Government

Preliminary budget includes plans for four new city employees

The city of Gig Harbor is in the process of hammering out its 2027-2028 budget. Over the course of two days and many hours in early October, the City Council and staff discussed the ins and outs of the next biennium. The council has neither finalized nor voted on the budget, but expects to do so late this year. Readers can learn more about the city’s overall budget picture here.

Following are some highlights of the draft budget. None of these items are set in stone, and they do not reflect the totality of the draft budget or what city elected officials and staffers discussed.

Staffing

• Not including elected officials, the biennial budget includes 132.6 full-time employees, an increase of four full-time employees. If approved, these new employees would include a new business and policy analyst and a new communications staffer, as well as one new police officer and one new public works employee. 
• City engineer Aaron Hulse said the full-time engineering staff will be reduced by one next year, but only because the city could not fill a role. City Administrator Katrina Knutson said the city budgeted for four engineering positions, but could not recruit for a development review engineer, because “what we found through the market is that engineers don’t want to be locked into one specific task.”

Public Works

• A major department goal is to reduce review times for private development projects. The department also would like to migrate design more in-house over time, but certain things like marine engineering will remain contracted out.

Community Development

• Two of the biggest items on the Community Development department’s agenda are to develop a draft Judson subarea plan and conduct a feasibility, siting and design study for a future community gathering space. The city will solicit public feedback.
• The department also plans to continue looking at the findings of its parking study, and work with private development in areas that could be of public benefit. It will also continue to digitize historic permit records and use AI to speed up review and approval of permit applications. It may also collaborate with the Public Works department to revamp the city’s lobby space.

Housing, Health and Human Services

• The Housing, Health, and Human Services department — known internally as H3 — would like to expand a dedicated co-response program with the Gig Harbor Police Department and fire department. It also plans to find ways to use property returned to the city for affordable housing.
• In the long-term, H3 wants to create a Community and Resource Center and establish affordable housing on Hunt Street, property that Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank recently returned to the city.

Police

• The Gig Harbor Police Department plans to pursue state funding to hire an additional entry-level officer. It is also looking for additional funding for body-worn cameras and a new police boat — but, the budget booklet states, “funding for these items is considered less likely.”
• The police department also plans to sustain its levels of service and preserve accreditation, while strengthening policy, training, and compliance. It would also like to improve centralized tracking of important internal items, such as training and equipment, and support advanced training and employee retention. It would also like to maintain a replacement cycle for both vehicles and equipment, and pursue grant opportunities.

Communications

• The city hopes to add a new, full-time communications assistant to support Communications Manager Lori Maricle. Maricle said that the city’s communications program is “primarily reactive,” and the city would like to move towards “proactive communications.”
• The city also wants to contract with Pierce County TV, the county’s public access channel, to manage the city council’s video uploads. This would help the city to meet new federal ADA video-accessibility requirements that will take effect in 2027, as well as expand reach.

Parks

• The Parks Department plans to open and operate the long-awaited Commercial Fishing Homeport.
• The department also plans to plant native trees and shrubs in different parks around the city, as well as replace outdated irrigation infrastructure. It will also update the 2022 PROS Plan to be ready for adoption in 2028, and continue to implement the txʷaalqəł Conservation Area property management plans. The department will work with the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor to implement the new tree donation program, and update video monitoring at Ancich, Skansie Brothers and Crescent Creek parks.