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Council approves nearly $4.06 million to fund new city positions
Summary
The city council on Oct. 29 approved appropriations totaling $3,965,130 from the general fund and $92,764 from utilities to fund new positions across animal control, fire, police, engineering, streets and utilities; the council directed staff to monitor hiring and review positions in six months.
The city council approved funding on Oct. 29 to add and fill positions across multiple departments, voting by voice to pass a resolution that requests $3,965,130 from the general fund and $92,764 from the utilities fund for the listed roles.
An unidentified presenter told the council that "you have in your packet the resolution and the attachment with the positions that we're seeking appropriations for," and that the packet attachment will be posted online when the resolution is finalized. The presenter said the requested positions span animal control, fire, OPD (police), engineering, streets and utilities.
Council members heard staff describe ongoing monitoring of open positions and a process for reviewing vacancies. A staff member said the city is "keeping an eye on what's being filled and what's not," and urged analysis when approved positions remain unfilled: "If we approved three weeks ago and in six months it's still open, then what's the problem?" The presenter recommended examining hiring processes, job descriptions and pay to understand delays.
Officials were given aggregated appropriation totals that include the current request: the presenter said general fund appropriations approved so far total about $5,820,000 (and change); other funds cited were $137,000 from the water/sewer fund, $91,000 from the equipment services fund and $148,000 from the solid waste fund.
After brief discussion, the presiding officer asked for a motion to "appropriate the needs based staffing across various departments." The transcript records a motion and a second; the second was identified as "council member Connell." The council voted by voice, with members answering "Aye," and the presiding officer declared the motion passed unanimously.
The council and staff agreed to give departments time to recruit and vet candidates and indicated a six‑month review would be the first substantive checkpoint to determine whether newly funded positions have been filled or require further action. The presenter said the city would make the full list of positions available as an attachment to the finalized resolution and online.
With no further business, a motion to adjourn carried by voice vote and the meeting ended.
The transcript does not record a formal roll-call tally for the appropriations vote, nor does it record the full name of the motion mover; the second was recorded as Council member Connell. Individual member vote tallies beyond the unanimous voice vote are not specified in the transcript.
