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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Civil Services Commission - 01/14/1982 KENT CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES January 14, 1982 This special meeting was called to order by Chairman T. Richard Ried in the City Council Chambers at 11:40 a.m. In attendance were: Commission members Donald Whitener and Terry Yahn;'Chief Angelo, Acting Assistant Chief Fronsdahl and Firefighter/Mechanic Woodin from the Fire Department and Chief Skewes and Captain Rees from the Police Department. The minutes of the December 17, 1982 meeting were approved as submitted. It was moved and seconded to confirm the telephone poll of the Commission con- ducted by the Secretary on December 17, 1981 to approve the examination for Assistant Chief. Motion carried. 1 !Y Commissioner Whitener noted that^his comments at the last meeting were inappro- priate and it would be easy to misinterpret that he didn't have confidence or respect for the chiefs of the Police or Fire Departments. He didn't want that impression as he has a high regard for both chiefs and a great deal of confidence in our Police and Fire Departments. He also expressed his feelings that he still has some con- cerns about the sergeant, lieutenant and captain's qualifications. Referring to Part H of the proposed changes, the part that bothers him is that we will accept one year of experience for two years (equivalent of 90 hours) of college. He stated that when an officer reaches the lieutenant level it should be mandatory they have the 2 years; that there should be a minimum requirement for lieutenant of a 4-year degree and should not substitute for those years. He fears that someone from .some other area of the country could come in with 12 months'service, 2 years of college • and 4 years of experience could downgrade the lieutenant's position at a tima when most organizations are upgrading their positions. Chief Skewes replied he is in agree- ment with the educational requirement, but he said that when the lieutenant position was made available in the budget, it was apparent that something had to be done to bring the qualifications to what the job is today consistent with the rule changes, also to make certain the qualifications established were from job analysis. He further stated that the testing process plus the probationary period will rule out any unquali- fied candidate and reiterated again that he is trying to get the best candidate available to the department at that time. He said that the firm that did the job analysis on all the jobs in the city felt that we could not justify the 2-year degree. Setting the re- quirements to be consistent with the changes the Commission has made, we do not keep good candidates out because it is not job related. He said the Captains put the qualifications together based on job analysis and brought it to him and he supports it. The Chairman said he went along with this, but he questioned what is a "successful completion of course work in police science. ." ? It was agreed to insert "equivalent of 45 quarter hours". Chief &ewes added that if the Commission does validate a 2-year degree, he would be willing to participate, to which the Chairman commented :.. that it would be a goal to work toward. Mr. Whitener said his priority is still "experience", that a person with four years' experience would step in as a super- visor and he feels a lieutenant should have a full five years' experience. Chairman responded that because of the testing procedures we go through now whether the one year would make a difference, it would be weeded out during the testing process and interview. Chief Skewes added that if they are equal candidates, the one with the longer experience is going to get the job. It was moved by Mr. Yahn, seconded by Mr. Ried after Mr. Whitener's declination, to approve the rule changes submitted on October 30, 1981. Motion carried with two affirmative and one nay. Civil Service Commission meeting minutes - Page 2 January 14, 1982 The memo of January 8, 1982 from Assistant Chief Fronsdahl in reference to the lieutenant's examination for the Fire Department was read. The examination is 40 scheduled for January 15, 18, 19 and 20, 1982. Chief Fronsdahl reported there are 16 persons eligible who will be allowed to take the entire test, to give the candidates the experience of going through the entire test. He said the department is anticipating certification of the eligibility list on January 21 (regular meeting date) and appointment by February 1st. It was moved and seconded to approve the lieutenant examination for the Fire Department. Motion carried. Letters from Officers Jerald D. Beal, Mark E. Damitio, Johnnie F. Fletcher, Steven B. Koransky and Charles P. Dougherty were received and read by the Commission. Chief Skewes stated that he supported the testing process and con- cept of the screening test, which is valid and used in many testing procedures and the technical test was not to disqualify any candidate. He further stated it was received from the Criminal Justice Training Commission and there is no question of job relatedness; that a candidate should have the best technical knowl- edge to go on to the supervisory level. Captain Rees also added that it is the one they use as a source for all their questions at the academy and the test was comprised from Four separate tests received involving law enforcement: The test involved legal aspects police officers should know for actual action on the streets. Captain Rees related that the next step is the assessment center with Mr. Webby setting a target date of February 2 or 3. He further stated that the assessment center is testing for management s§ills and the eligibility list is based • oaly on the assessment center. Chairman Ried remarked that the test was con- ducted for the reason intended and the test accomplished it. Mr. Yahn questioned if there are any special courses to take to bring persons up to date, to which Chief Skewes responded that there are courses and publications available from the Attorney General's Office on criminal law and the department training officer issues bulletins on all new cases. It was moved and seconded to accept the letters into the record. Motion carried. Secretary was instructed to send a letter to each correspondent to inform them their letters have been accepted and will be discussed at our next regular meeting on the 21st of January. Chief Skewes requested the Chief Examiner publish an announcement for a police lieutenant examination which was acknowledged. At this time the meeting went into executive session as requested by Chief Angelo. Upon reconvening the meeting, it was noted that there are inconsistencies in the qualifications for Deputy Chief and Assistant Chief. Chief Angelo was requested to write his recommendations to be consistent with qualifications of all fire positions. Meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Z, e-. cg . Amy E. Kato Approved: Secretary and Chief Examiner T.-Richard Ried Chairman