Citizens Academy
Through Citizens Academy, participants will get a behind-the-scenes look at county operations and be given the opportunity to become ambassadors for the place we all love to live, work, and play - Polk County!
Learn from county staff during interactive sessions about:
- County Administration
- Human Resources
- E-911
- Animal Control
- Court System
- Building Inspection
- Planning and Zoning
- Airport
- Tax Assessor
- Emergency Management
- Elections Office
- Police Department
- Fire-Rescue and More!
SCHEDULE
Citizens Academy takes place over a 5-week period consisting of 4 learning sessions followed by a graduation ceremony.
Dates for the 2026 Citizens Academy Cohort are June 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. Each session will be held in a lunch-and-learn environment from 12:00pm-1:00pm.
CLICK HERE TO APPLY
Thank you to our 2026 Citizens Academy Sponsors:
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Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact Public Information Officer, Olivia Smith, at osmith@polkga.org to learn more about how you can become involved!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2025
Join us in celebrating the FIRST-EVER graduating class of Polk County’s Citizens Academy! These individuals are full of pride and passion to see Polk County be the very best that it can be - and we can’t wait to see what they do next
Class of 2025:
Marvin Brewer, Amanda Chapman, Peter Denton, Carmen Deras, Pamela Duran, Elizabeth Erwin, Christine Freeman, Charles Gentes, Pamela Gentes, Catherine McGinnis, William Morris, Charlene Pope, Courtney Ripoll, Tyler Short, Robert Smyth, Christine Spees, Michael Spees II, Lisa Stegall, Kellie Taylor, James Vines, Debra Wilson, and Leah Wood
Graduates, thank you for stepping up to the plate, asking questions, and becoming advocates for our community. We’re proud to celebrate this exciting milestone with you!
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