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Home My WebLink About12-13-2005 . AUBUitN . $'77' ,.... WASHINGTON Peter B. Lewis, Mayor 25 West Main Street * Auburn WA 98001-4998 * www.auburnwa,gov * 253-931-3000 CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MEETING Meeting Minutes of December 13, 2005 The regularly scheduled meeting of the Civil Service Commission was held December 13, 2005, in Resource Room #2 located on the second floor of Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main Street, Auburn, WA. The following members were in attendance. MEMBERS PRESENT: Dick Kammeyer, Chairman; Charles Booth, Member; Gail Solberg, Secretary/Chief Examiner STAFF PRESENT: Chief of Public Safety Jim Kelly; Joe Beck, Assistant City Attorney GUESTS: none ACTION: Chairman Kammeyer called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Approval of November 8, 2005 Civil Service meeting minutes. Minutes were accepted as written, COMMISSION POLICE DEPARTMENT Gail Solberg reported that the written test for the Entry-Level Police Officer was conducted on December 3, 2005, and we are waiting for the results to be scored. We had 69 candidates participate in the written exam, Chief Kelly reported that we distributed 200 applications with only 70 applications being returned, He also reported that other surrounding agencies are having the same issues in recruiting interested candidates. Chairman Kammeyer commented that the fee is charged to the candidates when they return their applications. Solberg stated that we only distribute 1 application per person, however it doesn't necessarily have to be the person who will be participating in the test. Chief Kelly stated we're down two positions and anticipating four retirements in 2006, and four other officers are looking at other opportunities outside the City of Auburn, Future growth is also a potential issue as well as the struggle of securing Academy slots for the entry-level candidates we've already hired. We were not able to get any Academy slots for January and mayor may not be successful in securing any slots for February, Kammeyer asked if there is anything that could be done to get the Academy to take more candidates, Kelly reported it's a state funding issue, however there may be AUBURN * MORE THAN YOU IMAGINED communication we could forward to the state to encourage additional funding, There has been an increase to the Spokane Academy, but it's still minimal. Kelly reported his concern that our new list may be exhausted quickly due to the number of candidates who participated in the test and the rate in which they are dropped during the background phase, therefore we will probably need to be looking at establishing another list mid-year, 2006, He also stated we're having a hard time recruiting good lateral candidates and that Auburn's initial compensation package for laterals is below what a current lateral candidate would currently make; however lateral candidates make up the difference in compensation in the long run, but initially typically will take a cut in pay, Additionally, we have not had a high success rate with lateral candidates in the past. Solberg reported that she expects to receive the written test scores back by the end of the week and we will be conducting oral interviews at the beginning of January, 2006. Chief Kelly stated he would like to initiate discussions for establishing a list for the Assistant Police Chief position and is anticipating the need for a list sometime during the April/May, 2006 timeframe, Chuck Booth motioned to initiate the process for a new Assistant Police Chief list and Kammeyer seconded. Chief Kelly also reported a recent termination of a Police Officer for falsification of official documents. Two internal investigations were conducted and sustained the allegations of falsification of documents as well as dishonesty. Misconduct from the Officer was dated back to 1999, falsifying hundreds of documents. His termination date was December 9, 2005, An improved verification process has been established to review accuracy of documents, FIRE DEPARTMENT Gail Solberg reported that we held Entry-Level Firefighter Oral Boards on December 5, 6, 7, 2005. The interview panel consisted of three Captains from the Fire Department. We interviewed the top 40 candidates (plus ties) from the written exam for a total of 49 candidates, Approximately 30 candidates passed the oral interview and letters will be distributed to all candidates interviewed by the end of the week. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting adjourned at 3:55 p.m. cc: Commission Members Mayor Peter B, Lewis Chief of Public Safety Chief Jim Kelly Deputy Police Chief Bob Lee Deputy Fire Chief Gerber Brenda Heineman, Director of Human Resources/Risk Mgmt Dan Heid, City Attorney Dani Daskam, City Clerk Joe Beck, Assist. City Attorney Police Guild/Mark Callier FF Union Local #1352/Doug Darmody Rudy Peden, FD Training CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Dick Kammeyer, Chairman Cyril Van Selus, Member Charles A. Booth, Member