Thomas Brown, water purification supervisor, told council members that the city needs an ordinance change to list the position as "Water Treatment Plant Operator Trainee" rather than a licensed operator title so the civil-service hiring process works as expected.

Brown said in his 26th year he has never seen a candidate apply already holding the required operator license; when a candidate with a license applied the city could not hire that person because the posted opening was for a trainee. "The first time I've ever heard of it, this is my 26th year...we've never had to hire somebody with a license," Brown said.

Nut graf: The procedural fix will allow routine hiring and training via the civil-service classification. Brown and councilmembers discussed whether budgeting the classification as a trainee or operator should be clarified in the annual budget; staff said they will consider that during upcoming budgeting as retirements approach and trainee hires are expected.

Council action: A motion to expedite consideration passed by roll call; the roll call recorded "that is 6 0." Councilmembers said the change is largely administrative to align job classification and hiring practice.

Ending: Staff will bring the ordinance forward for formal adoption following expedition; councilmembers flagged future workforce-planning questions as several long-serving licensed operators approach retirement.