diff --git a/JanitorialQC/JanitorialQCApp.swift b/JanitorialQC/JanitorialQCApp.swift
index 691a729..648ab09 100644
--- a/JanitorialQC/JanitorialQCApp.swift
+++ b/JanitorialQC/JanitorialQCApp.swift
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ struct JanitorialQCApp: App {
     init() {
         registerBackgroundTasks()
         requestNotificationPermission()
+        // Set delegate so notifications display as banners when the app is in
+        // the foreground. Without this iOS silently drops them.
+        UNUserNotificationCenter.current().delegate = NotificationDelegate.shared
     }
 
     var body: some Scene {
@@ -47,9 +50,6 @@ struct JanitorialQCApp: App {
     }
 
     // ── Local notification permission ─────────────────────────────────────
-    // Request permission for local notifications (used by the polling poller
-    // to alert inspectors of new assignments and follow-up requests).
-    // Called at init — iOS caches the grant; subsequent calls are no-ops.
 
     private func requestNotificationPermission() {
         UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(
@@ -87,6 +87,25 @@ struct JanitorialQCApp: App {
     }
 }
 
+// ── Notification delegate ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Allows local notifications to appear as banners while the app is in the
+// foreground. Without this delegate iOS discards them silently.
+
+final class NotificationDelegate: NSObject, UNUserNotificationCenterDelegate {
+    static let shared = NotificationDelegate()
+    private override init() {}
+
+    func userNotificationCenter(
+        _ center: UNUserNotificationCenter,
+        willPresent notification: UNNotification,
+        withCompletionHandler completionHandler:
+            @escaping (UNNotificationPresentationOptions) -> Void
+    ) {
+        // Show banner + play sound even when the app is active in foreground.
+        completionHandler([.banner, .sound])
+    }
+}
+
 func scheduleBackgroundSync() {
     let request = BGProcessingTaskRequest(identifier: "com.jqc.sync")
     request.requiresNetworkConnectivity = true
diff --git a/JanitorialQC/Sync/SyncManager.swift b/JanitorialQC/Sync/SyncManager.swift
index 4d78404..5b9a8f6 100644
--- a/JanitorialQC/Sync/SyncManager.swift
+++ b/JanitorialQC/Sync/SyncManager.swift
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ class SyncManager: ObservableObject {
     // poll only retrieves newer records.  Nil on first launch → server returns
     // last 50 unread.  Reset to nil on logout.
     private var lastNotificationFetch: Date?
-    private var pollTimer: Timer?
-    private let pollInterval: TimeInterval = 60   // seconds
+    private var pollTask: Task<Void, Never>?    // replaces Timer — Task.sleep works correctly
+    private let pollInterval: UInt64 = 60_000_000_000  // 60 seconds in nanoseconds
 
     static let shared = SyncManager()
     private init() {}
@@ -51,36 +51,45 @@ class SyncManager: ObservableObject {
                     if wasOffline {
                         await self.triggerSync()
                     }
-                    self.startPollTimer()
+                    self.startPollTask()
                 } else {
-                    self.stopPollTimer()
+                    self.stopPollTask()
                 }
             }
         }
         monitor.start(queue: monitorQueue)
     }
 
-    // ── Notification poll timer ───────────────────────────────────────────
+    // ── Notification poll task ────────────────────────────────────────────
+    // Timer.scheduledTimer requires RunLoop.main to be ticking. When called
+    // from inside a Swift Concurrency Task { @MainActor } the current RunLoop
+    // is NOT RunLoop.main — the timer is added to a runloop that never runs,
+    // so it silently fires never. Task + Task.sleep has no such dependency.
 
-    private func startPollTimer() {
-        guard pollTimer == nil else { return }   // already running
-        pollTimer = Timer.scheduledTimer(withTimeInterval: pollInterval, repeats: true) { [weak self] _ in
-            Task { @MainActor [weak self] in
-                guard let self, self.isOnline, AuthManager.shared.isAuthenticated else { return }
-                await self.pollNotifications()
+    private func startPollTask() {
+        guard pollTask == nil else { return }    // already running
+        pollTask = Task { [weak self] in
+            while !Task.isCancelled {
+                try? await Task.sleep(nanoseconds: 60_000_000_000)
+                guard !Task.isCancelled else { break }
+                await MainActor.run { [weak self] in
+                    guard let self, self.isOnline,
+                          AuthManager.shared.isAuthenticated else { return }
+                    Task { await self.pollNotifications() }
+                }
             }
         }
     }
 
-    private func stopPollTimer() {
-        pollTimer?.invalidate()
-        pollTimer = nil
+    private func stopPollTask() {
+        pollTask?.cancel()
+        pollTask = nil
     }
 
     /// Called on logout so the next login starts a clean fetch.
     func resetNotificationPoller() {
         lastNotificationFetch = nil
-        stopPollTimer()
+        stopPollTask()
     }
 
     // ── Notification polling ──────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -405,7 +414,8 @@ class SyncManager: ObservableObject {
         guard isOnline, AuthManager.shared.isAuthenticated else { return }
         do {
             let apiIssues = try await APIClient.shared.fetchAssignedIssues()
-            guard !apiIssues.isEmpty else { return }
+            // Do not return early on empty — deletion still needs to run
+            // to remove issues that were unassigned from this inspector.
 
             // Build a map of existing LocalIssues by serverId for upsert
             let allLocal = (try? context.fetch(FetchDescriptor<LocalIssue>())) ?? []
@@ -455,6 +465,24 @@ class SyncManager: ObservableObject {
                     context.insert(local)
                 }
             }
+
+            // Remove server-pulled records that are no longer in the response.
+            // This happens when an issue is reassigned to a different inspector —
+            // the server stops returning it for this user, so the local copy must
+            // be deleted.  Only remove records that were pulled from the server
+            // (syncStatus == "synced" AND serverId != nil AND inspectionLocalId == "").
+            // Device-created issues (inspectionLocalId != "") are never touched.
+            let returnedServerIds = Set(apiIssues.map { $0.id })
+            for local in allLocal {
+                guard let sid = local.serverId,
+                      local.syncStatus == "synced",
+                      local.inspectionLocalId == ""
+                else { continue }
+                if !returnedServerIds.contains(sid) {
+                    context.delete(local)
+                }
+            }
+
             try? context.save()
 
         } catch APIError.notAuthenticated {
diff --git a/JanitorialQC/Views/Dashboard/StartInspectionView.swift b/JanitorialQC/Views/Dashboard/StartInspectionView.swift
index 4d37ea8..ce7bf45 100644
--- a/JanitorialQC/Views/Dashboard/StartInspectionView.swift
+++ b/JanitorialQC/Views/Dashboard/StartInspectionView.swift
@@ -125,9 +125,19 @@ struct StartInspectionView: View {
                         }
                         .pickerStyle(.navigationLink)
                         .onChange(of: selectedProjectId) {
-                            // Reset downstream selections when contract changes
-                            selectedFacilityId = nil
-                            selectedAreaId     = nil
+                            // Reset downstream selections when the user changes contract.
+                            // Do NOT reset if the current facilityId already belongs to
+                            // the newly selected contract — this covers the pre-fill path
+                            // where applyPreFill() sets both projectId and facilityId and
+                            // the onChange fires before facilityId is applied, wiping it.
+                            let facilityBelongsToContract = facilities.contains {
+                                $0.serverId == selectedFacilityId &&
+                                $0.projectId == selectedProjectId
+                            }
+                            if !facilityBelongsToContract {
+                                selectedFacilityId = nil
+                                selectedAreaId     = nil
+                            }
                         }
                     }
                 }