City sponsors 2012 Citizens’ Academy

Thirteen years ago, Bloomington City Clerk Regina Moore saw firsthand how local firefighters respond to a fire.

Although it was just a drill, seeing how firefighters work is one of the ways attendees of the Citizens’ Academy learn about Bloomington.

For the 13th year, the city is offering free classes through the Citizens’ Academy.

The classes, which will occur from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays from Aug. 16 to Oct. 11, also provide insight on how police, utilities, parks and recreation and other departments are operated. Applications for this year’s 30-member academy are now available on bloomington.in.gov and are due July 16.

“It’s non-pressured learning,” Moore said. “I don’t know that there is anyone who has gone to the class and hasn’t enjoyed it. It’s really comfortable and fun.”

The academy was started in 1999, the year Moore joined, by the Housing and Neighborhood Development Department to help neighborhood boards get a glimpse of the operations of City Hall, which is located in the Showers Building, and to be more informed about its work within the neighborhood community.

“But it has grown beyond that,” said Vickie Provine, the program manager for the Housing and Development Department. “It really has grown to where a lot of people who are going to run for office will take it so they get a better feel for how the city is structured and how it works.”

Graduates of the program include Mayor Mark Kruzan, educators, social service workers, county commissioners, future commissioners and new Bloomington citizens who want to know more about local government.

Provine said the academy does not cost the city very much because information for the classes is provided online and staff members from city departments donate their time for presentations and tours.

Susan Sandberg, city council vice president, graduated from the academy in 2005.

“What I most appreciated were the site visits,” she said in an email. “Seeing the operations at the water treatment plant was a first step in my education. City infrastructure is costly and complex, and knowing that in advance of my service on the Bloomington City Council was invaluable.”

Nearby cities that have similar academies for citizens include Columbus, Ind., Greenfield, Ind., Noblesville, Ind., and Fort Wayne.

“The great thing is that we keep having individuals who are just better-informed of how the city operates, to have that information to share with others or to even help others understand how they utilize city services,” Provine said.

Moore said the classes made her appreciate what it takes to operate Bloomington and how police officers and firefighters do their job.

“I think what it does is it really opens the eye to citizens and to exactly what government and services they’re paying for,” she said.