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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1339th CSC Meeting (December 09, 2015)1339M REGULAR MEETING OF THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION The 1339th Regular Meeting of the Civil Service Commission was held on Wednesday, December 9, 2015. The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chairman Jim Cambridge. Members Present: James R. Cambridge, Chairman Charlotte S. Mahoney, Commissioner Harry C. Taligian, Commissioner Also Present: Felicia Cross, Program Supervisor Timothy Fairgrieve, Vice -President, AFSCME Union Local 192 Michael Lewis, Custodian Donna McDowell, Co -Director of Community Resources Lamont Powell, Custodian Michael T. Slater, Director of Finance Christopher Swan, Custodian Brian Wilson, Assistant Director of Public Works Denise Maier, SPHR, Human Resources Director Derrick L. Washington, SPHR, Personnel Analyst II Gretchen Guisbert, Secretary III Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-179 RESOLVED, that the Minutes of the 1338th Regular Meeting held Wednesday, November 18, 2015, be approved as submitted. Chairman Cambridge requested to move Agenda items NB 1, NB 2 and NB 3 ahead of the Confirming Agenda and take care of those items first. There were no objections. Donna McDowell, Co -Director of Community Resources, presented her letter of December 2, 2015, requesting approval of transit/grant classifications pay rate increase to be effective December 1, 2015. Ms. McDowell stated the request is for a 2% pay rate increase. Ms. McDowell stated there are no general fund dollars that are used for transit wages and they are funded by the City transportation milage. Funds are already available for this projected increase and it is reflected in the updated wage rate schedule that is provided for the Commission's review. Ms. McDowell explained that the last time the transit/grant employees received a pay increase it was for a 3% increase and that was on September 1, 2008. These employees do not receive benefits other than holiday pay after the completion of 480 hours. Chairman Cambridge asked Ms. Maier if this was consistent with the 2% that other City employees are getting. Ms. Maier confirmed that it is. Ms. Mahoney asked how many employees there are. Ms. McDowell stated there are 24 Drivers, 1 Grant Manager, 1 Project Leader and 1 Project Coordinator. All the drivers are part- time and this is because of the Affordable Care Act. Michael Slater, Director of Finance, stated this process goes from the Civil Service Commission to City Council. Mr. Slater requested this be made effective on the first payroll Paget 1339' Regular Meeting nec nnlaer 9, 2015 after the City Council approval so the payroll department doesn't have to retroactively adjust everyone's payroll. Ms. Mahoney asked if Ms. McDowell would be adjusting the request, rather than the Commission changing it. Mr. Slater confirmed that was correct. This would help the Payroll Department avoid having to go back and adjust paychecks that these employees already received. Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-180 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the letter of December 2, 2015, from Donna McDowell, Co -Director, Community Resources, requesting approval of Transit/Grant classifications pay rate increase effective the first payroll after City Council approval, and having discussion with Donna McDowell, Co -Director of Community Resources and Michael T. Slater, Director of Finance, the Civil Service Commission does hereby approve the request for a 2% wage rate increase for Transit/Grant classifications to be effective the first payroll after City Council approval and submits same to City Council for their review and consideration. Denise Maier slated there was a request from Brian Wilson, Assistant Director of Public Works for an open -competitive examination for Custodian. Mr. Wilson stated the department had gone through the entire eligible list and they are actually hiring some people in a temporary capacity. There are people who came off the list who are temporary so they requested to keep the list until the new list is established. Ms. Mahoney inquired if the posting and the job qualifications were the same as the previous announcement. Mr. Washington stated we would advertise this time for part-time Custodian so that is the only change from the last time. Upon a motion by Mr. Tatigian, seconded by Ms. Mahoney, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-181 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the letter of November 17, 2015, from Brian Wilson, Assistant Director of Public Works (TA), requesting an open -competitive examination for Custodian 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: 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 its equivalent; and Possess and maintain a valid drivers license, and have an acceptable driving record; and Have a minimum of six (6) months full-time paid work experience preferably custodial, janitorial, laborer or maintenance work; and Page 1339' Regular Meeting Oecenixr 9, 2015 5. Be able to lift a minimum of fifteen (50) pounds. Written Test -50% Interview -50% Lift and Carry— Pass/Fail Brian Wilson began discussion regarding a request from three (3) AFSCME Union Local 192 employees to be granted status in the classification of Public Service Worker (PSW) I. Mr. Wilson explained that all three employees have performed well and went into these positions on a temporary basis but because of departmental needs and the unfilled positions, they have been in the position for well over a year on a temporary basis, except in Mr. Swan's case, he worked for about a year and then elected to go back to Building Maintenance because of some educational commitments. Mr. Wilson stated the issue comes down to making this consistent, particularly with a probationary period. Our Public Service Worker I position, which is new, has a 36 -month training rotation. Employees move from the Parks Department to Roads, Water and Sewer Department through those 36 months and it gets somewhat staggered. They also rotate into those sections at different times of the year. In the first 12 months they will rotate through each section in the Department. Currently, the probationary period for this position is six (6) months. It would make more sense that the probationary period