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Civil Service Commission Minutes - 03/02/2022 MINUTES OF THE FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS' CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION MARCH 2ND, 2022 Present: Jim Heiman, Chair § Commission Members Laura Fidelie § John Buckley § Christi Klyn, Civil Service Director § City Administration/Staff Julia Vasquez, First Assistant City Attorney § Manuel Borrego, Police Chief § Guy Gilmore, Deputy Police Chief § Scott Vaughn, Deputy Police Chief § Kenneth Prillaman, Fire Chief § Holly Morgan, hIR Generalist § David Ferguson, Lieutenant § Wichita Falls Police Department Kevin Folmar, Lieutenant § Johnathan Lindsey, Lieutenant § Jack Coltrain, Lieutenant § 1. Call to Order Chairman Heiman called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM 2. Approval of Minutes (1/31/22) Laura Fidelie moved for approval. Seconded by John Buckley,the motion carried 3-0. 3. Review Appeals of the Police Lieutenant Exam Administered January 26, 2022. Question 22. (Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 143.028) Answer Key C A firefighter is not eligible for promotion to the rank of captain or its equivalent unless the person has at least years' actual service in that fire department. a. 5 c. 4 b. 2 d. 3 LT Jonathan Lindsey appeals the question due the fact it asks for eligibility in the fire department and Chapter 143 discusses duties for the position for which the exam is held. The exam was for Police Captain not Fire Captain. LT David Ferguson argues that the question should stand. Questions are subject to anything in the material. Question is word for word from the text. Commissioner Heiman asks if this position needs to know the level of experience needed. LT Ferguson states, we work with the fire department so that would be upto the interpretation of the individual. Civil Service Commission Minutes , 2 LT Kevin Folmar argues that the question should stand. Required to know the material. The exam tests general knowledge. Commissioner Fidelie moved that the question be thrown out. Seconded by Commissioner Buckley. the motion carried 3-0. Question 25. (Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 143.056) Answer Key C Which of the following is cause for dismissal? a. Conviction of a Class B Misdemeanor c. Conviction of a felony b. Conviction of a Class A Misdemeanor d. All of the above are correct LT Ferguson argues dismissal is never defined in the local government code and is open to the interpretation of the reader. The license of an officer convicted of family violence shall be revoked. The majority of family violence offenses are Misdemeanors and an individual cannot be a peace officer in Texas without a TCOLE license. If an individual is convicted of family violence the individual would have to be dismissed. A TCOLE license is required to be a Police Officer. Therefore, answer D should be accepted as an answer. Commissioner Fidlie asks, are you asking that more than one answer be accepted or the question thrown out? LT Ferguson responses whichever the board choses. Commissioner Heiman asks, are all Class A and B Misdemeanors cause for dismissal? LT Ferguson states he does not know. Assistant City Attorney Julia Vasquez interjects that indefinite suspension and dismissal are known to be one in the same. The code is inconsistent. LT Ferguson asks to clarify that they mean the same thing, and asks why are there two terms? Assistant City Attorney Julia Vasquez states that given the chance, she would clean up the inconsistencies in Code 143. Commissioner Fidelie asks in determining whether to dismiss, it is up to the governing authority? Assistant City Attorney Julia Vasquez, ultimately the reason is things are handled differently for civil versus criminal. Indefinite suspension is dismissal from service. Commissioner Heiman, going back to the question, which of the following is cause for dismissal? Only one listed from the code is conviction of a felony. Class A and Class B may not be. Only answer would be C. LT Coltrain reiterates the TCOLE Rules regarding Class A and Class B dismissals. Cannot offer a job to someone who has a conviction in the last 10 years. Cannot maintain license. Commissioner Fidlie asks whether to accept all the answers or throw the question out. LT Coltrain says either one. LT Folmar states that the wording of the question using the word"a" is important. It does not state any but a. There are Class A's and Class B's that will get you dismissed. The way of the wording seems to ask for an example. Also refers to TCOLE licensing. Commissioner Reiman reiterates that Section G states conviction of a felony is cause for dismissal. Conviction of a Class A or B may be cause for dismissal. Civil Service Commission Minutes 3 LT Folmar, again if you look at that"a" that is what I focused on. Commissioner Heiman, verbatim from the text? LT Folmar, yes Commissioner Fidelie states she finds this a horrible question and should be thrown out. Assistant City Attorney Julia Vasquez refers to the 180 day rule and how someone can be put on suspension pending investigation. States the section is difficult to understand. Commissioner Fidelie moved that the question be thrown out. Seconded by Commissioner Buckley, the motion carried 3-0. Question 33. (Wichita Falls Police Department General Orders, Grievance Procedures, Page 4) Answer Key A The Grievance Committee is formed at the end of Step in the Formal Grievance Committee. a. Four c. Five b. Two d. Three LT Folmar this question is taken from the General Orders and it is word for word, I do not dispute that. The basis for my appeal is there is other information in the