City Council

REGULAR MEETING - MARCH 21, 2006 The Common Council of the City of Michigan City, Indiana, met in regular session on Tuesday evening, March 21, 2006, at the hour of 7:30 p.m., local time, in the Common Council Chambers, located in the lower level of the City Hall Building, 100 East Michigan Boulevard, Michigan City, Indiana. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Council President Ron Meer, who presided. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and a short period of silent prayer were observed. Roll call was authorized and the following were noted present and/or absent: PRESENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS Evelyn D. Baker; Patricia Boy; Joseph Doyle; Phillip Jankowski; Virginia Martin; Ronald Meer; Willie Milsap; and Paul Przybylinski (8). ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBER Charles Lungren (1). A QUORUM WAS NOTED PRESENT. APPROVAL of MINUTES President Meer inquired whether there were any corrections, deletions, or additions to the minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 7, 2006, and, hearing none, the minutes were approved as printed. REPORTS of STANDING COMMITTEES Councilman Doyle spoke on the parade applications for the “2006 Michigan City Summer Festival.” REPORTS of SPECIAL or SELECT COMMITTEES There were no reports. REPORTS of OTHER CITY OFFICERS and DEPARTMENTS There were no reports. PETITIONS There were no petitions. COMMUNICATIONS There were no communications. RESOLUTIONS There were no Resolutions. ORDINANCES The Clerk read on first reading by title only, ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS ORDINANCE, as introduced by Phillip Jankowski. (DECREASE Riverboat Gaming Fund #9000, Unappropriated $60,000.00, INCREASE Acct. #9000 0000 04 441.001, Land Acquisition, $60,000.00 - News Dispatch Ad/March 21, 2006 - Formal public hearing to be held April 4, 2006.) Councilman Jankowski explained the proposed Ordinance. Council President Meer asked if there were any questions and/or comments by the Council pertaining to the proposed Ordinance and Mayor Oberlie responded to various Page 2 March 21, 2006 questions from Council President Meer and Councilwoman Boy. The Ordinance was then laid over for second reading. The Clerk read on first reading by title only, AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA, TO ISSUE ITS TAXABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REVENUE BONDS (THE BREWERY PROJECT) IN THE AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TWO MILLION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND AND 00/100 DOLLARS ($2,450,000.00) AND APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING OTHER ACTIONS IN RESPECT THERETO, as introduced by Willie Milsap. Councilman Milsap moved to adopt the Ordinance, seconded by Councilman Przybylinski. Council President Meer informed Councilman Milsap that this would be out of order since the Ordinance is on first reading. Councilman Milsap moved to suspend the rules to allow first and second reading tonight and there were no objections. Councilwoman Baker requested Mr. Pugh to explain why he wanted to move forward on this ordinance, which she thought would answer a lot of questions. Mr. Pugh explained to the Council the necessity to have the Ordinance read on first and second reading tonight so they could come back to the Council on third reading with approval from the Economic Development Board. Mr. Pugh said that we are only doing this in the interest of time to eliminate potentially two weeks so we can keep moving this forward. Mr. Pugh stated that he explained all of this information in a letter to the Council addressed March 15th. Mr. Pugh respectfully requested to have 1st and 2nd readings tonight and there were no objections. Councilwoman Boy had questions regarding the fourth Whereas (regarding the public hearing), in which she stated was just explained by Attorney Donoghue and she also said that on the last page of the ordinance it does not say who the Ordinance is introduced by. (The Ordinance is introduced by Councilman Milsap.) Council President Meer asked if there were any questions or comments from the public on this Ordinance on first reading, hearing none, directed the Clerk to read the Ordinance on second reading by title, AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA, TO ISSUE ITS TAXABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REVENUE BONDS (THE BREWERY PROJECT) IN THE AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TWO MILLION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND AND 00/100 DOLLARS ($2,450,000.00) AND APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING OTHER ACTIONS IN RESPECT THERETO, as introduced by Willie Milsap. Council President Meer asked if there were any questions or comments from the Council or public on this Ordinance on second reading, hearing none, the Ordinance was then laid over for third reading. FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES, Council President Meer spoke on the Ordinance that the Council had on 1st reading this evening (ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS ORDINANCE). The agenda stated the formal public hearing will be held on the 4th of April. That was a typo, the