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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1320th CSC Meeting (May 21, 2014)1320M REGULAR MEETING OF THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION The 1320th Regular Meeting of the Civil Service Commission was held on Wednesday, May 21, 2014. The meeting was called to order at 5:50 p.m. Members Present: Ronald Reinke, Chairman Charlotte S. Mahoney (via telephone) Harry C. Tatigian Also Present: Curtis Caid, Police Chief Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director Derrick L. Washington, Personnel Analyst II Gretchen Guisbert, Secretary III Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney and unanimously adopted, it was 14-60 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of the 1319'^ Regular Meeting held Wednesday, April 16, 2014, be approved as submitted. Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian and unanimously adopted, it was 14-61 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the memorandum of May 6, 2014, from Derrick L. Washington, Personnel Analyst 11, to Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director, regarding the passing point for the written lest for Account Clerk 1 (1361 p.), the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the passing point of 79% out of a maximum total score of 100 or a score of 79 on the written test for Account Clerk 1 (1361 p.). Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian and unanimously adopted, it was 14-62 RESOLVED, That the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the eligible list for Program Supervisor (982 o.c.). Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian and unanimously adopted, it was 14-63 RESOLVED, That the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the eligible list for Account Clerk 1 (1361 p.). Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian and unanimously adopted, it was 14-64 RESOLVED, That the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the eligible list for Police Service Aide (964-13 o.c.). Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian and unanimously adopted, it was 14-65 RESOLVED, That the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the eligible list for Police Officer (958-13 o.c.). Paget 1320r Regular Meeting May 21, 2014 The Commission received and fled the following: a. Status of Temporary Employees Report for April 2014. b. Non -Resident Report as of May 1, 2014. C. Current Open -Competitive and Promotional Eligible Lists as of May 1, 2014. d. Affirmative Action Report for April 2014. e. Removal of names from active eligible list report for the month of April 2014. f. Council Resolution from the meeting of April 21, 2014 with Minutes to be approved May 7, 2014: #110-14, determining to take no further action with regard to the Great West Retirement Services Annual Report and Plan Review for the period ending December3l, 2005. #111-14, determining to take no further action with regard to the status of the deferred compensation providers #115-14, confirming the reappointment of John Hiltz, to the Livonia Plymouth Road Development Authority as a representative of the Business/Property Owners, for a four-year term expiring May 16, 2018 g. Letter of May 5, 2014, from Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director, to Mayor Jack E. Kirksey, regarding estimated costs of various City benefits for FY 2014-2015 for General employees. h. Letter of May 5, 2014, from Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director, to Mayor Jack E. Kirksey, regarding estimated costs of various City benefits for FY 2014-2015 for Police and Fire employees. I. Expiring eligible lists for the month of June 2014 — Police Dispatcher (959 o.c.) and Property Appraiser 1 (973 o.c.). Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney and unanimously adopted, it was 14-66 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the letter of May 9, 2014, from Curtis Caid, Police Chief, requesting an open -competitive examination for Police Dispatcher 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: Be a citizen of the United States or resident alien with the right to work in the United States; and Have a high school diploma or a valid equivalency certificate; and Be at least eighteen (18) years of age; and Have an acceptable voice quality level as determined in the voice modulation test; and Have keyboard skills that meet or exceed 35 wpm without error; and Page 1320' Regular Meeting May 21, 2014 6. Prior public safety dispatch experience is preferred, but not required. We seek candidates with excellent oral and written communication skills, the ability to make good decisions under pressure and during emergencies, and the ability to interact with a diverse public. Candidates must have a working knowledge of a computer and its various functions. PARTS OF EXAMINATION AND WEIGHTS Written Test — Chiefs Interview Panel - Performance Keyboard Test - 40% 40% 20% Voice Modulation Test - Pass/Fail Background Investigation - Pass/Fail Psychological Evaluation Test - Pass/Fail The sixty (60) applicants who pass and score highest on the Written Test will be invited to the Performance Keyboard Test. At least (10) candidates with the highest combined passing Written and Performance Test score will be invited to the Interview part of the examination. Candidates who possess an Associate's degree from an accredited college or university will have one (1) point added to their final examination