Mattawa Civil Service to have own budget fund

MATTAWA — The Mattawa Civil Service Committee has been approved to have its own spending fund of $2,130 for 2021.

The Civil Service Committee is responsible for the hiring and discipline of police officers in Mattawa, except for the chief of police, a policy change made in May.

While the budget isn’t very large, the money needed by the civil service includes an annual conference for all members, as well as water and snacks for members and police candidates who are being tested.

At May 20’s council meeting, the Mattawa City Council approved money for the civil service to purchase equipment for police applicants’ physical exams, which will come from its spending money.

In the past, those needs came out of the police department fund. But Jesse Chiprez, leader of the civil service committee, said in the city council meeting in a training he went to a couple of years ago, he learned it was a conflict of interest for civil service money to come out of the police department fund. The reasoning was that if money came out of the police department fund, the civil service would feel pressure to side with the police department in disciplinary issues.

To avoid the civil service asking council for money in the middle of the year and to give them the ability to purchase items and attend conferences, the service will be included in future yearly city of Mattawa budgets.