formal hearing will be held on third reading, April 18, 2006. The Clerk read on second reading by title only, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MICHIGAN CITY COMMON COUNCIL AMENDING A SPECIAL NON-REVERTING FUND ESTABLISHED BY ORDINANCE NO. 3919 FOR DEPOSIT AND DISBURSEMENT OF REVENUES COLLECTED BY THE MICHIGAN CITY PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT ON BEHALF OF THE MICHIGAN CITY PORT AUTHORITY, as introduced by Joseph Doyle. Councilman Doyle stated that at the last meeting Park Supt. Garbacik pretty much explained the reason for this proposed Ordinance and if there are any further questions, Office Manager Laura New is present. Council President Meer asked if there were any comments or questions from the Council or public on this Ordinance on second reading, hearing none, the Ordinance was then laid over for third reading. At this time, President Przybylinski called for a 10-minute recess. Upon the Council’s return, Council President Meer asked the Clerk to read on second reading by title only, there being no objections, AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCE 2560 AND ALL SUBSEQUENTLY ENACTED AMENDING ORDINANCE THERETO, ALL COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS THE FIRE MERIT ORDINANCE OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA, ALSO KNOWN A THE MICHIGAN CITY MUNICIPAL CODE March 21, 2006 Page 3 SECTION 54-173 (1) ET. SEQ., as introduced by Patricia Boy. Councilman Przybylinski gave a brief committee report of the Special Committee on the Fire Merit Ordinance of their last meeting on some of the changes that they made that are in front of the Council this evening. Councilwoman Martin moved to adopt the amendments from the committee report, seconded by Councilman Milsap. Council President Meer asked if there were any questions or comments by the Council on the Ordinance on second reading. Councilwoman Boy thanked the committee for all the work that they have been doing on this proposed Ordinance. Council President Meer directed the Clerk to call for the vote on the amendments: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS Meer, Milsap, Przybylinski, Baker, Boy, Doyle, Jankowski, and Martin (8). NAYS: None (0). Council President Meer asked if there were any questions or comments by the public on this Ordinance on second reading, hearing none, directed the Clerk to read the Ordinance on third reading by title only, there being no objection, AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCE 2560 AND ALL SUBSEQUENTLY ENACTED AMENDING ORDINANCE THERETO, ALL COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS THE FIRE MERIT ORDINANCE OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA, ALSO KNOWN A THE MICHIGAN CITY MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 54-173 (1) ET. SEQ., as introduced by Patricia Boy. Councilwoman Boy moved to adopt the Ordinance, seconded by Councilman Przybylinski. Councilwoman Boy submitted two (2) proposed amendments: 1. Sec. 54-157. Eligible list. After: “The names of applicants obtaining the required passing score” in sentence one; Add: “on the written examination and passing the physical test and personal interview” Council President Meer asked Councilwoman Boy if she wanted to separate these two amendments and she responded that she would. In sentence 2, change “shall be determined by the factor of the written exam.” to read “shall be determined by Michigan City residency as outlined in Section 54-156 (b) of this ordinance. If those applicants having the same final grade are not residents, or are both residents, or are both residents, then the priority shall be determined by the factor of the written exam.” Councilwoman Boy moved to amend the proposed Ordinance, seconded by Councilman Przybylinski. Council President Meer asked if there were any comments by the Council on the first amendment, hearing none, directed the Clerk to call for the vote. Councilwoman Martin moved to vote on both amendments together and there were no objections. The second amendment is as follows: 2. Section 54-173 “A. Written examinations shall be prepared under the direction of the Fire Civil Service Commission and validated. An independent agency or person may be contracted...” Change “may” to “shall” Councilwoman Martin moved to vote on the two amendments together and there were no objections. 2. Section 54-173 “A. Written examinations shall be prepared under the direction of the Fire Civil Service Commission and validated. An independent agency or person may be contracted...” Change “may” to shall” Council President Meer stated that there have been two motions to the amendment by Councilwoman Boy and seconded by Council Members Przybylinski and Milsap. Council Attorney Alevizos corrected Council President Meer that this is actually one amendment that has two (2) parts. Councilman Przybylinski stated that with these two amendments they have achieved a lot of definition in this Ordinance and thanked Councilwoman Boy for proposing them. Council President Meer directed the Clerk to call for the vote on the amendments: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS Milsap, Przybylinski, Baker, Boy, Doyle, Jankowski, Martin, and Meer (8). NAYS: None (0). Council President