Youth Advisory Council

Mission: Engage a representative group of West Linn youth to effectively serve the City through community oriented discussions and projects aimed at providing recognition and understanding for the issues that affect both them and their peers in West Linn.

Goals:

• Understand the City of West Linn’s day-to-day operations and the general legislative process;
• Build relationships with City elected officials, staff and residents to create civic engagement opportunities for local youth;
• Advise the West Linn City Council on issues that affect local youth and the community as a whole;
• Identify and advocate for the needs of local youth through service projects, events and the legislative process.  

Requirements:

• Must be entering grades 9-12 for the upcoming academic year;
• Be a resident of the City of West Linn and/or attend a West Linn school;
• Be able to commit to several hours a month to serve on the Youth Advisory Council, including attending at least one meeting per month. Please note that a lack of involvement could result in termination.

Process:  When available, applications can be found on this page, typically every spring. A panel of City officials chooses between 10-20 students to serve on the West Linn Youth Advisory Council for the upcoming academic year following interviews. The students chosen for this opportunity will meet, at minimum, on a monthly basis to learn about the city’s operational and legislative process.  Their focus will be on issues that affect city youth and determining solutions to address them. Members of the West Linn Youth Advisory Council will also be expected to attend events outside of their monthly meetings, such as City Council meetings and events organized by the city and the Youth Council.

Meetings: 4:00pm the second Tuesday of every month – subject to change.

Curriculum:  Youth Advisory Council members will gain a comprehensive understanding on how and why the City of West Linn operates. Simultaneously, they will be expected to engage with their fellow Council members and peers through various outreach methods to identify issues that are affecting the youth of West Linn. Once such issues have been identified, it will be the Youth Advisory Council members who will propose solutions and then, with Youth Advisory Council majority approval, work to see those solutions implemented.