Watertown residents can get an in depth look into how the City’s government works, and even get a chance to see how they would deal with some real-world situations during a new program offered by the City.
The City of Watertown recently announced the first Watertown Civics Academy, and residents can apply now through March 21.
“Civics Academy is a 6-week program, meeting on Thursday evenings at 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. from May 8 to June 12, 2025. Each session will cover a different theme and topic within Watertown’s government, from the City Council, to our Public Works Department, to the way the City approaches Climate resiliency, and much more – all directly from the Watertown City Staff!,” the City’s announcement said.
The idea for the Civics Academy came from Watertown City Manager George Proakis, according to Tyler Cote, the City’s Community Engagement Specialist, who is helping to plan the sessions.
“We wanted to ensure that whatever we ended up building was kind of creating a space for our residents to get more than just a kind of 101 version of what their city government does,” Cote said. “And it’s really important for us that we are giving those that end up enrolling the opportunity to get the real inside, detailed look of what actually goes on day-to-day, and how decisions are made, why decisions are made the way that they are. George is really, really interested in highlighting a lot of the great work that we’re doing in here, but also just informing residents around why decisions are made.”
The goal is for participants to have the full perspective of how decisions are made.
“George has done incredibly well at opening up the community to a lot of his thinking,” Cote said. “And this is kind of like a step even further in that direction of getting people a little bit more actively engaged and to understand actually what goes on in City Hall day-to-day.”
The focus and even the location will change each week. Cote said he expects Proakis and City Council President to address the group in the City Council Chambers during the first session. They will discuss the relationship between the City Council and the City Administration.
“I think it’ll be a really good way to kind of kick it off in the City Council Chamber, talking with two of the leaders of our City,” Cote said.
The other sessions are still in the works, but Cote said he expects participants to work with the City’s Community Development and Planning team to look for areas in town that could be good for economic development, public art, or open space. Another possible scenario is looking at the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) with the City’s Finance team. The Civic Academy may also be joined by members of City Committees and Boards.
The size of the group will be limited to about 20 people, Cote said, and the plan is to run the academy annually.
“This is something that we want to grow, something that we want to run in the future,” he said. “This is just our first run at things. There’s going to be a little bit of a process of sorting out what the reaction is to year one. We will look at each session and figure out how we can get better in the future. But then also see if this is something that we can grow the class size in the future as well.”
In the first class, priority will be given to residents who have not participated in City boards, commissions, or other municipal bodies, Cote said. To participate, people must be a Watertown resident, and at least 16 years old. If more people apply than there are spots, Cote said a waiting list will be created for this session, and to keep informed about future Civics Academies.
Read more about the Civics Academy clicking here. To apply click here.
Great idea!!
This is a wonderful idea. It’s a great opportunity to learn about how local government really works.