Civil Service Commission

TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 1 CONVENE: 5:30 p.m. PRESENT: Chair Simon Tee and Commissioner Blake Chard. Staff: Secretary/Chief Examiner Michelle Sutherland, Police Chief Jon Weiks, Fire Chief Brian Hurley, and Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Crimmins. CHANGES TO Members and staff discussed the appointment process of the Secretary/Chief AGENDA: Examiner. Commissioner Chard cited City code, which defers to the state code depicting the appointment of the Secretary/Chief Examiner by the Commission from among qualified City employees selected and recommended by the Mayor. Commissioner Chard recommended researching the process and adding the topic to the next month’s agenda if necessary. APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 MINUTES: MOTION: Chair Tee moved, seconded by Commissioner Chard, to approve the minutes of September 14, 2023 as published. A voice vote approved the motion. STATUS OF Chief Examiner Sutherland updated the Commission on the status of the ELIGIBILITY eligibility lists as of October 2023. The Commission will be requested to LISTS: consider an extension of the Firefighter Entry List. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland reported the proposed list includes five new names ENTRY LEVEL totaling 12 names on the list. Four names are proposed for removal from the POLICE list. Three of the candidates failed the Chief’s interview and the fourth ELIGIBILITY candidate failed a background investigation. LIST: MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the Entry Level Police Eligibility List as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland reported two candidates are proposed for addition LATERAL POLICE to the Lateral Police Eligibility List, which previously expired. OFFICE ELIGIBILITY Chair Tee inquired about the qualifications of the two candidates. Police Chief LIST: Weiks advised eligibility on the list requires the candidate to be employed by another law enforcement agency with at least two years of service from any law enforcement agency in the country. The Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center determines whether to accept police academy training provided by other states. MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 2 Lateral Police Officer Eligibility List as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland advised of three candidates proposed for addition POLICE SERVICES to the list for a total of five candidates on the list. Six female and six male SPECIALIST I applicants applied for testing. Four applicants passed Phase 1 of the testing ELIGIBILITY process and three applicants passed Phase 2 of the testing process. LIST: MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the Police Services Specialist 1 Eligibility List as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland referred to information in the agenda packet POLICE SERVICES outlining the written exam plan components for the position. The written SPECIALIST II exam represents 30% and the oral examination represents 70% of the total EXAM PLAN: score. The minimum passing score is 70%. Police Chief Weiks said the proposed exam plan is the identical plan used last year. The applicant who was hired from the original list suffered an injury and was unable to return to work. The list has since expired requiring the approval of a new examination test to create a new continuous list. MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the Police Services Specialist II Exam Plan as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland reported the request is an extension of the Entry EXTENDING THE Level Firefighter Eligibility List from November 2023 to November 2024. ENTRY LEVEL FIREFIGHTER Fire Chief Hurley noted that the Fire Department typically conducts an annual ELIGIBILITY recruitment and testing process but because of staffing demands and employee LIST: turnover in the City that process was delayed earlier in the year. The Commission previously approved the testing process; however, a list resulting from that testing process would not be established until April 2024. In the interim, the department would like to have access to the existing list. MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the extension of the Entry Level Firefighter Eligibility List as requested. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland reported the exam was conducted in September FIRE 2023. Two candidates are proposed for inclusion on the Fire Department DEPARTMENT Assistant II Eligibility List. ASSISTANT II ELIGIBILITY LIST: TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 3 MOTION: Chair Tee moved, seconded by Commissioner Chard, to approve the Fire Department Assistant II Eligibility List as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland reported the oral board to establish the Lateral LATERAL Paramedic Eligibility List was conducted on Monday, October 9, 2023. The PARAMEDIC request is for approval of the Lateral Paramedic Eligibility List to include the ELIGIBILITY name of one candidate. LIST: Fire Chief Hurley noted that an entry level paramedic testing process is underway that would likely result in more candidates for consideration. MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the Lateral Paramedic Eligibility List as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled on Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. DATE: OTHER BUSINESS: Fire Chief Hurley thanked the Commission for approval of the Department Assistant eligibility list, as the position has been vacant for approximately three years. The entry level paramedic testing process is scheduled to begin and likely will result in an appointment of one candidate to fill one vacant position. Two positions will become vacant next year because of retirements. Police Chief Weiks reported the department has three police officer vacancies with two appointees attending the policy academy with graduation anticipated next month. One new hire is scheduled to attend the police academy on November 1, 2023. Of the list approved by the Commission, the department has scheduled five interviews of entry level police officer candidates. The department is conducting a background investigation of one candidate for the front office position. Two other remaining candidates eligible to participate in the Chief’s interview withdrew from the interview. Chair Tee welcomed Chief Examiner Sutherland. ADJOURNMENT: Chair Tee moved, seconded by Commissioner Chard, to adjourn the meeting at 5:55 p.m. A voice vote approved the motion. _________________________ ___________________________________ Simon Tee, Chair Michelle Sutherland, Secretary Chief Examiner Prepared by Valerie L. Gow, Recording Secretary/President Puget Sound Meeting Services, psmsoly@earthlink.net