the council, and an update will be provided on housing.
To cap off the day, the city will go over technology in the city and potential updates to be made, which consists of things like solar lighting, smart metering procedures and LED lighting that can be installed, or has already been installed, in the city.
The City Council will also discuss the federal and state legislative agenda for the coming short session this summer.