HomeMy WebLinkAboutCivilService 2021-06-17 Minutes
June 17, 2021
The following commissioners attended the regularly scheduled meeting of the Tukwila Civil Service
Commission: Tosh Sharp and Tom Morris. Others in attendance were Police Chief Eric Drever, Fire Chief Jay
Wittwer, Deputy Police Chief Eric Lund, Assistant Fire Chief Norm Golden, and Travis McKinnon, Sr. Human
Resource Analyst.
CALL TO ORDER
Commissioner Morris was Acting Chair and the meeting was called
to order at 5:02 pm., Commissioner Morris outlined the agenda for the
evening.
FIRE DEPARTMENT BUSINESS
Staffing Update
5:05pm:Assistant Fire Chief Norm Golden provides a staffing update
for the department and shares that one firefighter will be resigning from
the department on June 30 th and one captain will be retiring on June 30 th.
It is mentioned that another firefighter will be eligible for retirement later
this year. Three employees of the department on out on L&I leave, and
one is on light duty. ,
and currently, the Fire department has a total of 64 employees. Four
tentative job offers have been made to candidates with two confirmed
openings in the August 2021 Academy. One of the four candidates
withdrew earlier this week, leaving three candidates to proceed through
the background check process. There are no questions following Chief
Fire Chief Jay Wittwer shares that the
department is still reviewing the current eligibility list and would like to
extend the expiration date. Commissioner Morris requests to review the
list for extension, and later in the evening signs the document. A majority
of the Commissioners sign this extension of the Firefighter Eligibility
List, and this document will be stored within the Human Resources
department. Chief Golden exits the virtual meeting after the conclusion
of this section.
5:12pm: Commissioner Morris invites Police Chief Eric Drever to begin
discussion on the Police Department. Chief Drever shares that the
Sergeants Assessment Center originally scheduled for Wednesday, July
16 th, was cancelled and postponed until further notice. The event was
originally scheduled with five officers as candidates, and four officers
withdrew from the process, over the course of a few weeks. With one
remaining officer candidate for the Sergeants Assessment Center, it was
decided to postpone until a new recruitment job posting process could
begin. Chief Drever feels having one candidate for the Assessment
Center may draw concern and that having a pool of candidates to draw
from would be in the best interest to meet the department and community
needs. Chief Drever discusses new legislation and the changes in law
enforcement are causing apprehension amongst the law enforcement
community. Also, Chief Drever explains that the annual Sergeant testing
assessment is to create a list in case of the need.
Chief Drever discusses the Eligibility List for the Lead Evidence
Technician and that Human Resources will generate a list for the
Commission to review for signature. (The certification was signed after
the meeting by a majority of the commissioners.) He shares that
currently, the position holds an acting incumbent who is qualified for the
position and performing very well. Chief Drever mentions today a
tentative job offer was made to a candidate who would be coming
onboard as a Lateral Officer this person is currently in the Police
are on light duty, and two are on military leave. A Records Specialist
position candidate is almost complete in the background check process,
and a new Victim Advocate hire will begin July 1 st. Chief Drever shares
to
help the community in a broader reach.
Commission Morris Tom asks about the turnaround time for the
background check process involving psychological evaluation and
polygraph testing. Chief Drever explains the average turnaround time is
approximately two to three weeks. Next, Commissioner Morris inquires
if running has been removed from the Academy, and Deputy Chief Lund
replies that it has indeed been removed. Commissioner Morris asks
about the department having officer reserves, and Chief Drever clarifies
there is none at this time. The department is looking into the Explorer
Program, but due to pandemic restrictions, this cannot be done.
5:37pm: Police Chief Eric Drever shares that he has no further topics for
discussion. Commissioner Tom Morries inquired about police exams,
classifications and if any changes had been made in the scoring of
examinations. Chief Drever share that the department uses National
Testing for candidate testing and the only changes made were relative to
the defaulted online score weight. Deputy Chief Lund shared the video
portion of the test score was removed for PSO and entry-level testing and
that the department weighs higher on writing and reading due to the
nature of the job.
ADJOURNMENT
OF REGULAR MEETING
5:43 PM MOVED BY Commissioner SHARP, SECONDED BY
Commissioner MORRIS THAT THE MEETING BE ADJOURN.
MOTION CARRIED.
_______________________________ _______________________________
Chairperson Tosh Sharp Vice-Chairperson Tom Morris
_______________________________
Commissioner Kathleen Wilson