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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-R-1 STATE OF INDIANA BEFORE THE CITY OF JEFFERSONVILLE POLICE MERIT COMMISSION AMENDMENT NO. 2017-01 AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY OF JEFFERSONVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT MERIT COMMISSION RULES AND PROCEDURES, RULE AND PROCEDURE NOS. 1 & 2 WHEREAS,pursuant to Ind. Code § 36-4-6-2,the City of Jeffersonville Common Council (hereinafter the"Council"), is the legislative body of Jeffersonville City government; and, WHEREAS, pursuant to Ind. Code § 36-8-2-2, the City of Jeffersonville has established, maintains, and operates a police and law enforcement system to preserve public peace and order and provides facilities and equipment for that system (hereinafter, collectively referred to as the "Department"); and, WHEREAS,pursuant to Ind.Code §36-8-3.5-3,the Council adopted Resolution No.2008- R-30 (as amended by Resolution No. 2009-R-17, as amended Ordinance No. 2011-OR-44, An Ordinance Reaffirming the Authority of the City of Jeffersonville Police Merit Commission); and, WHEREAS,pursuant to Ind. Code § 36-8-3.5-10,the duly appointed City of Jeffersonville Police Merit Commission(hereinafter the"Commission")adopted the City of Jeffersonville Police Merit Commission Rules and Procedures (as amended from time-to-time by the Commission, pursuant to amendment procedures set forth in the City of Jeffersonville Police Merit Commission Rules and Procedures)(hereinafter, collectively referred to as the "Rules"); and, WHEREAS, pursuant to Ind. Code § 36-8-3.5-12 and the Rules, Rule & Procedures Nos. 1 & 2, the Commission is responsible for the establishment of an applicant eligibility list for new hires as member vacancies become available within the Department; and, WHEREAS, pursuant to the Rules, the Commission has established the procedure by which the Commission certifies an "Applicant Eligibility List" for selection of new hires for the Department, consistent with the provisions of Ind. Code § 36-8-3.5-12; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Ind. Code § 36-8-3.5-1(f), the Council, enacted Ordinance No. 2016-OR-87, by which Ordinance the Council amended the Merit System to authorize the Commission to adopt a hiring procedure for the hiring of experienced officers from an "Experienced Officer List,"in the event of member vacancy(ies) in the Department; and, WHEREAS, due to recent human-resource shortages resulting from vacancies within the Department, the Department administration has requested the Commission re-evaluate the hiring procedure, in order to provide a mechanism for the hiring of experienced officers, who can be placed on the street in a shorter time-frame than the new recruit, and require less expenditure of resources for training, in the event of member vacancies within the Department; and, WHEREAS, in consideration of the time and expense of training new recruits when member vacancies occur within the Department, and the resultant risk to community safety in the absence of adequate human resource availability for assignment to duties within the Department, the Commission has determined that the creation and use of an "Experienced Officer List," to be utilized in the event of vacancies within the Department, is necessary to provide for adequate human resources when vacancies occur; and, NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY OF JEFFERSONIVLLE POLICE MERIT COMMISSION RULES AND PROCEDURES ARE HEREBY AMENDED TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE, in the following respects, to wit: RULE AND PROCEDURE,2.5, ENTITLED, "APPLICATION AND APPOINTMENT OF EXPERIENCED OFFICERS TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT" PURPOSE: To establish the circumstances, minimum qualifications, and procedure for application and appointment of applicants with prior sworn law enforcement experience to the Department. I. APPLICATION A. The Merit Commission will establish an Experienced Applicant Eligibility List, as prescribed in this Rule, in conjunction with and supplemental to the Applicant Eligibility List. The Experienced Applicant Eligibility List will assist the Chief of Police in filling any vacancies for police officers within the Department, in the event of vacancy(ies)within the Department. Reasons for the request to be hired from the Experienced Applicant Eligibility List include(s) but are not limited to manpower shortage, inability to register new recruits in the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy within 120 days prescribed by law, or significant budgetary shortcomings. B.Upon acceptance of the request for an Experienced Applicant Eligibility List,the Jeffersonville City Department of Human Resources will make application forms available.Applications will be accepted by the Department of Human Resources during a specified period of no less than thirty (30) days and no more than ninety (90) days. The exact dates for acceptance of applications will be determined and duly publicized by the Department of Human Resources. C. Completed applications must be submitted, together with any other necessary documents, directly to the Department of Human Resources. All information