Keith King hasn’t taken office yet, but he knows one of the first things he’d like to do when he officially joins the Colorado Springs City Council on April 16.

“I would like to have a long discussion with all the council members on how we structure council, and create a more legislative body,” he said Wednesday, the day after winning the District 3 council seat. “I think that’s my number one priority: Let’s create a system that works well to bring forward issues and works well to get public input on issues.”

Whether King is able to accomplish goal No. 1 remains to be seen, but it’s clear that he and the five other people who will be the new faces on council have been thinking about their new roles, responsibilities, goals, community issues and the nuts and bolts of being the city’s legislative body.

“There’s a lot to learn,” said Jill Gaebler, elected from District 5.

At least they won’t have to learn everything on their own. Friday, Colorado Springs Utilities will give them an overview of the organization in an orientation designed to ease them into their roles on the governing body of the city-owned enterprise. They’ll meet as the Utilities Board on April 17, even before their first scheduled council meeting.

On April 18, they’ll take part in an all-day council orientation session, where they’ll go over parliamentary and other procedures, meet with city department heads to find out what they do, and hear from a representative from the Colorado Municipal League, said Vicki Gomes, a spokeswoman for City Council.

They’ll also get a handbook that includes the city charter, travel reimbursement procedures and information about the Colorado Open Records Act.

“We do everything we can to prepare them for their first meeting,” Gomes said. “But they have to learn as they go. There’s a huge learning curve.”

Some of the new members of the nine-person council have some idea what they want to pursue off the bat. Even on the campaign trail, King talked about revamping the way the council operates to more closely resemble the model used by the Colorado General Assembly and Denver City Council, where most public comment takes place during committee meetings.

Gaebler doesn’t have a specific action to bring to the table, but she wants learn more about what it will take to achieve her goals to create jobs, support local businesses and revitalize downtown.

“I want to get up to speed and get to know the local groups and what they do, like the RBA (Regional Business Alliance),” she said. “What can we do better to support our local businesses? What do they need to add jobs and grow business?”

Andres Pico, elected in District 6, also has an interest in job creation, though he doesn’t have a specific plan yet.

“I’m kind of in favor of doing a variety of incentives, clearing any regulatory burdens that slow development — that sort of starting formula,” he said.

Don Knight, elected in District 1, has three things on his to-do list: figure out how to find money to retain 15 firefighters recently hired on a federal grant; improve business at the airport and bring in another airline; and continue revitalizing the North Nevada Avenue corridor.

District 4 Councilwoman-elect Helen Collins could not be reached for comment, but District 2 Councilman-elect Joel Miller is content to wait and get up to speed before setting priorities.

“I think there are plenty of things to attack,” he said. “We need to prioritize together as a council.”

True enough, there will be a lot of issues for the council to tackle, said President Pro Tem Jan Martin, who will be the most senior member on the new council.

“It’s clear that we’ve got some ongoing issues: stormwater, which is right at the top of our list. Marijuana. We’ve got the Drake study task force.”

And there is likely to be discussion on the council’s role in the new strong mayor system, which has created some upheaval as both arms of city government work through the growing pains since it was approved by voters in 2010.

With two-thirds of the council being new, Martin knows it will take time to educate everyone. She went through it two years ago, when six new people joined the council.

“It does concern me. I found in my time on council there is real value in some of that historical knowledge,” Martin said. “You make your best decisions when you’re fully informed, and it takes a while to get to where you need to be to learn your way around the city and learn all aspects and roles that the city plays.”

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