Photo by Caroline Miller.
Chelsea Mayor Cody Sumners will be a leader for the Chelsea Government Academy.
The city of Chelsea has introduced a new program for residents interested in local government called the Chelsea Government Academy.
Over the course of five months, a select group of residents will have the chance to get an inside look at the people, departments and services that keep the city of Chelsea running every day.
Every other Thursday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., the group will meet to learn about a different facet of city government. They’ll get to have discussions with city leaders and staff, tours of city facilities, and demonstrations.
Every class also will begin with a brief presentation highlighting one of the many organizations that helps strengthen the community, including nonprofits, county agencies and other community partners.
The opening session with Chelsea Mayor Cody Sumners, the City Council and City Clerk Crystal Etheredge was scheduled for Sept. 24.
The rest of the schedule is as follows:
- Oct. 15: Fire Department, Municipal Court, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Citizens Observer Patrol
- Oct. 29: Finance, accounting, human resources
- Nov. 12: Chelsea Public Library, community relations, city events and public information
- Dec. 10: Parks and recreation, community center, senior programming
- Jan. 14: Public works, maintenance and facilities
- Jan. 28: Planning and zoning, engineering, building services, code enforcement
- Feb. 11: Graduation ceremony
Chelsea resident Brandon Jones said he heard about the opportunity to be part of the Chelsea Government Academy through the city’s Facebook page and decided to apply. Jones said his interest in government came from participating in other local programs.
“I applied and got accepted into a program called Leadership Shelby County,” Jones said. “I thought when I got in it, it was just going to be a fun way to learn about Shelby County, and it ended up exposing us to a lot of things that deal with the government end. Since I live in Chelsea, I thought why not try to make a difference in the city that I live in.”
Jones said participating in Leadership Shelby County helped him learn the importance of standing up and getting involved in a local community.
“Going through Leadership Shelby County, I realized if good people don’t stand up and do something, then things can turn badly, and that really led me to decide to get involved,” he said.
He assumes every city in the county runs a little differently, so he wants to get behind the scenes and really learn about Chelsea and how it runs, he said.
As a tax professional, Jones said he has a particular interest in the city’s finances and accounting, but he’s really interested in learning about everything. Jones also said he hopes the academy will help residents be more informed.
“A lot of people have a lot of opinions, but they don’t know the inner workings about how decisions are made,” he said. “They just want their opinion to be heard or they want people to make the decision that they want them to make, but there’s a lot more that goes into it. I’ve realized that recently, and I want to learn how all of those decisions are made and I want the people of Chelsea to have a better understanding about that.”
Learn more about the Chelsea Government Academy at cityofchelsea.com/665/Chelsea-Government-Academy
