HomeMy WebLinkAbout1329th CSC Meeting (February 18, 2015)1329M REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION
The 1329' Regular Meeting of the Civil Service Commission was held on Wednesday,
February 18, 2015. The meeting was called to order at 5:45 p.m. by Commissioner Mahoney.
Members Present: Charlotte S. Mahoney, Commissioner
Harry C. Tatigian, Commissioner
Members Absent: James R. Cambridge
Also Present:
Paul Condon, Parks and Recreation Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director
Commissioner Denise Maier, Human Resources Director
Mark Johnson, Parks and Recreation Chairman Derrick L. Washington, Personnel Analyst II
Gretchen Guisbert, Secretary III
Chairman Cambridge was unable to attend the meeting. Commissioner Mahoney acted as
Chairman for the meeting. Chairman Mahoney stepped down to second all the motions for the
meeting.
Robert Biga introduced Denise Maier, who is the new Human Resources Director. The
Commission welcomed Ms. Maier and stated they look forward to working together.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-33 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of the 1328'^ Regular Meeting held
Wednesday, January 21, 2015, be approved as submitted.
Derrick L. Washington, Personnel Analyst II, requested to pull Item 1.c.(5), regarding the
Eligible List for City Librarian from the Agenda. At the direction of the Chair, this item will be
referred to the next Civil Service Commission meeting of March 18, 2015.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-34 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the Departmental
Correspondence of February 4, 2015, from Jayson Scarantino, Police Officer, as
approved for submission by Curtis Caid, Police Chief, requesting additional
family illness leave, the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the
administrative approval of Officer Scamntino's request to use an additional six
(6) eight (8) hour days for the calendar year 2015 from his sick bank to be
charged as family illness.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-35 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the memorandum of February
10, 2015, from Derrick L. Washington, Personnel Analyst II, to Robert F. Biga,
Paget 1329' Regular Meeting February 18, 2015
Human Resources Director, the Civil Service Commission does hereby confirm
the administrative approval of the passing point of a raw score of 120 out of a
maximum raw score of 200, or 60%, on the SET test and a passing point of a
raw score of 16 out of a maximum raw score of 50, or 42% for the Wondedic
Personnel Test in the Clerk -Typist (999 o.c.) examination.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-36 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the memorandum of February
16, 2015, from Derrick L. Washington, Personnel Analyst 11, to Robert F. Biga,
Human Resources Director, the Civil Service Commission does hereby confirm
the administrative approval of the passing point of a raw score of 70 out of a
maximum raw score of 100, or 70%, for the EMPCO test in the Library Aide I
(1002 o.c.) examination.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-37 RESOLVED, That the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm
the administrative approval of the eligible list for Custodian (999 o.c.).
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-36 RESOLVED, That the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm
the administrative approval of the eligible list for Building Inspector (1001 o.c.).
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-39 RESOLVED, That the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm
the administrative approval of the eligible list for Firefighter (1000 o.c.).
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-40 RESOLVED, That the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm
the administrative approval of the eligible list for Program Supervisor —
Evidence/Property Room Manager (1003 o.c.).
The Commission received and fled the following:
a. Status of Temporary Employees Report for January 2015.
b. Non -Resident Report as of February 1, 2015.
C. Current Open -Competitive and Promotional Eligible Lists as of February 1,
2015.
d. Affirmative Action Report for January 2015.
e. Removal of names from active eligible list report for the month of January
2015: None.
f. Memorandum of February 2, 2015, from Michael T. Slater, Director of
Finance, regarding Payroll Administration of Snow Day Time Off.
Page 1329'" Regular Meeting February 18, 2015
g. Council Resolutions from the meeting of January 12, 2015, with minutes to
be approved January 21, 2015:
#10-15, approving the establishment of the classification and pay range of
Economic Development Coordinator as a regular full-time classification.
#11-15, approving the establishment of the classification and pay range of
Purchasing Manager as a regular full-time classification.
h. Expiring eligible lists for the month of March 2015 — Police Lieutenant (1355
p.) and Police Sergeant (1354 p.).
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-41 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the memorandum of
February 9, 2015, from Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director, transmitting
letters from City employees requesting to donate vacation time to Craig Hanosh,
Building Inspector, the Civil Service Commission does hereby approve the
donation of vacation time which will be converted to an equivalent time off based
on Mr. Hanosh's rate of pay.
After discussion regarding the policy on the donation of vacation time, it was recommended
this policy be reviewed for future administration of donated time.
