Twelve South Lake Tahoe residents have a lot more insight into the workings of the city than they did a few months ago.

These individuals were recognized Tuesday at the City Council meeting as the first graduates of the Citizens Academy.

Josh Hempel told the council his only complaint is the days were not longer.

Russ Dahler said, “I’m very impressed with the staff you have working for you. Jim Marino seems to know every manhole cover and every type of asphalt.”

The point of the academy was to get locals in touch with the city, the individual departments and have an understanding of what goes on on a daily basis.

Course topics included City Government 101 which highlighted the city’s history, organization and adopted strategic and business plans. Department heads and staff from Community Services (parks and recreation, snow removal, special events), Development Services (building, planning, housing), Finance, police and fire, and Engineering (capital improvement, stormwater) all provided comprehensive overviews of the inner working, accomplishments and future plans of their respective departments.

Other graduates are: Bonnie Turnbull, Chris Beni, Eoin Doherty, Jameson Honeycutt, Perry Obray, Philip Armstrong, Ruben Zepeda-Raya, Ryan Payne, Shawn Kearney and Scott Homolka.

The free, six-session interactive academy will be offered again in the spring. The goal is to have it twice a year – spring and fall.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report