HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Civil Services Commission - 11/19/1981 KENT CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
November 19, 1981
The regular meeting was called to order by Acting Chairman, Donald Whitener. In
attendance were: Commission member Terry Yahn; and Chief Angelo, Deputy Chief
Berg, Assistant Chief Fronsdahl and Firefighter/Mechanic Woodin, from the Fire De-
partment and Captain Byerly, Captain Rees and Officer Holt representing the Police
Department. Administrative Assistant Webby made a brief appearance but left because
of other commitment..
The minutes of the October 15, 1981 meeting were approved as submitted.
Captain Rees stated it is very important a potential sergeant possesses the technical
skills and knowledge that are necessary in a supervisory position; therefore, he re-
quested a test for technical skills which has been developed in order to obtain a
workable number of candidates to go on to the assessment center for sergeant. It
was moved and seconded to approve a technical skills test for the sergeant's exami-
nation. Motion carried.
Chief Angelo reported that the written exam for Firefighter is scheduled for Monday,
November 23, with 375 applicants to take the exam at Kentridge Senior High School.
As noted by Chief Berg, the charge for the use of the facility is $15.34 an hour.
Captain Byerly brought the Commission up to date on the Law Enforcement Officer
testing process. The physical agility and written exam were held on October 24 with
54 out of 88 participating in the physical agility, 13 using their previous written
• scores, and 25 taking the written exam. The oral board is being conducted today.
It was moved and seconded to confirm the approval of the Eligibility List. Motion
carried.
The letter of November 19, 1981 from Assistant Chief Fronsdahl in refererance
to Firefighter King's request for early 1st Class test was read. Chief Angelo and
Chief Berg concurred with the recommendation of denial, which was done after
thorough research by Chief Fronsdahl. Based on the recommendations of Chief
Angelo, Chief Berg and Chief Fronsdahl and the clarification from William Zigalla
of Fire District #39, it was moved and seconded to deny Firefighter King's request.
Motion carried.
Assistant Chief Fronsdahl pointed out that according to the minutes of September 18,
1980, Chief Foster's request for changing the maximum period of provisional and
temporary appointments from four (4) to six (6) months was approved, but has been
changed only in regard to the "provisional" appointment but not the "temporary"
appointment. It was determined it was an oversight and will be corrected by the
Secretary.
The letter to Officer James D. Towne from Chief Skewes, notifying him of his
provisional appointment to Sergeant effective date unknown. It was moved and
seconded to accept the letter into the record. Motion carried.
• The letters of October 27 and 28, 1981 respectively to Steven W. Hunt and William
H. Mitchell notifying them of their certification as Patrolman C-leffective October 28,
1981 were read. It was moved and seconded to accept the letters into the record.
Motion carried.
Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes - Page 2
November 19, 1981
The letter from Captain Rees to the Commission, copies of which were sent to the
members, pertaining to the police administration's recommendation for qualifica-
tions for the position of Lieutenant, was brought up for discussion. Captain Rees
explained that since it has been 4 or 5 years since the last lieutenant examination,
they have proposed a change in the qualifications to more adequately meet the needs
of the department. When Commissioner Whitener questioned that there was no re-
quirement for the Washington State Law Enforcement Training Commission Basic
Academy, Captain Rees clarified that state law requires all police officers to suc-
cessfully complete the WSLETC Basic Academy within fifteen months. Mr. Whitener
also questioned whether five years experience is equivalent to three years as a
sergeant. Captain Byerly responded that if an officer has been on the Kent Police
Department for 4 to 5 years, he probably has been working in a supervisory position
and many officers who qualify for lieutenant, in the most part, have been functioning
as supervisors. Officer Holt, pres-ddent of the Kent Police Guild, said he had
polled most of the members of the Guild and most are in agreement with the recom-
mendations. He further stated that an officer is often assigned as assistant shift
supervisor, a non-Civil Service position. Commissioner Whitener said he approved
Section I of the recommendations, but not Section II. Commissioner Yahn requested
a letter from the Guild and stated that he was not totally comfortable with Section II
and would like a full-bodied Commission to act on the decision. It was moved and
seconded to table the issue until the next meeting with the presence of a complete
Commission and a letter from the Guild. Motion carried. i
Secretary noted that we are following Rule IX, Section 3, when administering the
• Firefighter exams by concealing the identity of examinees, but because the WSCJTC
testing process requires full identification by name, social security number, sex,
birthdate, ethnic origin and the agency for whom he is testing, on the answer sheet
which is scored by computer, the identity of police applicants cannot be concealed.
Secretary was instructed to contact Attorney Mirk about the problem and bring his
advice to the next meeting.
The letter received this morning from Dave Brown, Firef ighter applicant, request-
ing reconsideration of the rejection of his application because he did not fully com-
plete the addresses of his references, was read. Secretary explained that she told
Mr. Brown that the Fire Department is performing background investigations on
applicants and a complete address is necessary. It was moved and seconded to con-
cur with the Secretary-Chief Examiner's disqualification of the applicant, to accept
the letter into the record and invite him to re-apply for the next exam. Motion carried.
A letter from Chief Fronsdahl received during the meeting was read. Because of the
loose interpretation of the requirements for Firefighter 1st Class, he proposed the
following:
Rule VIII, Section 4. "FIREFIGHTER 1st. CLASS":
2 - An applicant may receive one (1) month credit for each month of
employment as a full paid firefighter in a fire department:approved
by the Civil Service Commission. Applicant must provide conclusive
proof of such service with a satisfactory record;
• and/or;
An applicant may receive one (1) month credit for each tWo (2) months
of school in a course of fire science. To receive such credit the
school must be a vocational type school where the major portion of
i
Civil Service Commission Meeting Minutes - Page 3
November 19, 1981
the students' experience came from hands on manipulative training.
The applicant must provide conclusive proof of such educational
claim. The course as presented by the educational facility of the
Tacoma Vocational Technical Institute and the Spokane Community
College are approved; provided, however, a maximum of twelve (12)
months credit may be earned in this manner.
3 - Applicant must have prior approval from the Joint Apprenticeship
and Training Committee (JATC) to receive credit.
The Firefighter Union is to be notified of this proposed change which will be acted
upon at the next regular meeting.
At this time the meeting went inot executive session as requested by the Police Depart-
ment.
When the meeting reconvened, the next meeting date was set for December 17, 1981
at 8:00 a.m. at Fire Station Headquarters.
Meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
• Amy E. Kato
Secretary and Chief Examiner
Approved:
Donald Whitener
Acting Chairman