Anacortes honors longtime administrative services director Emily Hsu as she departs for AWC role

The Anacortes City Council honored Administrative Services Director Emily Hsu on Jan. 26 for 26 years of service to the city as she prepares to join the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) as Director of Member Pooling Programs.

Mayor Walters and colleagues recognized Hsu's career, citing her leadership in human resources, risk management, and municipal fiber deployment. "Emily's contributions here have had a lasting and significant impact on the city of Anacortes. She will be missed," the mayor said during the presentation. Former Mayor Gere and other staff presented gifts and thanked Hsu for institutional knowledge and mentorship.

As part of transition planning, staff asked the council for a head‑nod on three position changes that will appear in the first‑quarter 2026 budget amendment: replace the Administrative Services Director position with a fiber manager (estimated general‑fund savings ~$55,508), restore the fire administrative assistant to full time using anticipated one‑time grant revenue, and create a new HR assistant position with a net general‑fund cost of roughly $13,114 to be offset within HR's existing budget. HR Director Moyle summarized the proposals and said formal ratification will occur in the Q1 amendment. Chief Harris described the grant sources supporting the temporary restoration of the fire administrative assistant position.

Council and staff thanked Hsu for her service and invited employees to a reception at the depot the following afternoon. No formal employment or contract action was taken at the meeting.