Manatee Citizens Academy offers a look at local government

Bradenton was originally called Braidentown. Manatee County’s adopted gross budget went up 23.97% from 2023 to 2024. Homes built after March 2012 can withstand winds of up to 150 miles per hour.

Those are just a few of the facts residents have been learning at Manatee County’s Citizens Academy. 

The eight-week program, running from Aug. 7 through Sept. 25 at the Lakewood Ranch Library, walks citizens through various county departments and introduces those participating to Manatee County staff members. 

The county’s goal for citizens is to inform them about how the county operates with the hope that some of those in attendance can act as informal ambassadors. 

“They’ll have a much broader education of the county than your regular person,“ said Debbie DeLeon, the division manager for the county's Neighborhood Connections, which is hosting the academy. “If asked questions, they know where to send people. Or they might say, ‘I heard a lesson on code enforcement: Do this or do that.”

DeLeon said the last Citizens Academy was held “many moons ago,” so this class is a test run. 

There are 30 citizens enrolled and another 15 on a waitlist. The county is considering offering the program twice a year. 

“The feedback we receive from upper management will determine the future for the program,” said Laura Ruiz, a senior neighborhood services specialist for Manatee County.

Staff members are collecting feedback from residents, so they can make improvements for future sessions.

Eagle Trace neighbors Deborah George and Patty McHugh are enjoying the academy, but agree that the course material is too general. McHugh called it “fluff.” 

“For me, I would like to learn even more,” George said. “Some people are really good at knowing what’s happening in the county and want to see it in action and experience it, but we haven’t had that chance.” 

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

George was surprised to see the class didn't include a tour of the library itself.

McHugh would have liked the class to offer tours beyond the library. For instance, she wanted to see the water treatment plant firsthand.

Another piece of feedback offered was the McHugh would have liked the class to include some training so she could efficiently navigate the county’s website. 

“The first session, all they did was introduce every person that worked at the (county). It was a waste of time,” she said. “All the people in the audience are very concerned about what’s going on in the community. I’d like to know how the commissioners make decisions when there’s a development in front of them.”

Ruiz said the county will use the feedback. Extending beyond eight weeks, longer classes, day classes and on-site tours of county facilities are all under consideration.

The classes are held on Wednesday nights for an hour and a half, which Ruiz said was “relatively short” considering how much material certain departments have to cover.

For this first round, not all 14 departments were represented. Instead, the eight departments that receive the most interest from the public were covered: Financial Management, Library Services, Sports and Leisure, Code Enforcement, Public Safety, Development Services, Public Works, Utilities and Neighborhood Connections, which falls under Community and Veterans Services.

The Citizens Academy is a hybrid program, so students learn in class and online. The online content is released a week ahead of the in-person presentation, so students can come prepared with any questions they may have. 

Every session, except one, was scheduled at the Lakewood Ranch Library. 

Financial Management’s presentation during Week 2 was held at the Central Library. The topic was “Your Tax Dollars and How They’re Spent.” 

Ruiz said the citizens are engaged online and during every lesson, but the Q&A portion for that topic needed to be extended.

The classes are split into different segments, starting with a presentation by members of the department and followed by a Q&A and a feedback survey. 

During Week 4, which covered the Code Enforcement department, citizens broke into groups for an interactive activity. They were given different scenarios and had to decide if there was a violation of the code or not. 

During the Q&A, Code Enforcement Officer Cory Hayden was asked about his most unusual case. He said a homeowner left her lanai door open, and the neighbor’s dog walked inside to poop. 

To the homeowner’s dismay, Hayden, not the dog owner, picked up the poop. Hayden had plastic gloves in the car, so he said it was the easiest solution. No violation was issued.