Civil Service Commission Meeting

MINUTES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 5, 2025 4:00 P.M. The City of Madeira Beach Civil Service Commission meeting was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on August 5, 2025, in the Patricia Shontz Commission Chambers at City Hall, located at 300 Municipal Drive, Madeira Beach, Florida. MEMBERS PRESENT: Jerry Cantrell, Chair/Commissioner James Paul, Commissioner Paul Tilka, Commissioner Clara VanBlargan, Ex-Officio Secretary MEMBERS ABSENT: Judithanne McLauchlan, Vice Chair/Commissioner CITY STAFF PRESENT: Robin Gomez, City Manager Megan Powers, Assistant to City Manager/HR Staff Attorney Rob Eschenfelder, Trask Daigneault, L.L.P. 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 4:02 PM. 2. ROLL CALL City Clerk VanBlargan called the roll. Vice Chair Judith Ann McLaughlin was noted as being out of the country and not present. A quorum was established. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Cantrell opened the floor for public comment. There were no members of the public who wished to make comments. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. April 30, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes Chair Cantrell asked the Commissioners to review the April 30, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes and requested comments or a motion to approve. Commissioner Paul moved to approve the April 30, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes. Commissioner Tilka seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0. 5. HR REPORT Ms. Powers presented the HR report. She noted several open positions within the city: August 5, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Page 1 of 4  ● A sanitation worker position (replacement) remains unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates ● The Building Official position remains open despite extensive advertising efforts including LinkedIn and Building Official Association ● Code Compliance II and Planner II positions are planned to open in October when space becomes available, as the downstairs area is currently not operational ● The Community Development Director has submitted a two-week notice, and the city is looking to promote internally Ms. Powers reported on recent hires: ● A part-time parking enforcement officer ● A part-time marina attendant ● Two Recreation Leader I positions for summer camp She also noted several promotions: ● Karen Paulson has been promoted to Finance Operations Manager ● Geraldine Niles has been promoted to Accountant II ● Russ Schimmer has been promoted to Senior Public Works Tech ● Brandon Behring has been promoted from Recreation Leader I to Document and Records Specialist in the Clerk's Department Ms. Powers mentioned there is one complaint currently under investigation, with findings to be shared with the Commission once the investigation is complete. Ongoing HR projects include: ● Safety protocols review ● Employee satisfaction survey research ● Social media policy development ● Application refresh Commissioner Paul inquired about the nature of the complaint. Ms. Powers indicated it was made the previous week and was still under investigation, with limited information available to share publicly at this point. Mr. Eschenfelder added that if the complaint progresses in certain ways, it could potentially come before the Commission, though the goal is always to resolve issues before that stage. 6. NEW BUSINESS There were no new business items for discussion. 7. OLD BUSINESS A. Department Operating Procedures August 5, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Page 2 of 4 Chair Cantrell opened discussion on the Department Operating Procedures documents. There was some initial confusion about which documents were being reviewed, as the packet contained multiple department policies. Chair Cantrell noted the Commission had previously reviewed the Community Development Department Policy and Procedures Manual, but additional documents including the City Clerk and City Manager sections had been added to the current review packet. Mr. Eschenfelder clarified that the hierarchy of policies is charter, code, personnel policy, and then administrative procedures. He confirmed that the personnel policy already states that departmental procedures cannot conflict with the town code or personnel policies. The Commission reviewed multiple department operating procedures: ● Community Development Department (pages 16-18): Chair Cantrell recommended creating section numbers instead of using page references to facilitate document revisions. He also noted the importance of including effective dates and revision dates. ● Finance Department (pages 19-61): Chair Cantrell noted numerous issues with organization and duplication of information. He suggested: ● Consistent organization across departments ● Using section numbers instead of page references ● Better organization of related information (e.g., keeping all cash handling procedures together) ● Addressing safety concerns in the marina procedures regarding cash handling during emergencies ● Removing specific employee names from procedures and using position titles instead ● Including revision information for forms and software procedures Commissioner Paul noted the Finance document was labeled as "Draft FY 2022" and questioned whether it was currently in effect. The City Manager confirmed these were all current operating procedures. ● Emergency Operations Plan: The Commission noted this was well-organized and recently adopted in June 2025. There was some confusion about why it had "2025/2028" on the cover page when the adopting resolution only mentioned 2025. Mr. Eschenfelder suggested this might be a typo. ● Parking Department and Public Works procedures were also reviewed with similar recommendations for consistency and organization. The Commission's overall recommendations for all department procedures included: ● Create consistent section numbering across all departments ● Establish uniform formatting and organization ● Include effective dates and revision information ● Remove specific employee names and use position titles ● Ensure procedures are regularly reviewed and updated ● Organize related information together ● Make information about reporting deadlines and submission requirements clearer ● Use sections rather than page numbers for cross-references August 5, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Page 3 of 4 Chair Cantrell praised the Public Works manual for its organization and structure, suggesting it could serve as a model for other departments. B. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS & PROGRESS REPORT There were no specific future agenda items discussed. C. NEXT MEETING The next meeting was confirmed for Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. D. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Paul moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Tilka seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 5:38 p.m. ______________________________ ATTEST: Jerry Cantrell, Chair ______________________________________________ Clara VanBlargan, City Clerk/Secretary Ex-Officio August 5, 2025, Civil Service Commission Meeting Page 4 of 4