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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-05-25 CSB MINUTESPRESENT: ABSENT: /IQ MINUTES BOARD OF CAREER SERVICE COMMISSIONERS MAY 25, 1978 Judith Henning, Jo Ellen Turner, Robert Brundage. William Hanson, Edward White OTHERS PRESENT: Mel BeVirt, Hugh Brown, Jim Curnes, Carclyne Boettger, Al Rhoades, Richard Edison, Patrice Patrone ********** Commissioner Henning called the meeting to order and asked the Board if there were any additions or corrections to the April 20, 1978 minutes. Commissioner Turner moved and Commissioner Brundage seconded that the minutes of the April 20, 1978 meeting be approved as distributed. AYES: Henning, Turner, Brundage NAYS: None ********** The next item on the agenda was the Employee Associations' Choice.· Al Rhoades had nothing to report. Richard Edison had nothing to report. r ********** The next item on the agenda was the City Manager's Choice. Jim Curnes reported that the City Council, at a study session held Monday, May 22, 1978, endorsed a reorganization concept for the Fire Department as recommended by the Fire Chief. Career Service will become involved when the Fire Department formally requests the approval of the position of Deputy Chief. Mel BeVirt further stated that the Fire Department would request the Board to authorize an audit of the position of Deputy Fire Chief so that a job description can be developed and a grade and wage rate can be established for that position. On June 5, 1978, Council will take official action to create and appropriate for the position. The Employee Relations department will then present the results of the audit to the Career Service Board and will request a declaration of vacancy for the position. Commissioner Henning asked how Board of Career Se~vice Commissioners Minutes Page Two this procedure stood with the Benchmark classification system. Mr. BeVirt stated that both the present system and the proposed Benchmark system would be carefully considered. In order to establish a wage rate, other positions within the Fire Department and other like positions in the area will be surveyed. This will be done before the June 5th Council meeting. Commissioner Brundage asked who was now performing the duties that this new position would cover. Mr. BeVirt stated that at this time no one person was doing these duties. Commissioner Brundage then voiced the concern that we might be creating a position where duties would then have to be found to j us;t~ify it. Richard Edison stated that there is currently a p~tion of Assistant Chief which is going to be dropped, and the position of Deputy Chief will then take over the duties. The Fire Department is currently rotating Battalion Chiefs into the Assistant Chief position; however, this is causing a good deal of disruption as a result of the time required for each new person in the position to become oriented. Mr. Edison indicated that about eight years ago there was a ~osition of Deputy Chief listed. He requested that the Board research the status of that position and stated that the Association as a representative of this position would be interested in its •' status. Commissioner Henning stated that the Employee Relations Department was currently researching the status of a number of ~ Assistant Department Head positions and that Mr. Edison's ,_, request would fit right in line with some of the work being done. Commissioner Brundage stated concern that the Deputy Chief could be Acting-Chief. Commissioner Henning acknowledged that problem regarding which positions were management and which positipns were not do exist and that, hopefully, they will be worked out. ********** The next item on the agenda was the Employee Relations Director's Choice. Mel BeVirt stated that it was his under- standing that on June 5, 1978, Council will make appropriations for the Court Administrator position in Municipal Court. The Board, thus, appears to be a step ahead of itself in the declaration of vacancy. The Council, at a study session has approved the position and two other clerical positions, but they have not yet taken formal action to make an appropriation for the administrative position. Mr. Curnes confirmed that the City Council, along with the Judge in a study session, did appropriate funds in his budget for the position, however, the Council has not yet amended the classification system to include this position. The Council by way of resolution will adopt the position of Court Administrator and place that in the classification plan thereby amending the plan. Board of Career Service Commissioners Minutes Page Three Mr. BeVirt suggested that