Tega Cay launches Citizens Academy

Want to learn everything there is to know about how city government works?

Citizen Academy is a six-week class offered to residents of Tega Cay that aims to teach participants about city management, finance, police and the fire department. The head of each city department and staff will attend the sessions. Special guests will include City Manager Charlie Funderburk as well as the city’s HR director, fire chief and police chief.

The course is part of Tega Cay’s 10-year comprehensive plan that calls in part for enabling “civic leaders, businesses, and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people’s lives.” One of the goals is to improve communication between the city and residents, said Planning and Development Manager Susan Britt.

“We want our citizens to have a working knowledge of how their city government works on a day to day basis,” Britt said.

“Educating citizens at this level will hopefully empower more people and encourage them to be better leaders within their neighborhoods and hopefully encourage them to become more involved in government offices and councils.”

Funderburk will teach the first course and head the discussion of city administration. His hope is for the program to give Tega Cay residents a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run the city.

“More times than not, when I speak with a resident, they don’t realize why a process or service is the way it is,” he said. “Hopefully after taking this class, our citizens will be more educated on, and engaged with, their City.”

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Tega Cay launches Citizens Academy."