Several special meetings of governing bodies in Suffolk are coming up next week, and residents are encouraged to attend.

The Suffolk School Board will have its swearing-in of new members and annual organizational meeting at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 5. In addition to swearing in the three newly-elected members, the board will elect the chairman and vice-chairman, appoint members to regional and local committees, set board member salaries and set meeting dates.

The investiture and swearing in ceremony for the recently-elected mayor and three council members will be held Jan. 5 at 3 p.m. in Council Chambers at 441 Market St. Aside from the election of the vice mayor, no other business will be conducted at the meeting.

On Jan. 7 at 7:30 a.m., a special City Council meeting will be held to meet with the members of the city’s legislative delegation to discuss the 2009 General Assembly session.

State legislators Sen.Fred Quayle, Delegate Chris Jones, and Sen. Louise Lucas will be in attendance at the breakfast meeting, said Sherry Hunt, chief of staff for the city of Suffolk.

“We wanted to give our mayor and city council and the staff an opportunity to provide an overview of our package to these legislators, so that they in turn can effectively advocate on our behalf,” Hunt said.

The meeting, which will be held in the council conference room on the second floor of the municipal building, 441 Market St., will be informal, with a light continental breakfast-style buffet, open dialogue, and a question-and-answer session, Hunt said.

“We wanted to meet in a relaxed, informal setting such as this to help facilitate positive exchange of information,” she said.

The city’s legislative agenda includes transportation priorities estimated to cost $599 million, a request to amend the code of Virginia regarding family transfer ordinances, and a request for an exception to state code stating that the Economic Development Authority will have seven members. Suffolk wants its EDA to have eight members, to mirror the new size of the City Council. Other such exceptions exist for several localities in Virginia.

After the legislative agenda is discussed, Council will move on to its annual retreat, which will be held Jan. 7-9. Although times and agendas have yet to be released, Council typically takes this time to talk about its goals, plans and priorities, discuss major points of interest in the city, and the like.