Rockdale Citizen

CONYERS -- Following a holiday lull, local governments are getting back into full swing with events planned this week and next.

The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners will take time to plan for the future with a strategic planning retreat set for 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Allen Entrepreneurial Institute International Conference Center, 3235 Evans Mill Road, Lithonia. The meeting is open to the public.

Topics on the agenda include:

-- Why conflicts happen and what to do about them;

-- Why strategic planning is important;

-- Why setting clearly defined goals is important;

-- Consensus and team building;

-- Channels of communication as key to organizational success or failure;

-- Roles of county commissioners as legislators -- protocol and code of behavior; and

-- Roles of county commissioners as administrators -- operations and code of behavior.

Late Friday the board announced it will hold a called meeting immediately after the retreat. The agenda for this meeting includes alcohol licenses for eight businesses, board comment and a closed session.

The city of Conyers will hold its annual Mayor's State of the City Address at 7 p.m. Jan. 16, at Cherokee Run Golf Club.

Mayor Randy Mills and City Council members will give updates on city operations. In addition, Sylvester Daughtry Jr., executive director of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, will be there to officially recognize the Conyers Police Department as CALEA-accredited. The city's Employee of the Year will also be named, and a special award recognizing Glenn Sears for his years of service as executive director of the Conyers-Rockdale Economic Development Council will be presented. Sears retired at the end of 2012.

The meeting is open to the public. Seating is limited, so those who plan to attend are asked to RSVP to Pat Smith at 770-929-4226 by Jan. 14.