HomeMy WebLinkAbout37-City Attorney
FROM:
James F. Penman
City Attorney
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OFFICE OF THEE~ITY Arj-b.::~~sa~tq . //l5'~;./' -"1
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO r:. ~
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City Clerk I rTi!
City of Sail tik>rII"IL.H"
ORIGINAL
TO:
DATE:
November 12, 2004
RE:
Correction of Information in News Article
CC:
City Clerk, City Treasurer, Civil Service Board, City
Administrator, Civil Service Chief Examiner, Department and
Division Heads, San Bernardino City Professional Firefighter's
Association, San Bernardino City Police Officer's Association,
San Bernardino Public Employee's Association
A news article appearing on October 24, 2004, based on incomplete and, in some
cases, misleading information, led some readers to believe the delay in filling certain
paramedic positions was due to "an antiquated bureaucracy and a new hiring system put
in place earlier this year." (The San Bernardino County Sun, Page A-1; October 24, 2004-
copy attached.) The story continues with other quotations that appear to place the blame
for the vacancies not being filled in a timely manner on the City's Civil Service System.
The reporter relied on certain documents provided to the press by the
San Bernardino City Fire Department Administration. These documents deal with only
limited time periods within the process and only with limited issues, Therefore, they do not
accurately reflect the overall situation, and do not address the actual reason the positions
were not filled earlier, nor the fact that the Civil Service Commission responded in a timely
manner to each request of the Fire Department Administration,
Following the publication of the news article, this office was contacted by members
of the San Bernardino City Professional Firefighter's, Local 891, and by individuals in the
City's Civil Service System, who complained that the article did not accurately report what
had happened in the process.
At my direction, Deputy City Attorney Stephanie Easland, who represents City
Departments in hearings before the Civil Service Board, carefully reviewed all memoranda
and other documents provided to us by the Fire Department Administration, as well as the
JFP/ed[Correction.NewsArt.Mayor. mem]
300 NORTH "D" STREET. SAN BERNARDINO. CA 92418-0001 . (909) 384-5355. FAX (909) 384.5238
minutes of the Civil Service Board, and other documents provided by the Civil Service
Chief Examiner.
Ms. Easland's memorandum, including her findings, is attached.
At the request of Mayor Valles, this matter was continued from the November 1,
2004 Council Meeting to the November 15, 2004 Council Meeting to give the Mayor the
opportunity to review Ms. Easland's report prior to its submission to the City Council.
We recommend that the Council receive and file this report.
Respectfully submitted,
Attachments: Two (2)
JFP/ed[ Correction.NewsArt. Mayor.mem]
2
EMT
hiring
delay
ending
EMT
Continued from Ai
They are expected to begin a
training program on Nov. 22 and
hit the streets by Dec. 18, ac-
cording to the Fire Department.
Under this year's budget,
there are 33 funded paramedic
positions. And while there is
some cost saved paying over-
time instead of hiring more
workers, Fire Department lead-
ership said money was not the
issue.
"This is a very unfortunate
staffing situation," Chief Larry
Pitzer said last week. "Some-
times, someone has to bite the
bullet and do the biggest hiring
change to the system."
Mayor Judith Valles acknowl-
edged that the paramedics are
overworked. But she pointed out
that many city employees, in-
cluding regular firefighters, po-
lice and street crews, were also
understaffed.
"When you're understatTed,
of course it leads to stress in the
workplace," Valles said. "The
hiring process has hecome cum-
bersome."
Both fire union head Richard
Lewis and Pitzer said some p;u'a-
medics wanted the overtime.
From April through Septemher,
the Fire Department paid $::>.25
SB moves to fill
12 paramedic jobs
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO
The city will hire 12 para-
medics after spending the
past eight months in a hureau-
cratic back-and-forth to fill as
much as a quarter of its first
medical responder positions.
The Fire Department has
had to ask qualified engineers
to fill in, as well as have cur-
rent paramedics work over-
time to keep shifts fully
staffed.
Paramedics have more
training than firefighters and
are often the first to be at
medical emergencies.
Officials blame the delay
on an antiquated bureaucracy
and a new hiring system put
in place earlier this year.
Currently, the department
has nine paramedic positions
vacant. The others, along
with four firefighters, will go
to staff the new fire station
that will open early next year.
See EMT/A9
THE SAN BERNARDINO
COUNTY SUN
PAGE A-1
SUNDAY, OCT. 24,2004
million in overtime to staff
Other workers, though,
weren't as happy. There were
some complaints, and the fire
union sought feedback from its
members on being overworkcd.
An outline prepared by the
Fire Department officials
showed that they expected to fill
the positions in May.
