Civil Service

Official Proceedings of the Battle Creek Civil Service Commission City Hall 10 N. Division Street Commission Chambers Battle Creek, Michigan August 26, 2019 4:00 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Commissioners Al Giguere and Tim Martinovich MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Michael Roller STAFF PRESENT: Victoria Houser, City Clerk and Brian Sturdivant, Fire Chief CALL TO ORDER: Comm. Giguere called the meeting to order at 4:01 PM and recognized that a quorum was present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Comm. Martinovich, supported by Comm. Giguere, made a motion to approve the Civil Service Commission meeting minutes of April 22, 2019. All yes, none opposed. Motion approved. PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS: There were no petitions or communications. REPORTS: There were none UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was none. NEW BUSINESS 1. Removal of Candidate from the 2018 Battalion Chief Eligibility List Clerk Houser informed the Commission that she received an email from Jake Martin on June 5, 2019 requesting to be removed from the 2018 Battalion Chief Eligibility List. Comm. Martinovich, supported by Comm. Giguere, made a motion to remove Jake Martin from the 2018 Battalion Chief Eligibility List. All yes, none opposed. Motion approved. 2. Promotion of Candidates on the Eligibility List Clerk Houser informed the Commission that the promotion of candidates on the Entry Level Fire Fighter Eligibility List was to follow PA 78 of 1935, noting section 38.511(2) covered the promotion of entry level positions and section 38.512(2) addressed Eligibility Lists. Chief Sturdivant requested the Civil Service Commission consider a change in the process of hiring Entry Level Fire Fighters. Chief Sturdivant, noting a mandate from the City Commission and the City Manager, stated they have expressed an interest for the Fire Department to begin to ensure the hiring process better reflects the community. Chief Sturdivant noted several years ago the state and city had mandates to ensure the hiring of female and minority firefighters, noting many of those firefighters would be retiring in the next 4 years, reducing the level of those demographics representing the Fire Department. Chief Sturdivant noted he did not intend to reduce standards, but instead to increase diversity and inclusion, while also eliminating a history of nepotism. Chief Sturdivant stated police departments have understood the need for diversity in their ranks, allowing them to better communicate with a diverse community, which always increases the opportunity for better service. Chief Sturdivant asked the Commission to consider creative strategies to address the issue of diversity in the department. Chief Sturdivant informed the Commission that he has had several conversations with community stakeholders, including local schools, to increase interest in the fire service. Chief Sturdivant noted the local Legacy Scholarship has been used for both police and EMT curriculums, stating he would like to establish a fire curriculum, which may help to establish a possible pipeline for hiring, noting the local community college did not have a fire curriculum. Chief Sturdivant noted members of the Fire Department understand the value of diversity and want to talk of ways to open the door for more opportunity to attract residents in our community to the fire service. Chief Sturdivant emphasized the importance of providing opportunities for fire staff to engage with the community during volunteer service, cautioning it is difficult to find females and candidates of color who are involved in volunteer and paid on call services. Chief Sturdivant noted that although diverse candidates do make the list, they often do not place high enough to be hired. Chief Sturdivant also noted Battle Creek does not have the attrition rate of other large departments. 1  Chief Sturdivant noted the importance of focusing on recruitment of new firefighters, also noting it was important to focus on retention by increasing opportunities, ensuring staff have a long career serving the community. Chief Sturdivant challenged the Civil Service Commission to creatively consider ways to ensure a qualified, diverse department, noting inclusion benefits the organization and the community. Comm. Martinovich suggested the Fire Department establish a program similar to the Police Cadet program. Chief Sturdivant confirmed he has been working through an explorer process, possibly in the evening or weekends, cautioning the current budget is specific to meeting staffing requirements for incident response, stating it is a challenge to compensate the Fire Department staff for training after traditional hours. Chief Sturdivant noted BCFD recently received over $10,000 to increase training and certification, with total program costs over $20,000, stating he plans to look internally for additional internal matching funds. Comm. Giguere asked if the BCD was experiencing a turnover problem with entry-level firefighters. Chief Sturdivant stated there was not a problem with entry-level firefighters, but the BCFD was experiencing a loss of diverse firefighters, noting several long tenured employees, both female and of color, are currently in the DROP program with plans to retire in the next 4 years, noting a Hispanic female firefighter retired last year. Comm. Martinovich asked how BCFD compared to other fire departments of similar size. Chief Sturdivant noted BC fire staff are well compensated, noting both salaries and benefits are very competitive. Comm. Giguere asked if there was anything the BC Police Department was doing that the BC Fire Department could copy. Chief Sturdivant suggested the elimination of PA 78, the Civil Service Act. Chief Sturdivant also suggested the Commission allow him to choose among all of the candidates on the Eligibility List, instead of the top 5, stating that if they have made the list, they have achieved the minimum requirements and standards. Chief Sturdivant stated he was not concerned that entry-level firefighters come to the department with prior training and certifications from other departments, stating BCFD can provide training. Chief Sturdivant noted candidates who have not received prior training or certification have a difficult time competing with candidates who have trained with other departments. Chief Sturdivant stated he was looking at creating a process to be more inclusive to increase diversity in the department. Jayeson Tkac, BCFD firefighter, noted the entry-level firefighter requirements are very low, only requiring candidates be 18 years of age and have a high school diploma or GED. Mr. Tkac noted nationwide problems recruiting fire candidates, stating BCFD has not hired anyone without Fire I and II in the last 10 years. Mr. Tkac stated the department was interested in attracting candidates that are more diverse. Mr. Tkac also stated that the Civil Service Commission has the ability to amend testing items that are not specifically required in PA 78. Chief Sturdivant stated he would like to reinvent a local Fire Science program at Kellogg Community College. Chief Sturdivant also discussed concerns that the Calhoun County Fire academy training was not within the largest fire department in the county, with full time 24/7 coverage; stating Tekonsha Township has facilitated the Calhoun County Fire Academy for many years. Chief Sturdivant also noted there were no opportunities for live experience, stating the opportunity to use abandoned properties for live burns has been limited due to EPA and DEQ environmental regulations, stating it is more expensive to abate the buildings than to burn them for training purposes. Comm. Giguere asked who and what determines where the fire academy is located and facilitated. Chief Sturdivant noted the funding comes from the State Fire Marshal office, stating the Calhoun County Training Officer, who works for BCFD full time and on-call for many rural departments, has been front and center on directing the funding for the fire academy. PUBLIC COMMENT: There were no public comments. COMMISSION COMMENT: There were no commission comments. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Giguere adjourned the meeting at 5:03 PM. 2