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Civil Service Commission Minutes - 07/19/2012MINUTES OF THE FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS' CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION July 19, 2012 Present: Penny Miller, Chair § Carol DuBray § Tammy Guerra, Civil Service Director § Manuel Borrego, Interim Police Chief § Laura Drury, Deputy Police Chief § Earl Foster, Fire Chief § Julia Vasquez, First Assistant City Attorney § Dave Goodrich, Human Resources Generalist § Linda Merrill, Recording Secretary § Guy Gilmore, Captain § R. W. Smith, Captain § Sam Coltrain, Lieutenant § Water Vanderburg, Police Officer § Harold McClure, Police Officer § Cary Venable, Police Officer § Kevin Folmar, Police Officer § Ryan Piper, Police Officer § Joe Esteves, Police Officer § Donald Miller, Police Officer § Absent: Jim Heiman 1. CALL TO ORDER Commission Members City Staff Wichita Falls Police Department Commission Member The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Commissioner Penny Miller. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (FEBRUARY 7, 2012) Carol DuBray moved, seconded by Penny Miller, that the minutes of February 7, 2012 be approved. The motion carried. Civil Service Commission Minutes July 19, 2012 2 3. REVIEW APPEALS OF PROMOTIONAL EXAMINATION FOR POLICE SERGEANT EXAMINATION Question No. 1. Appealed by Officer Ralph Ryan Piper. Officer Piper asserted that Question 1 is flawed because it does not eliminate an enhanced charge. Police officers are trained to charge individuals with the highest possible charge of the offense when arrested. Because the question did not eliminate the enhancement, he believed both B and D should be accepted as correct answers. Officer Kevin Folmar said test - takers need to focus on what the question asks, rather than make assumptions about the intent of the person who drafted the question. The only possible answer to the question is third degree felony, and he urged the Commission to uphold the answer key. Commissioner DuBray moved that the appeal be denied and the answer key upheld for Question 1. Seconded by Chairman Miller, the motion carried. Question No. 10. Appealed by Officer Ralph Ryan Piper. Officer Piper said this question refers to exceptions to confidentiality. The correct answer was C. However, he would like to see answer B also accepted as a correct answer. It cannot be considered an exception, as it is not a complete answer; language following a semicolon beginning with the word "and" was omitted. "And" is an inclusive word, and the language that follows must be included as part of the answer for it to be correctly considered an exception. Julia Vasquez said the text of the statute requires the language following the word "and" to be included; otherwise, there would have been no disclosure made. Commissioner DuBray moved to eliminate Question 10 from the examination. Seconded by Chairman Miller, the motion carried. Question No. 27. Appealed by Officer Cary Venable. Officer Venable said this question pertains to the dual functions of surveillance. The correct answer was B, investigative and preventive. His position is that D, investigation and intervention, is also a correct answer. He provided examples in the text that bolstered his opinion. The goal of surveillance is to catch someone in the act, rather than to prevent them from committing the crime. That allows the officer to build a successful and prosecutable case. Officer Rick Cullar said this question is verbatim and the question and answer should be upheld. Officer Venable agreed that it is verbatim from one portion of the text; however, other sources in the book reference investigation and intervention. Therefore, both answers should be considered correct. H:\_legalTersonnel \Civil Service Commission\Minutes\2012 \7. 19.2012 \CSC.Minutes.7.19.12.doc Civil Service Commission Minutes July 19, 2012 3 Commissioner DuBray moved that the appeal be upheld and that answers B and D be correct for Question 27. Seconded by Chairman Miller, the motion carried. Question No. 33. Appealed by Officer Kevin Folmar. Officer Folmar stated that he believed his answer to Question 33, frustration, should also be accepted as a correct answer. The question does not ask for only one reaction to failure; it asks for a broad generalized answer. The authors were explicit that frustration is a common reaction to failure. Officer Walter Vanderburg agreed with Officer Folmar. Both answers are correct. Commissioner DuBray moved that answers A and C both be accepted as correct answers to Question 33. Seconded by Chairman Miller, the motion carried. Question No. 68. Appealed by Officer Cary Venable. Officer Venable said this question came from the Code of Ordinances. The correct answer was police tow. He believes there are three correct answers to this question, including police tow, incident management tow, and non - consent tow. His appeal requests that all three of these answers be deemed correct. Ms. Vasquez stated that the Texas statutes refer to a non - consent tow or an incident management tow. The term police tow is not a statutory definition, although it is used in the City's ordinance. Anything other than a consent tow is referred to as an incident management tow or non - consent tow. She, too, believes that all the answers other than C, consent tow, should be considered correct. Commissioner DuBray moved to accept A, B and D are correct answers. Chairman Miller said she was tempted to eliminate the question since three of the answers are correct. Commissioner DuBray then moved to eliminate Question 68 from the test. Seconded by Chairman Miller, the motion carried. Question No. 95. Appealed by Officer Walt Vanderburg. Officer Vanderburg requested that this question be eliminated from the test. The term "shall" requires that it must be a particular answer, but there are multiple possible answers for this question. Officer Folmar said the answer is verbatim from the General Order and it should stand. Officer Vanderburg agreed that the answer is verbatim, but he argued that the answer he gave is also correct. He added that the Sheriffs office is also considered the Wichita County Detention Center, so there are actually three correct answers. Ms. Vasquez said she notes that in the General Order there is a differentiation between arrests of persons without versus without a warrant. HA legalTersonnel \Civil Service Commission \Minutes\2012 \7. 19.2012 \CSC.Minutes.7.19.12.doc Civil Service Commission Minutes July 19, 2012 4 Commissioner DuBray moved that Question 95 and its answer be upheld. Seconded by Chairman Miller, the motion carried. 4. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MODIFICATIONS TO THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS' CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION RULES AND REGULATIONS Chairman Miller stated the Commission has read the proposed rules changes revolving around two basic issues: (1) testing and (2) sick leave. Civil Service Director Tammy Guerra said the City had decided to replace a component the B -Pad testing process with Ergometrics, a product from a different vendor that measures the same characteristics, including verbal and reading comprehension skills. Commissioner DuBray moved that Sections 143.023, 143.024, and 143.025 be amended to reflect this change. Seconded by Chairman Miller, the motion carried. Chairman Miller stated the second change concerned sick leave, with the rule reflecting that when civil service personnel leave their service with the City they are entitled to receive payment for the unused sick leave. However, if they are reappointed, they do not get that sick leave reinstated because they have already been compensated for it. Commissioner DuBray moved to accept this change under Sections 143.0251 and 143.045. Seconded by Chairman Miller, the motion carried. 5. REPORT FROM FIRE CHIEF Fire Chief Earl Foster thanked the Commissioners for their service. The department has 11 vacancies, and the Assistant Fire Chief is retiring in September. He is currently taking applications for this internal appointment. The Department is conducting an entrance exam and physical agility testing this weekend for a Fire Academy. There are 321 applicants. 6. REPORT FROM POLICE CHIEF Chief Manual Borrego said the Department will graduate an Academy August 17, and will have 15 new officers entering the FTO program for three months. The Department has six openings, and two pending retirements. They are taking applications for a new police Academy, with September 22 established as the testing date. The Academy would begin in early 2013. 7. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 10:53 a.m. RECEIVED !iN CITY CLE 'S OFFICE Penny Miller, Chairman DATE: =� BY: IUIE: H: \_legal ersonnel \Civil Service Commission\Mmutes\2012 \7.19.2012 \CS .Minutes.7.19.12.doc