general order that directly conflicts with it. If you look at step four it states, if the aggrieved officer has reached the Deputy Chief level and the grievance has not been resolved to his satisfaction then he or may within five working days request that a grievance committee be formed and proceed to step five. This is merely an opportunity for the officer to file the appeal. Ilowever, step five states if the aggrieved officer rejects the solution in step four, he or she may request the chief of police form a grievance committee. So it is impossible for it to be formed in step four due the fact in step five it has not been requested yet. The committee is not formed until step five. Asks to accept step four and step five as answers. Commissioner Heiman, question, when do you think the formal grievance committee is formed, in step five? LT Folmar, yes because in step five we are still dealing with the request to the chief. Clearly in step five is where it begins. Commissioner Heiman, the end of step four is where the grievance committee begins, correct? LT Folmar states no. Technically in the middle of Step five is when it is formed. Commissioner Hieman, the end of which step does the next step begin, it's not the end of step five. LT Folmar suggests throwing out the question due to poor wording. Commissioner Fidelie asks if she is reading correctly that it could be formed in Step four or Step five? Depending on the officer. LT Folmar again states no. There is not a committee that is formed until the chief is involved and that happens in Step five. Civil Service Commission Minutes __ _ _. 4 Commissioner Heiman, reads the appeal that LT Folmar gave them verbatim that they have to complete the first four steps before formation. Commissioner Fidelie, we have left step four behind at the point the committee is formed. LT Folmar, at the end of Step five, you know it has been created. Asks for question to be thrown out LT Ferguson, question being verbatim from source material, LT Folmar is misinterpreting the text. Commissioner Fidelie, do you disagree the formation is discussed in the subtext of Step five? LT Ferguson, no but that is going on the president that it must be requested. That's not what it states. Do not feel like it is a bad question. Commissioner Hieman,just to clarify, within five working days of receiving disposition, request that a grievance committee be formed and proceed to Step five. LT Ferguson, correct, which is after it is formed, which is at the end of Step four. LT Lindsey, I did not appeal this question but would like to speak on it. I think an important point is the fact that the test should test the knowledge we have, not just memory recall verbatim from the book. This question tests understanding. LT Folmar, I would like to address LT Fergusons points. Discusses process of formation. Commissioner Hieman, after the end of Step four is when Step five begins. LT Folmar, there is no correct answer Commissioner Hieman, we all agree it is not the end of Step two or three, Step four, verbatim, Step five, everything begins. LT Folmar,understands its verbatim but there is contradiction. Commissioner Fidelie moved that the question be thrown out. Seconded by Commissioner Buckley. the motion carried 3-0. Question 80. (Intelligence-Led Policing, 2nd Ed., Page 32) Answer Key B In the United States, the primary reason for not reporting violent crimes is which of the following? a. Not important enough c. Police would not or could not help b. Dealt with another way/personal matter d. Fear of reprisal LT Ferguson this question quotes a table at the bottom of page 32. Asks for clarification of what was the correct answer. Commissioner Hieman reads the question and answers. Answer key was B. LT Ferguson if you look at the last sentence of the page it states "Table 3.2 shows that when people detected crime but did not report it, most often the reason was because they thought that the police would not or could not help". The table referenced does show"dealt with another way/personal matter" at the top of the table for not reporting violent crime. Both answers should be accepted. The table is confusing. Commissioner Hieman, your answer comes from the table below? LT Ferguson, no from the last sentence. Civil Service Commission Minutes 5 Commissioner Fidelie, do you disagree that the sentence refers to general crime whereas the question refers to violent crime? LT Ferguson, it does refer to general crime. Commissioner Fidelie, so there is no discrepancy LT Ferguson, crime is crime. Violent is more specific but it is still crime. LT Folmar, I agree with Ms Fidelie, it is specific to violent crime. I think the appeal should be rejected. Commissioner Fidelie moved that the answer key be upheld. Seconded by Commissioner Buckley, the motion carried 3-0. 5. Report from Police Chief Chief Borrego thanks the commission for attending the meeting today. All officer candidates passed their background checks and are hoping for sixteen trainees in the academy. Thankful to HR for assistance. Commissioner Hieman, is the police department getting new vests? Chief Borrego, yes they have been received already. They look professional and takes weight off the officers hips. They are very lightweight. 6. Report from Fire Chief Chief Prillaman doesn't have much to report but takes a moment to brag on the crews this past week. Rescued two individuals through a window. Commissioner Hieman asks about the grant for additional staff. Chief Prillaman, we have applied and we don't expect to hear until later in the year if we will receive it. Requested six firefighters. 7. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 4:48 PM. Ji Peter Heiman, Chairm n