Civil Service Commission approves minutes; discusses staffing freeze and Nov. 5 sergeant assessment center

Ray Mitchell, civil service commissioner, called the meeting to order and the Lake Stevens Civil Service Commission approved the minutes of its Aug. 14 meeting after a motion and second from commissioners.

The discussion’s primary focus was an update on department staffing and recruiting. Dean Thomas, operations commander, told commissioners the department currently has 35 employees against 39 allocated positions and said, "those 5 positions... has been frozen for the remainder of 2025." He said recruitment will continue but that candidates would be informed about the hiring caveat and about timing for potential starts.

"Probably starting with command interviews, we will tell them, you know, that's if we're interested, there's a caveat of, hopefully, a January 1 start date," Thomas said. He confirmed the sergeant's assessment center remains scheduled for Nov. 5 and said promotions and related backfills are planned to be in place by Jan. 1.

Commissioners also reviewed external training and conference dates. Debbie Willis, civil service commissioner, said she had forwarded information about the Public Safety Testing annual business meeting and that "the public safety testing annual business meeting is October 21, from 9 to noon." Willis noted the basic training for new commissioners and staff and the civil service conference had been free in prior years but are being charged this year, and said the commission cannot attend trainings that carry a cost due to current budget constraints.

Julie Couch, civil service examiner and secretary, raised scheduling for the October–December calendar. Couch said she is unavailable for the Oct. 9 regular meeting and offered to arrange a stand-in secretary or to cancel that meeting. Commissioners discussed quorum and the need to certify the employee list after the Nov. 5 testing; Couch and Willis agreed to coordinate possible special-meeting dates around the testing so the commission can act promptly if needed.

Votes at a glance: The commission voted to approve the Aug. 14 meeting minutes after a motion and second; the commission later voted to adjourn the meeting. Individual roll-call vote names and tallies beyond recorded unanimous “Aye” responses were not specified in the transcript.

The meeting concluded after the schedule and staffing items; commissioners agreed to follow up offline to confirm dates for any special meetings related to certification after the Nov. 5 testing.