score. Candidates who have one (1) or more years of full-time work experience as a public safety dispatcher will have two (2) points added to their final examination score. Applicants must pass the Written Test, the Performance Keyboard Test, the Interview, and a Voice Modulation Test in order to be placed on the eligible list. Mr. Biga informed the Commission there is an examination in process for Police Vehicle Maintenance Coordinator and there are only two qualified candidates. Mr. Biga explained the Parts of Examination and Weights are Written Test — 50%; Interview — 50%, and a Background Investigation. The question on hand is, do we re -announce for additional candidates or do we proceed with the two? If we go ahead with two, we will not be able to achieve a Charter requirement of certifying three qualified candidates to the Department. So if the Department doesn't like the two candidates, we would start all over again. Ms. Mahoney asked if it would be more efficient to test right now and retest later and add to the number of candidates. Mr. Taligian indicated the Department would like to go ahead with this examination and he didn't see a problem with that. Ms. Mahoney asked if there are only two, does the Charter state there has to be three. Mr. Biga said no. Ms. Mahoney stated if the Department was satisfied with the two candidates, they could just proceed. Mr. Biga recommended the Parts of Examination and Weights be modified to 100% Interview. Mr. Washington asked to bring up another situation after the Commissioners' vote. Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and unanimously adopted, it was 14-67 RESOLVED, That having discussion regarding filling the position of Police Vehicle Maintenance Coordinator with Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director, and with the Department having no objections, the Civil Service Page 1320'" Regular Meeting May 21, 2014 Commission does hereby approve proceeding with the examination with two candidates, and with a change in the Parts of Examination and Weights to 100% Interview. Derrick Washington stated there is a similar situation with the Equipment Mechanic I and asked if it would be proper to discuss that during this meeting to do the same type of thing, modify the qualifications and re -announce the examination. Instead of having the qualifications be three years within five, just have it three years of experience. Mr. Washington stated Mr. Maillard was looking at announcing an examination for Equipment Mechanic Trainee, which would have lower qualifications than currently required for Equipment Mechanic 1. Mr. Biga suggested we wait until we hear from the Department what they want to do. Mr. Biga thought the Equipment Mechanic Trainee was going to be a promotional opportunity from within. Mr. Biga stated we should address the issue we have at hand. Ms. Mahoney agreed with Mr. Biga. Mr. Biga stated several months ago there was some conversation about letting the Police Officers and Firefighters accumulate their vacation in excess of the maximum accrual due to staffing shortages. Since that time, some employees have gotten their vacation time down, others have not been able to use the extra accumulated time. Specifically, the Police Command Officers all have accrued time over and above the maximum accumulation. The new contract with Police Lieutenants and Sergeants which has been extended to the Police Command has a maximum vacation accumulation provision and any time in excess of that maximum would be lost. Individuals would not be allowed to accumulate additional vacation credit until they got down to the maximum. If we implement this practice, all Police Command (Police Captains, Deputy Chief and Chief), would be in jeopardy of losing time. The Finance Director has requested the waiver be limited so we can get the Command Officers down to the maximum and we can implement this new policy Citywide. Because of staff shortages, the Command Officers have not been able to get their vacation balances down and the best bet would be to set a limitation for some time in the future to give the individuals an opportunity to get their vacation balances down. Mr. Biga didn't think a one-year limitation would be enough time. Chief Caid stated he didn't have everyone's vacation balance but he knew he was over the maximum. Chief Caid stated three years would be best to give enough of a window to reduce the vacation banks. With the new agreement, their vacation time isn't credited to the bank on an annual basis. It is credited on a monthly basis, so if they are not below the maximum, for each month they go over that maximum, the time is lost. The way Police Command have been managing their time prior to the request from Mr. Slater has been working fine for them. They operate in a different way than other City Departments do. Chief Caid stated it is up to the individual to manage their time. They know what the maximum payout is and if they are over that and you leave with time in the bank, so be it; it's your loss. The other aspect that he was concerned about, which doesn't affect Police Command is, down the road when you have people accumulating time and they are at a point that they have to use their monthly excess time or they will lose it, and if he can't afford to let them have the time off, he is going to have a grievance or he is going to have to pay someone else overtime in order for that Page 1320' Regular Meeting May 21, 2014 person to take that time off. That is a different matter that will need to be addressed at that time, but with reference specifically to Command, Chief Caid would request a three-year moratorium for them to manage this. Mr. Biga stated the Police Command, because they have so much more excess vacation time, the three-year limitation would be appropriate. In the future, with people managing their time and knowing they are accumulating on a monthly basis, they are going to have to manage it so that they don't go over the maximum. That becomes an individual responsibility. Mr. Biga thought this could resolve itself. Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and unanimously adopted, it was 14-68 RESOLVED, That having had discussion with Curtis Caid, Police Chief; and Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director, the Civil Service Commission does hereby approve a waiver of the maximum vacation accrual for bargaining unit personnel until December 31, 2014, and a waiver of the maximum vacation accrual for Police Command personnel to December 31, 2016; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, it is with the understanding that only the maximum accrual of vacation time will be paid out upon retirement or termination. Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and unanimously adopted, it was 14-69 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the memorandum of April 23, 2013, from Derrick L. Washington, Personnel Analyst II, to Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director, regarding the passing point for the written test for Police Officer (958-B o.c.), the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the passing point of 70% out of a maximum total score of 100 or a raw score of 70 on the written test for Police Officer (958-B o.c.). Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and unanimously adopted, it was 14-70 RESOLVED, That the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the eligible list for Clerk -Typist II (Noncompetitive). Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and unanimously adopted, it was 14-71 RESOLVED, That the Civil Service Commission does hereby affinn the administrative approval of the eligible list for Secretary 1 (983 o.c.). Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and unanimously adopted, it was 14-72 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the letter of May 20, 2014, from Constance Kumpula, Accountant II, as approved for submission by Michael Slater, Director of Finance, requesting an unpaid medical leave of absence, the Civil Page 1320'" Regular Meeting May 21, 2014 Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of a sixty (60) day unpaid medical leave of absence beginning June 9, 2014; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that should Ms. Kumpula not return to work for at least thirty (30) calendar days after the approved unpaid medical leave of absence, she will be responsible to reimburse the City of Livonia for any cost for benefits paid for Ms. Kumpula during her time off, in accordance with Section 25.6(c), Insurance Premium Payments, of the Civil Service Commission Rules and Regulations and Final FMLA Regulations (29 C.F.R.), unless circumstances for not returning to work are beyond Ms. Kumpula's control. Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director, asked to discuss the qualifications for the continuing examination for Police Officer. Mr. Biga stated he had a request from Police Chief Caid to modify the qualifications to permit individuals who do not have an Associate's degree or a Bachelors degree to be permitted to participate in the examination. Mr. Biga stated there is a very involved formula being proposed. The Chief was present to answer any questions regarding that. Ms. Mahoney asked if the formula was a valid requirement or valid criteria if someone challenged it. Mr. Biga stated that the qualifications for Police Officers vary since every community has something different. The one qualification that everyone must have is that candidates must meet the MCOLES certification. Mr. Biga explained that MCOLES is the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards. The Commission sets minimum qualifications fora Police Officer to be certified in the State of Michigan. Mr. Biga stated he was trying to make the formula simple and more straightforward. Mr. Biga slated the first qualification is unchanged. That is a candidate must be a citizen of the United States. This is a requirement of MCOLES. Applicants cannot be a resident alien with permission to work in the United States. Mr. Biga read the next modified qualification, "Be at least 20 years of age at the time of application and 21 years of age at the time of appointment." Mr. Biga stated different departments have requirements less than that. The City of Livonia has always had a minimum of 21 years of age. Mr. Biga stated he didn't have a problem with it but as he mentioned to Derrick, with the other requirements, an age requirement is almost a moot point because if candidates meet the rest of the requirements they would almost have to be 21 years old. Mr. Biga stated the next qualification is the more telling one. An Associate's degree requires a minimum of sixty-two (62) credit hours of education at an approved community college. The request is to modify that requirement to permit applicants who do not have an Associate's degree or Bachelor's degree in any non -Criminal Justice discipline substitute experience for education. Mr. Biga stated the proposed formula is