Citizen academies help demystify city operations—and inspire residents to embrace the work of local government.
By Kaya Williams
To those who don’t happen to work at city hall and only visit to pay a utility bill or a parking ticket, local government can seem like a “black box.”
“Tax money comes in, sometimes a project comes out—you don’t know the people behind it,” says Jeff Niten, the city manager of Mountlake Terrace. “You don’t know the ‘why.’”
To remedy that situation, in February, Niten and Deputy City Manager Carolyn Hope launched MLT Community Academy, a six-week civic engagement program designed to lift the veil on the inner workings of their city. For two hours every Wednesday evening, more than two dozen students of local government participated in interactive experiences and behind-the-scenes tours at city hall and the police, public works, and parks and recreation departments. They learn about everything from budgeting and finances to zoning compliance and economic development, to law enforcement’s community outreach efforts and sewage treatment and stormwater management.
“This was a great opportunity for people to learn about what our city does directly from our staff and to visit various city facilities and ask questions,” Niten says. “We hope it improves people’s connection to the city and instills a desire to influence city policy or to serve the city as a volunteer.”
Niten notes that MLT Community Academy, which will reprise in early 2026, was also an opportunity for city staff and leadership to meet and get direct feedback from the public they serve, and a chance for citizens to put faces to those who do the work of local government and make sometimes controversial decisions on their behalf.
“If you know someone as a person, and you have interacted with them in less stressful situations, [then] when there comes a time when we might disagree, people still understand that we listen and we heard them,” he adds. “The more citizen participation we have in government decision-making, the better the decisions are going to be for the community.”
That sentiment is echoed by local leaders offering similar citizen academies in cities across the state.
Dana Ralph, the mayor of Kent and a host of her city’s Kent 101 education program, says a big benefit of the initiative is “the ability to have an entire conversation,” rather than just a three-minute statement at a council meeting.
“The good news is, by the time we’re done, we generally have fans. It’s a way to show our residents that every single day, we’re working to make this a better place.”
– Dana Ralph, Mayor of Kent
Some people sign up “because they’re just curious” about government operations, Ralph says. Others do it “because they have that one issue that’s really making them crazy.”
“The good news is, by the time we’re done, we generally have fans,” Ralph says, noting that those fans—who graduate in groups of about 30 at a time—can help quell misinformation and share what they’ve learned with even more people in the community, serving as goodwill ambassadors. “It’s a way to show our residents that every single day, we’re working to make this a better place. I don’t know any other format that allows for that, right? In council meetings, you don’t have that time with people to build a relationship and get to talk about the good stuff. So I think it’s worth it, if nothing else, just to be able to celebrate the great things that are happening in our cities.”
Ralph says Kent 101 also serves as a pipeline for volunteer boards and commissions, inspiring participants to get even more involved. Exhibit A: One recent graduate of Kent 101 joined the city’s comprehensive plan community advisory board, then secured a seat on the land use and planning board. Earlier this year, he announced a run for city council.
The city of Puyallup has had similar success with its Puyallup 101 citizen academy program, recruiting graduates to run volunteer programs and even hiring some as city staff.
“Hands-on tours” and “experiences” are a big hit with participants in the series, says Pam Lacipierre, an executive assistant in the Puyallup city manager’s office. “Our wastewater treatment plant is a favorite,” and “people love public works, because they can see and touch the things that they see out on the streets.”
Puyallup even makes city budgeting fun, with its finance manager dealing out Monopoly money and asking participants to set their funding priorities accordingly.
“Doing [the city’s work] in a fun, gamified way gets them thinking more critically about these tough decisions,” Johnson explains. “If people are more engaged and they know what’s going on, they also hold us to account. It creates this nice symbiotic relationship.”
For more information: cityofmlt.com, kentwa.gov, cityofpuyallup.org.