The Junction City Commission voted to proceed with adding a public information officer (PIO) and approved a resolution to add several positions to the city’s salary schedule, part of a broader effort to expand administrative capacity.

City leaders said the hires address workload bottlenecks. The city manager told commissioners the assistant city attorney position is needed because the current attorney is “swamped,” and the project manager role would help public works and parks staff keep major capital projects on schedule. The city manager also described a need for a grant writer, a city planner and a PIO to support outreach and apply for external funding.

What the commission approved and why it matters

- Commissioners approved hiring the PIO and voted to add the positions to the salary schedule; the manager said funding for the roles is included in the personnel budget and that the PIO candidate is prepared to start in July if the commission approved the hire.

- The manager said a project manager would support Department of Public Works and Parks & Recreation with engineering and construction-management expertise; he emphasized that current staff shortages make it difficult for project teams to prepare full project packets early in the process.

- Commissioners asked about hiring procedures, equal-employment‑opportunity practices and public recruitment. City staff said the city’s personnel policy (a 2009 document with limited updates) is being revised to clarify open recruitment procedures and modern workplace protections before broader recruitments are launched.

Next steps

Staff said they will proceed with the advertised PIO hire and will prepare job descriptions and formal recruitments for the other positions, returning to the commission with candidates and timelines. The commission approved the resolution and a motion to move forward with the PIO hire at the meeting.