[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6300718,"mediaKeyId","2492719-cfd7aaa4907af9b427a9fea688bc50e3","parentId",2492719,"title","Committee backs standard department-director employment template with six-month severance; moves to council","audioSeconds",1169,"startMs",1807000,"endMs",2976000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2492719-cfd7aaa4907af9b427a9fea688bc50e3&start=1807&end=2976","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2492719-cfd7aaa4907af9b427a9fea688bc50e3/thumbnail_1807000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6300718/Tumwater/Thurston-County/Washington/Committee-backs-standard-department-director-employment-template-with-six-month-severance-moves-to-council","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6300718-198a439b409a5c0d1900d12f7b75c792/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191882&Signature=PyrOF~wU6kGptvPqgRNyqrWXCe-9aGIFa4STnPEiZfphrVEkHxCwnxAadLMEfkQUkgrfEmGtVcHaMsswmguMXFhCmJHulTx3BunpN1XSdfNlM6mOUjnsTwu2llg1E9lF4aBm~FtHl9Q4d4oscna7H4HGzGR6Q91e~QHVad9uPQrlvIyrfE76fuM5jdMuOuZFDth5bzdyckX7e3o6uxIyBOzhx8L30ozZ9qAKDJcyaG-Nr1E7wAytqgt8uNCsog~5~bieJvO1O5uNAuDylhJ8-GHr2Vk1E6NnfHTfUvkE9wHj1sUqy6YpH2hKSLJ0oJJtmB9uZLEhP-ssbjgFdveIDQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Tumwater, WA - City Government","date","2025-03-03T15:43:47Z","article","City Administrator Parks presented a proposal at the Feb. 28 Budget and Finance Committee meeting in Tumwater to standardize employment agreements for department directors and to give the mayor authority to sign future director contracts substantially in the approved form.

Parks told the committee there are 10 department director positions in the city; seven currently have employment agreements and three — including parks and recreation, community development and the new information-technology director — do not. The proposed template would make the term indefinite and at-will while standardizing separation provisions. \"In the case of the existing, various employment agreements, that severance package...varies anywhere from 2 to 4 to 6 months. And the proposal in this template is that that severance would be standardized to a period of 6 months,\" Parks said.

Parks described the template's separation provisions: the city can terminate for cause (defined in the agreement) without severance, for reasons such as disability or resignation the agreement sets out the handling of leave and final pay, and in not-for-cause terminations the employee would receive six months' pay plus unused-leave payouts. Parks said the proposal aims to give directors \"some measure of safety net\" and to standardize terms across jobs whose duties and market demand vary.

Committee members asked several procedural and substantive questions. Councilor Myers and others noted the template resembles existing contracts for other directors and agreed it would be appropriate to send to the full council for consideration. Councilor Gabby asked whether directors would have an opportunity to correct performance issues before termination; Parks replied that the decision about addressing performance concerns versus terminating for cause is generally within the mayor's authority and the agreement defines cause. \"If there is cause, are you talking about...if the city determines that there is cause?\" Parks said the mayor would decide and that termination for cause does not carry severance.

Parks recommended placing the template on the March 18, 2025 City Council consideration calendar and leaving it on the consideration calendar rather than consent so the full council can discuss the policy. The committee unanimously moved and seconded the recommendation and approved forwarding it to the March 18 council meeting with a recommendation to adopt the template and authorize the mayor to execute director employment agreements substantially in that form. Committee discussion clarified that the council's role arises because the template establishes contractual terms and that three director positions require council confirmation under city code; the template itself does not change the confirmation requirement.

