The City of Yakima Charter Civil Service and Police and Fire Civil Service Commissions on June 2 approved revisions to job classification 7161 for the Public Records Officer to explicitly reflect state training requirements and update duties and skills.

Brandy Bradford, records administrator and deputy city clerk for the City of Yakima, told the commission the changes add language to ensure compliance with the applicable RCW training requirements rather than listing specific programs in the job description. "Within 90 days, our PROs are required to have training in public records and records management and open government," Bradford said. She said the city typically relies on training offered by the Washington State Attorney General's Office and that required coursework is refreshed every four years.

The revisions also include other clarifications and wording updates to align the Public Records Officer classification with changes the city has made to other position descriptions since 2018. Commissioners asked for confirmatory detail about which trainings count and how the city documents compliance; Bradford said the office uses courses from the Attorney General's Office, the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) and the Washington Association of Public Records Officers (WAPRO). She added that one of the city's two public records officers is currently WAPRO-certified and that the newer PRO is in the process of completing certification.

Commissioners discussed whether the commission has authority to interpret or apply exceptions to training mandates; the commission chair characterized the agenda item as an exercise in reviewing compliance with the rules rather than creating a waiver. Following that discussion a motion to approve the 7161 Public Records Officer classification with the proposed modifications passed on a voice vote. The record shows “all in favor, aye” and “none opposed.”

The updated classification is intended to reduce the need for repeated edits if statutory language or accepted training providers change and to make explicit the training timeline required by state law. The commission set no additional reporting requirement in the meeting minutes and moved on to the next agenda item.