NORWICH — The City of Norwich mayor-elect Brian Doliver is gearing up for his first term as Norwich Mayor. After serving as Ward 2 Alderman for eight years, Doliver took the leap and ran for mayor, and was ultimately elected in November.

Since he was elected, Doliver said he has been meeting with department heads, incoming council members, and current Mayor Shawn Sastri to prepare for his term and get everyone on the same page.

"We have some excellent department heads, I have a very good council to work with, so I think that we're going to be doing a lot of positive things in the new year," he said. "We have new council members, so I've been meeting with them to get them up to speed on some things ... A couple times a week I meet with the mayor, so we've been connecting and talking about things."

In addition to working with city officials, Doliver said he wants to maintain a collaborative approach with other organizations, and stressed the need for everyone to work together to improve the area.

"I've always felt that the government's not the end all, but it needs to be part of the conversation. So putting people in the same room, different organizations, is imperative to be able to do the things we need to do," Doliver explained.

One of the organizations he would like to work with is the Interfaith Committee. The group consists of members from different religious faiths, working together to create positive change.