interesting in that if applicants have four or more years of qualified experience, they don't have to have any education; if applicants have three years or more of qualified experience, they need to have 12 semester hours of college credit; if applicants have two years of qualified experience, they need to have 24 semester hours of college credit; and if applicants have one year of qualified experience, they need to have 36 Page] 1320'" Regular Meeting May 21, 2014 semester hours of college credit. In order to get an Associate's degree you have to have 62 credit hours. That means one year of experience is equivalent to 26 credit hours, as proposed. The formula is equating one year of experience to 12 semester hours of education because with three years of experience all that is needed is 12 semester hours. To go down to two years, applicants need to have 12 more credit hours. Mr. Tatigian asked why there was a request to change the standards. Chief Caid stated in looking at the current situation and with the staffing issues in the Police Department over the last few years, they have had some success with the process but there are a lot of new, young, inexperienced people, which is a little troubling. Chief Caid stated a lot of experience is gained through on the job training and Teaming how to do the job. Police work is unique where there is interaction with people all the time. Chief Caid stated he was aware there are some jurisdictions that have a significant pool of people that are looking to go to another agency but they lack the two years of college that we require. However, these people have substantial training in various fields within the law enforcement branch, or even military experience. The intent of the modification is that if someone doesn't have the educational requirement, they can still apply if they have the criterion in section A. They can submit that for a review of their application. Chief Caid staled the other aspect of this is having a formal education is important and in order for someone to test for Sgt., they have to have the two years of college. Chief Caid spoke to the Livonia Lieutenants and Sergeants Association (LLSA) about the modification to the qualification for promotion to Sergeant. If the City hires someone that did not have a two year degree, they would have to earn one before they could test for the Sergeant promotional examination. LLSA supported the modification to that qualification. Mr. Tatigian inquired if there was still a Police Cadet program. Mr. Biga said there is not. Mr. Washington stated we have Police Service Aides now. The former Police Chief proposed and the City approved the classification of Police Service Aide where a person could start out with the City and if they didn't want to be a Police Officer, they could stay a Police Service Aide. These are civilianized staff and they work in the station. Mr. Biga stated that the LPOA collective bargaining agreement lists the Police Sergeant qualifications in it. He stated we would have to modify their collective bargaining agreement. Ms. Mahoney staled we have Officers that were hired with the old qualifications. We would now have Police Officers hired with experience but without an Associate's degree or two years of college. The Police Officers hired without the degree would not be eligible for promotion to Sergeants until they received their degree. Ms. Mahoney inquired if that was discriminatory. Mr. Biga stated no because it is a condition of employment that is announced to candidates prior to starting work with the City. Mr. Biga stated all qualifications are established by the Civil Service Commission, unless they have been negotiated in a collective bargaining agreement. We have a collective bargaining agreement that requires certain requirements and those are going to be modified to make sure that candidates getting promoted to Sergeant will have to obtain their Associate's degree, otherwise they can't test. Mr. Washington stated one of the things the Chief mentioned is that he can waive the qualifications and he would say that the qualifications can be waived, but as the examiner, he was the one to make the decision, not the Chief. Mr. Washington explained that the process is a Civil Service process and not the Police Department's process. Page 1320'" Regular Meeting May 21, 2014 Mr. Biga stated the qualified experience is prior law enforcement, patrol experience or active duty military with military police experience preferred. Experience is considered valid only if the experience with was a single agency. A candidate couldn't spend one year in four different departments and never get off probation. Candidates must have the experience all with one agency. Alternatively candidates could have four years military police experience. Ms. Mahoney stated you could have two years in the military and the hours in the classroom combined with that. Mr. Biga stated candidates could do that as the equivalency, but in order to get promoted you would need to finish an Associate's degree. If applicants come in from outside the State of Michigan they will have to prove that they can be certified under our MCOLES requirements as of the date of hire. Ms. Mahoney asked if that needed to be listed in the qualifications. Mr. Biga stated there is one other item and this is, for existing Police Officers. We have an issue with some candidates with police experience that they indicate they don't have to take the MCOLES physical agility test. We tell them they must be able