"Had the Fire Department
been allowed to run this system
themselves as they had intended,
the projected start date for the
lirst candidates would have been
in mid- to late-May 2004," ac-
cording to a Fire Department
memo. "However, the process of
approval through civil service,
adjustments in the procedures
and delays in getting critical in-
formation back from the chief
exalnmcr (of ci vil service)
pushed ,~hc hiring back several
months.
Training Officer Mat Fratus
said in a Sept. 21 e-mail to Civil
Service Chief Examiner Michael
Newbry: "We are at a stall point
until you can get us a list of .__
candidates. We are cun'ently fac-
ing serioLls staffing problems
that cannot be fullv rcsolved un-
til we complete this process."
It wasn't until Oct. 6 that the
Fire Department got a final list
of candidates from the Civil Ser-
vice Commission, which over-
sees the hiring practices and
rllk~; lhroughout the city.
The situation reached a head
last week when some fire union
personnel were prepared to take
their concerns to the City Coun-
cil meeting Monday. They did-
n't, after the timeline to hire the
new positions was moved up
from Jan. I, 2005.
Newbry was unavailable for
comment Friday.
Councilman Neil Derry said,
''I'm not here to place blame.
Positions that are funded in the
budget need to be filled."
He said the hiring process was
mired in an outdated bureaucra-
cv.
. 'The citv has far 100 manv
corrunissio~s doing the job Ih,tt
the elected council should be do-
ing," Derry said.
Lewis applauded the city's ef-
forts.
"All the steps we have to go
through, a lot of people don't un-
derstand it," Lewis said. "It's ex-
tremely important that we have
qualified people and we check
them out completely."
The new hiring process
changcs the testing that is clone
for candidates. Instead of an oral
panel and a written test, there is
a video candidates have to re-
spond to. Therc is also a more
extensive background check.
Lewis also said that efforts to
hirc in the future won't take
nearly as long, now that the test-
ing is undcL.tQod.
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO:
James F. Penman, City Attorney
Stephanie D. Easland, Deputy City Attorney~
FROM:
DATE:
November I, 2004
Rc:
Fire Department P-l and P-2 Recruitment Process
Pursuant to your request, I have reviewed documents obtained from the Fire Department and
Civil Service, as well as my own files, in regard to the current Firefighter (P- I) and
Paramedic /Firefighter (P-2) recruitment process. Based upon a chronology prepared from these
documents, the primary reason for a delay in filling the current P- I and P-2 vacancies appears to be
the result of the Adult School Fire Academy issue that arose in 2003. The recruitment was initially
delayed on or about November 12,2002, when the Fire Department requested a six month extension
of the P-I and P-2 eligibility list (which had previously been extended two times from its original
expiration date of May 2001) to allow graduates from the Adult School Fire Academy to participate
in the P-I recruitment. In response to this request, the list was extended to May 2003. However,
after the expiration of the P-I and P-2 lists in May 2003, it was discovered by our office in June 2003
that the program was not state certified and that the graduates of such program did not meet the
minimum qualifications of the existing P-I firefighter position, although they were told they would
be able to apply for a position with the San Bernardino Fire Department after graduation. Thereafter,
numerous meetings were held to come up with a solution regarding the Adult School Fire Academy
graduates and the promises made to them, such as reinstituting a Firefighter Trainee position or
revising the minimum qualifications ofthe P-I position. Ultimately, an existing Firefighter Trainee
job description was revised to allow Adult School Fire Academy graduates to apply for the position.
Thisjob description received Civil Service Board approval on January 27,2004 and the recruitment
for Firefighter Trainee, P-I and P-2 opened on February 17,2004. Arguably, if the Adult School
Fire Academy and its resulting graduates had not been an issue, the recruitment for the P-I and P-2
positions could have gone forward around the time the lists expired in November 2002.
Following is a summarized chronology regarding the hiring process for the Positions ofP-1
and P-2 in the Fire Department from the year 2000 to the present based upon the aforementioned
documents:
March 14, 2000 - Per the Fire Department's request, the testing and minimum qualification
requirements for the P-l and P-2 were changed from an entry level open testing process to a lateral
SDE/ed[FireDeptP 1 P2 .JFP.mem ]
form of recruitment. This was done to allow recruitment of personnel without the need of a written
test administered by Civil Service.
March 13,2001 - The Fire Department requested an extension ofthe existing P-l and P-2 eligibility
lists to May 2002.
May 14, 2002 - The Fire Department requested an exception to Civil Service Rule 409(A) that
allows only one extension on an eligibility list so that the P-I and P-2 lists could be extended to
November 5, 2002. Chief Pitzer's reason for this request was that I) many good candidates
remained on the current lists; 2) there would be a savings in regard to time and cost of developing
and conducting an examination; and 3) the Fire Department had a heavy workload at that time for
the primary people involved in the testing process and 6 months later they would be in a better
position to deal with the examination process. The Department's request was approved.
