SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION - COUNTY OF KERN 1115 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, California 93301 Regular Meeting Monday, 7 p.m. PRESENT: Commissioners Agbalog, Chounet, Parli, Prince & Thorn ABSENT: OTHERS: Devin Brown, Nick Dunn, Tracey Eldridge, Sherry Gomez, Michael Goulart, Kendra Graham, Lori Henry, Matt Henry, M. Jones, Victor Keesey, Edward Komin, Ginny Krebs, Mitchell Martens, Michael Miller, Christy Morley, Terry Price, Mark Quinn, Debbie Rodriguez, Robb Seibly, Mary Anne Steele, Tina Tingle, James Vasquez, Jason Wiebe and others NOTE: Ag, Ch, Pa, Pr, Th are abbreviations for Commissioners Agbalog, Parli, Prince and Thorn. For example, Pa/Pr denotes Commissioner Parli made the motion and Commissioner Prince seconded the motion. The abbreviations ab means absent and abd abstained. COMMISSIONER ACTION IS SHOWN IN CAPS AFTER EACH ITEM President Thorn called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. PUBLIC SESSION 1. Public Presentations 2. Approval of Minutes Regular meeting of April 11, 2011 and Special meeting of August 16, 2010. APPROVED; Ch/Pr 3. New Job Specification(s): The following job specification(s) have been created in accordance with Civil Service Rules and established procedures. APPROVED; Ag/Pr a) Medical Librarian, Item Number 4176
Page 2 4. Revised Specification(s): The following job specification(s) have been revised in accordance with Civil Service Rules and established procedures. APPROVED; Pa/Ag a) Librarian III, Item Number 4171 b) Sheriff s Aide, Item Number 0765 5. Examination Schedule: The following examinations have been scheduled in accordance with Civil Service Rules and established procedures. APPROVED; Ag/Pr 5323) Programmer I/II 5324) Assistant Director of Human Services 5325) Warehouse Supervisor 5326) Sheriff s Detention Senior Deputy Department Promotional Sheriff 5327) Sheriff s Detention Sergeant Department Promotional Sheriff 5328) Sheriff s Dispatch I Shift 5329) Probation Volunteer Services Coordinator 5330) Supervising Radiologic Technologist Shift 5331) Medical Support Supervisor Shift 5332) Supervising Bio-Medical Electronic Technician Department Promotional Kern Medical Center 5333) Radiology Manager 5334) Hospital Nursing Shift Manager Shift 5335) Cardiopulmonary Services Clinical Coordinator Shift 5336) Patient Representative Bilingual (English/Spanish) 5337) Cook I/II 6. Reclassification(s): The following reclassification recommendations are based upon analysis conducted by the Personnel Department in accordance with Civil Service Rules and established procedures. a) Schedule 8997 KERN MEDICAL CENTER APPROVED; Ch/Ag RECLASSIFY TO 4176 1 Medical Librarian R. 58.9 4103-5009
Page 3 b) Schedule 6210 LIBRARY APPROVED; Pr/Ag RECLASSIFY (Bargaining Unit D Mid-Management) TO (Bargaining Unit 5 Professional) PERSONNEL MATTERS 7. Request from Michael Jones, attorney for (name redacted), to schedule dates for an appeal hearing in the matter of her termination from her position of Detentions Officer by the Kern County Sheriff s Office. APPROVED; HEARING DATES SET FOR JULY 18, 19 & 20, 2011; Pr/Pa 8. Request from Vicki Avila, representative for (name redacted), to schedule dates for an appeal hearing in the matter of her termination from her position of Animal Care Worker by the Kern County Public Health Services Department, Animal Control Division. SETTLEMENT REACHED; Pa/Pr 9. Request from Ken Yuwiler, attorney for (name redacted), to schedule hearing dates for an appeal hearing in the matter of his termination from his position of Sheriff s Deputy by the Kern County Sheriff s Office. PULLED AT REQUEST OF APPELLANT S ATTORNEY; Ch/Ag Matter was pulled at request of Appellant s Attorney as the request to set hearing was premature. At this time, no disciplinary action has been imposed. 10. Request from TERRY PRICE for personal necessity leave of absence from her position as Human Services Technician III for the Kern County Department of Human Services. The Department has recommended denial of this request APPROVED; LEAVE EXTENDED FOR 60 DAYS; Ch/Pa - Requested matter be heard in closed session. 11. Request from the Kern County Sheriff s Office to remove the following names from the eligible list for Deputy Sheriff Lateral, Examination 5224 and Certification 47136: a) Serafin Alvarez APPROVED; Pa/Ag b) Shannon Smith APPROVED; Pa/Pr c) Chad Adams APPROVED; Pa/Ch d) Bobby-Scott Perigo APPROVED; Pr/Ch e) Melvin Lee APPROVED; Pa/Ch