be twelve (12) months in future examinations. These gentlemen have completed the 12 -month probationary period. Derrick Washington, explained that in keeping with the Civil Service Commission Rules and Regulations, all employees are employed after being placed on an eligible list first. And while these three employees are very good workers, they are not currently on an eligible list for PSW 1. The AFSCME Union Local 192 contract gives 192 workers the opportunity, if they are on the eligible list and working in the position, to be granted status. This would be a huge departure from past practice. Mr. Tatigian asked if it would be a violation of the contract. Mr. Washington confirmed it would and it would be a violation of the Commission's own Rules and Regulations. These gentlemen are not on the current PSW I eligible list. Ms. Mahoney inquired how a person gets on the eligible list. Mr. Washington stated you have to be qualified, which these gentlemen are; you have to pass the written test, which these gentlemen did, but they didn't score high enough to be interviewed for the position, so they did not meet all the parts and weights of the examination. In order for these gentlemen to get on a list they would need to take the test the next time we administer the Public Service Worker I examination. They would need a passing score in the top 20 to be invited to the interview. Mr. Wilson stated there is an eligible list for this from which they have hired four (4) plus an additional four (4) are completing the hiring process right now. Mr. Wilson explained there were some individuals who had been removed from the list because they declined the interview. He believed there were approximately ten (10) people left on the eligible list. Page 1339'" Regular Meeting December 9, 2015 Ms. Mahoney stated the work these gentlemen provide is greatly appreciated and asked how much longer they needed to wait in order for them to have another opportunity to take the lest. Mr. Wilson stated the eligible lists are valid for one year, or approximately next summer. Mr. Wilson stated there have been discussions with the Union about the possibility of having dual examinations, meaning running both a promotional and an open -competitive examination simultaneously. The Department would be looking at the establishment of an eligible list from both examination processes. He indicated there are some challenges right now as to how the interview process and the certification work. Ideally, they would like to have certification of the top 3 from the open competitive and the lop person from the promotional so the department would have the opportunity to interview four. The internal candidates would have the opportunity to gel on that list and not have to compete with the open -competitive candidates. There are other issues that would need to be worked out, but it has been accomplished with other examinations, such as Water Meter Repairer II. Mr. Cambridge stated there were two things that need to be satisfied. One is that they have to be on the eligible list and as he understood it, they are qualified and they have taken the test but they need to score higher. Mr. Cambridge asked if they really needed to score higher or how do they satisfy the testing element to get higher on the list so they can get into this classification. Mr. Wilson stated if they came to an agreement as to running a dual examination, if these gentlemen were on the promotional list, they would have satisfied all of the conditions as far as status goes. It also gives the opportunity for internal people if they are taking temporary positions because they are on a list for that position, they could get status from that. Mr. Cambridge asked what was involved in doing a dual examination. Mr. Wilson stated this would be for the next examination process because there is a valid eligible list in place right now. Mr. Wilson stated AFSCME Union Local 192 has asked for this and there will be some discussion regarding this because there are some challenges in their contract in order to do this. Mr. Cambridge confirmed this needed to be negotiated. Mr. Wilson stated the Department's stance on this is that they know these gentlemen have done a good job. The current eligible list is due to expire on June 18, 2016. Ms. Mahoney stated there are Civil Service Rules and the 192 contract in place and her concern is that if we step up as a Commission and violate the contract which says that status comes from the eligible list process, what is actually being violated in the contract? Mr. Wilson stated there are 3 tests for status. One is that the employee has to serve the same equivalent probationary period as somebody getting a regular appointment. They have to have passing ratings during that period and they have to be on an existing eligible list. He believed these individuals met two of the three tests, it's the eligible list that is the issue. Ms. Mahoney asked if the City and the Union got together to figure out how to come to an agreement on some change in that wording, the difficulty is if we only change it for the benefit of the workforce and not give the City something. It seems that we can get around the Civil Service Rules if the contract were altered to make that happen. Ms. Mahoney asked if they were premature in acting on this if there were discussions to be had. Mr. Wilson explained they were ready to have discussion on this but with the leaf pick-up program and the various Page 1339'" Regular Meeting December 9, 2015 demands on the Department, it was thought once leaf pick-up was over with that meeting would be scheduled. That meeting is to be scheduled. Ms. Mahoney stated finding good workers is tough and when you have understood for a whole year what these employees can do, you would hate to lose them to elsewhere. However, we have to be extremely careful as a Commission. She said she hesitated to act on this either way because there is more that needed to be done in the background so when the issue comes forward it is something that keeps the Commission from being in violation of the contract, even if it's an amendment. Mr. Tatigian agreed with Ms. Mahoney and recommended they come up with a solution that doesn't violate the contract and the Commission would go along with that. Mr. Wilson agreed that the contract needed to be changed in order to come up with a solution going forward. Mr. Tatigian