WAUPUN — A new “Youth Advisory Council” was pitched to the Waupun City Council at the most recent Committee of the Whole meeting held July 28, 2026.
Jaelle Weinberger, a Waupun Area High School student going into her Junior year, gave a presentation about how creating a Youth Advisory Council (YAC) would develop more civic engagement among local youth, give youth a say in decision-making, and provide “firsthand insight” into issues affecting local youth.
Weinberger noted that no other regional communities have a program like this, so this would help set Waupun apart.
According to the presentation, the YAC would be made up of between eight and twelve youth of Waupun in grades 9-12. Members would be appointed by the Mayor or City Administrator for one-year terms, and may serve up to four terms while in high school. Council officer positions would require an application process and interview, and all meetings would be supervised by an adult.
Participating students would host mock council meetings, discuss local issues, and discuss municipal decisions from a youth perspective. Goals would include educating students about local government and organizing community service projects and events, along with making policy recommendations, doing community surveys, and working with the City Council.
Weinberger said that the YAC would be self-funding through fundraising initiatives.
A timeline for the initiative was provided, with organization beginning in late September, working with the City Council in October, community events in November and January, a community survey in December, a presentation to the City Council in April, and an election for new members in May.
Meetings would be held the first Tuesday of each month from September to May for the first school year.
Weinberger asked for three things: approve the creation of the YAC, allow the YAC to present recommendations and an annual report to the Common Council, and recognize the YAC as an official advisory committee to the City.
Questions were then opened up to the City Council.
City Administrator Schlieve asked her to elaborate on how it works with the schools. Weinberger said that instead of being part of or during a class or a school club, it would operate more like a city board and would be open to students from both WASD and CWC, as well as local homeschoolers.
Alderman Kaczmarski then asked if they would allow meetings at WASD even if it wasn’t exclusively to WASD students, she said they met with Superindendent Steve Hill who encouraged her on creating the board and she thought he may be open to it.
Mayor Rohn Bishop noted that all City Boards have to be made up of City residents, and asked if they would be able to ensure this. City Attorney Dan VandeZande said that since it’s just an advisory council and not an official city board, it would be fine since they do sometimes hear from non-residents from surrounding townships.
Alderman Mike Matoushek asked if they were going to be recognized as a club, she said it would be outside of the schools so it wouldn’t be impacted by school stuff.
City Clerk Angie Hull asked if it would be advisory to the School Board, which it wasn’t currently planned to be.
City Administrator Kathy Schlieve said their next steps would be to complete the policy review and give a bit more details on the structure of the organization.
Mayor Bishop asked what made Weinberger think of this idea. She said her goal was to convince students to stay involved in the community and plan for the future locally.
She said that there were a few students she already had in mind for officer positions, and would be putting the group together early in the school year.
Weinberger has been working as an intern at City Hall during the summer, assisting with setting up the new website. She is also planning on becoming an attorney after high school.
The item was discussion-only so no action was taken, but approved the creation of the Youth Advisory Council.