when the Council acts on June 5, 1978, the Board authorize a declaration of vacancy provided the Council does establish and appropriate the position on the 5th. Commissioner Brundage moved that the Court Ad- ministrator position for the Municipal Court be established at a grade 7. Commissioner Turner seconded the motion. It was agreed that if there were any problem with the Board giving prior approval to this action, a telephone poll of the Commissioners would be made at the time the Council meeting was held. AYES: Henning, Turner, Brundage NAYS: None Mr. BeVirt presented a letter from Mr. James Lloyd requesting that the hearing scheduled for him for this evening, May 25, 1978 be postponed for a period of 30 days, due to the absence of two members of the Board. He further explained that Mr. Lloyd was contacted by telephone and informed that two members of the Board would not be present. When asked if he wished to proceed with the hearing, Mr. Lloyd indicated that he would prefer to wait. He was asked to put this request in writing. Commissioner Brundage asked whether Mr. Lloyd realized that eventhough the hearing were postponed, it could not be guaranteed that a full board would be present for the next scheduled hearing date. Mr. BeVirt stated that he felt Mr. Lloyd was aware of that possibility, but that this postponement gave Mr. Lloyd the benefit of the possibility that more Board members might be present at a later date. Mr. Curnes voiced the City's concern that should the Board find in favor of Mr. Lloyd, the City should not be held liable for any losses incurred by Mr. Lloyd during the postponement period of 30 days. The Board decided to wait to make any decisions until after the regular meeting to see if, perhaps, Mr. Lloyd might be present at the hearing time. ********** The next item on the agenda was the Commissioners' Choice. Commissioner Henning extended the Board's concern and sympathy to Commissioner White and Commissioner Hanson and wished them both a quick recovery. Richard Edison stated that the Fire- fighters wished to send flowers to Mr. White and Mr. Hanson and asked if there were any problems with their doing so . It was suggested that flowers be sent on behalf of the Firefighters and not the associations so that there would be no room for misinterpretations. Commissioner Brundage expressed his concern for Bill Hanson and indicated that he is still in the hospital. Ed White is currently resting at home. Board of Career Service Commissioners Minutes Page Four Commissioner Henning inquired about the status of the Benchmark reclassification project. Mel BeVirt explained that things are temporarily at a slow down while the department is in the process of hiring a secretary. He further stated that the depart ment has received a grant in order to help in getting the p r oje ct going and that it is anticipated that Billie Webb from IPA will be assisting the City in this project. Ms. Webb was instrumental in prior work on the Benchmark system. ********** The next item on the agenda was the approval of the eligibility lists. Commissioner Turner moved and Commissioner Brundage seconded that the eligibility list for Police Officer (Police) be approved as read. AYES: Henning, Turner, Brundage NAYS: None Commissioner Brundage moved and Commissioner Turner seconded that the eligibility list for Intermediate Clerk Typist (Municipal Court) be approved as read. AYES: Henning, Turner, Brundage NAYS: None Commissioner Turner moved and Commissioner Brundage seconded that the eligibility list for Junior Accounting Clerk (Purchasing)· be approved as read. AYES: Henning, Turner, Brundage NAYS: None ********** The next item on the agenda was the Declaration of Vacancies. Commissioner Brundage moved and Commissioner Turner seconded the motion that the position of Court Administrator be declared a vacancy pending approval of Council and effective June 6, 1978. This approval process of the Board will be subject to the approval of the City Attorney. AYES: Henning, Turner, Brundage NAYS: None Cornrr.issioner Henning stated that the remaining declaration of vacancies included Maintenanceworker (Utiltiies), Law Board of Career Service Commissioners Minutes Page Five Enforcement Aide (Police), Intermediate Clerk Typist (Municipal Court), Maintenanceworker/Operator Trainee (Wastewater), PBX Operator (Finance). Mel BeVirt explained that currently there are not eligibility lists for one Intermediate Clerk Typist position and the PBX Operator. The vacancies will be filled by interdepartmental transfers. He further explained that the individual wishing to transfer from PBX Operator to Intermediate Clerk Typist