Washington’s City Council will address city issues, needs and potential actions to those issues and needs at its retreat Feb. 11.

Why is the retreat necessary? Such a retreat allows the mayor, council members and city staff to discuss short-term and long-term city projects and programs and how they could affect upcoming budgets. The retreat allows city staff to make recommendations regarding city operations, with the elected officials developing new policies or modifying existing policies based on input from the city manager, finance director and department heads.

In the retreat’s informal setting, elected officials, city staff and the retreat facilitator work together to develop a strategy to guide the city in coming months and years. That strategy has to be paired with an implementation schedule that includes how projects identified for implementation will be funded. The retreat, city officials believe, will put elected officials and city staff in a better position to develop the city’s budget for the upcoming 2107-2018 fiscal year budget, when begins July 1.

During last year’s retreat, a new police headquarters topped the list of 34 issues, challenges and opportunities identified by council members and the mayor. The city is looking for a site for the new facility. Another priority was improving and enhancing the downtown area (keeping it clean) so residents and visitors will want to return there. To that end, a downtown “beautification” employee was hired this past summer to do just that.

As they did last year, expect the elected officials and city staff to further discuss ways to improve the city’s tourism-marketing efforts. They view tourism as an important tool in the city’s toolbox when it comes to economic development.

David Long, who has been a professional planner since 1974, including 30 years with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, will facilitate the retreat, set for the terminal building at Washington-Warren Airport. He also has served as a retreat facilitator for numerous North Carolina counties and municipalities. Long’s approach to facilitating the retreat was well received by city officials and staff.

The retreat, open to the public for observation, provides a needed foundation on which the city can build a strategy for its future.