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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/11/2007• MAPLEWOOD CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MINUTES July 11, 2007 The July 11, 2007 meeting was called to order at 8:00 a.m. Members Present: Steve Gunn, Chair Marlene Palkovich, Secretary Lisa Liddell Others Present: Chief David Thomalla City Attorney Alan Kantrud Commission Liaison Terrie Rameaux Approval of Minutes Commissioner Palkovich made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 15, 2007 meeting. Commissioner Liddell seconded the motion. Ayes: 3, Nays: 0. Motion carried. Review Backgrounds of Police Officer Candidates and Certify Names Discussion of Candidate #19—Commissioner Liddell inquired about the gap in dates from completion of law enforcement program and the graduate date is 10/2001. Chief Thomalla stated the candidate completed the law enforcement training in 2001. They can take the licensing exam and are eligible for three years. They can then renew it to become eligible again for another three years if necessary. No further discussion on Candidate #19. Commissioner Palkovich made a motion to approve and accept the background for Candidate #19. Seconded by Commissioner Liddell. Ayes: 3; Nays: 0. Motion carried. Commissioner Palkovich inquired about the numerous applications to various law enforcement agencies. Chief Thomalla stated that this isn't unusual. The red flags are when they've been back - grounded by other agencies but not hired. The candidates may not test well or interview well and that's why they end up applying at numerous places. Commissioner Palkovich made a motion to certify Candidate #19. Seconded by Commissioner Liddell. Ayes: 3; Nays: 0. Motion carried. Discussion of Candidate #22—Commissioner Palkovich requested that the background summaries have page numbers inserted for easier reference. She inquired about an incident which occurred while the candidate was in college. Chief Thomalla stated he wasn't terribly concerned as they look at the totality of the circumstances. Another plus is that this candidate is a local candidate and is familiar with Maplewood's geography. 1 • Chair Gunn stated he preferred the block format of the background summary completed by Sergeant Crotty. He stated that both sergeants did a nice job on the background summaries with very good detail. He liked the more positive details provided by Sergeant Crotty's background summaries. No further discussion on Candidate #22. Commissioner Liddell made a motion to approve and accept the background for Candidate #22. Seconded by Commissioner Palkovich. Ayes: 3; Nays: 0. Motion carried. Commissioner Liddell made a motion to certify Candidate #22. Seconded by Commissioner Palkovich. Ayes: 3; Nays: 0. Motion carried. Staff Liaison Terrie Rameaux stated there are now a total of five names certified to the City. Chief Thomalla stated he's in need of hiring three candidates now. He stated that Officer Hawkinson is nearing completion of field training and doing an outstanding job. They recently swore in two new officers—Officers Fritze and Frederiksen. There are the two remaining new positions to fill plus the new vacancy created due to the retirement of Sergeant Andrews. Chief Thomalla stated that he would have liked to hire all five at the same time but they cannot get all the candidates through the field training process with the number of training officers they have. It takes three months to put a new officer through field training. The training officers have been busy most of this year being training officers. Commissioner Palkovich inquired if they could put new officers through another department's field training. Chief Thomalla stated it wasn't possible as each department has its own unique field training process here in Maplewood. 0 Review and Approve Revised Police Sergeant Job Description Chief Thomalla stated that Sergeant Scott Andrews retired the end of June. He served the city for 14 years. He is still using the two acting sergeants due to light duty assignments of other sergeants. One of the sergeants recently has returned back to patrol. Chief Thomalla stated the vacancy will be posted as other city jobs are within the city but it will be by promotion only. Candidates must complete a job application and will go through the process as determined by the Commission. Chair Gunn referenced the draft sergeant job description which was last amended in July 2005. The suggested changes are not that complicated. He inquired about the addition of a "traffic officer" added to the job description. Chief Thomalla stated they added this role last year. This position is not only dedicated to traffic enforcement and safety, but also oversees the operations of the property and evidence room and works extensively with Mr. Kantrud on vehicle forfeitures. Mr. Kantrud stated that Sergeant Steffen sold approximately 80 vehicles last year. He's also involved as a commercial vehicle inspector with the State Patrol within the community. Paramedic Coordinator was eliminated as that is now handled by the Fire Department. Commissioner Palkovich inquired if being a paramedic would help a candidate out. Chief Thomalla stated no, but it would help them qualify for the position as far as the education requirement. Chair Gunn stated that another addition to the job description as the "considerable ability