Duvall proposes new Community and Economic Development director role, adds principal planner to strengthen business engagement

City Administrator Cynthia McNabb presented a staffing proposal to the Duvall City Council on Oct. 21 to reframe the community development function around economic development and to add professional planning capacity.

The proposal would reclassify the current Community Development Director position to “Community and Economic Development Director,” rewrite the job description to embed business engagement and non‑public‑works grant administration, and raise the salary pay grade from 110 to 120 to improve market competitiveness. The administration said it was not requesting a budget adjustment at this meeting; the presentation was a concept for council consideration and potential recruitment.

As part of the reorganization the city would also hire a principal planner (not a net new headcount; the role would replace a senior planner classification and preserve internal promotion pathways). The change is intended to create a clear second‑in‑command for planning, reduce reliance on outside on‑call planning consultants, and allow the director to focus more on business outreach and grant work. The presentation estimated an approximate $21,000 difference in the director’s pay scale compared with the prior arrangement and an annualized net cost of roughly $63,000 before offsets; the principal planner was estimated to add about $10,000 annually but the administration said some consultant savings and potential fee chargebacks to developers could offset that cost.

McNabb said the changes were informed by a 2024 workload analysis by Moss Adams and by an Association of Washington Cities salary survey. She said the proposal would also remove the monthly stipend that had been paid to the Community Development Director for deputy city administrator duties and embed deputy expectations into all director job descriptions instead of a recurring stipend.

Council members split on aspects of the proposal. Council Member Nathan raised concerns about raising the pay grade relative to nearby cities with larger commercial districts and warned about creating upward pressure on neighboring jurisdictions’ salaries. Other council members — including the mayor and several colleagues — emphasized internal equity, recruitment and retention benefits, reduced reliance on consultants, and the importance of building economic development capacity. Mayor Amy Okerlander and multiple council members expressed support for moving the proposal toward recruitment; at least one member asked that the council treat the change surgically and not as a blanket revision to the entire non‑represented salary schedule.

No final action was taken. City Administrator McNabb said she would begin recruitment and handle the process internally, and staff committed to returning with any formal budget requests if council wants to approve pay‑grade changes before hiring.

Ending: Council signaled general consensus to proceed with the concept and to begin recruitment. Staff will return with any requested budget adjustments and a recruitment plan.