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Record of Proceedings

Puyallup Civil Service Commission Meeting – July 6, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Monday, July 6, 2026
BodyPuyallup, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateMonday, July 6, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 15:16

Original source
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0:05

Perfect.

0:07

Chair Smith called I was going to say we're able to pull.

0:11

I was just making sure you're able to pull the agenda up from where you're at.

0:16

No, I can't, but I I did review it, so hopefully we'll see how good my memory is.

0:20

Okay.

0:21

We'll call to order.

0:22

Are there any uh um additions or changes to the agenda as uh sent up sent to us by uh Ms.

0:30

Ortega last week?

0:33

Okay, I'd entertain a motion to approve the agenda to approve.

0:43

Okay, and a second.

0:44

A second.

0:46

Okay, uh all in favor, signify by saying aye.

0:49

Aye.

0:50

Aye.

0:52

Okay.

0:53

Um I do apologize, um, chair.

0:56

Um, but we did not do a roll call yet.

0:58

Would be be able to do that before the approval of minutes.

1:00

Of course.

1:01

Pardon me, pardon me.

1:02

Roll call, please.

1:04

Perfect.

1:04

Uh Commissioner Scott Case.

1:06

Present.

1:07

Commissioner Jim Kelly.

1:09

Present.

1:10

Commissioner AJ Garg.

1:13

Vice Chair Brian Spracklin.

1:19

You know that he's present.

1:21

Oh, perfect.

1:22

Vice Chair Spracklin, you are on mute.

1:24

So present.

1:26

And and lastly, Chair Dan Smith.

1:29

Present.

1:30

Thank you.

1:30

Four out of five.

1:31

We do have a quorum for this meeting.

1:33

Excellent.

1:34

Okay, approval of minutes.

1:36

I would entertain a motion to approve the uh minutes.

1:39

Motion approved.

1:42

All right, and there was a second, and there are any additions, corrections, changes.

1:49

Okay, I'll signify approving the minutes by saying aye.

1:52

Aye.

1:53

Aye.

1:53

Aye.

1:54

Okay, motion motion approved.

1:56

Ms.

1:56

Ortega.

1:58

Okay, good morning, everyone.

2:00

Happy uh July 6th.

2:02

Hopefully, we're getting back down as we were discussing to some quieter times after celebrating uh our nation's birthday.

2:09

So the first agenda item we have on our list is approval of a police captain eligibility list.

2:16

Um, we do currently have one captain position open to be filled, and our previous eligibility list had expired at the end of March.

2:24

Um, so we held an assessment process that included a written exercise, an oral autobiography, and which is a presentation that the candidates give uh to all of the assessors, uh, a presentation of their written exercise project, oral board questions, and a critical incidences exercise in which the candidates have to think through uh practical scenarios and simulate decision making uh and their assessment skills as though they're acting as a captain at that level.

2:57

Um so we did have two internal candidates participate in this process.

3:02

Uh we held the assessment center on June 23rd at the new Piot Police Department.

3:07

Candidates were rated by five assessors from outside local agencies, so all the assessors are external assessors, uh and all of which are of captain rank or higher.

3:19

Um these agencies included Sumner, DuPont, Tacoma, University Place, and the Auburn Police Department.

3:27

Uh we are very pleased to report that both candidates passed with a score of 70% or higher, and they are listed in order of score as follows.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████48%
Public Safety██████████████████████████████████████████45%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%
Summary of Proceedings

Puyallup Civil Service Commission Meeting – July 6, 2026

The Puyallup Civil Service Commission met on July 6, 2026, at 9:00 AM in a virtual format (scheduled in-person but moved to accommodate testing timelines). The commission approved three police eligibility lists, received updates from the Chief of Police and the Chief Examiner, and noted the retirement of a veteran officer. Commissioner Ajay Garg arrived at 9:04 AM, after the first two consent votes.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Agenda: Motion by Vice-Chair Spracklen, seconded by Commissioner Case. Passed 4-0 (Commissioner Garg not yet present).
  • Approval of Minutes (May 18, 2026): Motion by Vice-Chair Spracklen, seconded by Commissioner Kelly. Passed 4-0.

