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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1973-08-18 Regular Meeting Civil Service Commission August 18, 1973 CALL TO ORDER Chairman Hyde called the meeting of the Civil Service Commission to order at 8:O5 A. M. in the Conference Room of the Euless City Hall . Member present was Mr. James McKinney. (Absent was Mr. Ivan Gregory.) Also present was City Manager C. J. Griggs and City Secretary Vada Ferris. VISITORS Visitors present were W. M. Sustaire, and Mr. Frank Douglass. INVOCATION The invocation was given by Mr. James McKinney. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Hyde moved to approve minutes of the regular meeting dated August 4, 1973. Mr. McKinney seconded the motion and the vote is as follows: Ayes: Messrs. Hyde and McKinney Nays: None Chairman Hyde declared the motion carried. REPORT OF OVERTIME, COMPENSATORY TIME AND RECAPITULATION OF PROGRESS Mrs. McCormick made the Council aware of the requests for a decision on overtime, compensatory time, clerk of the Civil Service and Civil Service Office. The Council took no action on the requests. II . REQUEST FOR JOB CLASSIFICATION FORMS Chairman Hyde requested that the job classification forms distributed several months ago by Department Heads be completed and returned to the Civil Service Commission as soon as possible. (Page Two, Regular Meeting, Civil Service Commission, August 18, 1973) The City Manager was requested to submit a detailed organizational report by job classification and title to the Civil Service Commission. III . RESUME OF RULES AND REGULATIONS Chairman Hyde presented a resume of Rules and Regulations (copy on file as Exhibit of this meeting) and the Commission discussed this report as follows: Appendix I - Benefits Section I - Vacations, Holidays, and Leaves of Absence A. Vacation Leave Members of the Commission agreed that hours for vacation leave should be specified in the number of weeks and the number of hours. They also agreed that vacation leave for firemen should be equalled to the amount granted other City employees and that the City Attorney should rule on this item. C. Leaves of Absence - Injury Leave It was agreed that injury leave needs to be clarified and this was assigned to Mr. McKinney. Section II - Compensation C. Educational Incentive Mrs. McCormick stated that, in her opinion, the policy should be written to specify maximum amount to be spent for educational incentive. It was agreed that $4.00 per three semester hours with a $160.00 maximum should be considered and Mr. McKinney was instructed to rewrite the Education Incentive. Mr. Griggs stated that this would be for classified employees and Mr. Hyde stated that there is nothing in the Rules and Regulations to limit this; that it applies to all full time employees. Mrs. McCormick stated that she is of the opinion that this should be made available to all City employees as it might be beneficial to some of them in acquiring better jobs. City Manager stated that employees should be classified as non-exempt or non-classified. (Page Three, Regular Meeting, Civil Service Commission, August 18, 1973) Mr. Hyde stated that this benefit is for everyone in the Civil Service Program except the City Manager and he read from the Ordinance to clarify. Mr. Griggs stated that perhaps the Ordinance was not written as it was intended and Mr. Hyde stated that if the City Manager did not approve, he could ask the Council for an amendment. Mr. Douglass asked why this would be a problem and Mr. Griggs stated that a Department Head should not be placed in a position to be required to appear before the Civil Service Commission; that such a matter should be between the City Manager and Department Head; that the City Manager is the administrative authority and should not have to appeal to the Civil Service Commission. Chairman Hyde stated that, in some instances, the Department Head should have the right to appeal and that the Ordinance is written in this manner and that he personally will not make a recommendation to the City Council to amend the Ordinance. D. Supplementary Allowances Uniform Allowances Members of the Commission agreed that the present policy for uniforms is complex. Replying to a question by Chairman Hyde, the City Manager stated that the Police and Firemen do not have parade uniforms. Mr. Hyde stated that he will work on the uniform benefits. E. Special Compensation 6. Stand By Duty Mr. Douglass stated that he is of the opinion that the regulations for stand by pay should be written so there will be no misunderstanding; and it was agreed to add to the Rules and Regulations "that stand by duty requires posted notice or special written orders from the supervisor." (Chief Sustaire arrived at this time. ) Section III - Retirement and Insurance A. Retirement System Mr. McKinney was assigned to write a lead-in statement and to submit a statement on Social (Page Four, Regular Meeting, Civil Service Commission, August 18, 1973) Security benefits. Section IV - Miscellaneous A. Credit Union Mr. McKinney was assigned to make a statement on the local credit union. C. Veteran' s Consideration Chairman Hyde stated that this requires a simple statement, "5 point advantage on entrance exam." Mr. Griggs stated that he opposes this proposal . Mr. Hyde stated that he would submit a statement for the Rules and Regulations on this consideration. E. Service Pins After much discussion, it was agreed that this should be changed to Service Awards and was assigned to Mr. Douglass for recommendation to the Commission. The Commission discussed awarding the employee for years of service with something novel rather than a pin. The City Manager stated that service pins are not popular at this time and that something of value would be more appreciated. Mr. Hyde stated that Mr. Douglass will rework this section and submit a recommendation to the Commission. Appendix III- Physical Examinations Section I - Physical Examinations It was agreed that physical examinations will be given at the time of entry to the Civil Service Program and upon direction by the supervisor, and that the City pays for the examination; that the report would be evaluated by