There was a request from the Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission to be
included as part of the Interview process in the examination for Superintendent of Parks and
Recreation. Mr. Biga stated the qualifications are the same as what the Mayor recommended
to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Mr. Biga further stated the last time this
examination was announced as an open -competitive examination was in 1963. The
qualifications as proposed by the Parks and Recreation Commission have been updated. The
Civil Service Department has reviewed the Qualifications and is recommending that the Civil
Service Commission approve the Qualifications as proposed by the Parks and Recreation
Commission.
It is Civil Service Commission policy in examinations comprised of 100% interview, to limit the
number of candidates to between 10 and 15 based on a review of the candidate's applications
and select candidates with the most responsive qualifications.
Mr. Tatigian asked what the recommendation is. Mr. Biga initially agreed to ten (10), but then
he thought fifteen (15) would be better because it would allow for more qualified applicants.
Mark Johnson, Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission stated this process was all
new to the Parks and Recreation Commission. He stated the Parks and Recreation
Commission hasn't really been involved in the selection of a new Superintendent. Mr.
Johnson stated he didn't recall being part of past promotional appointments and he has been
there through three (3) different Superintendents. Ms. Mahoney stated it may have been
because they were promotional examinations. Ms. Mahoney explained that you can only have
a promotional examination when someone is already in the classified Civil Service system with
regular status. By Charter, it is the responsibility of the Parks and Recreation Commission to
make the final selection. Ms. Mahoney stated that since no promotional opportunity exists,
Page 1329' Regular Meeting February 18, 2015
this is now an open -competitive examination. That means this position is advertised and
anyone can apply that believes they meet the requirements. The testing for this particular
examination, is proposed as 100% Interview. The evaluation of qualified candidates will be
conducted by a panel comprised of members of different Parks and Recreation Departments,
selected by the Civil Service Department. The Interview panel will rate the candidates who will
be ranked by score. Then the top three (3) scorers will be presented to the Appointing
Authority (the Parks and Recreation Commission), and by Charter, will then conduct a final
Interview and make a selection.
Mr. Johnson asked Mr. Biga if the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation position was a Civil
Service position. Mr. Biga explained that all positions in the City of Livonia by City Charter, are
in the Civil Service. Civil Service is divided into the Unclassified and the Classified. The
Unclassified are the Elected and Appointed positions. There are some people that feel that all
Department Heads in the City are Appointees. That is not the case. By Charter, some
Department Heads are Commissions. The Civil Service Commission, the Parks and
Recreation Commission are appointed by the Mayor. Subordinate to them, the Human
Resources Director and the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation have always been in the
classified Civil Service, meaning those employees have to go through a Civil Service
examination process that was described by Ms. Mahoney. The process provides candidates
with a fair evaluation of their qualifications and provides a ranking of those individuals based
upon an evaluation. The process can involve 100% Interview; a combination of Interview and
Written Test; or an Assessment Center, as was done in the case for the HR Director. We
could do an Assessment Center for the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation. The Parks
and Recreation Commission is requesting an examination comprised of 100% Interview. The
Civil Service Commission sets the Parts of Examination and Weights by their own Rules and if
the Civil Service Commission wanted to conduct with an Assessment Center, at this point they
could recommend it, or they could recommend a Written Test and an Interview. Then the
position is announced. We get candidates that meet the qualifications. The Civil Service
Department staff reviews the qualifications. The examiner selects from the qualified
candidates a group of people that will be interviewed by an outside panel. This panel is
comprised of people from outside the City that have experience in the appropriate field. No
regular City employee is supposed to be on the Interview panel. The Civil Service
Commission has made exceptions in certain extreme emergency situations like for Police
Officers and Police Service Aides to expedite the examination process. For Department
Heads, we typically use outside people from other communities. In the case of the
Assessment Center that was conducted for Human Resource Director, there were Human
Resources Directors from other communities that were trained by a consulting company that
conducted our Assessment Center. In this case, with 100% Interview, the Civil Service
Department would select the interviewers to be on the Interview panel and those would be the
evaluators for the examination. The Parks and Recreation Commission can have input into
the questions to be used for the Interview panel. The panel will rank all the candidates. They
can score the candidates anywhere from 0% to 100%. With three interviewers, if two out of
three interviewers fail a candidate, the candidate cannot proceed further. The scores are
compiled highest to lowest and then the Appointing Authority, which in this case is the Parks
and Recreation Commission, would select an employee from the top three candidates that
have the highest scores on the examination.
