Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sheriff asks commissioners for authorization to hire ahead of retirements to fill upcoming academy slots
Summary
The sheriff’s office requested permission to proceed with additional hiring (one to two positions) to fill vacancies and meet academy timelines; commissioners agreed they had no objection and staff said hiring would be covered by salary savings.
Dave Handy of the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office asked the board for permission to hire one, possibly two deputies before a scheduled academy to avoid losing qualified applicants to other agencies.
Handy described the department’s use of publicsafetytesting.com to screen candidates and said from an earlier oral board four candidates passed and three accepted positions with other agencies. He said an upcoming academy begins in July and that hiring now would let new recruits complete the academy and be available sooner; the sheriff’s office expects to fund hires through salary and budgetary savings and was not requesting additional funds.
A commissioner said they saw no issue with the request and another commissioner said they were glad the office was being proactive. Handy said the planned hires would not affect the commissioners’ budget and the office would move forward with an April oral board to identify candidates for hire.
Why this matters: staffing timing affects patrol and public-safety coverage. The office emphasized the long lead time from hire to solo field patrol and sought early authorization to preserve candidate availability for an upcoming academy.
