The City of Yakima Charter Civil Service and Police and Fire Civil Service Commissions on June 2 approved an exception that allows the fire department's public-safety communications center (Suncom) to credit prior probation time and bypass parts of the full civil-service testing sequence for a trainee who briefly resigned and then returned as a temporary employee.

Erica McNamara, public safety communications manager for Suncom (within the fire department under Chief Markham), presented the request. She said the employee had been an "exceptional trainee," left to be a Washington State Patrol trooper, quickly decided the role was not a fit, and returned after roughly three weeks. McNamara said the employee had completed eight months of the probationary period before resigning and returned to Suncom on April 21, 2025 as a temporary employee while training continued.

McNamara described the typical Suncom hiring and screening process in detail: an application review for minimum qualifications (six months of customer-service experience in a fast-paced environment, high school diploma or GED, and a typing test), a conviction questionnaire and later credit check, simulation testing across about 17 modules (geography, auditory recall, mapping, typing), suitability testing for personality fit, oral boards, background investigation, polygraph, psychological evaluation, hearing test and a drug test. She said the employee had completed most of those steps previously and had also been undergoing a second, more rigorous background check with the Washington State Patrol while at the academy.

Commissioners raised procedural questions about whether the Civil Service Commission has explicit authority to grant exceptions. One commissioner recommended characterizing the request as an investigation into whether the commission considers the employee's prior process to constitute "substantial compliance" with the rules; McNamara and staff represented that the union had been consulted and the union president, Pete, supported the plan. With that framing, a motion to approve the exception passed on a voice vote; minutes record "aye" and "none opposed." The commission recorded no additional conditions or required follow-up at the meeting.

Suncom staff said the exception saves time and cost because the full hiring sequence can take about three months and includes resource-intensive elements such as polygraph and psychological testing. The action leaves the employee eligible to have prior probationary time credited toward permanent status rather than repeating the full testing sequence.

The commission scheduled no additional hearings on the matter; commissioners said they would treat similar future requests as compliance investigations if appropriate.