Orientation prepares incoming Jackson City Council members

JACKSON, Tenn. — Incoming Jackson City Council members are getting ready to step into their new roles, and part of that means getting acquainted with the way the city operates.

“That’s a great start for us, to be able to come in and familiarize ourselves with some departments maybe we hadn’t had an interaction with, so I think it’s starting us off on a good first step,” said Paul Taylor, City Council member for District 6.

They had questions for the department heads, and the department heads had some questions for them as well.

“Some of them made some requests for the upcoming year as it relates to their budget,” Taylor said.

The orientation was established to prepare the city council members before attending the first meeting next week after their swearing-in ceremony.

“When those council members get those constituent calls, they know who to call, who to direct them to problem solving,” said Mayor-Elect Scott Conger.

That means knowing who to call about some of the city’s most important decisions, including the city’s budget.

“Initially changing the budget process, starting a budget committee, and that will be voted on Tuesday. So I’m talking to those people now to get them committed to being on the committee, to make sure we’re driving efficiency in everything we’re doing and being as transparent as possible with our process,” Conger said.

And the freshmen city council members say this will help them do their jobs.

“I think it was really good. I was encouraged to hear some positive things. It was interesting to hear some of the issues we’re going to have as far as it pertains to the budget, but overall I think it was a very good environment,” Taylor said.