took the exam, but currently holds a position of the same grade as the transfer position. The individual wishing to transfer from the Law Enforcement Aide position to the Intermediate Clerk Typist position will be taking a voluntary demotion of three steps. Commissioner Brundage voiced a concern that the individuals wishing to transfer may not have proven their qualifications for the new positions. Mr. BeVirt assured him that the PBX Operator had passed the exam for the Intermediate Clerk Typist position and that the Law Enforcement Aide had previously passed an even more stringent exam than for Inter- mediate Clerk Typist in order to hold the position of higher grade. Commissioner Turner moved and Commissioner Brundage seconded a motion to approve the declaration of vacancies for the positions of Maintenanceworker (Utilities), Law Enforcement Aide (Police), Intermediate Clerk Typist (Municipal Court-2 positions) Maintenanceworker/Operator Trainee (Wastewater), and PBX Operator (Finance). AYES: Henning, Turner, Brundage NAYS: None Carolyne Boettger raised the question of the classification of the Deputy Clerk position in the Municipal Court. She explained that as the positions now stand in the reorganization, one individual doing the work of a Deputy Clerk will be classified at a Grade 1 and the other will be classified at a Grade 2 level. This will cause a number of problems in the office. Commissioner Henning stated that it was her under- standing that the situation would be corrected by the Bench- mark reclassifications. Ms. Boettger stated that it was her understanding that the Employee Relations Department would check into the situation and make temporary adjustments until the Benchmark classification system could be implemented. Mr. BeVirt stated that there were two issues being addressed . One, that the positions be audited to determine if there is; in fact, an inequity and two, that a job audit be made of the two positions to determine if they belong in a higher grade level than a grade two. An audit indicated that the Grade 2 classification was warranted, thus an inequity does exist. The question the Career Service Board must address is whether to begin taking individual actions for each position in the City that might be misclassified or whether to ask Board of Career Service Commissioners Minutes Page Six all departments to wait for such actions until such time as Benchmark is implemented. Mr. BeVirt expressed his concern for the difficult situation currently existing in the Municipal Court; however, he also expressed concern for other departments facing similar and even more difficult problems regarding classifications. Mr. Rhoades inquired as to how soon Benchmark might be implemented. Mr. BeVirt stated that it is now anticipated that Benchmark will be in effect sometime after the first of next year. He voiced concern that if the Board begins to try to adjust inequities at this time there will be a great duplication of effort and the potential will be high for a good deal of confusion to those who will experience two reclassifications within a few months. Mr. -Curnes asked Ms. Boettger if she was representing the position of the employee assiciation or that of the court. He further stated that it was his feeling that if ·another department were addressing this situation, they would go through the City Manager's office rather than going directly before the Board. After further discussion, Commissioner Brundage stated that he felt that based upon the records of the previous meeting, it had been agreed that the Board could work on the Court's classification problem until July. At that time, if Benchmark were still not implemented, then the Board would consider further action. Commissioner Henning asked Mr. BeVirt if he has been alerted to a.ny existing clg.~pification problems in other departments. Mr. BeVirt said that he is aware of a number of problems, but that the department heads have agreed to work along with the personnel system in an effort to correct them through the Benchmark system. Mr. Curnes pointed out that if the Board decides to adjust the classifications in one department and not all of them, they will be opening themselves to the possibility of a number of grievances from other employees who feel that their classifica- tions are not appropriate. Mr. BeVirt recommended that the Board postpone action until July. At that time, they can reassess the situation and the progress being made in the Benchmark system. He cautioned, however, that Benchmark would not be fully implemented by that time. Commissioner Henning stated that she would prefer to handle the situation as