Ms. Mahoney stated that the Parks and Recreation Commission would review the Certification
and select a candidate. The Parks and Recreation Commission would be re -interviewing the
Page 1329' Regular Meeting February 18, 2015
lop three (3) candidates. What the Civil Service Commission did in the case of the Human
Resources Director was very extensive because the HR Director position covers labor
negotiations, pensions, retirement, civil service issues and so on. Ms. Mahoney stated the
Civil Service Commission chose to do an Interview of the top three candidates. This consisted
of the three Commissioners as the Appointing Authority. The Commissioners invited the
Mayor, with whom this person works on a regular basis, to sit in on their Interviews. However,
in the ranking process, they did not ask for the Mayor to rank the candidates.
Mr. Tatigian felt sure the Parks and Recreation Commission would want to interview the top
three candidates. Mr. Johnson stated they were looking for direction on what the normal
process will be.
Ms. Mahoney stated when you have an open -competitive examination there are three steps —
a review of the applications; a candidate ranking interview and an employment interview. Mr.
Washington will be the key person in the HR Department who will make that exam happen.
Ms. Mahoney stated they, as a Civil Service Commission, have a right to limit the number of
individuals to be invited to Interview. The Commission will rely on Mr. Washington, working
with Ms. Maier, to whittle the number down to be interviewed. When the interviews are
complete, every candidate will have a ranking from highest to lowest. The lop three scorers
will be presented to the Appointing Authority for a selection. At that point, the Parks and
Recreation Commission will re -interview the candidates.
Mr. Johnson stated that explanation helps a lot; it gives them the process.
Mr. Tatigian stated they discussed the request to have a member from the Parks and
Recreation Commission sit in on the Interview process and they have no objection to that
insofar as them sitting in and observing.
Mr. Johnson asked if they would receive a written follow-up that gives them what the process
will be so they would have that for the future. Mr. Tatigian stated they would leave that up to
the Civil Service Department staff.
Ms. Mahoney stated that the Parks and Recreation Commission could seek the assistance of
the Civil Service Department with regard to how to put together the Interview questions in
order that they meet the employment requirements. There are some things you cannot ask
and making sure you ask all three candidates the same questions.
Mr. Johnson inquired if in the future they employ an Assistant Superintendent of Parks and
Recreation, and then later the Superintendent leaves, would they have to go through this
same open -competitive process or would it be promotional. The Civil Service Commission
confirmed that it could be a promotional opportunity. Mr. Tatigian stated the Charter provides
that whenever possible, the City should go through the promotional process.
Mr. Biga stated historically, Commissions delegate the hiring responsibility to the Department
Director or Superintendent. If the Parks and Recreation Commission wanted to get involved in
the employment process of an Assistant Superintendent they could. Mr. Biga gave Mr.
Johnson a copy of a Firefighter eligible list as an example of how candidates are ranked. He
explained the total earned score is what is used to rank from the highest to the lowest score.
Mr. Biga didn't think they would get 20 people on an eligible list, but if they have fifteen
Page 1329' Regular Meering February 18, 2015
candidates and they rank them, conceivably there could be fifteen, but there could be less.
For example, in the examination for HR Director they had people drop out, they had people
not show up, and they had people that didn't pass the Assessment Center. Just because an
application is accepted doesn't mean the candidate will be a finalist. The Parks and Rec
Commission will get the top three candidates and it will be up to them to select one. The Civil
Service Department will be glad to provide guidance on questions to be used for an Interview,
salary schedule and the probationary period, which is one year in this case.
Mr. Johnson staled they just wanted to be sure they were following the process and this
information was helpful and they appreciated it.
Upon a motion by Mr. Taligian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-42 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the Departmental
Correspondence of February 5, 2015, from Mark Johnson, Chairman, Parks and
Recreation Commission and the memorandum of February 12, 2015, from
Derrick L. Washington, Personnel Analyst II, to Robert F. Biga, Human
Resources Director, requesting an opens mpelilive examination for
Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, and proposed qualifications and parts
of examination and weights, the Civil Service Commission does hereby approve
the following qualifications and parts of examination and weights:
QUALIFICATIONS
By the closing date of the announcement, applicants must:
1. Be a citizen of the United States or a resident alien with the right to work
in the United States; AND
2. Have a Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university with a
major in Recreation Administration, Community Recreation or a closely
related field and have three (3) years of full-time paid work experience in
the area of Community Recreation or a closely related area; OR
3. Have a Bachelor's degree in any discipline and have four (4) years of
administrative experience in local government; OR
4. Have a high school diploma and have at least eight (8) years of
administrative experience in local government.
