Civil Service Commission

City Hall City of Olympia 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Contact: Tami Micheau Meeting Minutes 360.753.8343 Civil Service Commission Friday, November 15, 2013 3:00 PM Room 112 Special Meeting 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 3:10 p.m. 1.A ROLL CALL PRESENT: Commissioner Linda Villegas Bremer, Chair Reiko Callner, Commissioner Oscar Soule Chair Villegas Bremer was unable to be there at the start of the meeting , so Commissioner Callner was the Chair designate. OTHERS PRESENT Staff: Darren Nienaber - Deputy City Attorney Amy Cleveland, Chief Examiner/Secretary Jim Black, Police Sergeant Pat Dale, Assistant Fire Chief Cyndi Cox, Human Resources Others: Eric Cole, Applicant 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 2.A 13-0962 Approval of October 29, 2013 Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes Commissioner Soule moved, seconded by Chair Callner, to approve the minutes. The motion carried unanimously. 3. BUSINESS ITEMS 3.A 13-0843 Appeal of Removal from Entry Level Police Register The recording was stopped and the applicant was advised of the appeal process. City of Olympia Page 1 Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes November 15, 2013 The revised appeal process was provided to the Commissioners before the hearing of the appeal. The applicant passed the written and physical ability exams for entry level police officer October 5, 2011. He passed the phase 1 suitability assessment in May 2013 and the oral interview in July 2013 and was ranked on the register August 20, 2013. Pursuant to Civil Service Rule V, Registers, section 4, Removal of a Name from Register, the applicant was removed from the register on September 3, 2013. The applicant appealed the removal on October 2, 2013. Ms. Cleveland will send out notification to the candidate. The meeting resumed at 4:10 p.m. Appeal upheld. 3.B 13-0967 Approval of Captain-Assistant Fire Marshal Promotional Register The Civil Service Commission approved the Captain-Assistant Fire Marshal promotional process on September 17, 2013. This position in the department is being added as a result of grant funding secured for 2014-2015. The assistant fire marshal administers fire code enforcement activities and reports to the fire marshal. The testing process was conducted at City Hall on October 30, 2013, which included a written assignment, a plan review exercise, and an oral interview. Three of the four candidates passed all three portions of the exam and are ranked on the Captain-Assistant Fire Marshal Promotional Register. Commissioner Villegas Bremer moved, seconded by Commissioner Soule, to approve and certify the register. The motion carried unanimously. 3.C 13-0963 Approval of Promotional Fire Lieutenant Register The Civil Service Commission approved the fire lieutenant promotional process on August 20, 2013. The process included a tactical exercise and an oral interview. Ten candidates were offered a tactical exercise preview/practice day prior to the actual test. Six candidates passed the tactical and oral interview exam and have been placed on the register in accordance with their scores. Final ranking scores range from 94.22 percent to 82.67 percent. Commissioner Soule moved, seconded by Commissioner Villegas Bremer, to approve and certify the register. The motion carried unanimously. 3.D 13-0935 Certification of Entry Level Firefighter Register Thirty (30) candidates were invited to the phase 1 suitability assessment. Of those 30, 25 candidates participated in the phase 1 suitability assessment, and 22 passed. Those 22 candidates were invited to oral interviews, 20 attended interviews and successfully passed the oral interviews. Four candidates were female and 26 were male. One candidate was Asian, 1 candidate was Pacific Islander, 1 candidate was Hispanic, and 27 were Caucasian. Nine candidates passed the written exam, physical ability test, phase 1 suitability assessment and oral interview and have been placed on the register in accordance with their scores. City of Olympia Page 2 Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes November 15, 2013 Commissioner Soule moved, seconded by Commissioner Villegas Bremer, to approve and certify the register. The motion carried unanimously. 3.E 13-0968 Removal of Names from Entry Level Police Officer Register Ms. Cleveland explained that Chief Roberts requested one name be removed from the Entry Level Police Officer Register. The specific reasons for removal were reviewed by the Secretary-Examiner, and the reason was determined to be supported by factual and verifiable information. The candidate was notified in writing and, as of November 8, 2013, no written appeal was received. The report was received. 3.F 13-0969 Request for Rule Change - Rule VI - Certification and Probationary Period - Status of Eligible Candidates Not Selected for Appointment Staff recommends an additional option be added for removal of names from the register. The rule would state: Status of Eligible Candidates Not Selected for Appointment: Eligible persons certified but not selected for appointment by the appointing authority retain their positions on registers and shall be recertified in response to subsequent personnel requisitions. When the name of an eligible person has been certified three times and has not been appointed, the appointing authority may request to the Commission that the eligible person’s name be removed from the register within five (5) working days of the last certification. Olympia Police Department has discovered in the process of testing that applicants may successfully complete the testing and background process, but yet may not be suitable for the position of police officer for other reasons . The chief of police is responsible for the hiring determination and is concerned with overall fit in the agency, maturity of the applicants, and needs of the community. This hiring decision is based on the rule of three afforded to the chief of police. During times of high turnover, it is possible for the chief to be limited on his access to qualified applicants because of the rule of three. For example, the top three applicants on the register have been “passed over,” but now occupy the top three positions on a list, and only one job opening exists. Commissioner Villegas Bremer moved, seconded by Commissioner Soule, to approve the amended changes. The motion carried unanimously. 4. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 4:38 p.m. City of Olympia Page 3