October 10,2002 - The Mayor and Common Council approved Resolution 2002-326 whereby the
San Bernardino City Unified Adult School District Adult School and the San Bernardino Fire
Department entered into an agreement to establish a Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician
Academy. The staff report is unclear as to the program's certification.
November 12, 2002 - The Fire Department requested another extension of the P-I and P-2 eligibility
lists. The Fire Chief stated in an email to Mike Newbry the reason for such request was that his goal
was to recruit from the Fire Academy developed by the Fire Department with the Adult School and
the end of the first Adult School Academy class would be approximately mid-April 2003. It was
noted that there were still good people on the current recruitment lists and that the Fire Department
did not expect to hire more than 2-3 people during the requested 6-month extension period. The Fire
Department's request was approved by the Civil Service Board and the new expiration date for the
P-I and P-2 eligibility lists was May 5, 2003.
June 17,2003 - The City Attorney' s Office discovered that the Adult School Fire Academy was not
state certified and as such, its graduates were not eligible to apply for the existing P-I position
because I) it required a lateral transfer, i.e., prior fire service experience; and 2) graduation from a
state accredited fire academy.
July 17,2003 - Meeting regarding Adult School Fire Academy with the Mayor, James F. Penman,
Stephanie Easland, Fire Chief, Fred Wilson and Tim Cook - discussed problems with lack of state
accreditation, and that 27 graduates/students were told they would be eligible to apply for a position
at the San Bernardino Fire Department. It was decided at this meeting that I) the Adult School Fire
Academy program would not continue; 2) the Mayor would meet with Gloria Harrison and Donna
Ferraconi regarding retroactive accreditation for the current Adult School program graduates; 3) the
City Attorney's Office would look at the Fire Trainee issue; and 4) the City Attorney's Office would
look at whether there could be both an entry level P-l and a lateral P-l position. It was later
determined that two levels ofP-l positions could not exist under the City's Charter.
SDE/ed[FireDeptP 1 P2 JFPmem J
2
August 7, 2003 - Meeting regarding the Adult School Fire Academy with the Fire Department, Fire
Union, James F. Penman, Huston T. Carlyle, Lori Sassoon and Stephanie D. Easland. It was
discussed hiring nine new positions for the Verdemont Fire Station. It was also noted at this time
that there were currently three vacancies already existing in the Department and that it would take
2-1/2 to 3 months to get a list. It was decided at that time that I) the Fire Trainee job description
would be reworded to cover current Adult School Fire Academy graduates; and 2) an entry level P-I
job description would be drafted. A further meeting on the issue was set for September 4,2003.
August 14, 2003 - Stephanie Easland emailed to Training Officer Mat Fratus a revised job
description for Firefighter Trainee and entry level Firefighter (P-J).
September 4, 2003 - The scheduled meeting regarding the Adult School Fire Academy was
continued until the Fire Department heard back from Crafton Hills regarding retroactive
accreditation for Adult School graduates.
October 6, 2003 - Meeting regarding Adult School Fire Academy where it was discussed that
Crafton Hills could not retroactively certify Adult School Fire Academy graduates. However,
Crafton Hills stated it would work with the City to get Adult School Fire Academy positions into
Crafton's Academy, holding five positions open for the February 2004 class.
November 6, 2003 - Email from Mat Fratus to Stephanie D. Easland regarding proposed job
descriptions for Firefighter Trainee and P-I Firefighter.
January 13,2004 - The Civil Service Board was asked to approve a revised Firefighter Trainee job
description, however the matter was continued to January 27, 2004.
January 27, 2004 - The Fire Department made a presentation to the Civil Service Board regarding
the Adult School Fire Academy. The Board also approved the revised job description for Firefighter
Trainee.
February 10,2004 - Email from Training Officer Mat Fratus to Fire Department regarding summary
of proposed hiring and training process.
February 17,2004 - A new recruitment for P-I and P-2 opened.
March 4, 2004 - P-I and P-2 recruitment closed.
March 19,2004 - EmaiJ from Training Officer Mat Fratus to Chief Examiner Mike Newbry offering
clerical help to assist with processing Firefighter applications.
March 29, 2004 - Mike Newbry informed Fire Chief Pitzer that the proposed Ergometrics test
constituted a change in testing standards for P-I and P-2 and would need Civil Service Board
approval. Based on his conversation with Mike Newbry, Chief Pitzer sent him an email requesting
SDE/ed[FireDeplP 1 P2 .JFP .mem]
3
Civil Service Board approval for the video based testing, thereby changing the P-Iand P-2 testing
standards from LaterallDepartment Oral Interview to Lateral/Department Written and Oral Interview.