Page 4 12. Request from Matthew Henry to have his application reinstated for the position of Firefighter Recruit/Firefighter APPROVED; Pa/Ag Mr. Henry provided a written statement to the Commissioners. He stated he did not falsify any information and had fully disclosed the misdemeanor on his application. He stated he had been told by Personnel Analyst, Debbie Rodriguez, he had been disqualified due to morale character. Personnel Analyst Debbie Rodriguez explained that she screened the applications based on the parameters provided to her by the Fire Department. She stated the Fire Department had stated the Personnel Department had been too permissive in the past which resulted in lists being cluttered. The Fire Department s direction was that quality of judgment, honesty and integrity be considered in the review of the application. Ms. Rodriguez did acknowledge Mr. Henry did self-disclose the misdemeanor and that he had been told prior to taking the test that misdemeanor are considered on a case-bycase basis. Chief Dunn stated he has upmost confidence in the work done by Ms. Rodriguez on behalf of the Fire Department. He further stated that he believes in due process and would stand behind whatever decision is made by the Commission. Mr. Quinn informed the Commission he supports the Analyst s decision due to the recentness of the infraction and the fact that it was a misdemeanor and that Mr. Henry was found guilty of the infraction. He stated the Analyst made the decision based on the guidance provided by the Fire Department. Her decision was made in good faith with the need for consistency in mind. He asked that the Commission support Ms. Rodriguez decision. 13. Request from Mitchell Martens to have his application reinstated for the position of Firefighter Recruit/Firefighter APPROVED; Pr/Pa 3 ayes/1 nay (Ch) Mr. Martens addressed the Commission and respectfully requested the Commission to reinstate his application for Firefighter Recruit/Firefighter. Mr. Martens stated he was informed by Personnel Analyst Rodriguez he had been rejected due to the fact he had been fired from a Kern County seasonal fire crew in 2008. He stated he was told that since he had not been re-employed in that position or served in public service since that his application was rejected. Mr. Martens explained to the Commission he had sought employment with the Fire Department and, in fact, was slated to be hired in April 2010 but was unable to secure employment due to budget constraints. Mr. Martens stated since his dismissal in 2008, he has graduated from the Firefighter Academy receiving the top recruit award. He also obtained needed certificates to better position him for employment as a Firefighter. He informed the Commission he is slated to graduate from the EMT Academy. He stated he has diligently prepared himself academically, physically and mentally for the testing process. Lastly, he presented his separation paperwork from the County in which it stated that he was eligible for rehire.
Page 5 Debbie Rodriguez, Personnel Analyst, informed the Commission the rejection of Mr. Marten s application was based on the fact he was fired from the County for good cause. Mark Quinn stated he supports the Analyst decision due to consistency and the Fire Department s expectation to be rigorous in screening applications. Chief Dunn informed the Commission that Mr. Marten s statements regarding the fact he was slated to be rehired was accurate and that he was not hired due to budget constraints. He reiterated that he would stand behind whatever decision was made by the Commission. 14. Revised Findings of Fact, Decision and Order, in the matter of the five-day suspension of (name redacted) from his position of Deputy Sheriff by the Kern County Sheriff s Office, last hearing date April 7, 2010, with deliberation on April 8, 2010, - TABLED TO JUNE 13, 2011 MEETING 15. Director of Personnel Items: 16. Commission Member Presentations or Announcements: Commissioner Thorn offered condolences on behalf of the Commission to Commissioner Prince upon the loss of his sister. Commissioner Prince requested that the hearing scheduled for May 11, 2011 be vacated. Appellant s Attorney, Mr. Yuwiler, will be contacted to notify him of this as well as to set an additional date of May 24 th. 17. Closed Session At 8:12 pm., President Thorn made the motion to convene to closed session to hear Item 10. APPROVED; Pa/Pr 18. Adjournment President Thorn adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m.