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1993 Fire Personnel SOB DESCRIPTION Position Title: Fire Equipment Mechanic Supervisor: Director, Fire & Safety Department: Fire & Safety Job Grade: Division: Fire Status: Hourly, Part-time Primary ObjeCtiv~ of Position To perform mechanical work and repair of special fire fighting equipment and related work as assigned under the Director of Fire & Safety. The equipment to be repaired would include exhaust fans, pen-a-power, water pump cans, nozzles, axe handle replacement, portable generators, portable lights and other like equipment. Major Areas of Accountability_ -Maintains records of fire equipment; -Maintains an inventory of ail parts and supplies; -Performs emergency repairs on equipment as needed; -Coordinates the repairs of vehicles, engines, pumps and other related repairs with City Mechanic or outside vendors. Qualifications Knowledge of: -Proper use and operation of fire equipment; -Maintenance and repair of fire equipment other than engines and pumps. Ability to: -Follow written and oral direction; -Perform mechanically related tasks; -Maintain detailed and accurate records. Education, Training and F_,x_t>erience: -Automotive and/or truck mechanics schooling; or equivalent experience; -Prior experience with fire service equipment. Department Head Date: City Manager Date: Personnel Board Date: JD-8 2/3/93 CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Department Personnel Committee February 2, 1993 Meeting //1 Fire Station, 7:00 p.m. CALL TO The New Hope Fire Personnel Committee met pursuant to due call ORDER and notice thereof; Chair Reiswig called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Carlson, Reiswig, Smith, Tate and staff liaison Sherry Draper Absent: Quarnstrom MOTION Motion by Carlson, seconded by Smith to approve the minutes of December 1, 1992. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. ENGINEER When asked to approve the Engineer job description, the Personnel POSITION Board had a number of questions about the position. They referred it to the Fire Personnel Committee for further review and recommendation. Chief Smith distributed a revised job description. The Committee changed the position title to "Fire Equipment Mechanic" and added more appropriate language to the description. An edited copy is attached. The Committee then discussed whether the person in this position should also be a firefighter. They decided the incumbent would not have to be an active firefighter, but it would definitely be an advantage to have the person at a fire scene if a repair were needed. Chief Smith said a retired firefighter might be an ideal candidate. The Committee also discussed whether the position should remain as a regular Civil Service position under the Personnel Board or changed to a position under the Fire Chief and the Fire Personnel Committee. One of the considerations discussed was how this position is paid. The position is currently funded in the Fire Department budget, outside of the lump sum wage package for firefighters. Chief Smith said this person would work 5 - 6 hours per week at 88 to 89 per hour. The Committee decided to recommend to the Personnel Board that the Fire Chief and the Fire Personnel Committee could handle the recruiting and selection procedure and that the details of paying the individual could be worked out by the City. MOTION Motion by Smith, seconded by Carlson recommending the revised Fire Equipment Mechanic job description be presented to the Personnel Board for approval. Voting in favor - All. MOTION Motion by Carlson, seconded by Tate recommending that the Fire Equipment Mechanic position be taken out of Civil Service and put under the direction of the Director of Fire & Safety. Voting in favor - all. 1993 Chair Reiswig opened the discussion saying that he had committed OBJECTIVES two years of his time to the Fire Personnel Board and has now exceeded that commitment. He told the Committee that the Personnel Board had recommended and City Manager Donahue had approved that Sherry Draper take over Chair Reiswig's position on the Committee. Sherry and Chief Smith both thanked Myrle on behalf of all the Committee for his expertise and help during the past two years. The Committee then discussed the Fire Personnel Committee's 1993 Objectives. The Committee set out the following agenda items for 1993: 1 ) Job Application 2) Compensation and Fair Labor Standards Issues 3) Day Availability Agreement 4) Staffing the Fire Department to 38 Firefighters CONSOLI- Chief Smith stated that the next meeting of the Fire Consolidation DATION Committee will be in New Hope on February 9. He said that a bill REPORT regarding fire pensions has been drafted for the state legislature through Representative Ann Rest's office. Greg read a portion of the bill to the Committee. Greg told the Committee that there has been very little communication from the City to the firefighters on this issue. OTHER Sherry asked if there is a timeframe established for recruiting new BUSINESS firefighters. Chief Smith stated he will be checking to see when a new Firefighter I class is starting and work around that date. -2- Chief Smith stated he had not evaluated his officers as yet. He stated that Departmental meetings will be held four times a year rather than monthly meetings. Chief Smith also reported that all the new firefighters are doing very well. All are finished with Firefighter I and all are in various stages of responder classes. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Carlson, seconded by Tate to adjourn the Fire Personnel Committee meeting. Voting in favor - All. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~r~e~cret~~ary~ -3- CITY OF NEW HOPE ~.