Meer asked if there were any other comments or questions by the Council on this Ordinance on third reading and Councilwoman Martin stated if this Ordinance is passed tonight we’re going to try to meet with the Fire Merit Commission on Monday. If so, the special committee is going to meet with them and go over the whole ordinance and the changes so there won’t be any misconception of how it is suppose to be; and, since we’re still going to be a Page 4 March 21, 2006 committee we will be looking over the other half, because we have only done the first half of this ordinance and there may be some other things. Council Attorney Alevizos commented on the typo in the title of the Ordinance - where it says “ALSO KNOWN AS THE MICHIGAN CITY MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 54-173(1) ET. SEQ.” it should state “ALSO KNOWN AS THE MICHIGAN CITY MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 54-133 (1) ET. SEQ. Councilwoman Boy made an author’s amendment to change the title to read 54-133 and there were no objections. Council President Meer asked if there were any others questions or comments by the Council or pubic on this ordinance on third reading, hearing none, directed the Clerk to call for the vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS Przybylinski, Baker, Boy, Doyle, Jankowski, Martin, Meer, and Milsap (8). NAYS: None (0). ORDINANCE NO. 3970 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCE NO. 2560 AND ALL SUBSEQUENTLY ENACTED AMENDING ORDINANCES THERETO, ALL COLLECTIVELY KNOWN AS THE FIRE MERIT ORDINANCE OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA, ALSO KNOWN AS THE MICHIGAN CITY MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 54-133 (1) ET. SEQ. WHEREAS, the Fire Merit Ordinance with the passage of time needs clarification and modification. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Common Council of Michigan City, Indiana, that the following modifications, additions, and alterations to the Fire Merit Ordinance shall be as follows: 1. The City of Michigan City Municipal Code Section 54-135(5) entitled “Voting” shall be deleted in its entirety and shall be replaced with the following new Section 54-135(5) entitled “Voting”: (5) Voting . In all actions by the commission requiring an affirmative vote of its members, it shall be necessary that a majority of the entire membership, or three members, vote in favor of such action for a lawful transaction. If the commission is found to be unlawfully comprised as to political affiliation or other qualifications set out in section 54-133, the members who caused such violations shall have their votes taken on any order of business held void. 2. Subsection (b) of The City of Michigan City Municipal Code Sections 54-152 through 54-158 shall be deleted in their entirety and replaced with the following Sections Sec. 54-152. Application for appointment. a. After announcement of recruitment is published in the daily city newspaper for a minimum of seven (7) consecutive days, any person desirous of applying for a position to be filled shall obtain an application for appointment from the Fire Civil Service Commission or its designee as published, and fill out all information requested on the application form to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, subscribing to the information under oath. The completed application shall be returned in an envelope addressed directly to the secretary of the commission. Accompanying the application shall be a duly authenticated birth certificate of the applicant, or satisfactory evidence of his or her date and place of birth. The date of receipt of applications shall be endorsed thereon. All applications, when filed, become the property of the commission, and may not, therefore, be returned to the applicant, except that defective applications may be returned to applicants to permit them to amend the application, provided the designated time period for filing, as specified in the public notice, has not passed; however, defective applications will not be returned a second time. All applications filed shall be confidential personnel files subject to review and inspection only by commission members or their designated representatives. b. For so long as the City of Michigan City remains under the auspices of the 1977 Consent Decree, the Michigan City Human Rights Department shall actively recruit applicants from the city’s minority population. The Human Rights Department shall be provided redacted test scores and demographic information. Sec. 54-153. Qualifications of applicants. An applicant must meet all of the following requirements. The applicant shall be: (1) a citizen of the United States; (2) at least 21 years old at the time of making application, but not exceeding 35 years of age or over at the time of entrance into the fire department. (3) of good moral character, and shall not have been convicted by any state or the federal government of a felony; each applicant must submit to a criminal history check. (4) a graduate of a duly accredited high school or the recognized equivalent (passing a GED test and able to supply documentary evidence thereof upon request of the commission; and (5) of normal weight related to individual height, with