requested in the application must be completed to the best of the applicant's knowledge and belief. Any misrepresentation may render the applicant ineligible for a position with the Department. II. QUALIFICATIONS To be considered for the appointment to the Experienced Applicant Eligibility List, applicants must meet the following requirements in addition to the minimum requirements for all applicants set forth in the Merit Commission Rules& Procedures, (Rule and Procedures Nos. 1, 2, & 3). A. Must have successfully completed a basic law enforcement training course: 1.Applicants from within the State of Indiana, from one of the following: a. Indiana Law Enforcement Academy b. Indiana State Police Academy c. Indianapolis Police Department Academy d.Northwest Law Enforcement Training Academy e. Police Corps Training Academy f. Southwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy g. Public Safety Academy of Northwest Indiana 2. Applicants from outside the State of Indiana must have successfully completed a state accredited law enforcement training course that is recognized by the State of Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board. Documentation of such training is required. B. Must have at least two (2) years experience as a full-time sworn police officer with another police agency. C. Must consent to verification from prior or current law enforcement agency employees, including administration, supervisors, and/or co-workers. D. Must successfully complete a personal interview; agility test; and background investigation. E. Must be willing to establish residence within the Southern Indiana area of Floyd, Clark, Scott, Jefferson or Washington counties, maintain a telephone service, and have adequate means of transportation to the City. F. Applicants may participate in the Eligibility List process established pursuant to City of Jeffersonville Police Merit Commission Rules and Procedures, Rules 1 & 2, at the same time as participating in the Experienced Officer Eligibility List process, however,an applicants name may not be certified to both certified Eligibility Lists at the same time, and must elect to be placed on one (1) list.To the extent an applicant is placed on both lists and fails to notify the Commission and/or Human Resources, the applicant will be removed from one list by the Commission at the Commission's discretion. III. APPLICANT SCREENING A.Review of Application Applications received by the Department of Human Resources shall have a preliminary review to determine that all requirements of the Merit Commission Rules&Procedures Sections 1,2,and 3 have been satisfied and no apparent disqualifying factors are present. Applicants not meeting the requirements set forth herein shall be immediately disqualified.The remaining applicants will continue through the selection process outlined herein. However,the Department of Human Resources reserves the right to disqualify an applicant at any point such applicant is determined unsuitable in the screening process. B.Agility Test Each applicant shall take an agility test as prescribed by the Commission. C. Background Investigation Each applicant not rejected in the Review of Applications, and satisfactorily completing the Agility Test, shall be fingerprinted and a personal background investigation shall be conducted as prescribed by the Commission. Fingerprints shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Indiana State Police with the subsequent reports being submitted to the Commission.The Commission may make any additional investigations it deems appropriate in order to determine an applicant's mental ability, physical condition, character, reputation, aptitude or general fitness. D. Personal Interviews After completion of the initial background investigations, the Commission shall conduct one or more personal interviews which shall be considered as examinations of the applicant's character, personal habits and reputation, as well as the mental ability and general fitness of the applicant. Before the Commission's interview a member of the Police Department Administration,and a member of the Fraternal Order of Police(the"FOP"), shall (as a panel) conduct preliminary interviews of such candidates.These interviews shall be held in strictest confidence,and for the sole purpose of conveying to the Commission questions or concerns that may occur to the professional officers. Any such questions, comments or concerns shall be conveyed to the Commission with no scoring or ranking and will be considered, by the Commission, as purely advisory or informational. All information gathered in a background investigation and interviews shall be used for rating the applicant according to a pre-determined scale. This scale will include a minimum point score for consideration and placement in the Experienced Applicant Eligibility List. IV. COMPOSITE SCORING PROCEDURE Composite scoring of applicants shall be completed by the Commission or by the Human Resource Department if so designated by the Commission. In order for an applicant to proceed to the next step of the Experienced Officer Eligibility List procedure, the applicant must complete each step hereinbelow, and will become ineligible to advance to the next step if and continue to