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Home My WebLink About08/27/1998 CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION August 27, 1998 10:00 a.m. First Floor Conference Room Members Present: John Blitsch,Gwen Johnson, Walter Reed(Ex Officio) Members Absent: Tim Luce Others Present: Frank Magsamen,Paul fluting,Cheryl Huddleston Moved by Johnson, seconded by Blitsch to approve the Agenda as mailed. Motion carried. Commissioner Johnson did not feel the minutes from the June 24, 1998 meeting were complete and reflected what was discussed at the meeting. The tapes will be reviewed and the minutes rewritten if needed. It was explained that minutes are not meant to be a complete transcript of the meeting but only a summary of the high points and official decisions made by the Commission. Several items were clarified for Commissioner Johnson including: 1) The order of names on the Civil Service List indicates ranking by the interview panel with highest scoring candidate listed first. It is the responsibility of the Civil Service Commission to certify that testing, as conducted, was appropriate. It is the responsibility of the Department Head to make an appointment from the list based on further interviews and/or a review of score sheets, resumes, application forms, etc. The first candidate on the list may not be the best fit for the job; the Department Head can appoint anyone on that first list. 2) There has not been a minimum size established for a pool of candidates. 3) Commissioner Johnson emphasized that she would have postponed voting on the list for Instrumentation Control Foreman if she had been aware a letter was needed from the Mayor. 4) The changes on the job description and testing criteria for Park Maintenance II were numerous because the wrong notice and description were initially sent to the Commission members in their packet. The revised job description and notice were presented to the Commission at the meeting and were what was to be discussed and voted upon. a. It was explained that a physical examination is required for this position; federal CDL drug-testing rules are followed for this position but the physical examination is a City requirement. b. Loss of the CDL license does not necessarily result in termination so the present wording is actually accurate. Commissioner Johnson does not agree that rules for present employees regarding driver record should be less strict than for job applicants. There was considerable discussion and explanation as to why the City has chosen to not always terminate an employee for loss of a driver's license. It is not the decision of the Civil Service Commission to initially establish how and why a certain disciplinary action is taken. The Commission might become involved if an employee decides to appeal a disciplinary action before the Civil Service Commission. c. There is no official City policy regarding amount of weight a certain job classification should be able to lift except for Solid Waste Operators. Our Occupational Health doctor would like to see a standard of 40 pounds but this standard has not been adopted. Commissioner Blitsch does not see a problem with the present language as long as the employee does not get into trouble if he or she can ask for help. 5. Commissioner Johnson clarified that she does not want to see scoring charts. She is still confused at what she is looking at when she sees a list of candidates. It was explained that the order of the list is based on examination scores, but that the department head can hire anyone from the first list, regardless of placement; also, a department head is never on the scoring panel for any type of testing. For promotional examinations she wants to know what position(s)the employee previously held and how long. For open examinations she wants to know gender and race of those interviewed and on the list(s). UNFINISHED BUSINESS The Civil Service List for Programmer Analyst was presented for certification. There are two vacancies, one due to a resignation and the other, a newly budgeted position. The Commission in April approved the job description and testing criteria. 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JOJ moils lou pip saigpipuno awn •smatn taiu! palonpuoo lutnO tug. pun sdilpgd '1 i'J 'mama- a311 A •main taiu! of paiinu! a.tam saigpipugo uai pun aigp augpgap aqi ,Cq pantaoai atom sattmsai lCivaM1 •sivauiligdap 1Clt3 11g ut paisod pun lsti uoiloy anputtuujv aqi uo suoiigztun .io pun satoua2r aril of was aollou g `aoyuas are not any vacancies now,the present list expires in December and the recruiting and testing process takes about three months. This is essentially the same job notice and job description that was used two years ago although candidates will now need to have at least an EMT-B before they can take the written examination. The testing fee was increased to $11.00 from $9.00 based on the actual cost to purchase the test materials. The essential functions were developed by a group of consultants for the Municipal Fire and Police Pension Board and are the standard for any larger, paid fire department in the State of Iowa. Commissioner Johnson suggested we add to the cover letter and job notice that candidates can pay for the test by either check or cash. In response to a question from Johnson, it was explained that the Physical Ability Test is pass/fail and will not be weighted at all to determine the overall score and consequent placement on the Civil Service List. A candidate who fails the Physical Ability Test will be automatically eliminated from consideration and will not proceed to the interview portion of the testing. Moved by Blitsch, seconded by Johnson to approve the job description and testing criteria for Fire Fighter. Motion carried. The job description and testing criteria for Fire Engineer was presented for approval. This is also the same process that has been used previously. Commissioner Johnson wondered why we use only 50% of the raw written score? No one at the meeting could answer that question except that it was set up that way several years ago and will not change the overall composition of the final list. Moved by Johnson, seconded by Blitsch to approve the job description and testing criteria for Fire Engineer. Motion carried. The job description and testing criteria for Bookkeeper was presented for approval. Commissioner Johnson stated this seemed to be a combined position--Bookkeeper and Secretary. It was explained that there is not enough money to hire two people and separate these job duties, that it has worked well in the past to have this cross-training, and that there are several clerks who routinely perform what are traditionally considered secretarial functions or who fill in during absences; also, there are some departments where the professional staff perform secretarial and clerical functions because the money is not there to hire additional staff. The reality of the situation is that the person who fills this position is expected to be a backup for the secretaries in Community Development and Housing and they will be hired with this understanding. The pay rate, even though it may be low, is set in relationship to what similar positions within the City are paid and it is not a function of the Commission to set pay rates or determine job duties. Moved by Blitsch, seconded by Johnson to approve the job description and testing criteria. Motion carried. The job classification name for Park Maintenance IV-Forestry has been changed to Forestry Foreman to reflect more accurately the job duties of the position. The pay rate will be increased to the level paid other foreman positions. The job classification name for Maintenance Assistant-Electrician has been changed to Facility Maintenance Electrician and the job classification name for Maintenance Assistant-Plumber has been changed to Facility Maintenance Plumber. These changes were made to clear up some confusion regarding the actual journeyman-level skilled labor performed by the employees in these positions. The job duties and pay rate are not affected. UNFINISHED BUSINESS The Commissioners reviewed a proposed Nepotism Policy. Although the policy will cover hiring and promotions, only the second section of the policy regarding Civil Service Testing needs to be approved by the Commission. Commissioner Johnson suggested the wording of II (A) should match the working of I(A). Commission members think it's very important that present City employees be "grandfathered in" under this policy. Commissioner Reed also thinks it's important that the policy cover all City employees including temporary and summer hires. The Commission would like to see the final draft before they approve their portion of the policy. With no further business moved by Johnson,second by Blitsch to adjourn. Motion carried. Nancy Eckert City Clerk