The Tumwater Civil Service Commission approved the Sept. 11 meeting minutes, accepted updated police personnel eligibility lists and authorized a police lieutenant exam plan at its October meeting, while tabling a related class specification for further review.

The actions affect multiple hiring lists used by the Tumwater Police Department and set the schedule and rules for filling an upcoming lieutenant vacancy. The commission’s decisions allow recruitment work to proceed on a timeline the police department said is needed to avoid staffing gaps.

Blake Chart, chair of the commission, moved to approve the Sept. 11 minutes; Commissioner Pat Schneider seconded the motion and the commission voted in favor. Michelle Sutherland, secretary examiner, presented updates to the civil-service eligibility lists for October 2025 and noted that the department’s firefighter lists are changing from “active continuous” lists to standard dated lists.

Sutherland asked the commission to approve the police officer entry-level list for October 2025. She said the list currently contained 25 names, with four candidates added in October and five candidates removed — three removed for failing the chief’s interview and two removed because their eligibility expired. Commissioner Schneider moved to approve the list; Commissioner Moody seconded the motion and the commission voted in favor.

Sutherland also reported a small update to the police services specialist 1 list: two candidates were removed after failing the chief’s interview, leaving four candidates on that updated list. The commission approved that list on Schneider’s motion and Moody’s second.

Carlos Keyless, deputy chief of police, presented the proposed police lieutenant exam plan. The recruitment will be open to qualified internal candidates and posted in October 2025, with an assessment center scheduled for Nov. 12. Keyless outlined four assessment exercises — an expectations presentation, an inbox exercise, critical thinking/practical scenarios and an oral synopsis of written work — and said candidates’ scores will be measured on five behavioral scoring dimensions with a 70% minimum passing score.

Commissioners questioned the exam plan’s minimum-qualifications language. The packet listed (1) a high school diploma; (2) five years of law-enforcement experience, two of which must have been as a police sergeant with the Tumwater Police Department; and (3) two years of service with the Tumwater Police Department. Several commissioners said item 3 appears redundant if item 2 is required. Michelle Sutherland said she would consult legal counsel "to see if both need to be listed," and warned that tabling the plan would delay recruitment. She said, “If we do table it, we won't be able to proceed with the recruitment.”

The commission approved the exam plan on a motion from Commissioner Schneider and a second from Commissioner Moody, with the record reflecting that the plan may be adjusted clerically after review by legal counsel to remove redundant language if advised.

The commission also reviewed a revised class specification for police lieutenant submitted by the police department and agreed to table that class specification until the next meeting so commissioners could compare the revised document with the prior version. Sutherland and the department noted the principal changes: the prior job title “commander” was changed to “deputy chief” across city job classifications for consistency, and the minimum-qualification language was revised to require that a promoted lieutenant “must be able to successfully complete middle management and command college training” after promotion rather than require prior completion. The class specification tabling was announced by Sutherland and recorded as tabled to the next meeting.

Votes at a glance
- Approval of Sept. 11 minutes — mover: Blake Chart; seconder: Pat Schneider; outcome: approved.
- Approval of police officer entry-level eligibility list (Oct. 2025; 25 names; 4 added, 5 removed [3 failed chief interview, 2 expired]) — mover: Pat Schneider; seconder: Commissioner Moody; outcome: approved.
- Approval of police services specialist 1 updated list (4 candidates remain after 2 removed for failing chief interview) — mover: Pat Schneider; seconder: Commissioner Moody; outcome: approved.
- Acceptance of police lieutenant exam plan (assessment center Nov. 12; 70% minimum passing score; recruitment open to internal candidates) — mover: Pat Schneider; seconder: Commissioner Moody; outcome: approved (clerical adjustments permitted after legal review).
- Police lieutenant class specification — outcome: tabled to next meeting for comparison with prior version.

Commissioners and staff said moving forward now is intended to avoid further staffing shortages in the police department; at least one commissioner urged that minor editorial redundancies should not delay the recruitment.

The commission scheduled its next meeting for Nov. 13.