Following a presentation from the police chief, the Austin City Council Tuesday decided to move ahead a proposal to fill two budgeted positions in the department.

Austin police are looking to replace an officer who recently went back to school and a secretary who is retiring later this month.

The proposal will now go before the full council at their next meeting, and approval will allow the police department to make new hires.

Chief Paul Philipp said testing has been done and a list of potential new officers is in place.

Whoever comes out of that batch will be replacing patrol officer Amy Morgan.

The department will also be replacing secretary Judy Boorman, who plans to retire on Sept. 24.

Philipp said Boorman has been secretary since before he became chief in 1991 and has filled a “key position.”

“It’s the person that represents the department,” Philipp said of the job.

The chief said filling the positions is very important to help a busy department.

There are 31 sworn positions budgeted, but the department currently is working with 29 — patrol officer Morgan left and Cpt. Curt Rude is on unpaid leave for allegedly taking prescription pills from the department’s evidence locker in December 2007.

That staff made 65 arrests per officer in 2008 — nearly twice as many as Rochester, Albert Lea and Owatonna police — which Philipp said is at least some indication of their heavy workload.

The chief also commended his staff’s success in the past year — 73 percent of cases were cleared, or solved, which was higher than the three other neighboring cities.