Less critical details: Parks said the template would be used to replace existing agreements over time and to put future hires on the same standardized template. The staff report will appear on the March 18 City Council agenda under consideration with a recommendation to approve; the staff report date in the packet was corrected from an earlier, earlier date in the draft.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Budget & Finance Committee February 28 2025","oneSentenceSummary","City Administrator Parks presented a proposal to standardize department-director employment agreements and to set a six-month severance for not-for-cause separations; the Budget & Finance Committee voted to forward the template to the March 18 City Council meeting with a recommendation to approve and authorize the mayor to execute agreements.","taxTitle","Tumwater, Thurston County, Washington","taxId",70653,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":44,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6300723,"Tumwater staff present year-to-date budget update, flag timing of property taxes and a large permit refund",1573,234000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2492719-cfd7aaa4907af9b427a9fea688bc50e3&start=234&end=1807","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2492719-cfd7aaa4907af9b427a9fea688bc50e3/thumbnail_234000.jpg","/articles/6300723/Tumwater/Thurston-County/Washington/Tumwater-staff-present-year-to-date-budget-update-flag-timing-of-property-taxes-and-a-large-permit-refund","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6300723-d3518ca31ad8a563d683d06806e144c1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191882&Signature=iV1WhZRbwXPGkJGaV4KOl6EMWVWJi2GxdXxASxwy-eQbXDqgP-JsPfX24i1ischP7wseCccA7HNGWo3w59SIzbEbd9NSSs9Zq7vz-kFBdP8ibgaR32jMVxHIcphifzCscnJlEtYjwqchsBlVD7oPWNLQPqRDHvmCYWgTNymo7TwP5agHKoaPs1VZEpD4ysCDjyPdlKR080lf04kzCWEbHfNidZZgXkUQmgWMysU0oJNFGN2U3Y7P3-quyCswBfmgXoqowHfXf3idChmHobJi593VWsY21hZMx1ZFk5vy2Snoc5SYQJH7dPWf5FGKTlSYuo9M3fNrYV3Y~kKpeyQ1Nw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","TROY (finance staff) and finance department staff presented a year-to-date budget update at the Feb. 28 Budget and Finance Committee meeting in Tumwater, highlighting the timing of property-tax receipts, sales-tax projections, and an atypical building-permit refund that created a negative revenue entry in the community development account.

The presentation gave committee members a fund-by-fund snapshot early in the biennium and explained accounting adjustments intended to show a truer picture of where revenues and expenditures stand after two months.

Troy, who led the presentation, said the general-fund property-tax budget is a little over $10 million but that only about $38,000 had been posted year to date because most property-tax collections arrive in April and November. To give committee members a clearer read on performance, finance staff prorated property-tax receipts to a monthly figure of about $1.6 million. \"That'll give you a truer picture of where we're at because when you first look at revenue...without the context, that looks really bad,\" Troy said.

Staff also described sales-tax treatment. The budget includes a sales-tax projection (listed in the spreadsheet presented to the committee) for the year; staff said the projection was developed from historical trends and other assumptions and noted that sales tax is more volatile than property tax. Troy and other staff told the committee they will monitor receipts monthly and adjust spending plans if collections fall short.

Committee members asked about downside scenarios. Council Member Agave said she was \"concerned\" about recent national economic uncertainty and the council's hiring commitments; staff replied that monthly reports and conservative budgeting (including vacancy-related salary savings) would guide any adjustments.

Finance staff also flagged an unusual entry in building-permit revenue: a near-$1 million permit issued in 2024 for which the city later issued an 80% refund. That refund produced approximately $759,000 in negative revenue in 2025 account listings; staff said they will accrue that refund back to 2024 so it offsets the year in which the original permit was issued. \"That was a nice find going through this,\" Troy said about adjusting the accounting to the matching year.

In the proprietary funds, finance staff noted the water fund shows low year-to-date spending and collections because about $25 million in capital construction costs (including a maintenance/operations facility and a water-storage tank) remain budgeted but have not yet been started. Sewer and storm funds each include about $2.5 million in planned capital that likewise will depress year-to-date percentages until projects begin.

Golf operations were described as seasonal; both revenue and expenses are below the 16.67% benchmark for two months into the year, which staff said is typical for January–March.

Staff reiterated there were roughly $2.5 million in overall salary savings in 2024 from vacancies, and that of 33 new positions identified in the adopted budget only about six to seven are funded from the general fund. Finance staff said benefits already paid in the month make the current snapshot somewhat atypical and that the monthly reporting cadence will help the council track spending and revenue through the biennium.

The committee heard no formal motion on the budget update; staff said they will bring a summary report to the full council in March and continue monthly updates to the committee.

Less critical details and next steps: staff said some February receipts (for sales tax and other state-collected taxes) may still arrive from the county and will be reflected in future reports. The finance department also plans to automate the report format to reduce manual effort.","Finance staff told the Budget & Finance Committee on Feb. 28 that year-to-date revenue and expenditures are broadly on track once timing and an unusual $759,000 permit refund are accounted for; staff recommended monthly reporting to track volatile sales-tax receipts and large planned utility capital projects.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee backs standard department-director employment template with six-month severance; moves to council

Tumwater staff present year-to-date budget update, flag timing of property taxes and a large permit refund