suggested by Mr. BeVirt. Further, that if there were problems, they were to be taken to the Employee Relations Department or through the City Managers office, that is through the proper channels before they are brought before the Board. She further stated that the Board is sympathetic to the situation and asked that the Board be given time to work out as much of the problem as possible until Jul y . Board of Career Service Commissioners Minutes Page Seven ********** The next item on the agenda was the approval of the Personnel Actions. Commissioner Brundage moved and Commissioner Turner seconded that the list of personnel actions be approved. AYES: Henning, Turner, Brundage NAYS: None ********** Commissioner Henning asked if James Lloyd had appeared for the 8:00 p.m. hearing. He had not. Commissioner Henning stated that she felt the Board should honor the City's request that should they find in Mr. Lloyd's favor, the City not be liable for any losses incurred by Mr. Lloyd for the period of time between the date of May 25, 1978 and the new hearing date. Commissioner Brundage suggested that a letter. to that effect be written to Mr. Lloyd advising him of the Board's position. Commissioner Turner moved and Commissioner Brundage seconded the motion that the Jim Lloyd hearing be rescheduled for June 15, 1978. Mr. Lloyd will be advised that there is a possibility that there will still be only three members on the Board at that time or the possibility that there will not be a quorum for that meeting. If there is no quorum, a meeting will have to be scheduled for July. AYES: Henning, Turner, Brundage NAYS; None t ********** Commissioner Henning called for a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Brundage moved and Commissioner Turner seconded that the meeting be adjourned. AYES: Henning, Turner, Brundage NAYS: None Board of Career Service Commissioners Minutes Page Eight NEW PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES: Abalos, Clarita C. Bock, Thomas Nelson Mills, Kenneth Wayne Peterson, Leilani Scheider, Thomas Matthew Scheinost, Gail Shevlin, Michael Van Alphen, John Richard RESIGNATIONS: Archer, Gary Goff, Linda L. Johnson, George Allen Magers, Walter A. Thode, Michael L. OTHER TERMINATIONS: Libberton, James Junior Account Clerk 1-A, Effective 5/15/78 Pol.ice Officer 4th Class Effective 5/10/78 Police Officer 4th Class Effective 5/10/78 Intermediate Clerk Typist 1-A, Effective 5/8/78 Police Officer 4th Class Effective 5/10/78 Laboratory Technician 6-A, Effective 5/22/78 Maintenanceworker 2-A, Effective 5/1/78 Police Officer 4th Class Effective 6/1;78 Maintenanceworker 2-A, Effective 4/28/78 Police Officer 1st Class Effective 5/31/78 Assistant Director 11-B, Effective 5/2/78 Driver/Operator/Engineer Effective, 3/28/78 Police Officer 4th Class Effective, 5/18/78 Environmental Specialist 9C, Effective 4/26/78 (Abolishment of position) Board of Career Service Commissioners Minutes Page Nine PROBATIONARY TO PERMANENT STATUS WITH INCREASE: Barger, Donald Mack Caudill, Charles Fisher, John E. Helms, James C. Jr. Henderson, David L. Schimpfle, Charles Seaman, James Wilkins, Edward J. Plant Operator 6-A to 6-B, Effective 5/16/78 Chief Lab Technicjan 7-A to 7-B, Effective 5/16/78 Chief Operator 7-A to 7-B, Effective 5/1/78 Apprentice Operator Trainee 2-A to 2-B, Effective 5/16/78 Engineering Aide I 3-A to 3-B, Effective 5/16/78 Maintenanceworker 2-A to 2-B, Effective 5/16/78 Equipment Operator I 4-A to 4-E, Effective 4/16/78 Golf Course Grounds Supervisor 7-A to 7-B, Effective 5/16/78 PROBATIONARY TO PERMANENT STATUS WITHOUT INCREASE: Bock, John W. Rahn, Warren I. ANNIVERSARY INCREASES: Ferguson, Paul Marchant, Betty McWhorter, Jake Roden, Charles Schell, Michael Draftsman/Inspector r 4-E, Effective 5/16/78 Sergeant Effective 5/12/78 Superintendent 10-C to 10-D, Effective 5/16/78 Deputy Treasurer 6-D to 6-E, Effective 5/1/78 Lab Technician 8-B to 8-C, Effective 4/26/78 Lab Technician 8-B to 8-C, Effective 5/1/78 Firefighter 3rd Class to Firefighter 2nd Class, Effective 4/16/78 Board of Career Service Commissioners Minutes Page Ten PROMOTIONS: Stuart, John M. APPROVAL OF ELIGIBILITY LISTS: 1. Police Officer (Police) Firefighter 1st Class to Driver/Operator/Engineer, Effective 4/21/78 2. Intermediate Clerk Typist (Police) ;3. Junior Accounting Clerk (Purchasing) DECLARATION OF VACANCIES: 1. ~Court Administrator (Municipal Court) 2. Maintenanceworker (Utilities) 3. Law Enforcement Aide (Police) 4. Intermediate Clerk Typist(Municipal Court) 5. Maintenanceworker/Operator Trainee (Wastewater) 6. PBX Operator (Finance) Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Judith B. Henning, Chairman