Civil Service Commission

CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MEETING 5:00 p.m., July 23, 2013 City Hall 1st Floor Conference Room Commissioners: City/Department Representatives: Toni Bachman, Chairman, Present Freddie Harris, City Council Liaison, Absent Bert Fleck, Present Trey Smith, City Attorney, Absent Garrie Kellam, Absent Jeff Humphrey, Police Chief, Present Jim Campbell, Present John Cochran, Fire Chief, Present Phillip Lea, Present Tracey Cline-Pew, Human Resources, Present Meeting Minutes Chairman Toni Bachman called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. The Commission reviewed the minutes of the March meeting. Bert Fleck made a motion that the minutes be approved. Jim Campbell seconded the motion. The minutes were approved. OLD BUSINESS Civil Service Commission • Toni Bachman advised that the Rules and Regulations still needed to be carefully reviewed. Police • None. Fire Department • None. NEW BUSINESS Civil Service Commission • None. Fire Department • Chief Cochran confirmed that the entry-level testing for the Fire Department was set as follows: October 5, 2013: Tier Testing, PAT, Interviews October 12, 2013 Written Test The commissioners agreed with the times. Chief Cochran stated that his department would begin putting the entry-level packets together, advertising, ordering tests, etc.  • Chief Cochran asked Tracey Cline-Pew to get with IT and make sure that there was only one access point on the city’s website for the Civil Service Commission Rules and Regulations and she agreed to do so. Police Department • Chief Humphrey announced that Captain Davis had given his two-week notice and was retiring. Captain Davis’ retirement will open more positions at the RPD. There is currently no one on the promotional list except for the rank of Sergeant. • Chief Humphrey stated that he met with his command staff to discuss the promotional pre- requisites set forth in the Civil Service Rules and Regulations. Chief Humphrey would like to remove the six-hour English requirement, and instead offer extra credit points for education. In addition, he pointed out that the State Law allowed points for military service. Chief Humphrey explained that his troops were not lacking in reading and writing skills, and that he considered character and integrity more important. He would like to combine Appendix 1 and 5 and make changes to the information in Appendix 5. He would also like to change the “weights” in Appendix 3. Chief Humphrey proposed that there only be two phases to the promotional testing: (1) written exam; and (2) structured interviews using the B-Pad assessment. He would like the interview panel to consist of three police officers and two members of the Civil Service Commission. He stated that the B-pad assessment was the most objective assessment method. Chief Humphrey advised that he had looked at other city’s promotional testing processes and that they were all over the board. The commission discussed the history of the testing process and its evolution. Toni Bachman pointed out that using I/O solutions was a big improvement over the in-house tests that were previously used. Chief Cochran stated that the process that is currently in place evolved from 30-years of litigation, current trends, and other environmental factors. Because of this well-defined process, the City of Russellville has never been involved in a lawsuit. Chief Humphrey asked the commission to consider removing paragraph (E) on page 14 of the Civil Service Rules and Regulations. E. Although a physical and/or psychological examination is not required generally as a prerequisite to promotion, the Commission reserves the right to require any applicant for promotion to undergo a suitable physical and/or psychological examination. This is in order to determine whether the applicant can fulfill the physical and psychological functions and obligations of the rank to which such person has applied for promotion. Such examination may be required either before or after the promotional examination or during the probationary period after the promotion has been made. Bert Fleck pointed out that this paragraph allowed for the physical and/or psychological examination but did not “require” it. In case of a special situation it would be prudent to have this paragraph in the rules. Chief Humphrey will make his formal request to the Commission in regard to the changes at the next meeting. Phillip Lea made a motion that the meeting be adjourned. Bert Fleck seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 6:25 p.m.