Being Tasered once was enough.

I remember slipping the lead into my left hip pocket, linking hands with a row of civic officials taking the test, and awaiting the blast that I had been nervously mentally preparing myself for over the last few days. I felt a tingle, then found myself flat on my face. It wasn’t painful, though the probe did leave a mark where the voltage had arced into my hip. Needless to say, I never want to go through that again.

You can’t forget the first time you’re zapped by a Taser. In this case, it was a police open house in the small town beat I covered. I was reminded of the experience when Tasers came up at last week’s Snoqualmie City Council meeting, in which Mayor Matt Larson and City Clerk Jodi Warren made the case for attending the Snoqualmie Citizens Academy.

Now in its fifth year, Citizens Academy is Snoqualmie’s novel way of educating locals about how city government functions and what cities can and cannot do. Warren started the academy when her local affairs surveys kept showing how people confused the roles and responsibilities of cities and other governments like schools. Think of it as a hands-on civic affairs class for teens as well as grown-ups, with plenty of field trips.

At the Academy, you won’t get zapped, but you will see all the special equipment that police use, including the stun gun, plus tour the drunk tank and visit the firing range. You’ll also explore the fire department, water treatment facility and other vital systems that make our community tick, often from way behind the scenes or deep underground.

What’s neat about the Citizens Academy is that it takes what’s normally invisible—all the stuff that’s taken for granted, like where your water comes from and what happens to it when it enters your drain—and gives it meaning. It’s an awfully elegant and, to you, cost-free way to get an education into the gears of government that only takes a few weeknights and one Saturday.

Over the past five years, about 300 people—including a few North Bend residents, believe it or not—have passed through the academy. That’s roughly 3 percent of the population of the city, no majority, mind you, but a fair start. That’s a decent number of citizens who deserve kudos for taking the time to educate themselves. They also represent a pretty big body of current or future decision makers. It so happens that Larson weighs attendance at an Academy on whether or not he’ll appoint you to a citizen commission, on the basis that someone who already understands the system can make a better decision.

There are always things about our community that we can change for the better. In a democracy, we do this by getting involved, volunteering or running for office. If you have concerns or hopes for your city and want to actually do something about it, you’d do well to start with an academy education. This year, the city has extended a special invitation to high school students.

• Snoqualmie Citizens Academy starts Wednesday, Sept. 14, and runs through October 19; Learn more at www.cityofsnoqualmie.org or call (425) 888-1555.