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Tumwater committee moves TCC paramedic affiliation to Jan. 20 consent calendar
Summary
The committee voted unanimously to place an affiliation agreement with Tacoma Community College on the Jan. 20, 2026 council consent calendar; the agreement would let TCC paramedic students ride on Tumwater medic units, requires no new budget, and is intended as a recruiting and training tool.
Tumwater city committee members voted to send an affiliation agreement with Tacoma Community College (TCC) to the Jan. 20, 2026 city council consent calendar, endorsing a continuing partnership that allows TCC paramedic students to gain clinical experience on Tumwater fire medic units.
Chief (name not specified) told the committee the agreement provides "clinical and learning experiences" for paramedic students, describing a yearlong training pathway that typically runs from September through June and includes roughly 27 shifts with local departments. The chief said the city’s partnership with TCC dates to the 1990s and serves as both a training pipeline and a recruiting tool for hard-to-fill paramedic positions.
The chief named firefighter Jennifer Lindstrom as a current department member enrolled in the paramedic program and said the affiliation carries no budgetary impact for the department: "This is just an affiliation agreement. We don't pay overtime," the chief said. Committee members noted the program’s value for mentoring and recruitment in a field that local speakers described as difficult to staff.
Council Member 2 recommended placing the affiliation agreement "on the 01/20/2026 city council consent calendar with a recommendation to approve and authorize the mayor to sign." A motion followed and the two members present voted yes; the chair said the item will move to the council’s consideration/consent calendar for formal action.
The committee did not provide further details about the agreement’s legal text, mayoral signatory, or any timeline beyond the consent-calendar placement.
The council is scheduled to consider the consent calendar at its Jan. 20, 2026 meeting, where the agreement will appear for formal approval and mayoral authorization if included on the council consent calendar.