to operate computers." Chief Thomalla stated that the department is much more computerized then it was years ago. If an officer's laptop is down, they are almost at a standstill. They've become very dependent . on computers. There was some discussion regarding the minimum qualifications for this position. He stated that there were no changes to the minimum qualifications. Chief Thomalla stated that officers are now required to have a minimum of two years of college. It would make sense for a sergeant to have a little more education. He also stated that new officers now days are coming in with much more higher education. Chief Thomalla stated that several of the department's officers are working on or have their Master's degrees and there are more four-year degrees than two-year degrees within the department. Commissioner Palkovich made a motion to approve the revised job description for police sergeant. Seconded by Commissioner Liddell, Ayes: 3; Nays: 0. Motion carried. Review and Approve Posting and Exam Process for Sergeant Commissioner Palkovich discussed the examination process and the weighting of the components. She inquired if the weighting of the police officer orals was changed during the most recent police officer oral process. Chair Gunn asked Chief Thomalla to explain the components of the exam process. Chief Thomalla stated the police career index is the written exam. This has been used the last few processes and has worked well. The promotability index, provided by PDI, is a process where current supervisors look at the qualities they feel are necessary for the candidate to be an effective sergeant and rate them on these qualities and their abilities. The oral exam is a structure panel interview. The questions are different every time as there are often the same candidates that apply. The panel consists of typically 3 panel members, one department lieutenant and two other outside police department supervisors. Departments do share other ranking officers for interview panels. Commissioner Palkovich inquired if she could either see the oral interview questions and even sit in and observe the process. Chief Thomalla stated that would be totally acceptable. Staff Liaison Terrie Rameaux stated that four of the criteria the supervisors rate the candidates on the promotability index are: interpersonal skills; dedication and conscientiousness; judgment, problem - solving and decision making; and integrity, fairness and self awareness. Chief Thomalla stated that PDI provides agencies with a list of criteria to select from based on the agency's needs. Commissioner Palkovich questioned the weighting of 40% for the oral exam as being a little too high. Chief Thomalla stated that the candidates are evaluated on how they provide information and how they perform in the stressful situation. He believes that practical application is move evident in the interview process instead of the written process. He stated he believe the promotability index is also a very helpful instrument. There was some discussion regarding writing skills deficiencies. Chief Thomalla stated that the exam did not test for writing skills. He stated that generally there isn't a problem with report writing at the supervisor level as there is at the police officer level. Chair Gunn inquired about report writing skills for police officers during the exam process. Chief Thomalla stated that we do a written exercise for police officer candidates that Commissioner Palkovich was involved in the scoring. It pertained to their use of grammar, writing abilities, etc. Commissioner Palkovich stated that it's becoming more difficult to find people that can write well. She attributes this to computer use. Chair Gunn stated he was impressed with the three different components of the exam seem to judge and measure different things. Chief Thomalla stated they look for the most rounded individual for these positions. Chair Gunn stated that in the past just job descriptions were discussed as they were updated. This particular job posting and the revised job description relate to this process. Chief Thomalla stated that job descriptions are updated as assignments and structure change. He also stated that internal job postings don't go up until there is a need to fill a position. Staff Liaison Terrie Rameaux stated that for all city job postings, the posting is essentially the job description. Chief Thomalla stated that there are potentially 20 candidates eligible for this position. But not all may apply. There are many candidates that are very happy where they are at within the department. Commissioner Palkovich stated that within other organizations, many times there are very qualified and productive officers that are happy where they are at in their career and don't wish to work their way up through the organization. She expressed concern about not making assumptions about these people wanting to stay where they are at in their career. Commissioner Liddell made a motion to approve the job posting for sergeant. Seconded by Commissioner Palkovich. Ayes: 3; Nays: 0. Motion carried. There being no further business, motion made by Commissioner Palkovich to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Liddell. Ayes: 3; Nays: 0. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:47 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Terrie Rameaux Recording Secretary 0 4