County academies pull back the curtain on local government operations

Key Takeaways

Class is in session and it’s time to turn your book to the page all about county governments.

Counties are launching academies to teach residents about how county government operates and the role local leaders play in communities.  

Blue Earth County, Minn. launched its Citizens Academy in 2009 to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the functions of county government.

Communications Manager and Business Analyst Jessica Anderson said participants learn from department heads about how county employees perform their jobs and how each department serves the community through different sessions.

A majority of the classes focus on exterior-facing departments such as the library, jail, attorney’s office, county administration, human services, property and environmental resources department, public works and sheriff’s office.

An academy favorite is when participants tour county buildings and facilities making stops at the county landfill, historic courthouse, justice center or library.

The Citizens Academy is held once per week for seven weeks with each three-hour meeting held in the evenings. The academy is limited to 20 participants per year to create more of an intimate setting.

“We hope that the participants who complete the program are ambassadors for the county,” Anderson said.

The free program is open for those 18 and older who are Blue Earth County residents, although Anderson said there may be exceptions if someone is new to the area but may not live in the county. The program has seen a wide variety of participants from college students to retired residents who want to become more involved in the community.

Blue Earth County recently launched a comparable academy program that is offered to county employees called the County Ambassador Program.

“It’s a chance to almost cross-train some staff so when a human services front desk staffer gets a question about a building permit and they went through the program, they’re like, ‘I know how to direct that,’” she said.

The Citizens Academy is now held every other year with the County Ambassador Program held in the off year for staff members.

“From a leadership perspective, just being given the opportunity to educate the community is truly a great opportunity for staff and leaders as well,” she said. “I think it benefits the community, but I think it also benefits the leaders of our organization.”

Individuals who complete the program receive a certificate of completion, a lapel pin and the opportunity to attend a county board meeting to meet with commissioners.

“I think that maybe the general public doesn’t have a good understanding of what county government does to serve the community and so we hope that by educating 20 participants a year, then they learned something and then they teach their friends and family and it kind of trickles out into the community from their participation,” Anderson said.

The county did not hold its Citizen Academy in 2020 because of COVID-19 and is determining plans for this upcoming year.

Also in Minnesota, Hennepin County created a similar program called the Hennepin County Academy. It launched in 2011 to teach county residents how local government works through evening classes.

Over the course of eight sessions, participants learn about property assessing, community works, health and medical services, community corrections, human services, the court system, transportation, emergency management, elections and the county administration.

“What we want to do is make sure they come away with what the functions are of the county and we want them to meet with leadership with the county,” Hennepin County Special Projects Coordinator Diana Houston said.

Houston said the program was initiated by a former commissioner who discovered that many people in the community were unaware of her role. “She felt like this would be a great program for us to initiate at a county-wide level to engage with the community and then offer them an understanding of what the county does,” she said.

The academy also provides tours of county facilities.

“What’s really special is they have the opportunity to go behind the scenes, to tour areas of the building and functions the general public do not get the advantages of seeing,” Houston said.

The series is free for those who are 18 and older and register for the academy, which typically hosts 35 to 40 individuals per group.

“We want to have a really broad cross-section of the county [participate] and we usually end up with a nice number assortment across all of our commissioners’ districts,” she said.

Houston said she’s heard from members of the academy who have referred other individuals by sharing their positive experiences with the program.

Those who participate in the academy are in an alumni group which Houston said she often refers to when seeking engagement for advisory boards or county studies.

“These individuals become ambassadors for the county and for their community and you can’t put a price on the time or the effort that goes into this — so then people are sharing their knowledge and it spreads and spreads and spreads,” she said.