City staff outline public records, HR, finance and IT activity during Jan. 27 study session

Mary, the city clerk, opened the staff reports at the Jan. 27 study session, saying the clerk’s office received 11 public records requests and closed 11 in December 2025 and that larger, complex requests can linger for months. "We are the custodians for public records for the city," Mary said, noting the police department and court handle their own records separately.

The clerk’s office also processed 367 pages for council packets in December, handled six public notices, and managed special-event permits. Mary pointed to two new permit applications: the Shelton Downtown Car Show (scheduled for July) and the Mason County point-in-time count event. She also reviewed communications metrics: the city website sheltonlaw.gov averaged about 23 seconds of engagement per active user and the city Facebook page added 111 followers in December.

Acting City Manager Jay Harris and HR staff reported on risk management and benefits. HR described membership in the Washington Cities Insurance Authority and Association of Washington Cities, which oversee property, auto and liability claims and employee-benefit administration. HR said the city had two new claims and two ongoing claims in December and one active claim at month end and emphasized ongoing safety and training to reduce liability. HR also said a labor contract with the Shelton Employees' Guild was finalized in December; the city has three unions covering customer service, the Shelton Employees' Guild and police.

The interim finance director summarized core finance functions and projects. Finance said it processed 608 invoices in December, totaling just over $1.6 million, and that vendor payments are issued weekly. Payroll covers 94 employees on a semi-monthly schedule. The department is conducting an indirect cost rate study to better allocate personnel costs across funds and to comply with federal 2 CFR requirements for charging grants; staff expects that work to produce implementable numbers by April.

IT manager Cody told the council the city recorded zero failed simulated phishing exercises in the latest check, but staff logged 47 reported phishing emails and 29 IT tickets related to onboarding, phones, hardware, software and security. Cody described the IT team as a department of one that is highly utilized for both routine support and security work.

Staff said monthly department metrics will be refined as the council asked for specific additional data and that the second study session of the month will cover the remaining departments.