PERSONNEL APPEALS BOARD

REGULAR MEETING

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2005

6:00 P.M.

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:       Bob Farrell, Marvin Sells and Jacqueline Hymes

 

OTHERS PRESENT:            Carolyn Sharp, Susan Sheikh

 

Meeting was called to order by Bob Farrell and 6:05 p.m. Jacqueline Hymes arrived at 6:40 p.m.  Ms. Sheikh asked members to amend the agenda order so that Chief Public Safety Dispatcher Carolyn Sharp could discuss the Public Safety Dispatcher process and not have to stay for discussion on the other items.  Members agreed to do this after the secretary’s report.

 

1.                  Approval of April 26, 2005 Regular Meeting Minutes:  Mr. Sells moved to approve; Mr. Farrell seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

 

2.                  Employee/Community Comments:  none

 

3.                  Secretary’s Report:  Mr. Sells listed items received in packet which included the April 26th meeting minutes, May 19th memo from Susan Sheikh regarding applications received for Service Worker, May 4th letter to Angela Curry, May 17th letter to Greg Portier and May 19th memo to Chief Taylor from Susan Sheikh regarding Public Safety Dispatcher testing along with information about the entry-level written exam and previous questionnaire and grading criteria.

 

4.                  Personnel Action

 

A.                 Service Worker

1.                  Grading of applications:  Members spent time going through the applications and grading based on the criteria that was established.  There was discussion about Frank Wiseman’s letter regarding one of the applicants and whether or not it was appropriate for him to call, or even see the applications prior to the board doing their evaluation.  Ms. Sheikh stated that she had suggested that the Department Head call to clarify some of the issues prior to presenting them to the board so that they would have the information.  She said the intent was merely to clarify whether or not the experience shown was accurate since the job history did not reflect the type of experience the applicant was claiming he had.  She said it is not uncommon for the Department Head to see the applications before they are presented to the board.  The Department Head does not have any input into the Board’s process and the memo was only pointing out something that the board would probably find out on its own.  Ms. Hymes said the Department Head should not have seen the applications and should not have written the memo, because now he has affected the Board’s process.  She said that the board should not question what the applicant has shown on the questionnaire if they are treating this as the test, and that the board should grade the applications based on the info the applicant states whether it seems accurate or not.  She said that if the applicant was lying on the questionnaire it will come out in the interview.  Ms. Sheikh agreed but said it would be nice if they could weed this type of thing out in the PAB process, or before, because interviewing is very time-consuming and it is also not fair that someone who may not be qualified ends up at the top of a list because they lied or exaggerated on their application.  Members agreed but said that they did not feel it was appropriate for them or anyone to question what the applicant was giving them and they would have to believe that the info being provided is accurate.  Ms. Sheikh said that she would run these issues by our Law Director or Clemans Nelson to see if there is any harm in the Department Head seeing the applications or if it was inappropriate for us to call and question the experience without calling all of the applicants.    

 

2.                  Motion to create eligibility list:  Mr. Sells moved to create the eligibility list based on the scores; Mr. Farrell seconded the motion.  Motion passed. 

3.                  Motion to certify top six candidates:  Mr. Sells moved to certify the top six candidates; Mr. Farrell seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

 

B.                 Public Safety Dispatcher

1.                  Update regarding provisional appointee:  Ms. Sheikh said that the applicant who was serving an emergency appointment has now been assigned to a provisional Public Safety Dispatcher position.  She said that she expects that the provisional appointee will participate in the written exam for a permanent position.

 

5.                  Eligibility Lists

 

A.                 Public Safety Dispatcher 1

1.                  Discussion with Chief of Police and Chief Public Safety:  Chief Taylor was not able to attend, but Carolyn Sharp was present and thanked members for amending the agenda order to accommodate her.  She referred members to her May 24th memo for which the Chief has reviewed and is in concurrence with.   The Police Department’s recommendation is to do away with the questionnaire and PAB grading, and to allow the written exam to be the sole determining factor regarding grades.  She said that they will interview the top six test takers and try to incorporate some of the questions on the questionnaire into the interview process.  Ms. Sheikh added that she is also in favor of this because it allows for a more objective process and takes away the subjectivity.  Mr. Farrell said that he like the idea, too.  He said that they can always change it next time if the test by itself doesn’t produce the type of candidates that the Police Department would like to see. 

 

2.                  Motion to establish testing process:  Mr. Sells moved to approve the written exam process; Mr. Farrell seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

 

3.                  Motion to advertise and post position:  Mr. Sells moved to approve the posting; Mr. Farrell seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

 

B.                 Police Officer:  Ms. Sheikh stated that although the eligibility list is still good, there are not many names still on it and the Chief has asked that we proceed with testing to establish a new list.  Mr. Farrell explained a little bit about the process for the benefit of new board member Jacqueline Hymes.  Mr. Farrell moved to approve the posting and to establish the passing grade at 75% as in the past; Ms. Hymes seconded the motion.  Motion passed. 

 

C.                 Public Safety Dispatcher 2 – update:  Ms. Sheikh said that this will remain on the table until further notice.

 

6.                  Other Business

 

A.                 PAB Rules and Regulations – update:  There is no new information regarding this.  Ms. Sheikh stated that the City will hire a consultant to review PAB rules and regulations and incorporate any necessary changes due to civil service reform.  This is not expected to occur until the Fall. 

 

B.                 According to the rules and regulation the board must elect a new chairman and vice chairman.  After discussion members agreed that Bob Farrell will continue to be Chairman, Jacqueline Hymes will be Vice Chairman and Marvin Sells will be Secretary.

 

 

 

7.                  Adjournment:  Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted:

 

 

___________________________

Susan Sheikh, Personnel Director