The Washington City Council passed the city’s 2010 budget and saluted a departing council member at Monday night’s regular December meeting.

After working through the budget since September, and making the draft budget available and holding a public hearing on the matter, the council gave its formal approval to the city’s $18 million budget for 2010 by unanimous vote during the meeting.

Rev. G.L. Avery was given a round of applause for his service on the council since 2005, his second term in office, and Mayor Willie Burns thanked Councilman Avery for his years of dedicated service to the city and to the people of District 1. Avery and Councilman Maceo Mahoney were defeated in November’s municipal elections. Mahoney was not present for his last meeting.

Prior to the start of Monday night’s meeting, the council held brief hearings and voted to approve the renewal applications for seven Distilled Spirits Package and Distilled Spirits Pouring Licenses. Licenses were approved for the Washington Jockey Club, the Fitzpatrick Hotel, VFW Post 5899, La Cabaña Mexican Restaurant, W.D. Package Store, Slaton’s Crossing package store, and BJ’s Package Store.

The council members scheduled a hearing to consider a zoning change for Georgia Avenue. Residents there are requesting a change from R3A to R3 due to improvements on nearby Rusher Street. The hearing was set for January 12 at 8:30 a.m.

Mayor Burns said that the city is working on a summit meeting with MEAG concerning the expansion of Plant Vogtle. “It will be creating 900 jobs and I don’t want Washington to be left out,” he said. “We need to gear our high school students to qualify for those future jobs.”

Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce board president Allan Soto asked the council for time to talk with them about getting more support for the area’s tourism effort and discussed with the mayor and councilmen how to meet the needs of the Regional Tourism Office.

Finally, Mayor Burns announced that the January city council meeting on January 11, 2010, would be held at The Pope Center rather than at City Hall to accommodate the crowd of visitors expected to come for the swearing in of Councilmen-elect Kimberly Rainey and Marion Tutt Jr.