the minimum and maximum height requirements to be specified by the fire department pension board. Sec. 54-154. Selection process. (a) Applications received by the secretary of the Fire Civil Service Commission shall be preliminarily reviewed by members of the commission to determine that applicants satisfy all the prescribed requirements for filing and whether or not there are obvious factors that would disqualify an applicant. Qualified applicants shall then be admitted to a competitive written examination approved by the commission and designed to meet Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines. Those applicants who fail to answer at least seventy percent (70%) of the questions correctly shall be disqualified from continuing with the selection process. Those applicants who achieve a score of seventy percent (70%) or above on the written examination, shall next submit to a physical test designed to replicate tasks encountered in the course of fighting fires. March 21, 2006 Page 5 (b) Any applicant who fails any pass/fail test is then disqualified from proceeding any further with the current hiring process. Upon passing all pass/fail physical agility and stamina tests, an applicant shall then submit to a personal interview with the entire commission. The commission shall develop a systematic interview score sheet which shall be an attachment to this ordinance. The applicant’s interview score sheet shall be handled and retained in the same manner as the written test. The final interview score shall be combined with the other criteria for final score. Sec. 54-155. Written competitive examinations. (a) Generally. Examinations shall be called for by the president of the Fire Civil Service Commission when necessary. Each applicant will be notified by mail as to whether he/she is eligible for the examination and, if eligible, the time and place of the examination, at least five business days prior to the date thereof. The examination shall be one of general aptitude. Examinations shall be fair and impartial, and no misleading questions shall be asked nor shall any questions pertaining to political opinions or affiliations be allowed in testing, written or oral. The commission shall be in charge of the examination, maintaining its security and confidentiality. The commission shall call on the personnel director to assist it in the conduct and marking or grading of the examination. In conducting the examination, all necessary explanations shall be made to the whole class and none to any individual separately. The time limit prescribed for the examination shall be announced at the beginning of each exam, which shall begin when all announcements shall have been made and questions distributed. No applicant who appears late for the examination shall be admitted, and applicants who fail to appear for no substantial and sufficient reason shall not be given another examination at a later time. Each competitor shall be presented with a numbered identification sheet on which he/she shall write his or her name, age, residence and any other information required, after which he/she shall place it in an envelope, seal it, and thereafter mark his or her paper with his or her identification number only, so the actual identity of applicants will not be known to persons scoring answers. No identification envelope or sheet shall be opened until after the examination papers of all persons are marked and graded. Any competitor who places any identification mark other than his or her identification number upon any of his or her examination answer sheets may be deemed to have failed to pass. Answer sheets bearing any kind of identification mark other than the examination mark will not be graded. Conversation or communication between competitors during the examination is prohibited. No help of any kind shall be allowed during the examination. Any written or printed matter that might be of aid in the examination must be handed in to the examiner before the exam is commenced. Any attempt to cheat or copy from a competitor shall render the offender ineligible. No competitor shall be allowed to leave the examining room during the examination except in case of necessity and after notice to the examiner, and then in the company of someone selected by the examiner. Any competitor who withdraws from the examination after filling out his or her identification sheet and receiving copies of the questions shall be considered as having failed the examination. (b) Notice of examination results. Within five working days after a written examination has been held, each applicant shall be given written notice by mail of his or her examination score. Such notice shall state upon its face the date of mailing. © Inspection of scored answer sheets by applicant. Within three business days of the date of mailing of the written examination scores, an applicant may be allowed to inspect a keyed copy of the questions and answers used in the exam and his or her scored answer sheet. This inspection will be held in the office of the personnel director. During such inspection, applicants shall not be allowed to copy any of the questions or answers except to the extent necessary to file an appeal. (d) Appeals (1) Within six business days of the