The Farmington Youth City Council for 2024-2025 was sworn in by Mayor Brett Anderson on Tuesday, March 19 at the City Council meeting with an audience full of proud parents and grandparents to witness this exciting accomplishment. The new Youth City Council members are; Geneva Abrams, Brigham Barber, Jacob Blood, Courtney Burgon, Cannon Christensen, Trace Gresap, Kate Drummond, Farrah Farnsworth, Nikole Freebarin, Adley Garn, Brecklyn Garn, Hallie Gladwell, Logan Hammond, Sydney Hardy, Max Johnson, Claire McNally, Joseph Miller, Sarah Miller, Avi Muirbrook, Isabel Oldroyd, Eric Rasmussen, Amelia Smith, Charlotte Smith, Davis Stewart, Adelyn Tingey, and Amelia Wilcox. 

These newly sworn council members have big things to look forward to in the coming year participating in this groundbreaking program. “To ensure a comprehensive understanding of the diverse facets of city operations, a quarterly rotation system has been implemented,” said Program Director Emme Paget. The Farmington Youth City Council has the chance to work closely with the Parks & Recreation, Public Works & Engineering, Admin & Finance and Police & Fire departments within the city during these rotations.

“Under the guidance of dedicated department heads, the youth participate in scheduled meetings, actively contributing to discussions, posing questions at appropriate junctures, honing decision-making skills, and maintaining meticulous records as necessary,” said Paget. 

The program is for students in grades 9 through 12, who are residents of Farmington. While historically the program has paired the kids up with just the Parks & Recreation Department this new program has been in place for the past year and already received recognition from the Utah Recreation and Parks Association (URPA) at their conference this year. “The Program’s success is evident in the increased prioritization of these activities by the youth, often rearranging work commitments to participate,” Paget said.

Among the things that set this program apart, it helps the kids to be exposed to career options that they may not have been aware of before. It also helps the youth learn to be active members of the community. “Crucially, this program caters to a segment of our community not reached through our sports programming, which competes with high school and competitive sports,” said Paget. “Hopefully the success of programs like this will lead to more of these opportunities.” 

Anderson explained to the audience before swearing in this new group of youth that by the time these kids are done with the program, they have hands-on experience and an understanding of what it means to run a city thanks to Paget who implemented these changes. The Mayor also presented Paget with the Outstanding Program Award after the swearing-in ceremony. “We hope to receive another award next year,” Anderson told the newly sworn-in council.