Dottie Anderson Citizens' Academy: HSB 101

Local governments are where the rubber meets the road. The tasks of providing for safety, essential services and your protection is not always inherently clear and is easily taken for granted. Have you ever wondered if you are getting a good value for your taxes and fees paid to the City? Or, what is involved in providing you safe drinking water available to your home 24 hours a day, 365 days a year? What it takes to provide top rate Police or Fire Departments to respond to needed assistance? How your Mayor and City Council are elected to office and how they plan for the future of the City? These functions happen every day so we can live our busy lives comfortably. So, what do you know about how the City works? How can you make a difference in your own community to be the best it can be? Learn and engage in driving your community’s future? 

To this end, Horseshoe Bay leaders have initiated programs promoting understanding of your City with a goal of creating a long-term partnership for shared community expectations and actions. The City’s Citizens’ Academy seeks to educate our citizens through direct contact with City staff and elected officials, site visits, and hands-on activities. 

In 2016, the Citizens’ Academy for Horseshoe Bay began to provide an interactive education on how our City functions. In remembrance of long time Horseshoe Bay resident Dottie Anderson, a spring 2019 graduate, the Academy has now been renamed the Dottie Anderson Citizens’ Academy. 

The 12th Academy will start this spring in February and run for a total of nine class sessions. Each Thursday from 2 to 4PM a different subject matter of local government will be covered by the City Departments. For example, classes will cover a range of topics from: City Council and Elections, Open Government, Fire, Police, Utilities, Finance, Code Enforcement, Development Services, and Municipal Court. The last session is a graduation ceremony. So far, approximately 150 HSB residents have attended eleven academies enjoying learning and camaraderie. 

Class size is usually limited to 15 people. If you are interested in learning about your local government and having a little fun in the process, please complete a very short half-page application on the City’s website and submit it to City Manager Jeff Koska. Applicants must be a City of Horseshoe Bay resident with preference given to full-time residents. Emphasis will be given to creating a diverse class from as many different neighborhoods within Horseshoe Bay.

There is an attendance policy for the class to ensure there is a full and dedicated class. Participants missing more than two classes do not graduate. They have the option to make up the classes they missed when the next Academy takes place. If they make up the sessions, they may graduate with the next class.

During the graduation ceremony, each student is presented with a certificate of completion signed by the Mayor, and a gift with the City logo.

For questions about the Citizens' Academy, please contact City Manager Jeff Koska at 830-598-9940 or via email.

Citizens' Academy Application