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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCivilService 2016-07-05 AgendaCity of Tukwila Mayor's Office - David Cline, City Administrator PD Administrative Conference Room 6300 Southcenter Boulevard, Suite 205 Tukwila, WA 98188 Tuesday July 5, 2016 5:00 p.m. AGENDA CALL TO ORDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES (6/6/16) GENERAL BUSINESS a. Public Safety Plan Presentation b. Rules Revision FIRE DEPARTMENT BUSINESS a. Staffing Update b. Request to Remain on Entry-Level Firefighter List POLICE DEPARTMENT BUSINESS a. Staffing Update b. Request to Extend a Temporary Commander Appointment ADJOURNMENT Attan Ekberg, Mayor Tukwila City Hall • 6200 Southcenter Boulevard • Tukwila, WA 98188 • 206- 433 -1800 • Website: TukwilaWA.gov June 6, 2016 City of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor Mayor's Office - David Cline, City Administrator The following commissioners attended the regularly scheduled meeting of the Tukwila Civil Service Commission: Steve Wheeler and Bruce Paquette. Others in attendance were Acting Deputy Chief Rick Mitchell, Interim Fire Chief Chris Flores, Captain Dawn Judkins (IAFF Local #2088) and Kim Gilman, Civil Service Examiner. CALL TO ORDER 5:02 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Steve Wheeler called the meeting to order. The Chair asked if there were any corrections needed for the May 2nd Commission Meeting minutes. No corrections were noted. POLICE DEPARTMENT BUSINESS Staffing Update FIRE DEPARTMENT BUSINESS Staffing Update Certification of Entry Firefighter Acting Deputy Chief Rick Mitchell reported that the Department is fully staffed except for 5 personnel out on light duty due to injury. He noted that 1 entry -level officer will be headed to the Academy July 1st and that there is 1 vacancy in the Police Records division. Deputy Chief Mitchell then informed the Commission that the Department is preparing for a Police Sergeant Promotional test to be held. Commissioner Paquette thanked the Police Department for offering the Citizen's Academy and he shared with those in attendance his positive experience with the program. Chief Flores reported that the Fire Department is fully staffed and that they have 2 pipeline positions open. He reported that the Department plans to conduct Chief's interviews to hire 3 entry - level firefighter candidates soon so that they can start the Academy in the fall. He explained to the Commission that he has been very pleased with the caliber of instruction and results seen from recent firefighters that were trained by the Academy run by the Training Consortium. Chief Flores extended his thanks to the Civil Service Examiner for her work on the multiple testing and recruitment processes that the Fire Department had over the last few months. The Civil Service Examiner presented a ranked list of 17 names for the position of Entry -Level Firefighter. She explained the process for sorting 15 months worth of written test scores from PST from Tukwila City Hall • 6200 Southcenter Boulevard • Tukwila, WA 98188 • 206 - 433 -1800 • Website: TukwilaWA.gov GENERAL BUSINESS Rules Revisions highest to lowest, and then inviting the top scorers to apply. The Examiner noted that a career in the fire service remains popular and that 20 applications had been received within 24 hours of the position being posted. Captain Judkins, President of IAFF Local #2088, asked if future recruitments could allow more time to apply. The Examiner replied that the City has utilized a "first come, first served" process to schedule oral boards in the past, but that if the Department was willing to extend the number of oral board days more candidates could be seen. MOVED BY PAQUETTE, SECONDED BY WHEELER THAT THE ENTRY -LEVEL FIREFIGHTER ELIGIBILITY LIST BE CERTIFIED. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. The Civil Service Examiner presented two current Civil Service Rules along with proposed revisions. She explained that Rule VIII. Examinations, Section 3 Identify of Examinees sought to conceal the identity of those taking competitive written exams from their examiners but noted in practice candidates offer provide their name to Assessors directly in person and in writing despite the best efforts of the Examiner to provide candidate numbers, cover name badges, or in other ways try to conceal the identity of test - takers. Commissioners discussed the need to conceal the identity of test takers in the spirit of Civil Service and merit based hiring practices. They asked the Chief Examiner to present samples of Rules from other jurisdictions on this topic at the next meeting. The Chief Examiner proposed adding the word "e- mail" to Rule VIII. Examinations, Section 5 Notification of Results to recognize the use of e-mail as a tool to distribute test scores and rankings. MOVED BY PAQUETTE, SECONDED BY WHEELER THAT RULE VIII. SECTION 5 INCLUDE THE WORD "E- MAIL" TO RECOGNIZE THE USE OF E -MAIL TO SEND SCORES AND RANKINGS TO CANDIDATES. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Phone: 206 - 433 -1800 • Email: Mayor @TukwitaWA.gov • Website: TukwitaWA.gov ADJOURNMENT 5:42pm MOVED BY PAQUETTE, SECONDED BY WHEELER THAT THE REGULAR MEETING BE ADJOURNED. