City manager seeks new custodian and police office assistant positions; police role funded by discontinued contract

City Manager Steve Kirkley presented two personnel requests during the budget study session on Oct. 8: one additional custodian in Parks & Recreation (facilities division) and one office assistant in the Police Department. Kirkley said the custodian request is budgeted at about $108,000 for salary and equipment and would raise custodial staffing from five to six people across the city’s facilities.

Kirkley said the city has about 186,000 square feet of cleanable space in 17 buildings and that existing custodial levels place the city at a staffing standard the city classifies as “level 4” under the American Association of Physical Plant Administrators benchmark. He said facilities manager Bill McCree recommended adding a custodian to improve service levels.

The police office assistant: Kirkley said Chief Engel identified a need for an office assistant to handle front‑desk duties, fingerprinting, evidence packaging and other administrative tasks. The position is expected to be funded by eliminating a roughly $84,000 payment currently made to South Sound 911 for after‑hours warrant entry; municipal court currently covers some warrant entry during business hours, but after‑hours entries were handled by the regional dispatch center.

Why it matters: Councilmembers asked where the new PD duties would be performed and who would handle after‑hours warrant entry going forward. Kirkley said the municipal court or the police department would perform warrant entry when South Sound 911 service is discontinued. Councilmembers generally supported the requests but asked for further detail in budget documentation.

Ending: Both staffing additions were presented as proposed mid‑biennium adjustments to be considered at first reading next week; no formal vote occurred at the study session.