The meeting was held after Gov. Mike Easley's Feb. 5 announcement that he will withhold more than $1 million in tax revenue from the town because of North Carolina's $900 million budget shortfall this fiscal year.
The town meeting was an opportunity for the boards and committees involved in transportation, libraries, sidewalks and housing to comment on the new budget constraints.
Mayor Kevin Foy also told fellow council members about his meeting with Easley, which was held earlier that day.
Most of the work session centered on the need for cost-cutting creativity, though the council will not make any formal decisions until June, when the fiscal year ends.
One idea proposed by the council is the creation of a position within the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee that would be devoted to pursuing grants from outside sources.
A second idea that emerged from the discussion was the possibility of passing costs such as sidewalk construction on to private developers and homeowners.
After the various boards commented on the proposed budget changes, Foy spoke informally about his meeting with Easley earlier in the afternoon.
Foy and 15 other mayors met with Easley in Raleigh to discuss North Carolina's budget and the relationship between municipal governments and the state.
"We can't tolerate this kind of unpredictability," Foy said, referring to Easley's new cuts. "We have to have absolute security about revenue sources -- and that means more authority at the local level."