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Chairperson Stephen Wheeler Vice - Chairperson Bruce Paquette Commissioner Ron Johnston Phone: 206 - 433 -1800 • Email: Mayor@TukwilaWA.gov • Website: TukwitaWA.gov To: FOSTER PEPPERPLiC Memorandum Civil Service Commission, City of Tukwila Attn., Kim Gilman, Human Resources Analyst & Civil Service Examiner From: Foster Pepper Date: June 25, 2016 Subject: Eligibility List Analysis 1. INTRODUCTION The City of Tukwila Civil Service Commission ( "Commission ") inquires whether a currently unavailable candidate may remain on or be returned to an eligibility list in anticipation of her future availability; and, the process by which open positions at the Tukwila Fire Department ( "Department ") may be filled.' The Commission's existing civil service rules do not explicitly address delayed or deferred availability. Two contradictory rules yield opposite results as to whether a candidate can remain on the eligibility list pending analysis by the Commission of the candidate's reasons for declining an appointment. Under one rule (Rule IX), the candidate may remain on the list and could be considered for open Department positions; but under another rule (Rule X), the candidate must be removed from the list pending the Commission's decision on whether she showed satisfactory cause for her actions, and the candidate would not be considered for other open Department positions. Instead of addressing such situations on a one -off basis, some commissions have chosen to adopt rules addressing deferred availability and delayed eligibility. These rules allow consideration of candidates for future openings when the candidates, at present, are not fully eligible (typically due to age or experience) or are not immediately available for appointment to an open position. We recommend that the Commission adopt such rules to address situations, such as this one, where a currently eligible candidate may be lost to consideration due solely to timing. 2. ANALYSIS 2.1 Background The Commission recently extended an offer to a candidate who is not immediately available to work (due to an existing obligation to her current employer through October). The candidate has requested to remain on the eligibility list. The Commission generally removes candidates who 1 We do not address in this memo the authority of the City to hold open a vacancy until such time as a candidate of interest may be available. Such authority clearly exists. 51532579.2 City of Tukwila Eligibility List Analysis Page 2 decline offers for hire; however, the Commission may also allow reinstatement to the list if such candidates offer satisfactory explanations of their reasons for declining the position. The Commission has indicated that, at the next meeting in July, it is willing to review this candidate's request to remain on the eligibility list. In the meantime, it seeks advice on how to manage the two currently open Department positions, and whether this candidate should be considered for an open position. 2.2 The Current Commission Rules The City of Tukwila's Civil Service Commission rules do not explicitly address delayed eligibility /availability. Instead, there are two contradictory rules regarding eligibility list management. Rule IX, Section 3, states as follows: Section 3. Removal of Names from Lists. The name of any person appearing on an eligible list may be removed by the Secretary and Chief Examiner if the candidate fails to respond to a notice of certification, if he or she declines an appointment without reason satisfactory to the Commission, if he or she fails a background process, or if he or she cannot be located by postal authorities through certified mailing, return receipt requested. In case of such removal, the Secretary and Chief Examiner shall notify in writing the candidate so affected at his or her last known address. The name of a person so removed may be reinstated only if satisfactory explanation of the circumstances is made to the Commission within 10 business days of receipt. The names of persons on promotional employment lists who resign from the service shall be automatically dropped from such lists and may not be restored, even upon reinstatement of the resigned employee to his/her former position. [Emphasis added.] Under Rule IX, Section 3, a candidate's name may be removed if she declines the appointment without a reason that is satisfactory to the Commission. Here, if the Commission has not yet determined whether the reason offered by the candidate (her contractual obligation to her employer through October) is satisfactory or not, then the candidate may remain on the list until such time as a decision is made. Although the Commission's apparent practice has been to promptly remove from the eligibility list those candidates declining an offer of employment (rather than have the Commission evaluate the reasons for every candidate's decision to decline), this action does not appear to be required based on the text of Rule IX, Section 3. Under this rule, until the July meeting when the Commission will evaluate this candidate's decision to decline the appointment/request to remain on the eligibility list, the candidate could remain on the eligibility list and be considered for future, open positions. However, Rule X, Section 3, leads to a different result. The text is as follows: 51532579.2 City of Tukwila Eligibility List Analysis Page 3 Section 3. Dropping A Name from List. Any person who declines certification or appointment or who fails to report shall be permanently dropped from the list on which his or her name appears unless he or she shows satisfactory cause to the Commission of his or her action. Under this section, since the candidate at issue declined her appointment, she shall (meaning must) be removed from the list now (and permanently), until such time as the Commission meets to address whether she has shown good cause for her actions, which will not be addressed until the July Commission meeting. Under this rule, the candidate would not be among the four candidates interviewed for the two Department positions currently open, as she has been struck from the eligibility list pending a decision from the Commission. Based on the language in Rule X, Section 3 requiring action (invoking "must" as opposed to the word "may" identified in Rule IX, Section 3), the Commission would remove the candidate from the eligibility list, and reinstate her only at the direction of the Commission following the July meeting. The Commission would then be obligated to move on to other candidates for the open positions. 