[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-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",[32,74,86],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_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":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},"mediaId",6150398,"mediaKeyId","5508132-4e8ae11d6a4706322c32faabe5f69260","parentId",5508132,"title","Council to consider creating Tumwater communications department; ordinance scheduled for Sept. 2","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",1515000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5508132-4e8ae11d6a4706322c32faabe5f69260&start=1515&end=1515","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5508132-4e8ae11d6a4706322c32faabe5f69260/thumbnail_1515000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6150398/Tumwater/Thurston-County/Washington/Council-to-consider-creating-Tumwater-communications-department-ordinance-scheduled-for-Sept-2","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6150398-cf624ab327e93745c83d6faac47f8e89/orig.mp4?Expires=1773692853&Signature=it9qE2t1gUEj84lFnpw9i8deFJY3JPPmM2jYgUhJAP8bWi1KwawVjqW-PaJfsDy7j79Wwq~dznMX2vH7NMeTd-hftIigdChf4FX8Bq9fnhBxoA~og8qCjayx1qMAYq2ARY~ImM5GTL8tErA4Tu9tpn-7WiHvYk01BJHge-Zq~6PWlIvt09rpssxikTuL37chdMfpxg~kAv8y1qXSxB2OOnD9tru189i3sFojutbT-ovWqU8MSImlBP4FKXTRREzwNTkKvdzg9Sepog75yIksDZohVAyte6SUOxKi0-lToMslHD-c6V6ftL8SaaJz5ZduYvz5fyRJN5HSUG9EHOhLuQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Tumwater, WA - City Government","date","2025-07-28T17:06:53Z","article","City Administrator Parks introduced Ordinance O2025-012 at the July 25 Budget and Finance Committee meeting, proposing to create a communications department, add a communications director position in Tumwater Municipal Code (chapter 2.06 and chapter 2.1), and assign the department to the city administrator for oversight.
Parks said the change formalizes a communications function that has evolved in recent years, standardizes the city's approach to public engagement and media relations, and clarifies the official spokesperson role. Under the proposed ordinance, the communications manager (Jason) would move into a communications director role and sign the city's standard employment agreement template applicable to other directors.
Parks said the only fiscal impact this biennium would be the salary-and-benefit difference for the promotion. Finance staff estimated the maximum potential increase from a proposed Sept. 1 start through Dec. 31, 2026, at less than $50,000; Parks said that amount is expected to be within existing general-fund capacity and should not require a budget amendment in the current biennium.
Committee members discussed timing. Several members suggested placing the ordinance on the Sept. 2 city council meeting rather than the Aug. 19 meeting to allow fuller council review and to avoid an overly crowded Aug. 19 agenda; the committee voted to move the ordinance to the Sept. 2 council meeting for consideration with a recommendation to adopt.
Parks said the proposed director position would increase the visibility and professionalism of the city's communications work and would make the city's official spokesperson role clearer to the media and community. The committee did not take final action on the ordinance; formal adoption will occur only if the full city council votes to adopt the ordinance at a future meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Budget & Finance Committee July 25 2025","oneSentenceSummary","City Administrator Parks introduced Ordinance O2025-012 to create a communications department and a communications director position; the Budget and Finance Committee moved on July 25 to place the ordinance on the Sept. 2 city council meeting for consideration with a recommendation to adopt.","taxTitle","Tumwater, Thurston County, Washington","taxId",70653,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_46":80,"_48":81,"_50":82,"_52":83,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":84,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":85,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6150402,"Committee moves updated state master contract usage agreement to Aug. 19 consent calendar",295,1238000,1533000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5508132-4e8ae11d6a4706322c32faabe5f69260&start=1238&end=1533","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5508132-4e8ae11d6a4706322c32faabe5f69260/thumbnail_1238000.jpg","/articles/6150402/Tumwater/Thurston-County/Washington/Committee-moves-updated-state-master-contract-usage-agreement-to-Aug-19-consent-calendar","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6150402-a26c4b037d5156e2b6c512179228d23f/orig.mp4?Expires=1773692853&Signature=RrdgkRUqHTh2R0hEIOk2T2Ya~IUkLlEiWf7CnMd~SrjTcK6guAVvsgRsvRcBx8T2-Fyg75apzdcwyFRnbHvcEz8UDFKuXRbBq03aGfMyygzyNmM22I-4Cq-Pl84sATNLKv-pVMudYq0gE3pJvQIMRkTR4eGqQBET4JienYxx0xlWCKxssaROUNdlai9c8mTBXalWooSVSTtPR1go3QFliWThkwkdUDe0BkT~lc0tB2l9Fy8TuvtZvkDi237vW7lgjDjr~ONP4D1nd9Bkclt7loRE5PPfo7BF5av6w-bd~e0WqEHKkgHTtvPyd-UfJjaHCkQrQ~xeL36CrAlHSyfsng__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Troy Niemeyer, finance director, explained to the Budget and Finance Committee on July 25 that the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) is updating its state master contract language and contact information and that Tumwater must sign an updated contract-usage agreement to continue \"piggybacking\" on state procurement agreements.
Niemeyer said the updated agreement adds roughly three pages of legal terms, replaces a named contact (an earlier finance director) with a generic City of Tumwater attention line to the city clerk, and otherwise leaves procurement options unchanged. He said the usage agreement costs the city nothing.