PARTS OF EXAMINATION AND WEIGHTS
Interview -100%
Candidates must pass the Interview in order to be placed on the eligible list.
NOTE: The fifteen (15) applicants with the most responsible combination of education
and experience will be invited to the Interview portion of the examination.
Page] 1329' Regular Meeting February 18, 2015
NOTE: At the time of appointment candidates are required to pass a background
investigation and a pre-employment physical conducted by a physician authorized by the City
of Livonia.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-43 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the memorandum of February
13, 2015, from Derrick L. Washington, Personnel Analyst II, to Robert F. Biga,
Human Resources Director, requesting an open -competitive examination for
Assistant Branch Librarian, and proposed qualifications and parts of examination
and weights, the Civil Service Commission does hereby approve the following
qualifications and parts of examination and weights:
QUALIFICATIONS
By the closing date of this announcement, applicants must:
1. Be a United States citizen or a resident alien with the right to work in the United
States; and
2. Possess a Master's Degree in Library Science from an accredited University;
and
3. Have a minimum of four (4) years of full-time paid experience as a Librarian
providing direct service to the public in a public library; and
4. Have a minimum of four (4) years full-time paid experience supervising various
levels of staff including direct supervisory experience of professional librarian
staff.
Note: Original College Degree or Official Transcripts must be submitted by the time
of interview.
PARTS OF EXAMINATION AND WEIGHTS
Interview 100%
The fifteen (15) applicants with the most appropriate and responsible combination and training
will be invited to the interview. Candidates must pass the interview in order to be placed on
the eligible list.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-44 That having reviewed the Departmental Correspondence of
February 12, 2015, from Ryan Hayne, Police Officer, as approved for submission
by Curtis Caid, Police Chief, requesting additional family illness leave, the Civil
Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of Officer
Hayne's request to use an additional six (6) eight (8) hour days for the calendar
year 2015 from his sick bank to be charged as family illness.
Page 1329'" Regular Meeting February 18, 2015
The Commission received for file the Health Insurance rates effective March 1, 2015 through
February 28, 2016.
Mr. Biga didn't put an item on the Agenda and he apologized for that, but he requested the
starting rate of pay for Ms. Maier, the new Human Resources Director, to be at step 2 in the
salary range. After six months, with a satisfactory performance rating from the Civil Service
Commission, she would be advanced to 2-%.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
15-45 RESOLVED, That having discussion with Robert F. Biga, Human
Resources Director, the Civil Service Commission does hereby approve placing
Ms. Maier at step 2 in the salary range for Human Resources Director.
Mr. Biga referenced receive and file item f., an Inter -office memorandum from Michael T.
Slater, Director of Finance, regarding the snow day off. Mr. Biga stated we had a limited staff
due to heavy snow on a Monday. The Mayor sent through a Notice that anyone that was off
work was going to be given a free day off. For those employees who showed up for work, they
were given a vacation day added to their bank. Mr. Tatigian stated it could be an unfair labor
practice. Mr. Biga stated in the case of a Union, this is the employer giving them something
that wasn't negotiated and that technically, is an unfair labor practice. If someone wanted to
complain, believe it or not, there are people in this world that would complain. In 1974, there
was a complaint. Mr. Biga stated he asked the Mayor what he was planning on doing for
Police and Firefighters that showed up for work or didn't show up for work. He contacted the
Police Department and asked how many people didn't show up because of the weather. He
contacted the Fire Department and asked how many people didn't show up because of the
weather. No police officer or firefighter reported that they could not get to work due to
weather. Mr. Biga stated he would have people use time from their banks if they didn't show
up. Mr. Biga stated the Mayor was being benevolent. Mr. Biga stated he was anticipating a
telephone call from a Union president. Technically, DPW was at work already. They were
already out plowing snow. So they got a benefit and technically, they could file an unfair labor
practice because they were given something they didn't bargain for. Normally, things are
being taken away. There have been cases in the State of Michigan where an unfair labor
practice has been granted and typically it's been when someone's been doing Union work. Mr.
Biga stated he didn't hear from anyone for nine days after the snow day.
Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and adopted, it was
RESOLVED, that the meeting be adjourned at 6:38 p.m.
Gretchen Guisbert, Secretary III
Charlotte Mahoney, Commissioner
Harry C. Tatigian, Commissioner