2.3 Proposed Delayed Availability and Eligibility Rules To avoid the conflicting outcomes addressed above, and the process of needlessly removing and reinstating candidates (or losing from eligibility otherwise qualified candidates), the Commission may consider adopting clarifying rules that address deferred availability and delayed eligibility. Such rules could apply to candidates who are not yet, but will become eligible (such as through age or experience), or those, like the candidate in question, who are not immediately available, but are otherwise eligible, and may require additional time until they are available for an appointment. The following are sample rules that the Commission could consider: Availability of Eligibles. Unless excused by the Commission, an eligible may be removed from an eligibility list if he or she is unavailable for appointment. Eligible candidates may receive a deferral (while remaining on the eligible list) as follows: (1) An eligible in military service shall be granted a deferment of certification for a period not to exceed ninety (90) calendar days (or a longer time period if required by State or Federal law) upon request of the eligible. (2) An eligible on an authorized leave of absence from employment may be granted a deferment of certification during the leave period, or may be certified for appointment if the leave is expected to end within a reasonable time period, as determined by the Commission. (3) The Commission may grant deferral of certification if requested by an eligible showing good cause for the deferral. The deferral may be granted for a specific time period or until certain conditions have been met. 51532579.2 City of Tukwila Eligibility List Analysis Page 4 This language is adopted from the City of Bellingham's civil service rules, available at: http:// mrsc. org /getmedia/ 79410240- 5b4b- 4de6 -al b9- 4421161 ea0d6/b45civrules.pdf.aspx Delayed Eligibility. If an applicant is permitted to file for and take an examination for delayed eligibility, and if such applicant is successful in the examination, eligibility shall be held in abeyance until the candidate meets the requirements for eligibility, which must be reported in writing. If otherwise eligible, the candidate's name shall be placed on the register in accordance with the final examination grade. Any such eligibility shall expire with that of other eligibles from the same examination. When designated on the official bulletins, the Secretary may permit filing by an applicant not more than [one year] under the specified minimum age on an open graded/entrance examination and not more than [two years] under the specified experience on a promotional examination. A successful candidate will have delayed eligibility until the required minimum age or experience is attained. This language is from the Model Civil Service Rules for Washington Local Governments, available at: http: / /mrsc. org /Corporate / media /MediaLibrary /S ampleDocuments /ArtDocMisc /m5 8civserv3.pdf 4. CONCLUSION The Commission should consider modifying its civil service rules to anticipate delayed and deferred candidate eligibility and availability. Otherwise, a candidate who declined an appointment would likely be removed from the eligibility list until such time as the Commission approves the candidate's reinstatement to the register of eligibles. We trust the foregoing is responsive to your inquiry. 51532579.2 City of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor Police Department - Mike Villa, Chief MEMORANDUM TO: Civil Service Commission FROM: Mike Villa, Chief of Police DATE: June 21, 2016 SUBJECT: Temporary Commander Extension — Bill Devlin Sergeant Bill Devlin was appointed on January 4, 2016 as a Temporary Commander of the Investigative Services Division. His six -month appointment expires on July 1, 2016. The appointment is necessary for operational purposes due to one of our commanders was selected as a provisional Deputy Chief. The Deputy Chief position was held by Bruce Linton, who was asked to coordinate an interdepartmental team to address facilities needs for the next 6 -12 months. Upon implementation, there would no longer be a vacancy in the commander position and the appointed sergeant, Bill Devlin would move back to his former position. am asking the Commission to extend Sergeant Bill Devlin's temporary appointment effective July 2 2016 through January 1, 2017, unless terminated earlier based on department needs. Sergeant Devlin is the only person on the current Commander's list. The list expires on 7/5/16 and a test has not yet been scheduled. The extension is primarily for continuity of operations and maintaining the current command staff enhances the stability of the department overall. Thank you for your consideration. Cc: Kim Gilman, Civil Service Examiner Tukwila City Hall • 6200 Southcenter Boulevard • Tukwila, WA 98188 • 206 -433 -1800 • Website: TukwilaWA.gov