Out of 807, 1 picked as Tacoma meter reader

Published 5:43 am Tuesday, April 21, 2009

TACOMA — Out of 807 people who showed up at the Tacoma Dome to take a test to be a city water and electric meter reader, Scott Hoover is the lucky one.

The 39-year-old Hoover had gone through the Tacoma Public Utilities testing previously, in 2007, and had been a temporary meter reader for 10 months.

Still, when he saw the line in February, he feared the competition for the full-time job would be fierce.

Twenty-seven people were invited for interviews after utility officials reviewed the test scores. Hoover started work full time earlier this month.

The hourly pay range for the job is $17.76 to $23.56, which helps explain the interest. It also comes with city benefits.

Hoover says he loves the job, which involves lots of walking — and meeting lots of dogs. Hoover says he’s given out quite a few dog biscuits but so far hasn’t had to use his pepper spray.