Lacey police report 80 applicants, four conditional offers; chief outlines grant bid to fund officers and records staff

Chief Almeida told the Lacey Civil Service Commission on Aug. 4, 2025, that the police department received 80 applications in the latest quarter and has issued four conditional offers as it works to fill openings created by retirements.

The report matters because department staffing, public-records workloads and rising indigent defense costs are driving the request for outside funding that could add sworn positions and a records specialist to handle growing body‑worn camera workloads.

"During the past quarter, we had 80 applications, of which 78 were entry level applications, 2 were lateral applications," Chief Almeida said. He told commissioners that 13 applicants made an eligibility list, nine advanced to chief interviews and four received conditional offers; three are completing background checks and one withdrew from backgrounds. He also said retirements, including that of Mike Albers, created two openings.

Almeida said the department is preparing to move forward with a grant application tied to what he referred to in the meeting as "House Bill 2015," which went into effect July 1. "The grant went into effect July 1, and we had a meeting with WCIA, CJTC, Mengman, and Waspic, many others. And from that, it appears as if we'll be able to move forward with the grant application," Almeida said, adding there are caveats tied to training components still being finalized by the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC).

Almeida said the council will need to take one step before the city can qualify for the grant: passage of what he described as a council-level levy of "point 001% of public safety tax." He said the department appears to meet most grant criteria but is awaiting final training guidance from CJTC on two components.

The chief outlined how the department would use combined funding sources if the grant and a retail sales tax allocation are approved. "We would be applying for, possibly 4 position police officer positions and also out of the, the retail sales tax. We would hope to get another public record specialist, for the police department," Almeida said, citing a backlog of body-worn camera footage that now falls primarily to a single reviewer for redaction and public‑records requests.

Almeida also described budget pressures from rising public‑defense costs tied to new workload limits reported as coming from the Washington Supreme Court and bar guidance. "We're seeing a dramatic increase in our cost of indigent defense... the Washington Supreme Court requiring us to limit the workload of public defense which means it's going to increase our costs," he said.

Commissioners asked about federal grant programs and recent statewide crime statistics. Commissioner Mark Brown asked whether the department draws from federal COPS grants; Almeida said the department still receives some program funding (including what he described as a body-vest program) but that the status of some federal programs was uncertain. Almeida reported local crime trends and said he would provide full numbers to council in September: "We're down 9.4% in overall crime. Arrests are up about 26%." He tied the arrest increase in part to a 26% increase in staffing.

Discussion-only items included outreach with insurers and training bodies, outstanding training components required for full grant qualification, and uncertainty about federal grant continuity. Direction and next steps recorded in the meeting included plans to present the grant proposal to council soon and to request council action on the levy language needed for qualification. No formal commission vote or motion was taken on the grant or staffing plans during the meeting.

The department said it will return with additional details after CJTC publishes the outstanding training components and after staff present the proposal to council.