City officials will gather today for the Fall Retreat at City Hall, 520 Jackson Ave., to discuss current and future plans of the city.

The two-day retreat will allow the city’s eight departments to present their current status and plans that need council direction on.

Friday – day two of the retreat – will encompass larger projects and outside presentations for informational purposes to the council from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Nothing is really earth-shattering,” Mayor John Inyart said. “Mostly we review expenditures and new department plans to see what the future holds for the council.”

Inyart said today is the bulk of city matters as the department heads present their “hot topics.”

In previous retreats, departments would report on what they had done up to the meeting.

Over the last year, Inyart said City Manager Scott Smith changed the format.

“It used to essentially be a lot of ‘Here’s what we’ve done,'” Inyart said. “But last year we changed to a more positive format that highlights the direction the departments want to go in rather than dwelling on information we already know.”

“I look forward to seeing what the department heads think is their hot topics and what they want input and approval from us.”

The meeting will also address issues where the year’s city budget has fallen over and under for specific departments.

“The budget is just that – a budget,” Inyart said. “Emergencies arise and things go over, but this year everything seems to be right on track, which seems encouraging.”

Friday’s meeting will address issues and plans that deserve more time to discuss outside the department’s presentation.

From 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., a city representative from Tuscola will be presenting a presentation on how their city’s municipal solid waste plant works, addressing issues such as recycling and landfill closure.

Then from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., there will be a discussion on the Waste Water Treatment Plant’s upgrades.

The city will also address the results of the performance contract with Siemens from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

The entirety of the meeting is open to the public.

Krystal Moya can be reached at 581-7945 or at ksmoya@eiu.edu.