Agenda Item Title
Title
Council Citizen Academy Proposal (CCA)
Body
Presenter
Presenter
Pam Lehman/Councilman Steve Fairbanks
Body
Description/Background:
Councilman Steve Fairbanks, with favor in moving forward from the City Council, is proposing to implement an eight week Council Citizen Academy (CCA) to help residents
better understand the roles, operations, and responsibilities of city government.
The eight week course will demonstrate that city government is an expression of the community, and that people have a say and right to know how city government operates. (Transparency)
The course will help residents better understand that resources in city government are finite, and that it requires making tough decisions to fairly allocate resources. (Resources)
There are different roles and responsibilities that various city departments have. The course will demonstrate those roles and operations. (Operations)
The goal of the program would be to expose interested residents to the "inside" operations of city government. This program will help to educate the participants, especially those individuals in the community who may consider running for City Council.
CCA would begin in the Spring of 2017. Proposed dates could either be on Wednesday, March 22nd or Thursday, March 23rd. (Thursday's could conflict with Planning Commission meetings)
The course could end on either Wednesday, May 10th or Thursday, May 11th. The course would end in time for school and summer vacations. A graduation ceremony could be held at the beginning of a Council meeting. Certificate of Completion could be presented to the Participants. A reception with the City Council would follow to include light refreshments.
Time allotment would include one night a week for eight weeks.
The course would begin at 6:30 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m. (2 hours)
Proposed enrollment for the course would be for 20 people. Council members could submit names of individuals in the community who they feel would benefit from the course.