April 13, 2004 - Request from the Fire Chief to the Civil Service Board to revise the testing
standards for the P-I and P-2 positions to allow for the video based testing by Ergometrics. After
much discussion, the Board decided to have Commissioners Reichardt and Stout meet with the Chief
Examiner and the Fire Department to further clarify the testing issue.
April 27, 2004 - The revised testing standards request for P-I and P-2 which was continued from
April 13, 2004 was considered by the Civil Service Board. It was decided that the Civil Service
Department would be responsible for receiving the test from the vendor; administering/proctoring
the video test; and returning all test items for scoring by the vendor. All scores and tests results
would be sent to the Civil Service Department only. The Board also decided that the candidates had
to receive an overall score of70% to pass the examination. Commissioner Scott also asked that the
Fire Department report back to the Board in October 2004 and inform the Board how the process
operated.
April 27, 2004 - Email to Chief Examiner Mike Newbry from Training officer Mat Fratus attaching
revised hiring procedures approved by the Civil Service Board that day.
May 5, 2004 - Civil Service sent letters to P-l and P-2 applicants advising them of testing dates.
May 5, 2004 - Video test given to applicants.
May 6, 2004 - Email to Civil Service from Training Officer Mat Fratus stating that the letters to P-l
and P-2 applicants would go out that afternoon.
May 17 or 18,2004 - Video test results received by the Civil Service.
May 19,2004 - Civil Service sent to the Fire Department the top 18 names for the position ofP-2
and the top 4 names for the position ofP-l per the Fire Department's em ail request.
May 19,2004 - Civil Service sent to the Fire Department the official list with the top 18 names on
the P-2 list.
May 26, 2004 - Civil Service sent to the Fire Department the official list with the top 4 names on
the P-I list.
June 8, 2004 - Email to Civil Service from Training Officer Mat Fratus attaching the oral scores of
the P-I and P-2 applicants.
June 8, 2004 - Email from Training Officer Mat Fratus to Leti Briggs requesting the next 4 names
on the P-2 list.
SDE/ed[FireDeptPl P2.JFPmem]
4
June 18, 2004 - Civil Service sent to the Fire Department the next 4 names on the P-2 list.
June 21, 2004 - Fire Department sent email to Civil Service attaching the oral scores from their
June 18, 2004 evaluations.
July 27, 2004 - Request to Civil Service Board from the Fire Department to revise the testing
standards for the P-l and P-2 positions based upon a prior meeting between Commissioners
Reichardt and Stout, Chief Examiner Newbry and Fire Department staff. This was to remove the
70% cutoff on the video based testing. The test scoring would consist of 50% ergometrics and 50%
oral interview with a requirement of70% or greater on the overall score. This new standard was to
be applied to the current applicants for the P-l and P-2 positions. It was also approved to allow the
Fire Department to request more names for the oral interviews.
July 27, 2004 - Civil Service received an email from Trainee Officer Mat Fratus requesting 25 more
names from the P-l list.
July 29, 2004 - Civil Service sent the additional list to the Fire Department.
July 30, 2004 - Request from Training Officer Mat Fratus for 40 names from the P-2list and 2 more
names from the P-l list.
July 30, 2004 - P-l master list pass point changed due to revised testing standards. Notification
cards were mailed by Civil Service to previously failed P-l applicants notifying them that they could
continue in the process.
August 7, 2004 - P-2 master list pass point changed due to revised testing standards. Notification
cards were mailed by Civil Service to previously failed P-2 applicants notifying them that they could
continue in the process.
August 24, 2004 - The Fire Department requested that the Civil Service Board revise the testing
standards to allow "banding" of the P-I and P-2 candidates in place of strict numerical order hiring.
After much discussion, the Board ultimately approved banding the lists into three bands, with the
Chief Examiner determining the break in bands. The Fire Department would then be required to
exhaust at least 60% of each band before moving on to the next band.
August 31, 2004 - Email from Fire Department to Civil Service attaching the results ofthe P-I and
P-2 assessments of the names previously sent to the Fire Department, which were to be banded by
Civil Service.
September 13, 2004 - Email from the Fire Department to the Civil Service Department checking
on the P-l and P-2 scores.
September 16,2004 - Email from the Fire Department to the Civil Service Department requesting
status of the P-l and P-2lists.
SDE/ed[FireDeptP I P2 .JFP.mem]
5
September 21, 2004 - Email from Fire Department to Civil Service Department asking for status
of P-l and P-2 lists, expressing that serious staffing problems could not be fully resolved until the
process was completed and they hired and trained more people.
September 28, 2004 - Email from the Fire Department to Civil Service explaining the process of
banding in response to an email from Civil Service dated September 27,2004.
October 6, 2004 - Civil Service sent to the Fire Department the list of names in bands A and B for
the P-] and P-2 positions.
SDE/ed[FireDeptP I P2.JFP.mem]
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