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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane Valley city manager announced reorganization merging departments

The dust-up and reorganization at Spokane Valley City Hall continued Tuesday evening when City Manager Mark Calhoun introduced a plan to merge the Community Development and the Public Works departments.

Calhoun said the reorganization is aimed at breaking up isolated departments and reducing bureaucracy.

“This will provide better coordination and communication between city staff,” Calhoun said.

The reorganization will result in $200,000 savings in 2018 and cut staff by a little more than half a full-time equivalent position, as well as eliminate two top manager positions.

“We had vacancies in the Public Works Department and the Community and Economic Development Department and it gave us an opportunity to look at our organizational structure,” Calhoun said. “We didn’t set out to save money but we will.”

The reorganization was added to Tuesday’s City Council agenda shortly before the meeting, a decision Calhoun said he made so he could get a chance to present to the City Council before media got ahold of the plan and reported on it.

“If it had been added to the agenda package last week it would have been reported on,” Calhoun said. “And it would have sat out there and churned until tonight.”

The reorganization reintroduces the position of a city engineer who will oversee streets, traffic and engineering. Calhoun said the position was part of the original setup of Spokane Valley’s administration but was later dropped.

Newly appointed Deputy City Manager John Hohman will see the biggest increase in workload as the city’s engineering division, Economic Development Manager Mike Basinger and building official Doug Powell all will report to him.

Hohman, the former community and economic development director who has been with the city since it incorporated, said that bringing the city’s engineers together in one division will benefit the city.

“It will make it easier to draw on everyone’s talents as the workflow changes over the year,” Hohman said.

The city engineer position is vacant.

No one will be laid off but some staff will be moved around, Calhoun said.

Another open position is that of facilities manager, which will be needed when the new City Hall is complete.

Former Public Works Director Eric Guth recently agreed to resign, as did Capital Improvement Program Manager Steve Worley.

Guth’s position will not be refilled and Worley’s position will fall under the city engineer.

After the meeting, Mayor Rod Higgins said he liked Calhoun’s plan.

“We have a new city manager and he’s getting things organized,” Higgins said. “This is good.”