eligible to become a member with the Department as set forth in these Rules. and shall include the following steps: Step I—Completion of Review of Applications. Applications received by the Human Resource Department, along with any additional information compiled by the Human Resource Department, shall be provided to the Commission, and the Commission (or a sub-committee of the Commission) shall review the application packets for compliance with qualification requirements set forth in the Rules and under Indiana Law. Upon determination that an applicant does not qualify,the Commission shall direct Human Resources to notify the applicant of the applicant's disqualification from the process and the reason therefore. The Human Resource Department shall contact the qualifying applicant to notify said applicants of the date and time for the administration of the physical agility test. Step 2—Physical Agility Test. Candidate for Experienced Officer Eligibility List (hereinafter "Candidate") shall schedule a Physical Agility Test (hereinafter the "PAT"). The PAT shall be administered by the Department, and is scored on a pass/fail basis. The passing score shall be equivalent to the exit standards for the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy ("ILEA") physical agility test in existence at the time of the administration of the PAT. To the extent an individual passes the PAT, s/he shall be notified if they have passed the PAT, that s/he shall be eligible to advance to the oral interview step of the process, and shall be notified regarding the oral interview schedule.The PAT shall be considered a pass/fail test. If a candidate fails the test, s/he will be notified of the result and will not be allowed to advance to the next step of the Experienced Officer Eligibility List process. The Department administration shall provide to the Commission, and to Human Resources, a list of the applicants passing the PAT.The Commission shall notify Human Resources of the interview schedule, and Human Resources shall contact the applicants to schedule the applicant's interview date and time. Step 3—Personal Interview. Personal interview(s) shall be conducted by the Commission or a sub- committee of the Commission, and an active member of the City of Jeffersonville Police Department Administration or an active member of the Department with the rank of sergeant or above designated by the Chief of Police.The active member of the Jeffersonville Police Department as designated by the Chief of Police may change from interview to interview. To the extent a sub-committee of the Commission is appointed for the interview process, no less than three (3) members of the Commission shall be appointed, and each of the members of the sub-committee shall be required to be present at all interviews of each of the eligible Candidates. To the extent the full Commission is to conduct interviews, every member of the Commission must be present at all interviews.In the event of emergency necessitating the absence of one (1) Commission member from any of the interviews, the Commission member's scoring sheets shall not be used in any of the interviews, and shall not be considered in calculating the cumulative score for any of the candidates. Said interview(s) shall be conducted according to the following procedure: A. Candidates will be asked a total of ten(10) scored questions. B. Each question shall be graded on a scale of one (1) to ten (10),with the following score ranges: i. One (1)to three (3) shall be considered a POOR response; ii. Four(4)to six(6) shall be considered an AVERAGE response; iii. Seven (7)to nine (9) shall be considered an ABOVE AVERAGE response; iv. Ten(10) shall be considered an EXCELLENT response. C. The Commission or sub-committee shall meet in executive session prior to the interview date in order to evaluate and select questions to be used during the interviews. D. Each Commission member(or sub-committee member) shall keep a scoring sheet for each applicant interviewed. A sample scoring sheet is attached hereto as Exhibit cc ve E. Each scoring sheet shall identify the Commission member scoring on the sheet. F. Upon completion of each applicant's interview, the Commission members shall total the interview score and notate the total score on his/her sheet, and the sheets for each applicant shall be collected and kept with the applicant's application packet. G. At the conclusion of all interviews,the Commission (or sub-committee) members shall total the Commissioners' scores for each candidate,then divide the total by the number of(eligible) Commission members participating in all interviews, which will be the applicant's averaged personal interview score. The applicant's averaged personal interview score shall be notated on a separate scoring sheet, and shall be included with the applicant's application packet. H. The scoring sheets and the applicant average personal interview score sheet shall remain confidential and not subject to disclosure as a public record, except as otherwise required by Indiana or Federal law. Step 4—Special Composite Score Adjustments. Upon determination of an applicant's averaged personal interview score,the Commission shall determine whether the applicant is eligible for a special