date of mailing notice of the written examination results, an applicant my appeal to the commission in writing, any questions on the examination which he or she feels are unfair or ambiguous, protest what he or she feels were improprieties in the conduct of the examination, or protest that a clerical or computational error was made in the test scoring. (2) The applicant shall state the items and page numbers in the examination and specific reasons and facts or authoritative references or opinions of recognized experts where such exist, in support of his or her contention. After this period, no further appeals or protests will be accepted. Within ten days after the end of the appeal period, the commission shall render a decision Sec. 54-156. Determination of final rating. (a) An applicant’s final rating shall be based on the following three parts with the specific percentage weight assigned each part: (1) Written examination:: sixty-seven percent (67%). (2) Michigan City residency: five percent (5%). (3) Personal interview: twenty-five percent (25%). (4) Military service during times of war: two percent (2%). (5) Child of firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duty: one percent (1%). (b) In order to promote the enforcement of the 1977 Consent Decree and to enhance the safety of the citizens of the city of Michigan City in cases of emergency, applicants will receive one (1) point toward their composite score for having resided in the city of Michigan City for two (2) consecutive years immediately preceding their application and one (1) additional point for each additional year of continuous residency up to a total of five (5) points. If residency is interrupted solely for educational training or military service, the applicant shall receive credit for the period of the interruption. Residency shall be determined by the applicant providing proof of domicile within the corporate limits of Michigan City in one or more of the following manners: a copy of the applicant’s homestead exemption filed with the County Assessor’s Office, a copy of the applicant’s residential lease agreement, or a copy of the applicant’s federal or state income tax returns. © The total composite score shall be the sum of the written examination score times its allotted weight and the personal interview times its allotted weight, plus any residency points per subsection (b) above. Sec. 54-157. Eligible list. The names of applicants obtaining the required passing score on the written examination and passing the physical test and personal interview shall be entered on an eligible list for employment in the order of the composite grades they received. Whenever two or more applicants have the same final grade, the priority shall be determined by Michigan City residency as outlined in Section 54-156(b) of this ordinance. If those applicants having the same final grade are not residents, or are both residents, then the priority shall be determined by the factor of the written exam. An eligible list shall not be in effect for more than one year from the date it is promulgated after all scoring is completed. Sec. 54-158. Notification of final rating; rejection of applicants. Page 6 March 21, 2006 Within five (5) days after promulgation, an applicant shall be given written notice by mail of his or her standing on the eligible list, relative to total score, or, when failing, of his or her failure to attain such eligibility, and the days during which he or she may inspect his or her papers. It shall be deemed sufficient cause for the Fire Civil Service Commission to reject at any time any applicant who: (1) Does not meet the minimum requirements set forth in this division; (2) Is physically or mentally unfit to perform the duties of the position sought; (3) Is addicted to use of intoxicating liquors or narcotics or habit-forming drugs; (4) Has been dismissed or has resigned in lieu of discharge from any position, public or private, for any cause which would be cause for dismissal from the fire department, or whose record of employment has been unsatisfactory; (5) Has made any misrepresentation of fact on his or her application, or has attempted to practice any deception or fraud in securing appointment; (6) Has willfully violated any of the examination requirements of the commission; (7) Fails to cooperate with a criminal history check; (8) Fails to make prompt return of the amended application; (9) Advocates or is a member of the Communist Party or any organization which advocates the violent an unlawful overthrow of the government of the United States; or (10) Has been dishonorably discharged from the armed forces. 3. The City of Michigan City Municipal Code Section 54-162 entitled “Training of New Appointees” shall be modified as follows: Section 54- 162(a) shall be deleted in its entirety and shall be replaced with the following Section 54-162(a): (a) Each new firefighter shall at some point during the period of probation make application for Firefighter II certification as that requirement is established and maintained by the N.F.P.A.; and shall successfully attain first responder certification. Such certifications shall be requirements for successful completion of each new firefighter’s probation. 