the City Manager and Department Head -- that if the person is rejected by the City Manager and Department Head, the City Manager should refer the rejection to the Commission for final decision. Changes in Physical Qualifications The Commission discussed that a change in physical qualifications in an employee could result in a (Page Five, Regular Meeting, Civil Service Commission, August 18, 1973) demotion or a change in position, or disability. Chairman Hyde stated that consideration should be given to disabled persons for disability pay. Section III - Fitness Examinations Chief Sustaire stated he will submit a written report on fitness examinations. He stated these examinations have to be flexible and he will also report on agility tests. It was agreed these tests should be given upon entry and could be conducted by someone in the Department. Appendix IV - Forms Physical Examination Forms. The City Manager and Chief Sustaire agreed to approve the form as submitted by the Civil Service Commission. (Form No. 2100 P. E. ) (Copy attached to Minutes) Chairman Hyde stated that the Commission should appoint a doctor for these physicals and it was agreed that it should be written into the Rules and Regulations that the City Health Officer will give the physicals to prospective employees. The City Secretary was instructed to assign a number to the physical examination forms and have sufficient copies printed. Medical History Forms The Commission reviewed Form F-2, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers, Report of Medical History. Chairman Hyde suggested that the Civil Service Commission adopt this form in lieu of a form discussed in previous meetings to enlign with stated requirements for law enforcement officers, contingent on its acceptability to the City Manager. Mr. Griggs voiced no objection. Mr. Hyde moved to adopt Form F-2, Report of Medical History, as discussed. Mr. McKinney seconded the motion and the vote is as follows: Ayes: Messrs. Hyde and McKinney Nays: None Chairman Hyde declared the motion carried. (Page Six, Regular Meeting, Civil Service Commission, August 18, 1973) The City Secretary was instructed to attach a copy of this form to the minutes of this meeting. The City Manager stated that people would not be hired to work for the City if certain physical characteristics might interfere with their job. Chairman Hyde stated that the Rules and Regulations should be written that the physical requir- ments be acceptable to City Manager and Department Head and if there is a rejection for physical reasons, the matter could be submitted to the Civil Service Commission for final decision. Chief Sustaire stated that background investigations are very important. He reported that the City of Dallas spends approximately $5,000.00 per man to investigate prospective police officers. Replying to a question by Mr. Douglass, Chief Sustaire stated that polygraph tests are not conclusive; that you still have to investigate; a polygraph test does not tell if a person pays his debts, mistreats his family and many other characteristics. IV. EMPLOYEES OVER FIFTY Chief Sustaire stated that he has investigated the possibility of a retirement program for employees ineligible to participate in the Texas Municipal Retirement System because of their age. He stated that the City can establish a savings account or money can be deposited in the local credit union; that a contract should be drawn between the City and employee and participation can be based on the amounts deposited to the Texas Municipal Retirement System. Chief Sustaire stated that he will bring a report to the Commission on using the local credit union for this purpose. Mr. McKinney was assigned to write a statement for the Rules and Regulations on employees over fifty after consulting with Chief Sustaire. Chief Sustaire stated that he thinks something should be written into the program for the disabled of these people. The Commission agreed that this section of the Rules and Regulations should be rewritten to extend the program to include persons over fifty. Chief Sustaire reported that Workmen' s Compensation does not cover physical disabilities; that it covers accidents only. He stated that the City' s present program is sufficient except for the amount paid for the hospital room and possibly the accident portion of the policy could be reviewed based on Workmen 's Compensation. (Page Seven, Regular Meeting, Civil Service Commission, August 18, 1973) City Manager Griggs stated that the City' s insurance committee is working on this and Mr. Hyde requested that a report be submitted as soon as possible from the insurance committee, giving the insurance program and Workmen' s Compensation benefits. Mr. Douglass was asked to work with the insurance committee on this program. V. PRESENTATION OF DIAGRAMS "SEGMENTS OF FUNDAMENTAL ORGANIZATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL FUNCTIONS Mr. Hyde passed out diagrams entitled Segments of Fundamental Organization and Organizational Functions with a detailed writeup. Mr. Hyde reviewed this material step by step and stated that the Civil Service Commission objectives are limited as shown in the diagrams. (Copy attached to Minutes for distribution) VI . EXAMINATIONS ASSIGNED TO MR. DOUGLASS Mr. Douglass was assigned to work on examinations for employing people and for promotion; it was agreed that he would work with Mr. Sustaire on this. VII . MR. DOUGLASS: NEW MEMBER OF THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION It was announced that Mr. Frank Douglass has been appointed to serve on the Civil Service Commission, replacing Mr. Ivan Gregory. VIII . MEETING OF COMMISSION RESCHEDULED Due to several conflicts, it was decided the next meeting of the Commission will be September 15, 1973, at 8:00 A. M. IX. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Hyde moved that the meeting adjourn. Mr. McKinney seconded the motion and (Page Eight, Regular Meeting, Civil Service Commission: August 18, 1973) the vote is as follows: Ayes: Messrs. Hyde and McKinney Nays: None Chairman Hyde declared the motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 11 :05 A. M. APPROVED: Chairman ATTEST: City Secretary