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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Civil Services Commission - 01/19/1989 CITY OF KENT CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES JANUARY 19, 1989 Members Present: Bob Jarvis, Chair Robb Dreblow Also Present: Sue Viseth, Acting Secretary Sandra Driscoll , City Attorney Mike Webby, Assistant City Administrator Rod Frederiksen, Police Chief Norm Angelo, Fire Chief Jim Miller, Police Captain Mary Berg, Assistant Fire Chief Jed Aldridge, Assistant Fire Chief Kathy Holt, Police Officer Mark Cook, Police Officer Candidate The meeting was called to order at 8:09 a.m. by Chairman Bob Jarvis. The minutes from the December 15, 1988, meeting were approved with an amendment to page 3, which outlined the two alternatives available to the Commission in respect to filling the vacant Civil Service Secretary position. Mr. Webby advised the Commission that Alternative No. 2 should be amended to state that the Commission would recruit from within all City departments and that the competition would not be limited to the Personnel Department. The acting secretary was instructed to amend the minutes of the December 15, meeting and include them on the agenda for the February 23, Commission meeting for approval . REPORTS City Attorney - no report. Assistant City Administrator - Mike Webby wished to make the Commission aware that there was a misstatement in the letters from Ms. Kato to the Police and Fire Unions. Ms. Kato's letter indicated that the competition for the Civil Service Secretary position would not be open to all City personnel . Mr. Webby clarified again for the Commission and the Unions that the intent was to open the competition to all City employees including, but not limited to, the staff in the Personnel Department. Fire Chief Angelo reported that six of his probationary firefighters had been promoted to Firefighter 3rd Class, effective 1/19/89. Letters were submitted to the Board Secretary at the beginning of the meeting. Chief Angelo also informed the Commission of the upcoming assessment center for Battalion Chief. A complete report on the progress of the assessment center would be given by Chief Berg under new business. Chief Angelo asked the Commission to consider moving the February meeting from the 16th to the 23rd due to a conflict with the Battalion Chief Assessment Center. Police Chief - no report. OLD BUSINESS Selection of Civil Service Secretary Chairman Jarvis moved to accept to the record letters from the Police and Fire Unions and the Police Chief regarding the selection of a new Civil Service Secretary. The motion was seconded and approved. Mr. Dreblow acknowledged receipt of the letters and made the following motion: that the competition for the Civil Service Secretary position be opened to all qualified citizens of the City of Kent and that a three member panel be established to interview the finalist and make their recommendation to the Commission. The panel would be comprised of one representative from the Civil Service Commission, one representative from the Personnel Department (Mike Webby or his designee) and one representative from the Mayor' s staff appointed by the Mayor. The motion was seconded and approved by the Commission. The Personnel Department was directed to open recruitment for the position and provide the Commission with a list of qualified applicants. NEW BUSINESS Appeal from Mark Cook, Police Officer Applicant Chairman Jarvis swore in both Police Chief Frederiksen and Mark Cook and asked for testimony on the appeal . Chief Frederiksen testified before the Commission that based on a medical report from Dr. Touffers, dated 1/3/89, Mr. Cook is not qualified for the position of police officer due to a heart murmur. The medical report was submitted to the Commission as part of the record. Chief Frederiksen further stated that Dr. Touffers is the Department doctor and familiar with the LEOFF I standards that have been used over the years. The Department chooses to use LEOFF I standards which are more stringent over LEOFF II standards due to the change in the contractural agreement with the Police Union which now provides for six months of disability leave for an on-the-job injury for LEOFF II officers. For this reason Chief Frederiksen felt that the Department must maintain the high standards they have in the past. Chief Frederiksen also made reference to a letter from Mr. Cook's doctor which indicates that he is able to perform the duties of police officer. Mr. Cook then spoke before the Commission and provided two doctor' s report and one report from a cardiologist. Mr. Cook further explained that the first letter from Dr. Muir stated that the heart murmur was a mild condition and after consulting with a cardiologist did not feel that there would be any complications in the future as there are currently no symptoms and the condition has been stable for the past 20 years. Mr. Cook informed the Commission that he is currently in the selection process with the City of Seattle and upon hearing that he had been disqualified in Kent, the City of Seattle scheduled him for a special medical exam with Dr. Petri to determine if the heart murmur was a problem. Dr. Petri states in his letter that he does not feel the heart murmur is clinically significant and gave the Seattle Police Department the authorization to hire him. - 2 - The third letter is from the cardiologist which collaborates Dr. Muir and Dr. Petris' findings. Mr. Cook also pointed out to the Commission that in 1982 a police officer candidate named Paul Peter had a mitral valve prolapse and a deformed heart. He was disqualified and appealed the disqualification to the Civil Service Commission. The appeal was successful and Paul Peter was consequently hired and is now serving his 7th year with the City of Kent Police Department. Therefore, Mr. Cook stated, mitral valve prolapse is not necessarily a mandatory disqualification. Mr. Cook further stated that with three doctors that have stated that his condition is not a problem and will not be a problem in the future and on the basis that the Department has already hired someone with this condition, he feels that disqualification is unjustified. Mr. Dreblow asked Chief Frederiksen if the LEOFF standards had changed over the years. Chief Frederiksen responded that to the best of his knowledge the standards had not changed during the seven year period in question. After hearing testimony from both Chief Frederiksen and Mr. Cook, Chairman Jarvis and Mr. Dreblow agreed to postpone the decision on the matter until further information could be provided. Mr. Dreblow wished to further study the matter due to the discrepancy in the medical reports. At this point Mr. Cook advised Mr. Dreblow that the reason Dr. Touffers disqualified him was because he was bound by the LEOFF I standards and couldn't consider the additional medical information that Mr. Cook provided. Mr. Jarvis moved to continue the hearing in an effort to gather additional information for the February 23 meeting. The motion was seconded and approved. Chairman Jarvis also moved to change the meeting from February 16 to February 23. The motion was seconded and approved. Chairman Jarvis moved to approve the letters from Chief Frederiksen to the newly hired police officers: Otto Oriye Kevin Eades Paul Petersen Kenneth Thomas Steven Dennis Harry Bigalke Charles Smith Eugene Pearce The motion was seconded and approved. The Secretary presented the Commission with memos from Assistant Fire Chief Jed Aldridge notifying the Commission of the promotion of the following firefighters to the rank of Firefighter 3rd Class: Scott Howard, Martin Smail , Mike Lant, Kurt Self, Steve Parson, and Paul Moffat. These promotions are effective January 19, 1989. Mr. Dreblow motioned to accept the memos into the record. The motion was seconded and approved. Assistant Fire Chief Mary Berg provided the Commission with an overview of the Battalion Chief selection process. At the present time there are seven lieutenants who desire to take the Battalion Chief exam. However, only six will be taken to the - 3 - w�. Assessment Center. An oral resume will be conducted on February 1 to determine the six that will proceed to the Assessment Center on February 15. The Assessment Center will consist of a written report, oral presentation, tactical problem, personnel problem, in-basket exercise and a cooperative group exercise. Chairman Jarvis thanked Chief Berg for the information regarding the upcoming Assessment Center. Chairman Jarvis then moved that the Commission go into Executive Session to further discuss the matter of the Cook appeal . The motion was seconded and approved. The Commission then broke for Executive Session. The Commission returned from Executive Session and adjourned at 8:50 a.m. Respectfully(submitted,Acting Secretary and Chief Examiner o arvis, �airman 390V-01V - 4 -