Civil Service Commission

OAK HARBOR CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION February 16, 2023 MEETING MINUTES I N A T T E N D A N C E Commissioner ☐ Sandi Peterson, Chair (Absent) ☒ Chief Ray Merrill, Fire Chief ☒ Liflor Barrera, Chief Examiner ☒ Mary Anderson, Commissioner (virtual))) ☐ Chief Kevin Dresker, PD (Absent) ☒ Otto Haffner, Lt FF (virtual) ☒ Dana Ledford, Commissioner ☒ Captain Mike Bailey ☒ Emma House, HR Director The meeting was held at the City Hall in the Mayor’s conference room and was called to order at 1:04 PM. Minutes: • The meeting minutes from December 15, 2022, were reviewed by the attending committee members. Correction to the spelling of Commissioner Ledford’s first name from Lana to Dana was noted, but the minute was not approved due to a lack of quorum. OLD BUSINESS: - NONE NEW BUSINESS: A. HUMAN RESOURCES • Contract negotiation renewal update. o Contract expiring on 12/2023 o 2 Police Department (Commissioned & Non-Commissioned) o 1 Fire Department • Contract discussions with the Union might start sometime in March, and actual negotiations might begin sometime in June. • The issue to consider is the current CPI that would affect the $$ the City can offer. The CPI came down a bit, but unsure if it would be enough to help the City with its cost proposal. Last year, one (1) of the cities could only close a one-year contract due to the CPI being so high that it adversely affected that City’s ability to close a better contract. B. POLICE DEPARTMENT • Another officer left and moved to another city. • The last police officer on FTO passed training and is now working solo. • A new police officer candidate is tentatively set to attend the Academy on March 7, 2023, and was initially slotted for May 10, 2023. Therefore, all else being equal, this candidate will be on his own, patrolling by November 2023. • A new police officer candidate is in the background check phase of the recruitment process. However, due to the long wait list, his academy schedule is still pending. Therefore, we are looking at possibly a seven (7) month waiting period again. • The department is also experiencing staffing challenges because employees take advantage of the State Personal Family Medical Leave (PFML) plan if they do not qualify for Federal Medical Leave. Civil Service Commission Committee | MEETING MINUTES | 02/16/23 Page 1 of 2 C. FIRE DEPARTMENT • Has no staffing issues at the FD; Full Crew/Staff • Getting ready to do internal hiring for two (2) career firefighter positions. Has good internal candidate pool. • The new FFs target start date is May 1. • The recruitment process begins on February 27, including applying online and passing the written & agility test before participating in the oral board interview. The oral board will consist of a retired battalion chief. Chief Merrill will then interview the top candidates. • NEW FIRE STATION UPDATE: i. The City found a place for the new Fire Station (Swantown), and the process is going well. It will take about 16 months to build. ii. Staffing & Work Shift: 1. Sometime in early 2024, we need to start recruiting for three (3) Lieutenant & six (6) FF positions for the new station. 2. Only 24 work shift is what is being considered for the new station. • Other: • A report on opening another policy academy in Washington is being discussed. To address the overwhelming demand for police officers in Washington and to help ease the long wait for candidates to get into the academy. Commission: Adjournment: There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 1:26 PM, motioned by Commissioner Ledford, seconded by Commissioner Rose, and passed unanimously. /s/ /s/ _______________________________________ ___________________________________ Commissioner Secretary/Chief Examiner Liflor Barrera Civil Service Commission Committee | MEETING MINUTES | 02/16/23 Page 2 of 2