Council expedites ordinance to restore water treatment operator trainee title

Thomas Brown, water purification supervisor, told council members that the city needs an ordinance change to list the position as "Water Treatment Plant Operator Trainee" rather than a licensed operator title so the civil-service hiring process works as expected.

Brown said in his 26th year he has never seen a candidate apply already holding the required operator license; when a candidate with a license applied the city could not hire that person because the posted opening was for a trainee. "The first time I've ever heard of it, this is my 26th year...we've never had to hire somebody with a license," Brown said.

Nut graf: The procedural fix will allow routine hiring and training via the civil-service classification. Brown and councilmembers discussed whether budgeting the classification as a trainee or operator should be clarified in the annual budget; staff said they will consider that during upcoming budgeting as retirements approach and trainee hires are expected.

Council action: A motion to expedite consideration passed by roll call; the roll call recorded "that is 6 0." Councilmembers said the change is largely administrative to align job classification and hiring practice.

Ending: Staff will bring the ordinance forward for formal adoption following expedition; councilmembers flagged future workforce-planning questions as several long-serving licensed operators approach retirement.