4. The City of Michigan City Municipal Code Section 54-173 (1) entitled “Written Competitive Examination” shall be deleted in its entirety and shall be replaced with the following new section 54-173(1) entitled “Written Competitive Examination Seventy Percent (70 percent)”: (1) Written Competitive Examination - Seventy Percent (70%) A. Written examinations shall be prepared under the direction of the Fire Civil Service Commission and validated. An independent agency or person shall be contracted with or by the commission for the preparation, administration, grading, and validation of the examination. B. Different tests shall be given for different ranks and shall consist of questions covering job knowledge germane to that position. C. Examinations will be given one every two years, and the grade received when a new examination is conducted will supersede previous grades. No grade shall be continued from a previous examination onto a new promotional list. D. Examinations shall be scheduled early enough in the second year so that sufficient time exists for all tests to be graded, scores distributed to those members taking the test, and the appeals process to be completed prior to generating a promotional list for the next two (2) year period. E. Notice of written examinations shall be posted on official bulletin boards of the fire department and announced at least three weeks prior to the examination date. F. Qualified members of the department desiring to take an examination shall inform the commission in writing at least one week prior to the examination date. G. The grading of examinations shall be under the administration of the commission and/or the independent agency or person contracted to prepare the examination. H. In no event shall persons grading an examination be permitted to know the names of members who have written the exam being graded. The names or any means of identification of those taking examinations shall be treated and filed as confidential. I. Grading shall be on the basis of a total possible score of 100 percent (100%). The actual grade received by a member of the department shall then be converted to the 70 percent (70%) weight available for use in determining the composite promotional score. J. The commission will advise department members of the examination results; however, a promotional lis will not be generated until the appeals process has been completed. K. Within ten days after being notified of his or her test results, any firefighter aggrieved with the grade he/she received on the examination shall have the same right as that of an applicant to appeal, in writing, to the commission, which shall take appropriate action to review the grade so questioned. L. In the event that an error in grading any test question on a test exists, the commission, or the independent agency or person contracted to prepare and grade the examination, shall regrade any test affected by the error and cause any such test to reflect the corrected grade. 5. City of Michigan City Municipal Code Section 54-173(2) entitled “Seniority (ten percent).” shall be deleted in its entirety and shall be replaced with the following new Section 54-173(2) entitled “Seniority - twenty percent (20%). (2) Seniority - twenty percent (20%). The rate for counting seniority shall be one percent of a point per year up to 20 years. 6. City of Michigan City Municipal Section 54-173(3) entitled “Past performance rating (20 percent).” shall be deleted in its entirety and shall be replaced with the following new Section 54-173(3) entitled “Past performance rating - ten percent (10%)”. March 21, 2006 Page 7 (3) Past performance rating - ten percent (10%). Past performance ratings shall fairly and accurately evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of each department member in the performance of his or her assignment, as compared to others, and shall be the arithmetic average of the member’s last four consecutive semiannual rating scores within the two years immediately preceding the date a vacancy occurs. The previous four rating scores shall be used for such rating, regardless of how many were completed in the two-year period leading up to the ranking. Such rating shall occur in July and January of each calendar year. The performance score shall be the original rating adjusted to the 10 percent weight used for all promotions. 7. Subsections a and b of The City of Michigan City Municipal Code Section 54-173(3) entitled “Rating Officers” and “Rating Standards” respectively, shall be deleted in their entirety and shall be replaced with the following new subsection a and b of 54- 173(3) a and b: a. Rating Officers. Every firefighter is to be rated by his or her immediate, direct supervisor, with the input from the Battalion Chief, with the rating then given to the firefighter for review and comments. Goals for the upcoming year shall be agreed upon through a dialogue and a review of areas of improvement from the prior evaluation period. The evaluation is then to be given to the Fire Chief and Battalion Chief for review and signatures. Once completed , the evaluation shall br returned to the firefighter for final review and his or her signature for personnel file. A copy of the signed evaluation should be given to all firefighters for their records. The Fire Chief shall prepare a list of names of the personnel of the department at the start of each calendar quarter, indicating thereon the names of the rating officer and endorsing officer. One copy of the list shall be posted on the bulletin board in each fire station and one copy submitted to the commission. b. Rating standards. 