Mayor Lioneld Jordan speaks to aldermen-elect (from left) Alan Long, Sarah Marsh and Martin Schoppmeyer during an orientation session held Tuesday morning inside the city’s administration building in downtown Fayetteville.

Photo: Todd Gill, Fayetteville Flyer

Fayetteville’s newest City Council members have plenty of information to digest before their first meeting in January.

Aldermen-elect Alan Long, Sarah Marsh and Martin Schoppmeyer sat through a series of brief meetings Tuesday morning as part of the city’s New Aldermen Orientation program.

The program, which was established in 2009 at the request of aldermen Matthew Petty and Sarah Lewis, is designed to educate newly-elected officials on their upcoming roles as members of the Fayetteville City Council.

Lindsley Smith, city communications director, attaches a city lapel pin to the jacket of alderman-elect Martin Schoppmeyer.

Photo: Todd Gill

Some of the sessions in the day-long program include an overview of the organizational structure of city government, the rights and duties of aldermen, the procedures and processes of introducing and voting on legislation and a review of the city’s funding and budget process.

Tuesday’s program began with a welcome by Mayor Lioneld Jordan, who served as a council member for eight years before being elected mayor in 2008.

“I want to stress to you how important this job is,” Jordan told the group. “You are the legislative branch of the City of Fayetteville, and what you pass will be enforced by myself and the administration.”

Jordan offered a few words of advice and said besides properly managing taxpayer money, the most important thing he learned as a council member was the importance of working in partnership with other aldermen.

“At times you’ll be in disagreement with someone, but the most important thing you can do at that point is to work together and be courteous of one another,” he said. “That will take you a long way in this council.”

The group also heard from a panel of department heads, current aldermen, and city staff members who they’ll likely encounter on a daily basis during their time on the council.

The program will wrap up with a series of afternoon tours which includes visits to the Fayetteville Animal Shelter, the Solid Waste and Recycling facility and several other city divisions around town.

New Alderman Orientation agenda

8:15 a.m. Welcome and Local Government Insights – Mayor Lioneld Jordan

8:20 a.m. Organizational Structure of City Government – Don Marr, Chief of Staff

8:30 a.m. City Council Agenda Sessions, Council Committees, City Clerk Role and Responsibilities, FOIA – Sondra Smith, City Clerk

9 a.m. Rights and Duties of Aldermen, Resolutions and Ordinances, Council Rules, Procedures and Processes, Initiating Resolutions and Ordinances, Reasons to Approve or Disapprove Land Use and Development Issues, Zoning, FOIA – Kit Williams, City Attorney

9:30 a.m. Funding and Budget Process Overview – Don Marr and Paul Becker, Finance Director

9:50 a.m. Break

10 a.m. Staff Overviews of Departments/Divisions:
Vicki Deaton – Audit
Lindsley Smith – Communications
Jeremy Pate – Development Services
David Dayringer – Fire Department
David Johnson – Library
Connie Edmonston – Parks and Recreation
Greg Tabor – Police Department
Peter Nierengarten – Strategic Planning & Sustainability
Terry Gulley – Transportation
David Jurgens – Utilities

10:30 a.m. City Council Member Insight Panel

11:15 a.m. Lunch – Fayetteville Senior Center

1 p.m. Tours:
Water and Sewer
Animal Shelter
Transportation
Fleet
Parks and Recreation
Solid Waste and Recycling
Airport

4:45 p.m. Return to City Hall