City Hall  
Meeting Minutes  
601 4th Avenue E  
Olympia, WA 98501  
Civil Service Commission  
Contact: Telli Norton  
360.709.2775  
Tuesday, April 28, 2026  
8:30 AM  
Room 112  
In person or via Zoom:https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89590024094  
CALL TO ORDER  
1.  
Meeting called to order at 8:30am.  
ROLL CALL  
1.A  
Linda Villegas Bremer - Commission Chair, Reiko Callner - Commissioner,  
Oscar Soule - Commissioner, Telli Norton - Senior HR Generalist/Chief  
Examiner, Nicole Anderson - HR Program Specialist, Shelby Parker - Chief of  
Police, Ray Brady - Deputy Police Chief, and Sean O'Brien - Police Sergeant.  
2.  
3.  
APPROVAL OF AGENDA  
Commissioner Oscar Soule moved to approve. Approval was seconded by  
Commissioner Reiko Callner. No questions or comments. All voted aye. The  
agenda was approved.  
APPROVAL OF MINUTES  
Approval of March 31, 2026 Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes  
Commissioner Reiko Callner moved to approve. Approval was seconded by  
Commissioner Oscar Soule. No questions or comments. All voted aye. The  
March 31, 2026 meeting minutes were approved.  
4.  
5.  
PUBLIC COMMENT  
No public comment received  
ANNOUNCEMENTS  
Newly appointed Police Chief, Shelby Parker, joined the meeting and was  
congratulated by the commission members.  
6.  
BUSINESS ITEMS  
Approval of Entry Level Police Officer Register  
Commissioner Oscar Soule moved to approve. Approval was seconded by  
Commissioner Reiko Callner. Telli Norton walked through the staff report and  
register.  
Discussion 1: Commissioner Reiko Callner asked about how many openings  
the department currently had. Sergeant Sean O'Brien answered about 13.  
Commissioner Reiko Callner asked if that meant there was a chance everyone  
on this register would be hired. Sergeant Sean O'Brien confirmed that they  
could be, as long as they successfully pass the remaining portions of the  
hiring process.  
Discussion 2: Commissioner Oscar Soule asked if the high number was  
historically common. Sergeant Sean O'Brien shared that with retirements and  
separations it's been hard to reach the point of being fully staffed. Chief  
Shelby Parker also explained that with new funding, the department was  
given new police officer positions and that has contributed to the high  
number of vacancies because they department is still trying to fill vacancies  
they had before the new ones were granted. Chief Shelby Parker emphasized  
that the department is on a great trajectory to be able to reach those new  
positions and fill the vacancies due to the great work of Sergeant O'Brien.  
Discussion 3: Commissioner Reiko Callner asked about the competitiveness  
of the applicants and if other departments were also looking to hire them.  
Sergeant Sean O'Brien shared that all of the applicants are likely in the  
process somewhere else as well. Sergeant Sean O'Brien shared that Tacoma  
PD seems to be the biggest competition when it comes to hiring.  
Commissioner Reiko Callner asked why they seem to be so attractive to  
candidates. Sergeant Sean O'Brien explained that he didn't think it was one  
factor, but that it is a busier city, they have more officers (he added that he  
believed it was around 330 officers), or maybe more movement opportunity.  
Sergeant Sean O'Brien added that a lot of the applicants now are looking to  
get on with a department and Tacoma currently has a lot of openings.  
Discussion 4: Commission Chair Linda Villegas Bremer asked about the  
timeline of the background process. Sergeant Sean O'Brien explained the  
background process including the documents required to get started and the  
departments workload following receiving these documents. Chief Shelby  
Parker added that the documentation and therefore the depth of the  
background can really vary based on the person and their history. Sergeant  
Sean O'Brien also shared that the scheduling of the appointments  
(psychological, medical, polygraph and house visits) can also extend the  
timeline. Chief Shelby Parker shared that even after the background is  
complete and an employee is hired, it is over a year before they are positively  
impacting staffing. She continued to explain that they have pre-academy  
training, academy, and post-academy training. Sergeant Sean O'Brien shared  
that the department currently has 5-6 staff members in this phase, so while  
they have 13 openings, they have another 5-6 positions that aren't impacting  
staffing yet.  
Discussion 5: Deputy Chief Ray Brady shared that the academy is also  
months out for dates in which new hires can begin academy. Sergeant Sean  
O'Brien confirmed and that he has been told this is due to lack of funding.  
