Civil Service Commission Minutes - 11/04/2011MINUTES OF THE FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS'
CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION
November
4, 2011
Present:
Carol DuBray
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Commission Members
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Jim Heiman
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Tammy Guerra, Civil Service Director
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Dave Goodrich, Human Resources Generalist
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Miles Risley, City Attorney
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Dennis Bachman, Police Chief
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City Staff
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Earl Foster, Fire Chief
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Linda Merrill, Recording Secretary
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Bill Weske, Asst. Fire Chief
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Donald Hughes, Captain
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Tim Pierson, Captain
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Chris Duncan, Lieutenant
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Wichita Falls Fire Department
Cary Richie, Lieutenant
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Matthew Childs, FEO
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Robert E. Whiteley, FEO
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Steve Wilkinson, FEO
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Bob York, Retired
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Laura Drury, Deputy Chief
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Wichita Falls Police Department
Absent:
Penny Miller
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Commission Member
1. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by Commissioner Carol DuBray.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (FEBRUARY 14, 2011)
Ms. DuBray moved, seconded by Jim Heiman, that the minutes be approved. The motion
carried.
3. APPEALS OF FIRE BATTALION CHIEF PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION
Question 95. Appealed by Donald Hughes. He asserted that all possible answers are
correct for this "except" question. Captain Hughes believes the question should be removed from
the test.
Captain Pierson disagreed. He gave the correct answer to the question. Three of the four
choices were verbatim from the book. Historically, test - takers were to pick the best possible
Civil Service Commission Minutes November 4, 2011
answer. He heard that this question was included on the previous promotional examination, but
no appeal was filed concerning it.
Commissioner DuBray asked the percentage of test - takers who correctly answered this
question. Mr. Goodrich said 75% correctly answered it. Commissioner Heiman did not feel there
was a possible answer that was not applicable. It was a misleading question.
Civil Service Director Tammy Guerra reminded the Commission of their options: (1)
overrule the answer key to allow for the acceptance of other answers; (2) eliminate the question
entirely; or (3) uphold the answer key.
Commissioner DuBray moved to accept all possible answers as correct. Seconded by
Commissioner Heiman, the motion carried.
Question 71. Appealed by Tim Pierson. Captain Pierson said that the word "complain" in
Answer A should have been "complaint." He asserts that there should not be typos in this day
and age. The misspelled word resulted in his not comprehending the intent of the statement. He
feels the question was unfair and should be removed from the test.
Commissioner Heiman asked the percentage of test - takers who correctly answered the
question. Mr. Goodrich replied 75% of the test - takers correctly answered the question. He felt it
was common sense to recognize that, through the context of the question, the word complaint
had been misspelled. Commissioner DuBray said that people will run across misspelled words
many times in their career. She moved that the answer key be upheld and that the question stand.
Seconded by Commissioner Heiman, the motion carried.
4. REPORT FROM FIRE CHIEF
Fire Chief Earl Foster thanked the Commissioners for their service. The Fire Department
has five vacancies. Tomorrow the City will hold an entrance examination for a certified fire
academy to fill those vacancies, consisting of firefighters and EMTs who already have their
certification. All promotional lists are current. The lieutenant's list will expire one week from
today, but there are no impending retirements within that ranking.
5. REPORT FROM POLICE CHIEF
Police Chief Dennis Bachman welcomed Mr. Heiman to the Commission and thanked the
Commissioners for their service. The Police Department is in the process of hiring applicants and
performing background investigations. They have 18 vacancies, with two officers scheduled to
leave for a year of military duty.
6. ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m.
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H:\_legalTersonnel \Civil Service Commission\Minutes\2011\ 11.4.11 \CSC.Minutes.11.4.11.doc