Councilmember Swarthout moved to place the contract-usage agreement on the Aug. 19, 2025, city council consent calendar with a recommendation to approve and authorize the mayor to sign; Councilmember Agave seconded. The committee voted in favor and the item will appear on the Aug. 19 consent calendar.
Niemeyer recommended the consent-calendar placement because the city does not have flexibility to change much of the master agreement language; local governments use the state master contract to save time and leverage state purchasing power, he said.
No changes to city budget lines were reported; Niemeyer said the agreement requires no payment from the city.","Tumwater's Budget and Finance Committee on July 25 moved to place an updated Department of Enterprise Services state master contract usage agreement on the Aug. 19 city council consent calendar with a recommendation to approve and authorize the mayor to sign.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_46":92,"_48":93,"_50":94,"_52":95,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":96,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":97,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":67,"_71":72,"_73":72},6150407,"Tumwater finance director reports small June sales-tax rebound; audit set to begin Aug. 1",1128,72000,1200000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5508132-4e8ae11d6a4706322c32faabe5f69260&start=72&end=1200","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5508132-4e8ae11d6a4706322c32faabe5f69260/thumbnail_72000.jpg","/articles/6150407/Tumwater/Thurston-County/Washington/Tumwater-finance-director-reports-small-June-sales-tax-rebound-audit-set-to-begin-Aug-1","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6150407-4432ee663ea7753efc7027a162244026/orig.mp4?Expires=1773692853&Signature=KH4qTpu4NuS4WnzkNs6aI9rrlaajImuEOxwktBacNNtPO3P0SAoNfGbcQpAaYED5MfVLWwRQCURl-g4R2ZfiG--FdbP4WdG9ctXfKFx-cU8teKSP-WQRYwXG~1EpPZEoT9MV48HcihM4Lld23kuX3BOkoNoNlnNwmPTNuZcovYGecd~epokrCjdTdoVWpy3xM-e2hHgVAbTR03Q3awMx-pO9dYeLIcvBKVCG1mDJljRZgeuh0UCuT1ezgPKEgoBzD6IEcUAnE9TxjDE4MwbyBsmWB-Nq23SAmUFGWe8lSf1mgTaCCEN7WbMjGDi32fDQvd2pExkL9N00C8SE~wuvww__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Troy Niemeyer, Tumwater finance director, told the Budget and Finance Committee on July 25, 2025, that June sales-tax collections rose by about $34,000 compared with June 2024, trimming the year-to-date shortfall to roughly $6,200 (about 0.13 percent) on a month-over-month basis.
The update covered other revenue lines and expenditures. Niemeyer said the recently created public-safety sales tax showed a month-over-month increase of about $6,200 in June, and business-and-occupation (B&O) tax collections were up about 4.27 percent year to date. Building-permit revenue is already above 100 percent of forecast, while property-tax receipts will appear later in the year (major receipts arrive in October and November), a timing effect that he said depresses year-to-date percentages now.
Niemeyer said that, because the committee's report used data through June, sales-tax collections equaled roughly 43.5 percent of the annual forecast through the halfway point; he contrasted that with a baseline comparison point of 50 percent to account for the missing July numbers. On the expenditure side, he reported that total general-fund spending was about 48 percent through June, below the 58.3 percent pacing point used for a full-year comparison; employee benefits for the most recent payroll were not yet posted and would add roughly 1.2 percentage points when included.
On the local economy and risks, Niemeyer summarized national indicators the committee should monitor: a preliminary forecast he found expected second-quarter GDP to be positive (he cited a 1.7 percent preliminary forecast), June's consumer-price index rose to 2.7 percent from 2.4 percent in May, and unemployment fell from 4.2 percent in May to 4.1 percent in June. He cautioned that higher inflation would make interest-rate cuts less likely.
Niemeyer also told the committee that Tumwater's annual audit will begin Aug. 1. He said the city has budgeted about $80,000 for the audit, which will include an audit of the financial statements (the annual comprehensive financial report), a single audit of federal funds, and an accountability audit of compliance with state laws and internal controls. Senior accountant Nisa will serve as the city's audit liaison.
Committee members briefly discussed whether the timing of future budget-and-finance meetings should move to after the first of the month so staff can include more current data in monthly reports; Niemeyer said he would try to provide the date when the report was pulled so members understood the data cut-off.
Niemeyer and committee members limited their remarks to the figures and timing issues in the report; there were no formal budget actions taken at the July 25 meeting.","Finance Director Troy Niemeyer told the Tumwater Budget and Finance Committee on July 25 that June sales-tax collections rose modestly, year-to-date revenues remain slightly below projections because of timing differences, and the city's annual audit begins Aug. 1.","actionData","errors"]

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Council to consider creating Tumwater communications department; ordinance scheduled for Sept. 2

Committee moves updated state master contract usage agreement to Aug. 19 consent calendar

Tumwater finance director reports small June sales-tax rebound; audit set to begin Aug. 1