Commissioner Oscar Soule asked if the Washington academy is vastly  
different from the Idaho or Oregon academy. Chief Shelby Parker explained  
that Washington's academy is unique and driven by legislation, making it so a  
WA academy is essential to the training of new officers. Chief Shelby Parker  
added that there are other academies that we could send applicants to,  
however, they would need to attend the WA equivalency academy upon  
completion, so it logically makes sense to have new officers attend the WA  
academy from the start. Sergeant Sean O'Brien also added that outside  
academies also have to be recognizes by the WA academy in order for the  
equivalency academy to be an option for applicants.  
Discussion 6: Commission Chair Linda Villegas Bremer asked about how the  
communication is going with applicants who are in background. Sergeant  
Sean O'Brien shared that once an applicant is in the background phase, the  
department is in constant communication. Chief Shelby Parker added that  
one thing they hear from applicants after being hired is that the attention that  
Sergeant O'Brien gives to these applicants can be the deciding factor for why  
people are choosing to come work for OPD. Commissioner Reiko Callner  
thanked the department for maintaining that contact because historically it  
has made a big difference.  
All voted aye. The Entry-Level Police Officer Register was approved.  
Approval of Lateral Police Officer Register  
Commissioner Reiko Callner moved to approve. Approval was seconded by  
Commissioner Oscar Soule. Telli Norton walked through the staff report and  
register.  
Discussion 1: Commissioner Reiko Callner mentioned the scores were  
impressive and asked about the community member on the panel. Telli Norton  
shared that the community member is a local registered nurse, who has a  
spouse in the Navy.  
Discussion 2: Commission Chair Linda Villegas Bremer asked about if the  
demographics referenced about the applicants was for the existing  
candidates. Telli Norton explained that the demographic details refer to the  
newly added applicants.  
Discussion 3: Commission Chair Linda Villegas Bremer asked if the  
background process was the same for lateral applicants. Sergeant Sean  
O'Brien shared the process is the same in terms of the hiring requirements,  
and that it may be slightly more involved because he has to go to their  
current or previous agencies.  
All voted aye. The Lateral Police Officer Register was approved.  
REPORTS  
7.  
Hiring Register Updates  
Telli Norton explained that her plan moving forward is to provide all current  
hiring registers during the Reports portion of the meeting so that the  
Commission can see the activity of them each month versus only when new  
applicants are hired.  
Commission members all shared appreciation and emphasized the amount of  
work that goes into managing these registers.  
No action required.  
OTHER TOPICS  
8.  
Topic 1: Commissioner Reiko Callner asked if the closure of the Olympia  
Municipal Court has manifested anything for OPD and if they are feeling any  
impact. Chief Shelby Parker shared that it has been a challenging process  
and that there has been a few bumps, but it has been related to logistics.  
Chief Shelby Parker added that there weren't impacts to the community  
members or those involved in the justice system. She added the prosecutors  
have reported really positive experiences with the bench. Chief Shelby Parker  
explained that the contract was for one-year, so all of the learning they are  
doing now will really help to refine the contract in future years. Commissioner  
Reiko Callner asked if the City of Olympia ordinances and codes were still  
enforceable at the county level. Chief Shelby Parker confirmed they are and  
that the city still has their own prosecutors and codes in addition to the  
state/county statues and RCWs.  
Topic 2: Commissioner Reiko Callner explained that she read 25-30,000  
people were in Olympia for Arts Walk/Procession of the Species and she was  
curious if it was a quiet police wise. Chief Shelby Parker shared that it was an  
excellent weekend and Olympia did what Olympia loves to do; come together  
to celebrate arts and culture in a healthy and safe way. Commissioner Reiko  
Callner stated she was very happy to hear that. Commissioner Oscar Soule  
asked if there were any arrests. Chief Shelby Parker shared that there were  
no arrests out of the ordinary, nothing specific to Arts Walk, and it was  
business as usual. Commission Chair Linda Villegas Bremer mentioned she  
did see officers around the event and Chief Shelby Parker confirmed they did  
increase staffing to ensure it was a safe community event.  
Topic 3: Commissioner Oscar Soule asked Chief Shelby Parker if there was  
anything she wanted to know about the Commission and how things were  
going. Chief Shelby Parker emphasized her appreciation for the Commission  
and the vital role they play in staffing and achieving department goals.  
Topic 4: Commissioner Reiko Callner shared that she is impressed with the  
significant efforts the department has put towards positive community  
involvement and engagement. Commissioner Reiko Callner explained what  
she thinks may be helpful is aspect of PR, or more transparency as to the  
efforts that are being made. Chief Shelby Parker shared that she is in  
agreement and that the city is actively in the process of hiring an important  
communications position and that they are also looking into re-imagining a  
vacant position within OPD to be a communications positions, and together  
that will help to be able to tell the story of the department. Commission Reiko  
Callner offered to be of assistance if the departments would like any  
additional support.  
9.  
ADJOURNMENT  
Meeting was adjourned at 8:59am.  
Accommodations