1. The rating form shall contain seven characteristics for firefighters and eight characteristics for firefighters with supervisory positions, by which to measure members of the department. The characteristics to be rated, and the individuals weights assigned to each, are as follows: Job Knowledge 30 Work effectiveness 30 Cooperation 20 Safety 30 Attendance/Punctuality 20 Judgement/Analytical ability 30 Appearance/Physical fitness 10 Supervision (If Applicable) 30 2. To arrive at the final points earned for each characteristic, its weight will be multiplied by one of the following scores received from the following scale: Outstanding: Overall performance is well above standard 4 points Very Good: Performance is marked by initiative and high quality of work 3 points Good: Performance indicates the satisfactory accomplishment of all assigned responsibilities 2 points Needs Improvement: Overall performance needs improvement and future training and development will be needed to achieve a competent level of performance 1 point Unsatisfactory: Performance does not meet the minimum requirements for the position. Specific written examples should, accompany any evaluations rated unsatisfactory 0 points 3. Ratings shall be executed in ink, on the form attached hereto as “Appendix 1", and entitled “Michigan City Fire Fighters Bi- Annual Performance Evaluation. When ratings of “Outstanding” and “Unsatisfactory” are given, the rating officer must enter and sign, on the reverse of the form, written comments to factually substantiate the particular circumstances resulting in such ratings. The overall rating will be the sum of the points received for each of the seven characteristics for firefighters and eight for persons with supervisory responsibilities, a perfect score being 800 (either divide the total score by 80 to obtain the 10 percent or multiply by 0.125 to obtain the 10 percent). 8. The City of Michigan City Municipal Code Section 54-174 entitled “First Responder Training” shall be deleted in its entirety and shall be replaced with the following Section 54-174 entitled “First Responder Training”: First Responder Training All fire employees must demonstrate evidence of having attained first responder certification at the time of sitting for any promotional test. First responder certification must also be demonstrated at the time of promotion. 9. The City of Michigan City Municipal Code Section 54-133 entitled “Qualifications of members ; Oath” shall be modified to add the word “other” before “boards or subdivisions” in the fifth (5th) sentence, so that the fifth (5th) sentence reads as follows: “In addition, a person may not serve on the commission if the person receives any remuneration as salary from the city or any of its other boards or subdivisions.” 10. The City of Michigan City Municipal Code Section 54-133 entitled “Qualification of members; Oath” shall be further modified to add the following sentence immediately after the previous amendment: “Regardless of the source of their appointment, each commission shall act only for the overall good of the fire department. INTRODUCED BY: /s/ Patricia A. Boy Page 8 March 21, 2006 UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no Unfinished Business. NEW BUSINESS Mayor Oberlie has requested advice and consent for the reappointment of Mr. Richard Richey, Mr. John Nickels, Ms. Elizabeth Bigda, and Ms. Fran Metcalf as members of the Michigan City Historic Review Board. With your advice and consent, their term of office would begin immediately and would expire on 03-15-09. Councilman Przybylinski moved to reappoint the above mentioned to the Historic Review Board, seconded by Councilwoman Boy. Council President Meer asked if there were any comments by the Council or public, hearing none, directed the Clerk to call for the vote: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS Baker, Boy, Doyle, Jankowski, Martin, Meer, Milsap, and Przybylinski (8). NAYS: None (0). COMMENTS FROM THE COUNCIL Councilman Przybylinski thanked Council Members Martin, Baker, Council Attorney Alevizos, City Attorney Evans , Councilwoman Boy, Councilman Jankowski, and all of those who came to the committee meetings and made various comments pertaining to the new Fire Merit Ordinance. Councilman Milsap informed the Council that the next scheduled meeting for the Michigan Boulevard Association will be Tuesday, March 28th at 6:00 p.m. at the 5th Ward Office, located at 1401 E. Michigan Boulevard. Council President Meer made various remarks regarding Washington Park and commented on our senior citizens (Bud Parker). COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC There were no public comments. ADJOURNMENT On motion by Councilman Milsap, supported by Councilman Doyle, and there being no further business to transact, President Meer declared the meeting ADJOURNED (approximately 8:35 p.m.). Thomas F. Fedder, City Clerk