By TERRYL ASLA
Herald Correspondent

POULSBO — The city’s two newest officials discuss some of their goals as they prepare to start their new jobs.

ALEXIS FOSTER, CITY PROSECUTOR
Alexis Foster sees her new job as Poulsbo’s prosecuting attorney as both a professional and personal move in the right direction.

“I wanted to expand my law and managerial experience,” said Foster, who practiced criminal and civil law in her previous position as a deputy prosecuting attorney in the Kitsap County’s Prosecutor’s Office.

In her new position, Foster said, she will operate as a risk manager as well as a criminal misdemeanor prosecutor.

“An important part of my job will be to keeping the mayor and city council members informed of any changes in Washington state codes or laws and drafting the appropriate changes to the Poulsbo city code for their review and approval.”

Prior to the creation of the city prosecutor’s position, this kind of legal work was handled by the county prosecutor’s office,” she said.

“Moving it in house saves money and that has made it possible to fund other much-needed city services such as the school resource officer. It also means that the people involved in making and enforcing the local codes are local themselves.”

Creating that kind of closer connection between the people and the law is a personal goal for Foster, whose family moved to Poulsbo from Gig Harbor about two years ago.

“It makes a difference when you know you are looking out for the community safety of your neighbors and family,” Foster said.

RHIANNON FERNANDEZ, CITY CLERK
The new city clerk, Rhiannon Fernandez, sees her job as “exceeding expectations, showing the public that we are here to help.”

This is especially true when it comes to what she sees as one of the major challenges facing every government organization today: public records management.

“Because of information technology, this is huge, especially for smaller municipalities with limited resources. Trying to meet a customer’s request for a piece of information when it means looking through 10,000 emails can be very time consuming,” Fernandez said.

“So after getting to know the staff, one of the first things I am going to look at will be our public records management —what we have, where it is stored, and how to best manage requests.”

She added, “While the mayor didn’t mention any specific goals in the job interview, from the nature of her questions I get the feeling that she shares my concerns [about the city’s public records].”

Fernandez has been managing public records for more than three years and is a certified municipal clerk. She is about to earn her certified public records officer certification as well.