Discussion Items

Approval of a Police Captain Eligibility List

Chief Examiner (CE) Katie Ortega presented the results of a multi-component assessment center held June 23, 2026, at the new Puyallup Police Department facility. Two internal candidates were evaluated by five external assessors (captain rank or higher from Sumner, DuPont, Tacoma, University Place, and Auburn PDs). Both passed with scores of 70% or higher. The ranked list:

  1. David Bierbauer (transcript) / Daid Beerbower (minutes) – a discrepancy exists between the transcript and the official minutes.
  2. Shaun Nestor.

Motion by Vice-Chair Spracklen, seconded by Commissioner Case. Passed 5-0 (Commissioner Garg present).

Approval of Blended Entry Level Police Officer Eligibility List

CE Ortega reported oral board interviews on June 11 and June 25, 2026. Thirteen candidates were interviewed; 10 scored 70% or higher, 3 did not. The new candidates were added by score to the existing list, producing 15 names. Commissioners expressed excitement at the list’s length, noting it had not been that large in 3–4 years. Motion by Vice-Chair Spracklen, seconded by Commissioner Garg. Passed 5-0.

Approval of Blended Advanced Entry Level Police Officer Eligibility List

One advanced entry candidate (a current corrections officer) interviewed on June 11/25, passed, and was added to the existing list. The blended list of 4 names: Brad England, Tucker Sprague, Tyler Campbell, Carolina Marin. Motion by Vice-Chair Spracklen, seconded by Commissioner Case. Passed 5-0.

Chief’s Report

Chief Scott Engle thanked the commission for scheduling flexibility. Key points:

  • Two current vacancies; one expected in September (retirement of a school resource officer).
  • Final offer extended to one entry-level candidate; lateral market is limited, so emphasis on entry-level recruitment.
  • The captain promotional process will proceed with a Chief’s interview and decision, likely in July.
  • The new police facility is nearly complete with only punch-list items; response times in the downtown core have improved since the move.
  • A downtown substation project is progressing: design firm McKenzie presented three options; a meeting with the city manager was scheduled for July 7. Construction likely in fall/winter.
  • Two officers recently graduated training and joined patrol (one advanced entry from Bellevue, one lateral from Silicon).

Chief Examiner’s Report

CE Katie Ortega announced:

  • The next scheduled commission meeting is August 17, 2026, planned as an in-person meeting (the July meeting was moved to virtual). Additional eligibility list approvals are anticipated.
  • Retirements: Officer Dave Temple retired after nearly 28 years of service; the commission extended gratitude.

Key Outcomes

  • Three eligibility lists approved unanimously (5-0) after Commissioner Garg’s arrival.
  • All approvals are for hiring/promotion purposes; the Chief will conduct interviews for the captain position.
  • The commission will reconvene on August 17, 2026.
  • Meeting adjourned at 9:16 AM.

Meeting Transcript

Perfect. Chair Smith called I was going to say we're able to pull. I was just making sure you're able to pull the agenda up from where you're at. No, I can't, but I I did review it, so hopefully we'll see how good my memory is. Okay. We'll call to order. Are there any uh um additions or changes to the agenda as uh sent up sent to us by uh Ms. Ortega last week? Okay, I'd entertain a motion to approve the agenda to approve. Okay, and a second. A second. Okay, uh all in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Okay. Um I do apologize, um, chair. Um, but we did not do a roll call yet. Would be be able to do that before the approval of minutes. Of course. Pardon me, pardon me. Roll call, please. Perfect. Uh Commissioner Scott Case. Present. Commissioner Jim Kelly. Present. Commissioner AJ Garg. Vice Chair Brian Spracklin. You know that he's present. Oh, perfect. Vice Chair Spracklin, you are on mute. So present. And and lastly, Chair Dan Smith. Present. Thank you. Four out of five. We do have a quorum for this meeting. Excellent. Okay, approval of minutes. I would entertain a motion to approve the uh minutes. Motion approved. All right, and there was a second, and there are any additions, corrections, changes. Okay, I'll signify approving the minutes by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Okay, motion motion approved. Ms. Ortega. Okay, good morning, everyone.

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