City officials: five-session, local government-focused academy program concludes  

City of Fort Atkinson officials have announced that a program designed to provide residents with an opportunity to learn about local government has concluded.

According to information released by Fort Atkinson city officials, the program included five sessions and was conducted in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Extension.

According to information released by the city in June, the academy is a vehicle through which participants can gain insight into city operations, City Manager Rebecca Houseman noted within the earlier release.

As stated in June, participants were provided with an opportunity to learn about city operations and services, while they “widen community relationships, develop leadership skills and identify opportunities to apply leadership skills in the community and with city government.”  

The Fort Atkinson Local Government Academy met on select Tuesdays in July, August and September, with each session lasting approximately two hours, the earlier release noted. 

As stated in the June release, sessions were planned to be informative and interactive, while offering information about the council/manager form of governance and various city departments. Participants, the release anticipated, also would be offered tours of some city-owned properties.

According to the earlier release, a goal of the program was to “increase civic engagement and opportunities for residents to learn about community services and ways to participate and engage in the decision-making processes.” 

According to the most recent release, registration for the academy was made available to all residents of Fort Atkinson who were of voting age and interested in learning about the city and its functions.

During the five sessions, participants were given opportunity to learn about the city’s various departments, and received various presentations from “community speakers,” the release noted.

Approximately nine members of the community participated in the program. 

Within the most recent release, two participants, including  Alexander Vellender and Diana Shull, offered comments about the experience. 

According to the release, Vellender said that he thought the most valuable component of the academy came as members of the city’s staff sharing their knowledge.

“Their commitment to disseminating information and their impactful community engagement left a lasting impression on me. I intend to leverage the knowledge and experience gained in my current role as an employment and training specialist for the Workforce Development Center to enhance awareness among individuals regarding the exceptional employment prospects and vibrant community within Fort Atkinson,” Vellender was quoted as saying in the release.

As stated in the release, Shull said she enjoyed learning about the city’s government and resources.

“My key takeaway from the program is that our city staff, led by Manager Houseman, are absolutely dedicated to this city and to conserving the best aspects of Fort’s culture and institutions while creating sustainable systems to meet current and future challenges. I am in awe of the quality and sheer amount of competence on display by employees at all levels and encouraged by the department heads’ willingness to communicate with any citizen of Fort (Atkinson) about their work,” Shull was quoted as saying in the release.

She encouraged residents with questions about city government to call members of the city’s staff.

The city’s local government academy was made possible through a grant from the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation, the release noted.

An earlier story about the academy is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/city-extends-application-deadline-for-inclusion-in-local-government-academy/.