Civil Service Commission

Office of the Clerk of Council City of Gahanna 200 South Hamilton Road Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes Civil Service Commission Paul Leithart, Stephen A. Patterson, Beryl Piccolantonio, Paul Bittner, Mark Foster Tuesday, July 21, 2015 6:30 PM City Hall Committee Rooms A. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Bittner called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. Additional Attendees: Clerk of Council Kim McWilliams, Director of Human Resources Sue Wadley, Chief Dennis Murphy, City Attorney Shane Ewald. Present 5 - Paul Leithart, Stephen A. Patterson, Beryl Piccolantonio, Mark Foster, and Paul L. Bittner B. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA None. C. HEARING OF VISITORS None. D. APPEAL/GRIEVANCE HEARINGS: None. E. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. F. NEW BUSINESS 2015-0145 Civil Service Rules and Regulations a. Discuss Rule 6: Deputy Chief Review Board Process Chair Bittner asked Sue Wadley if there was anything within the rules that she wanted to point out; Wadley said we are here to review Rule 6: Police Chief/Deputy Chief Review Board; our Deputy Chief is retiring in August of this year; this rule is a little different than the other Civil Service positions; want to gather what Human Resources' (HR) role is and will be and the review board's role in the process is; Wadley passed around a "Process for Deputy Chief" worksheet she put together; Wadley said to summarize the information handed out, City of Gahanna Page 1 Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes July 21, 2015 HR has posted the position and will be posted for a normal 3 weeks; posting closes on the 23rd of this month; HR will then screen the individuals to make sure they meet the minimum qualifications; will then administer a testing but have not fine-tuned that yet; anyone who passes the test will be placed on an eligibility list; would like to see the list come to this group, not necessarily to approve but to see what we have; HR can coordinate the process for the next steps; the background investigations and polygraphs HR feels should be done externally because we will likely have internal candidates; Ohio State Patrol (OSP) may be able to do that at no cost to us but we are still looking at vendors; full background is done currently with the hiring of police officers, includes credit, references, criminal, home visits, and talking with neighbors; thought is to continue on that same process and administer that before oral boards; HR can also help schedule oral boards and meetings; here to facilitate and make the process easy; once the board is established the Civil Service Rules speak to that; may need to talk through that; possibly discuss the criteria process and the expectation of how that will be forwarded to the Director of Public Safety. Bittner thanked Wadley for bringing us up to speed; wants to take an opportunity to hear from the Chief and City Attorney, as well as other Commission members; Murphy said we last reviewed this in 2007 for the Deputy Chief; Bittner said the review board does not have the Director of HR, City Attorney, or the Chief on it; the Director of Public Safety is making the ultimate decision but it does not appear as if the rankings by the review board have to be followed; could have a bunch of candidates interviewed and have a consensus and the Safety Director can override that. Murphy said the review board are typically very smart people who live in the community and understand what they want; said they did their homework and last time handed two names to the Mayor and Safety Director; said the process works; we need to get this going; understands it is a process, especially for HR; Bittner said there is nothing within the Rules that prevent the Director of Public Safety from consulting with the City Attorney, HR, and the Chief. Piccolantonio asked how long the process was when it was done in 2007; Murphy said it was long; Wadley said it is longer than anyone wishes, especially with backgrounds; said the posting closes on the 23rd; Bittner asked how many candidates we have so far; Wadley said we had 22 as of Monday; Patterson asked how it was posted; Wadley said it was posted internally and externally and advertised; Foster asked if there are a certain number of candidates that the review board will see; Wadley said we do not want to overwhelm them; said they will be invited to take the test; recommends no more than ten go forward; all moving forward will have to go through a background and polygraph which is costly; Wadley said the candidates will be scored based on a test and we would send forward the top ten; Foster asked City of Gahanna Page 2 Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes July 21, 2015 about HR forwarding the eligibility list to the Commission and that process; Murphy said if the Commission can approve the list electronically it will speed up the process; Ewald said if they take a vote they have to meet; Wadley said the rules do not state they have to approve the list, this would be sent out so the Commission is in the know but it is not required; McWilliams said if they see an issue with the list we can always call a meeting; Leithart asked if Council requested that the Civil Service Commission move forward with this; McWilliams confirmed there was a Motion Resolution passed by Council; Leithart asked who chooses the 4th and 5th member of the review board; Wadley said the bargaining unit chooses; Murphy said the union does this as normal business and they are pretty quick on it; Bittner said we probably should say to them, please identify someone to fill this role, and if they do not designate someone we move forward without; McWilliams asked if a Council member could serve on the review board; Ewald said yes, there does not appear to be any restrictions; Ewald said would like to focus on the procedures and the time frame; Bittner said HR will know Friday morning how many people applied; would want HR to take the first crack to make sure the applicants meet the minimum qualifications on paper and then schedule the test; may be able to expedite the review board process to run along with a background check process, depending on how many candidates there are; candidates will understand it is contingent upon the background check but we can move forward with the background check; Wadley asked if there would be anything in the background that the review board would like to know; does not mean they cannot do interviews and then rank them to move forward; they would not be able to ask specifics on their background; would ask of the Commission if there was something in their background that is disqualifying would suggest they do not move forward with to the review board; Bittner said the review board could develop more about their character prior to them moving forward along with their background checks; Murphy said when someone is removed it is usually clear to the applicant as to why and they are given a copy; Wadley said if they do get that letter and appeal, this may slow things down with the Commission; Bittner said he does not believe anything would deter the City from moving forward with hiring even with an appeal process going on; would like the Commission to consider allowing HR to have some discretion in making decisions on the background part and review board scheduling with the timing constraint of this vacancy; confirmed