Civil Service Commission




      TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING AUGUST 8, 2024 Page 1 CONVENE: 5:32 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 Chief Examiner Sutherland requested substitution of the agenda with an AGENDA: updated version revising several agenda topics to reflect proposed actions accurately. MOTION: Chair Tee moved, seconded by Commissioner Chard, to approve the revised agenda as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES: JULY 11, 2024 MINUTES: MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the minutes of July 11, 2024 as published. A voice vote approved the motion. STATUS OF Chief Examiner Sutherland reviewed the status of the eligibility lists. ELIGIBILITY New lists proposed include Fire Department Assistant II effective LISTS: August 2024 through August 2025 and Firefighter Paramedic effective August 2024 through August 2025. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland advised of seven proposed candidates to add ENTRY LEVEL to the eligibility list. Two candidates are proposed for removal from list POLICE OFFICER as their time has expired. ELIGIBILITY LIST: MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the Entry Level Police Officer Eligibility List for August 2024 as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland reported two candidates are proposed for FIRE placement on the Fire Department Assistant II list. The request is for DEPARTMENT approval of the proposed list effective August 2024 through August ASSISTANT II 2025. ELIGIBILITY LIST: 


      TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING AUGUST 8, 2024 Page 2 MOTION: Chair Tee moved, seconded by Commissioner Chard, to approve the Eligibility List for Fire Department Assistant II as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland requested approval of the Paramedic PARAMEDIC Firefighter Exam Plan. The test is comprised of Phase 1, an application FIREFIGHTER review followed by oral boards scheduled on September 6, 2024 and a EXAM PLAN: Paramedic oral board on September 6, 2024. The oral boards are administered by the Tumwater Fire Department. Chair Tee inquired as to whether there have been any changes to the exam plan since the Commission approved the previous plan. Assistant Fire Chief Crimmins advised that the testing exam process has been revised. Traditionally, Medic One completed entry level testing. Medic One has transitioned the testing to all ALS agencies in the county to complete. The fire department will be responsible for recruiting paramedics and administering the three step testing process. Fire Chief Hurley added that previously, when paramedics were hired, the candidates were vetted by Medic One and then each candidate applied to their agency of choice. The change removes the vetting process by Medic One with each agency responsible for recruiting and testing. Following completion of that process, Medic One will then vet each candidate on his or her respective paramedic skills. Commissioner Chard asked whether staff anticipates candidates applying to all three agencies requiring each candidate to complete the testing process by each agency. Fire Chief Hurley affirmed each candidate could elect to apply to each agency. Medic One is sponsoring an Advanced Life Support Academy with each successful candidate completing a defined process regardless of the hiring agency. The entry point for candidates has been changed to agencies rather than to Medic One. All candidates will participate in one evaluation process for vetting by Medic One’s Medical Program Director. Chair Tee inquired about the purpose of changing the process. Fire Chief Hurley advised that Medic One previously vetted candidates and successful candidates then applied for a position at one of the agencies. The agencies believe it is more appropriate for each agency to recruit and test as a way to increase the number of applicants participating in the process. MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the Paramedic Firefighter Exam Plan as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. 


      TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING AUGUST 8, 2024 Page 3 APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland advised of the proposed removal of one PARAMEDIC candidate from the list. The request is for approval of the Paramedic FIREFIGHTER Firefighter Eligibility List as presented for August 2024. The candidate ELIGIBILITY failed the Chief’s interview. LIST: MOTION: Chair Tee moved, seconded by Commissioner Chard, to approve the Paramedic Firefighter Eligibility List as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland said the exam plan is for continuous LATERAL recruitment for Lateral Paramedic Firefighter positions. Phase 1 is the PARAMEDIC application review with Phase 2 comprised of oral boards requiring a FIREFIGHTER 70% minimum passing score. Phase 3 is the paramedic oral board EXAM PLAN: requiring a 70% minimum passing score. The request is for approval of the Lateral Paramedic Firefighter Exam Plan for continuous recruitment. Chair Tee asked whether the exam plan is identical to the plan just approved by the Commission. Assistant Fire Chief Crimmins affirmed the exam plans are identical. MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the Lateral Paramedic Firefighter Exam Plan as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. APPROVAL OF Chief Examiner Sutherland presented the proposed scoring criteria for PARAMEDIC the Paramedic oral board. A passing score is a minimum of 70% overall ORAL BOARD with a minimum 10% required for each testing dimension. SCORING CRITERIA: Chair Tee asked whether any previous scoring criteria were different from the proposed scoring criteria. Assistant Fire Chief Crimmins said the proposal is an element of the new testing and hiring process for Paramedics. The proposal is Phase 3 of the entry level and lateral paramedic exam plan and is a new process. Raters have the ability to score fractionally as well. The exam ensures paramedic candidates meet the minimum criteria. Subjectivity has been removed from the criteria to ensure fairness for all applicants. Chair Tee inquired as to the process the oral board undertakes such as separate scoring by each oral board member or a consensus of the entire board. Assistant Fire Chief Crimmins explained that the process would be aligned with other oral boards using a consensus scoring process. Fire Chief Hurley said the oral board process does not approve the candidate to work as a paramedic in Thurston County. As the department works through the hiring process of investing time and resources, the department wants some assurance that each candidate has 


      TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING AUGUST 8, 2024 Page 4 the basic skill qualifications for Thurston County to move forward in the process. The proposal provides an efficient method for the department to screen candidates. Commissioner Chard asked about the assignment of oral board members. Assistant Fire Chief Crimmins advised that Medic One Medical Services Officer Alex Bates serves as a member of the oral board in addition to one of the department’s Paramedic Lieutenants and another Paramedic. All three paramedics are subject matter experts and will assess the qualifications of lateral and entry level paramedic candidates. Chair Tee asked whether there has been any consideration of inviting paramedics from different districts to participate on the oral board. Assistant Fire Chief Crimmins affirmed the possibility but that it would also be dependent on availability. The department could contact Lacey and Olympia and request participation. MOTION: Commissioner Chard moved, seconded by Chair Tee, to approve the Paramedic Oral Board Scoring Criteria as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. UPDATES: Fire Chief Hurley reported on the status of negotiations with Medic One to add an additional medic unit in the county. Medic One agreed to place the medic unit in Tumwater. The intent of an additional unit is the ability to create a pool of applicants. The fire department is moving forward to fill the Department Assistant position. At the September meeting, a proposal will be provided on candidates for the Fire Prevention Officer Eligibility List. Police Chief Weiks reported on the status of staffing at the police department. One officer recently completed the department’s field training program and is performing solo patrol duties. Another officer recently graduated from the basic law enforcement academy and is participating in post academy training prior to participating in the department’s field training program. Another officer is scheduled to graduate from the academy by the end of the month followed by another officer’s graduation in September. The department, at that point, would have two officer vacancies. Two individuals are currently participating in the background review process. Dependent upon the outcome of the two applicants, the department may achieve full staffing by September. NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled on September 12, 2024. DATE: ADJOURNMENT: Chair Tee moved, seconded by Commissioner Chard, to adjourn 


      TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING AUGUST 8, 2024 Page 5 the meeting at 5:59 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