Civil Service Commission




        TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING FEBRUARY 13, 2025 Page 1 CONVENE: 5:30 p.m. PRESENT: Chair Blake Chard and Commissioner Pat Schneider. Staff: Secretary/Chief Examiner Michelle Sutherland, Fire Chief Brian Hurley, Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Crimmins., and Deputy Police Chief Jay Mason. CHANGES TO The Commission approved a request to add a Battalion Fire Chief AGENDA: Eligibility List to the agenda. APPROVAL OF CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES – JANUARY 9, 2025: MOTION: Commissioner Schneider moved, seconded by Chair Chard, to approve the minutes of January 9, 2025 as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. STATUS OF Chief Examiner Sutherland reviewed the status of the eligibility lists. FEBRUARY Active and continuous lists remain effective. A Battalion Fire Chief ELIGIBILITY LISTS: Eligibility List is scheduled for expiration in February. A Fire Lieutenant Promotional Eligibility List was added to the list. There are no other changes proposed to the lists. MOTION: Commissioner Schneider moved, seconded by Chair Chard, to approve the February Eligibility Lists as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. ENTRY LEVEL Chief Examiner Sutherland reported six candidates are proposed for POLICE addition on the list. No names are proposed for removal from the list. ELIGIBILITY: The new list contains 25 candidates. MOTION: Commissioner Schneider moved, seconded by Chair Chard, to approve the Entry Level Police Officer Eligibility List as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. FIRE LIEUTENANT Chief Examiner Sutherland reported the proposal includes the addition ELIGIBILITY LIST: of nine candidates to the list, which is effective through February 2026. MOTION: Commissioner Schneider moved, seconded by Chair Chard, to approve the Fire Lieutenant Eligibility List as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. PARAMEDIC Chief Examiner Sutherland presented the proposed list with the 


        TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING FEBRUARY 13, 2025 Page 2 LIEUTENANT ENTRY addition of three candidates. The list expires in February 2026. Staff LEVEL ELIGIBILITY is seeking approval of the Paramedic Lieutenant Entry Level Eligibility LIST: List as presented. Chair Chard questioned the inclusion of the same three candidates who are also included on the Fire Lieutenant Eligibility List. Fire Chief Hurley explained that all candidates testing either for the Paramedic Lieutenant or Fire Lieutenant positions must complete a tactical employee assessment. Candidates wishing to be considered for the Paramedic Lieutenant position must complete an oral board. All candidates must qualify as a Fire Lieutenant. MOTION: Commissioner Schneider moved, seconded by Chair Chard, to approve the Paramedic Lieutenant Entry Level Eligibility List as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. PARAMEDIC Chief Examiner Sutherland said the Paramedic Firefighter Eligibility FIREFIGHTER List is a continuous list. ELIGIBILITY LIST UPDATE: Fire Chief Hurley advised that the notation on the list of candidates “removed in error” was the result of an oversight when several other candidates were removed from the list in January. Inadvertently, several other candidates were also removed from the list. Those candidates should remain on the list that expires in December 2025. MOTION: Commissioner Schneider moved, seconded by Chair Chard, to approve the Paramedic Firefighter Eligibility List as corrected. A voice vote approved the motion. PROBATIONARY Chief Examiner Sutherland reported the proposal is for approval of an PERIOD EXTENSION: extension of the probationary period of Firefighter Christian Metzler to end after his shift on September 19, 2025. Firefighter Metzler was hired in May 2024 and suffered an injury while attending the fire academy. He was subsequently placed on medical leave until returning to light duty. The Department is requesting the extension of firefighter Metzler’s probationary period to account for the time on medical leave. Fire Chief Hurley added that ideally, candidates should be working during the probationary period of one year. If an individual is on medical leave or absent for other circumstances for an extended period, it is common for the fire department to request an extension of the probationary period. Commissioner Schneider asked whether other employees would be assuming some of the job responsibilities if the individual is unable to perform all duties during the probationary period. Fire Chief Hurley 


        TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING FEBRUARY 13, 2025 Page 3 responded that if the firefighter is scheduled as part of a shift of minimum staffing of 11 personnel and was unable to perform all duties, the shift would need to be backfilled with another firefighter working overtime. However, when the individual returned to light duty and was unable to respond in the capacity as a firefighter, the individual was able to accomplish other projects and tasks that related to the position during the probationary period. When an individual is unable to work a full shift, the fire department must often cover the position through overtime support. It is not uncommon for the department to experience absences of extended periods of personnel for injuries, personal matters, and other reasons. In all cases, the Fire Department must maintain minimum staffing. The fire department did not experience an undue burden for this particular incident. MOTION: Chair Chard moved, seconded by Commissioner Schneider, to approve extension of the probationary period of Firefighter Christian Metzler to September 19, 2025. A voice vote approved the motion. PUBLIC SAFETY Chief Examiner Sutherland reported Public Safety Testing notified the TESTING City along with other entities in the state that it is transitioning to a new TRANSITION: exam for police officers effective March 1, 2025. The company recommends the City of Tumwater continue to use the existing eligibility list for police officers until the list expires or no longer contains any names. Concurrently, when new testing occurs after March 1, 2025, any candidates will be added to the existing list until the list expires. Commissioner Schneider questioned the differences between the tests. Chief Examiner Sutherland said the new test is transitioning to the Guardian Selection Inventory (GSI), which is designed to evaluate a broader range of essential traits for success in modern public safety roles providing for an approved evaluation of a candidate’s suitability for those positions. Commissioner Schneider asked whether the new test would better align testing standards with other cities, such as Olympia or Lacey. Deputy Police Chief Mason advised that Public Safety Testing provides standardized testing across the state. Periodically, the testing is evaluated against changes in the industry and updated. The City has utilized the services provided by Public Safety Testing for nearly two decades. Commissioner Schneider asked about the possibility of receiving a copy of the old and new tests for her own edification. Deputy Police Chief Mason advised that it is unlikely the company would release copies of the tests. 


        TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING FEBRUARY 13, 2025 Page 4 RECLASSIFICATION Chief Examiner Sutherland requested approval of the reclassification of TO EXECUTIVE the Administrative Assistant in Fire to Executive Assistant. She ASSISTANT, WITH referred to an updated position description for the Commission’s CLASS review. SPECIFICATION: Commissioner Schneider reported she compared the updated position description for the Executive Assistant to the Administrative Assistant position description and found that the revised description provided more clarity and clearly defined the higher level of executive level of support, policy development, and departmental leadership for the Executive Assistant versus the Administrative Assistant. She appreciated receiving the updated position description. MOTION: Chair Chard moved, seconded by Commissioner Schneider, to approve the reclassification of the Administrative Assistant to Executive Assistant, Fire as presented. FIRE DEPARTMENT Chief Examiner Sutherland requested approval of the proposed testing TRAINING plan for the Training Lieutenant position in the fire department LIEUTENANT effective February 14, 2025 for a job posting with a closing date of TESTING PLAN: February 25, 2025. Candidate screening is scheduled followed by the oral board. Fire Chief Hurley advised that the current Training Lieutenant recently announced his retirement effective the end of February. The retirement has created the need to fill the training position within the fire department. MOTION: Chair Chard moved, seconded by Commissioner Schneider, to approve the Training Lieutenant Testing Plan as presented. A voice vote approved the motion. BATTALION FIRE Chief Examiner Sutherland requested consideration of extending the CHIEF ELIGIBILITY current Battalion Fire Chief Eligibility List to February 2026. LIST: Fire Chief Hurley said the request is only for an extension. The list was originally approved in March 2024. Because of alternating testing for Battalion Fire Chief and Fire Lieutenant positions, the fire department would like extend the list acknowledging that no positions are currently open. However, the department would like to retain the list for another year in the event a position becomes available. MOTION: Chair Chard moved, seconded by Commissioner Schneider, to approve extension of the Battalion Fire Chief Eligibility List to February 2026 as requested. A voice vote approved the motion. 


        TUMWATER CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES OF VIRTUAL MEETING FEBRUARY 13, 2025 Page 5 UPDATES: Deputy Police Chief Mason reported on the announcement of Police Chief Weiks retirement after 37 years with the City of Tumwater Police Department effective at the end of February 2025. The department is moving forward to fill the position. The department completed an assessment center exam for the Sargent position. The Commission approved the exam plan in December 2024. Results of the exam will be presented to the Commission at its March meeting. Currently, five new police officers are in process with one officer scheduled to attend the academy, a lateral officer scheduled to attend the lateral academy, and three officers completing the hiring process. Fire Chief Hurley reported on the completion of the Fire Lieutenant testing. The department was pleased with the number of candidates interested in the position. Many of the newer employees over the last five years expressed interest in assuming leadership roles. Fire Training Lieutenant Jon Kalar recently announced his retirement. Lieutenant Kalar has been a member of the fire department for many years. The department hired several Paramedics to staff the new medic unit at the end of 2025. The group of ten, with the exception of one new hire, have been attending the Advanced Life Support Academy, a medical academy on Thurston County protocols. The academy is scheduled to end on February 20, 2025. The five lateral candidates will return to the fire department for onboarding. The remaining five employees are scheduled to attend the South Sound Academy sponsored by Lacey Fire District 3, a 16-week fire academy scheduled to conclude in June 2025. NEXT MEETING The next meeting is scheduled on Thursday, March 13, 2025. DATE: ADJOURNMENT: With no further business, Chair Chard, to adjourn the meeting at 5:58 p.m. _________________________ ___________________________________ Blake Chard, Chair Michelle Sutherland, Secretary Chief Examiner Prepared by Valerie L. Gow, Recording Secretary/President Puget Sound Meeting Services, psmsoly@earthlink.net