Larimer County launches governmental affairs academy

Applications are now being accepted for the Larimer County Academy (LCA), a new program offered by the Board of Larimer County Commissioners aimed at engaging an 18 to 25-year-old demographic in county governmental affairs. The class will meet monthly, October through April. The full class schedule can be viewed on the class web page: http://www.larimer.org/bocc/academy.cfm.

The deadline to apply is Monday, September 21.

LCA is free to participants ages 18-25, and limited to 20 applicants in order to retain an intimate atmosphere between the participants and county leaders. Applicants will be judged on academic or professional standing, volunteer/extracurricular activities, and future professional goals and ambitions.

County elected officials and staff professionals will guide the participants through interactive sessions, held in various locations in the Fort Collins area. The intent of the Academy is to foster county government engagement with the future leaders of our community.

“Local government impacts our lives more than any other level of government,” said Larimer County Commissioner Steve Johnson. “For younger folks, these policies will affect you for many years. It’s your government, find out how you can change your community in the Larimer County Academy program.”

Planned activities include: Tours of the Larimer County Jail and Landfill, mock land use hearings, policy making decisions and human services scenarios among other engaging activities. Each class will include a Q&A session with County Elected Officials and County staff. For more information contact Michelle Bird in the Larimer County Commissioners’ Office at [email protected] or 970-498-7015.