suggested there could be a letter of understanding. Ms. Mahoney didn't want to punish individuals because the contract is wrong, but unfortunately, a contract is a contract. Ms. Mahoney wanted to be able to help these individuals but stated they are bound by the contract. Ms. Mahoney asked if they could refer this back to the Department and the Union for some additional information on it. Mr. Wilson stated there are really 3 areas that need to be addressed and a way going forward in the future that internal candidates can compete in this process and have these opportunities for status by coming off of a promotional eligible list while we still maintain an open -competitive eligible list as well. In accomplishing that we also need to address this current situation and what possibly can be done about that. We need to establish a legitimate probationary period for this and given the rotational system and the fact that after 12 months they have rotated through the department, which makes the most sense. Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-182 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the letter of November 25, 2015, from memorandum of December 7, 2015, from Brian Wilson, Assistant Director of Public Works and Donald R. Rohreff, Director of Public Works and the memorandum of December 7, 2015, from Derrick L. Washington, SPHR, Personnel Analyst 11, regarding a request to grant Public Service Worker I (PSW) Status to three (3) AFSCME 192 employees, and having discussion with Brian Wilson, Assistant Director of Public Works; Derrick L. Washington, Personnel Analyst 11, the Civil Service Commission does hereby refer this matter back to the department and the union for further discussion and to bring back additional information. Chairman Cambridge stated the Commission appreciated what the three employees do and the work that they do and they want this to tum out well. But they have to find a way to do what's best for them without violating the Rules of the Civil Service Commission and without violating the contract. He felt sure that when the leadership of the department and the union got together, they will get to the right result. But the Commission can't act right now because they would be violating the Rules and the contract and they don't want to start doing that. Mr. Cambridge urged the management and union leadership to gel together, negotiate like they always do, and solve this problem for these individuals and for the future. Page 1339' Regular Meeting nece�r9, 2015 Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-183 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the letter of November 17, 2015, from Adriane Spencer, Election Systems Operator, requesting a leave of absence from the classified service, as a result of her appointment to the position of Deputy Clerk, the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of a leave of absence from the classified service for the period December 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-184 RESOLVED, That having reviewed the letter of December 1, 2015, from Kenneth Carnes, Public Service Worker II, requesting an unpaid medical leave of absence, the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of a ninety (90) day unpaid medical leave of absence beginning January 19, 2015; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that should Mr. Carnes not return to work for at least thirty (30) calendar days after the approved unpaid medical leave of absence, he will be responsible to reimburse the City of Livonia for any cost for benefits paid for Mr. Carnes during his 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 Mr. Carnes' control. Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-185 RESOLVED, that the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the eligible list for Teller 1 (1385 p.). Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-186 RESOLVED, that the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the eligible list for Civil Engineer III (1380 p.). Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-187 RESOLVED, that the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the eligible list for Assistant Director of Public Works (1381 p.). Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-188 RESOLVED, that the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the eligible list for Superintendent of Public Service (1384 p.). Pagel 1339' Regular Meeting Oece�r9, 2015 Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian, and unanimously adopted, it was 15-189 RESOLVED, that the Civil Service Commission does hereby affirm the administrative approval of the eligible list for Police Captain (1378 p.). The Commission received and fled the following: a. Temporary Report as of November, 2015. b. Non -Resident Report as of December 1, 2015. C. Council Resolution from the meeting of November 4, 2015, with minutes to be approved November 16, 2015: #333-15, concurring in and approving of the amendment to the Classification of Positions Plan to re -title the classification of City Librarian to Library Director and refers this matter to the Department of Law to prepare an appropriate ordinance amendment to reference the new title. J. Council Resolutions from the meeting of November 16, 2015, with minutes to be approved December 2, 2015: #353-15, approving the reappointment of Ken Harb to the Livonia Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for a term of three years, which will expire on November 24, 2018. #354-15, approving the reappointment of William Fried, to the Livonia Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for a term of three years, which will expire on November 24, 2018. #358-15, approving the dales for City Council meetings for 2016, subject to change with notice. #366-15, appointing Adriane Spencer to the Office of Deputy City Clerk of the City of Livonia for the period of December 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015. e. Expiring eligible lists for the month of January 2016 — Account Clerk II (987 o.c.), Building Inspector (1001 o.c.) and Electrical Inspector (976 o.c.). Upon a motion by Ms. Mahoney, seconded by Mr. Tatigian, and unanimously adopted, it was RESOLVED, that the meeting be adjourned at 6:07 p.m. Gretchen Guisbert, Secretary III James C. Cambridge, Chairman Charlotte S. Mahoney, Commissioner Harry C. Tatigian, Commissioner