Mission
The mission of the Waco Youth Council is to provide Waco's youth with an active role in addressing community issues and to serve as a voice for youth in all aspects of the community.
Purpose
- To define specific ways to address community issues as they arise through the development of goals and objectives and recommended actions.
- To encourage and promote the education of youth regarding city government and the importance of citizen input, participation, and responsibility.
- To assist and advise the mayor, city council, and city departments and to schedule meetings with the mayor, city council and city staff on an as needed basis.
- To conduct surveys, studies, forums, seminars, workshops, special events, and awards as appropriate.
- To serve as youth ambassadors for the City of Waco.
The Waco Youth Council Commission consists of 17-25 members. Members are eligible for multiple terms.
The Waco Youth Council has been formally in existence since 1999 and serves as a Youth Advisory Board to the Waco City Council. Memberships of the Youth Council will be representative of the age, genders, and ethnicity of the youth of Waco, and will represent a balance of geographical areas of the City of Waco.
Membership of the Youth Council will attempt to be composed of at least one representative from each of the high schools with Waco residents as attendants.
Qualifications
To qualify to serve on the Waco Youth Council, applicants and members must be:
- Waco residents (must reside within one of the five City Council districts);
- Entering 9th through 12th grade public, private, or home school;
- A role model for local youth and able to serve as ambassadors for the City of Waco;
- Committed to accomplishing the purpose of the Waco Youth Council; and
- Able to consistently attend regular meetings and events for or by the Waco Youth Council.
Governance
Officers of the Waco Youth Council will be nominated and elected during the first meeting of the fall session and will serve for the duration of the school year.
Waco Youth Council Officers include:
- Chairperson or Chair
- The Chair will preside over and maintain order at meetings and events and ensure participants are following the conventions of the meeting and/or event.
- The Chair will ensure that all members, speakers, presenters, and attendees are treated respectfully, fairly, and equally.
- Vice Chairperson or Vice Chair
- The Vice Chair will support the Chair in ensuring order at meetings and/or events and will assume the responsibilities of the Chair in the event the Chair is absent or no longer serving on the Youth Council.
- The Vice Chair will maintain the Youth Council calendar and inform members of Youth Council activities.
- Secretary
- The Secretary will support the Chair in ensuring order at meetings and/or events and will take meeting summary notes for all Youth Council meetings.
- The Secretary will assist with meeting/event set-up and clean-up.
- Historian
- The Historian supports the Chair in ensuring order at meetings and/or events and will work with city staff to produce and maintain a social media presence.
- The Historian will produce a Youth Council scrapbook for each session of the term of service, coordinate an annual Youth Council directory and the annual Youth Council photograph.
All officers will represent the Youth Council to the public when called upon to do so.
As a role model and ambassador for the City of Waco, each Waco Youth Council member must conduct themselves in a positive, friendly, and law-abiding manner at all times.
All Youth Council members, as well as their parent/guardian, will review and attest to the “Waco Youth Council Honor Code / Role Model Responsibility” included in this packet as part of the application process.
A Youth Council member who is absent from more than two (2) of the regular meetings during any 12-month period, whether excused or not, may be removed from his/her office or membership by the City Council.
The record of a member’s absences will begin with the first regular meeting after the fifteenth day from the date the member received notice of his/her appointment.
The Chair shall send any member with two consecutive absences a written notice of attendance status.
Members shall immediately report instances of poor conduct to the Waco Youth Council Advisor(s).
Application Submissions Must Include:
- Youth Council Application Form
- Short Answer – TYPED response to two (2) questions – one paragraph per question.
- Teacher / Counselor Recommendation*Students participating in home school may submit an additional Open Recommendation in lieu of this form
- Parent / Guardian Recommendation
- Open Recommendation
- Student & Parent / Guardian Agreements
- Student & Parent / Guardian Honor Code
Application submission options:
- Email to: WacoYouthCouncil@wacotx.gov
- Fax to: (254) 750-8087
- Mail to: Parks & Recreation, Attn: Youth Council, PO Box 2570, Waco, Tx 76702-5270
Incomplete application packets will not be considered.
Qualified, selected candidates will be contacted to participate in a conference call interview. Application deadline is July 30, 2025. If you have any questions, please contact the Youth Council Advisors at WacoYouthCouncil@wacotx.gov or by phone at (254) 750-5980.
The regular term of the Waco Youth Council runs from late August/September through the following May, with two sessions. The sessions coincide with the Fall and Spring school semesters. The Fall session concludes with the Winter/Christmas break, and the Spring semester concludes with the school year.
Regular Youth Council meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The Youth Council also participates in other activities, meetings and community service projects in addition to their regular meeting schedule. Depending on the various adopted school calendars, regular meetings that coincide with dates within the Winter/Christmas break and Spring Break may be cancelled.
Locations
Regular meetings of the Waco Youth Council are generally held at the City of Waco Community Centers:
- Dewey Community Center located at 925 North 9th Street, Waco, TX 76707
- South Waco Community Center located at 2815 Speight Ave, Waco, TX 76711
- Doris Miller Community Center located at 1020 Elm Ave, Waco, TX 76704
On occasion, meetings are held at other locations and ample notice is given of any change. Meeting locations and times are always provided on the official meeting agenda posted to the City of Waco website at least 72 hours in advance of the actual meeting.
Meeting locations and times are flexible as needed to accomplish the goals and objectives set by the Waco Youth Council.
For more information, call (254) 750-5980.