ESCANABA — Students learned firsthand what it takes to serve on a city council during the latest Delta Force session, which focused on Government. Students learned from local city and county government leaders and took part in a mock city council meeting. Government Day, the third session of this year’s Delta Force Class, was held at the Delta County Commerce Center. To start the day, everyone was treated to breakfast provided by Walmart of Escanaba.

Delta Force students watched a video in which they learned the classic “Robert’s Rules of Order”, describing the essential rules of procedure in running meetings smoothly and fairly. Students were given books with the Rules of Order — donated in memory of Loren Woerpel — who was a founding member of the Delta Force Leadership Program.

Delta Force students, including one who works for city government, found the lessons valuable.

“As someone who works for the City of Gladstone, the government day exercises were a lot of fun to participate in and compare to the actual experiences I’ve had with public meetings,” said Patricia West. “The biggest takeaway I had was learning more about Robert’s Rules of Order. I am excited to share some of this information with the advisory board I support at the City of Gladstone, but I’m also curious to see how it plays out in reality.”

Students then took part in running a mock city council meeting, facilitated by local business owner Craig Lauerman, who was on the Gladstone City Commission for approximately 10 years, and Chamber of Commerce Associate Director Sheila Krueger. The mock meeting focused on the budgeting process for a make-believe city aptly named Delta Force. Students played the role of city council members, mayor and concerned citizens, stepping to the podium to voice concerns over library budget cuts, and funding the city’s public safety and parks and recreation departments.

Citizens came forward to speak to “council members” and their “mayor” to try to convince them to save the library from being under funded, and the city’s water park from being cut.

Students seemed to really enjoy this part of the meeting.

“The mock commission meeting was my favorite part of the day. As a representative from the ‘utility department,’ I’m really proud of the arguments my team put together when defending our budget request. However, I will admit that it was interesting to see my perception of what to fund evolve as each department presented their budget. Just like in reality, our local government can’t fund everything, and ultimately someone ends up unhappy.”

Students even heard from a potential “business developer” who was looking for tax abatement for his new manufacturing plant. Students learned valuable lessons in the budgeting process, realizing that sometimes, budget cuts impact someone’s livelihood, but are necessary to keep budgets balanced.

“It was interesting to see in real life how to make those cuts,” Delta Force student and mock city council member Derek Light said. “In making the necessary budget cuts, it didn’t always feel right, but we had to cut somewhere.”

After enjoying lunch provided by Walmart, students listened to presentations by Gladstone Mayor Pro-tem Brad Mantela, Escanaba Mayor Mark Ammel and Delta County Controller Ashleigh Young. Both city mayors offered students an overview of city government and stressed that good citizenship starts with interest and getting involved in the process.

Ammel stressed that the students, as tax-paying citizens, should “find ways to contribute to your tax base.” Mantela said that the most important thing that we can all do as citizens is to “get involved, and don’t be afraid to bring your expertise to a board.” He stressed that we all have something to offer, no matter our background. We just need to find where our expertise is best suited to help our community.

Students learned a great deal about the budgeting process and found governmental meetings eye-opening.

“Since starting work for the City of Gladstone, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the actions of our local government,” West said. “I was appreciative to see that my cohort is also well-informed of the local issues during the panel discussion, and it makes me feel excited and confident in the leadership skills of my cohort.”

Created and facilitated by the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, Delta Force encompasses a series of ten full-day sessions covering such areas as media and communications, education, leadership, health and community services, law and order, government, and other key segments of our community. Next month, the Delta Force students will tour OSF St. Francis Hospital & Medical Group on Health and Human Services Day. Visit HYPERLINK “http://www.deltami.org/delta-force-leadership-program” www.deltami.org/delta-force-leadership-program for more information about Delta Force.

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Victoria LaFave is with the Delta County Chamber of Commerce