to pass this test right now, not five or ten years ago. There are no exceptions. Mr. Biga suggested the following be listed for number 3: Have been awarded and provide proof of an Associate's degree in law enforcement or Police Administration or a Bachelors degree in any non -Criminal Justice discipline or have four years of qualified experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience. That leaves it up to the examiner's discretion as to what is the equivalent. Chief Caid staled his concern is that the last piece of that seems to be very vague to him. Chief Caid wanted to list what is the qualified experience. His concem is that this might turn some people away. Ms. Mahoney was concerned that we need to be consistent as to what would be qualified. Mr. Biga had an issue of if you have no college credit, you need four years of experience. If you have a college degree, you don't need any experience. Based on what the Chief requests, if you have two years of experience, you only need 24 credit hours, but in order to have a degree you need 62, so you need 31 to get halfway through. Mr. Biga slated his combination would be even more stringent than the Chiefs but the question is, how do you phrase that? One year of experience would count for 15 college credit hours in a Criminal Justice curriculum. Mr. Tatigian asked if there should be something about the Police Academy listed. Chief Caid said it was listed on the announcement. Chief Caid then stated for #2, the requirement for having the Associate's degree in law enforcement or Police Administration or a Bachelor's degree in any non -Criminal Justice discipline is still a qualification. What follows is that qualification can be waived if the candidate possesses certain other attributes. Again it can be waived, but it doesn't mean it will be waived. Chief Caid stated he would like a representative of the Police Department to participate in the review and decision because the career of a Police Officer is at stake. If there is a Police Officer from the City of Detroit and that officer has an exemplary record, have no college, but are a special tactics officer, a crime scene officer, or have a variety of specialized training that would be beneficial to this City, he wants to be able to tap that person and bring them on board. Whereas, if he has an officer from the City of Detroit that really has nothing in addition, he may not want to bring that person on board, but lean toward someone that does have more training and experience. Page 1320' Regular Meeting May 21, 2014 Mr. Tatigian thought what Mr. Biga was getting at was that one year of college usually 24 to 30 credit hours. Two years of college is usually up to 60 hours of college credit. He thought one year of experience seemed better than the equivalent of 12 hours of college. Chief Caid stated the reason he went with the numbers that he did was per semester. He explained this was not intended to be a tradeoff where one year of college equals one year of experience. He stated his intention was to recognize or have some recognition that college credit is important to us. Mr. Washington thought the suggested system was too restrictive. The less qualifications you have, the more applications you get. The broader your qualifications, the broader number of people will apply. Mr. Tatigian asked if the Chief wanted the Commission to act on this tonight. Ms. Mahoney asked for clarification if they were being asked to approve this and ask the Department and the Human Resources Director to work out the qualifications or are they directing the Department and the Human Resources Director to work out the qualifications and bring them back to the next meeting for review. Mr. Tatigian stated they could do an approving resolution. Mr. Biga suggested the Commission give them approval to work with the Police Department to arrive at mutually satisfactory qualifications and parts of examination and weights to get this announced and proceed. The Chief was willing to do that. Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and unanimously adopted, it was 14-73 RESOLVED, That having discussion with Curtis Caid, Police Chief; and Robert F. Biga, Human Resources Director, regarding the qualifications for the Police Officer open -competitive examination, the Civil Service Commission does hereby approve the Police Officer open -competitive examination with the understanding the Department and the Civil Service Department will work out the qualifications and parts of examination and weights to be mutually satisfactory. Chairperson Reinke stated he would like to see the requirements to become a Sergeant to be listed in the announcement. He believed candidates needed to know that up front. Ms. Mahoney agreed. Mr. Tatigian suggested this could be a note. Mr. Reinke wanted to see a general statement that in order for advancement within the Department, it will be a requirement that you have a minimum 2 -year certificate in law enforcement or closely related field. Ms. Mahoney suggested the language state in order to be eligible for promotion, you need to meet the qualifications that are in the current contract, because if the contract changes, the language still applies. Page 10 1320' Regular Meeting May 21, 2014 Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney and unanimously adopted, it was RESOLVED, that the meeting be adjourned at 6:39 p.m. Gretchen Guisbert, Secretary III Ronald Reinke, Chairman Charlotte Mahoney, Commissioner Harry C. Tatigian, Commissioner