composite score adjustment, as set forth in Rule and Procedure No. 2, section VIII hereinabove. Step 5—Compilation of Cumulative Score. Compilation of cumulative scores shall be made by the Commission or a sub-committee of the Commission in executive session, and shall be done according to the following procedure: A. The applicant's average personal interview score shall be combined with any"special composite score adjustments" shall be totaled for each applicant. This new score will be the applicant's cumulative score. B. The Commission shall place the names of the applicants in order based upon the applicant's cumulative scores in rank order from highest cumulative score to lowest cumulative score. C. Upon verification of cumulative score list, the Commission shall remove the scores and certify the list as the Experienced Officer Eligibility List during its next open public meeting. D. The Commission shall provide a copy of the certified Experienced Officer Eligibility List to the Board of Public Works and Safety and to the Department of Human Resources. V. EXPERIENCED APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY LIST A. The names of all applicants with a passing composite score shall be placed on an Experienced Applicant Eligibility List, reflecting the names according to score received, with the highest score listed first. This list will be certified by the Commission to the Board of Public Works and Safety and shall remain in effect for a period of two(2)years.Applicants on the list may have their names removed from the list by requesting such removal, in writing,to the Commission. In addition, the Commission may at periodic intervals take appropriate action to determine whether applicants desire to remain on the list. B. Any applicant on the list not selected for appointment during the two (2) year period may reapply for inclusion on the next Applicant Eligibility List or Experienced Applicant Eligibility List, but must be within the required age limits. C. When a vacancy occurs within the Department, the Chief of Police will submit a written request to the Merit Commission requesting the next available name(s) from either the Experienced Applicant Eligibility List or the Applicant Eligibility List depending on the need of the Department. D. Once a request has been approved to select an applicant from the Experienced Officer Eligibility List, the Department shall schedule a polygraph and may schedule a psychological examination to be performed upon the applicant with the highest grade on the list. At its discretion, the Department may elect to schedule additional applicants on the Experienced Applicant Eligibility List for polygraph and psychological examination to ensure an acceptable applicant is available to fill the vacancy. The Chief of Police shall issue a Conditional Offer of Employment to an applicant prior to such psychological and polygraph examination. VI.PENSION BOARD REVIEW Applicants selected for appointment shall be referred to the Police Pension Board, which shall direct the applicant to take a medical-physical examination. On completion of this examination, the Police Pension Board shall furnish the Commission with a certification of the applicant's eligibility for pension benefits. In addition, the Commission shall determine that the applicant is of good character at the time of the appointment. VII.DELAYED APPOINTMENT In the event of an unforeseen circumstance that would cancel the vacancy, any applicant that has received a Conditional Offer of Employment shall be given first consideration for the next occurring vacancy, pending satisfactory completion of the psychological and polygraph examination, Pension Board medical-physical examination, and any other conditions outlined in the Conditional Offer of Employment. VIII.PROBATIONARY EMPLOYMENT All appointments shall be probationary for a period of one year starting with the first date of actual service. If at any time during this period, upon recommendation of the Department, the Commission determines the conduct or capacity of a probationer is unsatisfactory,the Commission shall notify the probationer that the appointment will not be made permanent, whereupon the probationer's employment shall cease without right of appeal. The retention of a probationer beyond the expiration of the probationary period shall constitute a permanent appointment to.the Department. IX.REDUCTION IN FORCE AND REINSTATEMENT Reductions in force and reinstatement are to be made in accordance with Jeffersonville Common Council Salary Ordinance and Indiana law. X. SOLICITATION Any applicant who personally or through another person solicits a member of the Commission to favor such applicant's appointment or reappointment shall thereby be rendered ineligible for all time for an appointment to the Department. The Commission shall determine the procedure for considering the allegation of such violation. SO AMENDED THIS o? MZ DAY OF _Q ,2017. MEMBERS VOTING "YEA": MEMBERS VOTING "NAY": Robert Cae:, r i ent Robert Campbell, President /4/1_� __ r Jere S ling, Vice-Pr ident Jeremy Snelling, Vice-President Scot&Aldr1kfge, easurer Scott Aldridge, Treasurer Bonnie Deppert, Secretwyl Bonnie Deppert, Secretary mes Reagan, Memb James Reagan, Member