there will be two cuts at two different times during the process to narrow down the candidate pool; Foster confirmed we would start the review board selection process immediately; Bittner said yes we can; Wadley said we narrow it down to ten candidates based on common practice and that number is just a recommendation; Murphy said our background investigators can often pick up on red flags immediately but will need proof; Ewald said the City of Gahanna Page 3 Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes July 21, 2015 Council process may take the longest; McWilliams asked if we can put a deadline of July 27 so this can go to Committee and then to Council on August 3; Wadley reminded everyone that the Mayor is out of town until August 1; McWilliams then suggested a deadline of August 7; everyone agreed; Wadley suggested a memo or a meeting to the selected review board; Bittner said he can put together a memo draft and then will ask HR to coordinate the scheduling; there were no objections; the drafted memo will include instructions on scheduling through HR for the board meetings to interview candidates and include basic HR guidelines on interview techniques. A motion was made by Leithart, seconded by Patterson, that Chair Bittner draft a memo with instructions for review board candidates. The motion carried. Bittner asked how we will notify those who need to select a review board candidate; Wadley said McWilliams will be the point of contact for selected review board members; Chief Murphy and HR will work together on their appointments and notify the Mayor; Bittner said we will need to get a packet together for the ten selected candidates; said we need to notify candidates that only the top ten scorers on the test will be moving forward with the process; Wadley said they normally communicate that to the applicants on the day of the test. Bittner said once the minimum qualifications for the job description are screened by HR the test will be given and the top ten will move forward unless less than ten pass the test; if there is a tie for the tenth score, those applicants in that tie will move forward; Wadley confirmed this is for the top ten test scorers. A motion was made by Leithart, seconded by Foster, that the top ten scorers, if there are ties for the tenth scorer, those candidates will move forward in the process, and if there are fewer than ten scorers who pass the test, those who passed will move forward in the process. The motion carried. McWilliams asked if there was a date for the test at this time; Wadley said there is not a date set yet; Wadley said there is typically forty man hours per applicant for background investigations; there is also polygraph scheduling; Murphy said it will depend on the vendor and will depend on dollars; Bittner asked if the polygraph scheduling is more easily timed; Wadley said yes; Bittner said we can do some of the controllable things and that could help further narrow down the pool on who you will bring forward; Wadley said some things HR can do in house like fingerprinting and gathering of information; this will help save costs and narrow down the pool but may not necessarily City of Gahanna Page 4 Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes July 21, 2015 narrow down the candidate pool; Bittner said we should maximize the extent of information given to the review board; Patterson confirmed the top ten list is strictly by the test; Foster asked if the polygraph can be administered before a background check is complete; Wadley said typically yes; Murphy said yes they are typically looking at certain questions; Murphy said once we find a vendor we can ask them how they do their process; Leithart confirmed we are developing procedures for the operation of a review board; the last bullet point of the worksheet Sue Wadley passed around is a summary of the review board; asked if we have a motion to approve the procedure how will that work; Bittner said some of the bullet points will no longer apply after this discussion; Leithart said at this point we can only request we expedite the process; Leithart said the review board may find it feasible to wait until the background check is complete before they make a recommendation; Bittner said we are relying on some of HR's discretion to consider efficiency and get as much information as possible; can state that the review board may request more time if needed in the memo; Murphy said he would anticipate the Director of Public Safety would like to speak to the review board; Wadley asked if the review board when making their decision will provide an explanation as to why they made their selection and if there will be a scoring process; noting that the candidates can appeal the decision; Bittner said the review board will rank the candidates one through ten to choose the six; Wadley said the language does not state they have to rank them; Ewald confirmed it says "may rank"; Patterson said when they are asking for a procedure are they looking for a way things will be done in terms of ranking order and specific guidelines; Bittner said we cannot do anything inconsistent with the memo; can include this in the memo that the candidates' ranking is consensus or majority vote; Patterson asked if we should specify that; Bittner asked if we can recommend that they give at least two names to the Director of Public Safety; Murphy said that the review board should be allowed to send forward a superstar and note that; Wadley said this Commission can empower the procedures; said the review board may need to document their findings in case they have to come to a hearing; Bittner asked if the Director of Public Safety can say no to a candidate if only one is chosen; Murphy said we have never been down that road; Ewald said if a final candidate is rejected we would go back to the eligibility list; Bittner said he will draft something in a memo to address the discussion points regarding the second paragraph for Section 6.02 and how to submit candidates to the Director of Public Safety. Bittner said will get the memo draft out by this Thursday; the draft will match what was discussed tonight; McWilliams asked if we wanted to review previous minutes from 2007 in terms of the recommendation to the Director of Public Safety; all Commission members agreed they City of Gahanna Page 5 Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes July 21, 2015 would like to review those minutes. 2015-0152 Process for Deputy Chief 2015 G. CORRESPONDENCE AND ACTIONS None. H. OFFICIAL REPORTS a. Director of Human Resources Wadley said just an update, we have a few other Civil Service positions we are recruiting for; interviewing 6 people for Parks and Recreation Supervisor tomorrow; also hiring for a police officer; there will be a physical fitness test will be this Saturday; also have an opening for a police dispatcher. b. Chairman No report. I. POLL COMMISSION FOR COMMENT Leithart shared an old good story, said the Civil Service Commission used to administer the physical fitness test and they had a test during the winter with a foot of snow on the track; candidates asked if they still had to meet the time requirements and the Chief said they have to catch criminals in the snow; the Chief got a good chuckle. J. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Piccolantonio, seconded by Patterson, that the meeting be adjourned at 8:01 p.m. The motion carried unanimously. Kayla Holbrook, Reporting. City of Gahanna Page 6