Hamilton City Council spent six hours and $4,900 Monday learning how to listen and speak to each other more effectively.

The leadership and team building retreat, facilitated by Cincinnati-based BRIDGES For A Just Community, was attended by all seven council members and focused on how to respectfully listen, acknowledge and respond to each other and residents. The retreat, which has been planned for about nine months, came on the heels of an Oct. 10 council meeting where Councilwoman Kathleen Klink called out Councilman Archie Johnson for missing too many meetings.

Johnson said Monday’s facilitated exercises were good and that “you can’t put a price on communications.”

“At the end of the day, the whole idea was learn more about yourself and know there is a difference between you and the person you are communicating with,” Johnson said.

Hamilton Mayor Pat Moeller said the retreat — which a majority of council wanted — gave council members an opportunity to come up with ways to work better together, with city staff and residents.

“We have a very difficult few months ahead of us, and I hope the sharpening of our listening skills will help us to understand the issues,” Moeller said. “I hope it pays forward.”

The cost of the retreat was $2,100 and the crisis management consultation was $700, according to copies of the contract between the city and BRIDGES. The documents also noted some other services for a cultural/climate assessment and a communication plan to engage key stakeholders that cost the city $1,400 and $700, respectively.

The city entered a contract with BRIDGES last January after officials with the local NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference made several allegations against the city, including that it hadn’t done enough to recruit or hire more minorities for city jobs..

Councilman Robert Brown said the key takeaway for him was understanding that you need to listen closely and acknowledge and respond accordingly.

“I was very pleased,” he said. “I think a lot of good will come out of it.”

Councilman Rob Wile said the retreat was the first of its kind in his three years on council. He added a lot of corporate boards do similar exercises to improve productivity and communications.

“This was a good exercise, and it was time, energy and money well-spent,” Wile said. “It was an investment, not an expense.”