~.01 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Department Personnel Committee March 2, 1993 Meeting #2 Fire Station, 7:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER The New Hope Fire Personnel Committee met pursuant to due call and notice thereof; Chair Draper called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Carlson, Quarnstrom, Smith, Tate and Draper MOTION Motion by Carlson, seconded by Tate to approve the minutes of February 2, 1993 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. RECRUITING Chair Draper stated that the Personnel Board had reviewed and FIRE EQUIPMENT approved the job description for the Fire Equipment Mechanic at ENGINEER POSITION their last meeting with the guarantee that the Americans With Disabilities supplement be added to the description, The Personnel Board also approved the position as being under the direction of the Fire Department and Fire Personnel Committee. Chief Smith stated that he will complete the ADA supplement with Sherry's assistance and bring it back to the Committee to approve. Discussion followed on developing a recruiting plan. The Committee decided to pattern the wage for this position after the Civil Service position B-22 Mechanic Helper. It was the consensus of the Committee to adopt the Mechanic Helper pay scale of $7.73 - $9.66 per hour. Committee Member Tate suggested that the posting of the position be opened up within the Fire Department first and if no one applies, then go with an outside posting. Chair Draper said she will post the position on Friday, March 5 with a deadline for applications being accepted of March 26. The candidates will be interviewed at the next regular Fire Personnel Committee meeting of April 6. FIRE Chief Smith stated he attended the Fire Consolidation meeting last CONSOLIDATION week. He said that the Committee reviewed the proposed UPDATE legislation and there were questions on the content of that -ire Personnel Committee - 1 - March 2, 1993 legislation. Both Crystal and New Hope's Fire Chiefs were directed to go back to their memberships for input as some clarification is needed on some points of the legislation. One of the questions regarding the legislation was concern over retirees on a monthly annuity and what would be the impact on that group. Another concern of the Committee was the vacancies caused by Gary L'Herault no longer being a Councilmember and the retirement of Don Fournier. The next meeting of the Fire Consolidation Committee will be March 11. OTHER BUSINESS Chief Smith asked Sherry how many people are on the certification list. Sherry replied there are eight people certified and the list is good until August. She said that no one is a certified day time responder. Chief Smith stated that he had met with area Fire Chiefs and there would be a joint recruitment process coming up this summer. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Carlson, seconded by Tate to adjourn the Fire Personnel Committee meeting. Voting in favor - All. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Recording Secretary --ire Personnel Committee - 2 - March 2, 1993 CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Department Personnel Committee April 6, 1993 Meeting #3 Fire Station, 7:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER The New Hope Fire Personnel Committee met pursuant to due call and notice thereof; Chair Draper called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Carlson, Quarnstrom, Smith, Tate and Draper MOTION Motion by Carlson, seconded by Tare to approve the minutes of March 2, 1993 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. INTERVIEW The Personnel Committee interviewed Firefighter Kurt Klipstein for the Fire FIRE EQUIPMENT Equipment Mechanic. Firefighter Klipstein was the only candidate for this ENGINEER position. It was the consensus of the Committee that although candidate Klipstein had little experience as a mechanic, he was very enthusiastic about the position and he would do a good job in this position. MOTION Motion by Quarnstrom, seconded by Carlson, to certifl/Kurt Klipstein as the Fire Equipment Mechanic. Voting in favor: All. ADA SUPPLEMENT Chief Smith prepared the ADA Supplement to the employment application. The FIRE EQUIPMENT Committee discussed it and added climbing in and out of fire trucks as an MECHANIC essential requirement. MOTION Motion by Carlson, seconded by Tate to approve the ADA Supplement to the Fire Equipment Mechanic job description, Voting in favor: All. EMPLOYMENT Chair Draper distributed copies of the recently revised City of New Hope APPLICATION Employment Application. She stated that this is a very generic application and SUPPLEMENT a supplement will be added that is specific to the job being applied for. She presented a revised copy of the Supplement for Firefighters that the Committee had tabled some time ago. Following review, the Committee approved the supplement for use in the next recruiting effort. DISCUSSION RE Chair Draper stated she put this item on the agenda as an informational item. EMPLOYMENT OF Two firefighters have applied for seasonal employment with the Park and FIREFIGHTERS Recreation Department. This situation brought forth several concerns and issues. IN OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS The questions raised were overtime and answering day fire calls. Chair Draper stated it was the consensus of the management staff of the City to try it out this summer on a trial basis. It will be both the employees and managements responsibility to manage the schedules to avoid an overtime situation. Firefighters can work up to 53 hours per week (40 seasonal + 13 firefighter) before overtime becomes an issue. If the firefighter is working in a maintenance crew position, they could leave for second calls or mutual aid. If the person is working as a playground leader involving supervision of children, then they cannot leave for any Fire Personnel Committee - 1 - April 6, 1993 fire call. FIRE CONSOLI- Chief Smith reported that at the last meeting there was some lively discussion as DATION STUDY tO whether there should be a defined contribution or a defined benefit program REPORT ' The two relief associations had gotten together and talked about it. Chief Smith stated there was a lot of time spent on concerns of the active firefighters, deferred pensioners, and retirees that are currently collecting their pensions. All three had submitted concerns and the Committee spent a lot of time going through those concerns and how those concerns related to the bill that is being drafted for the legislature. Chief McGinty and Chief Smith were given the task of putting together a spreadsheet showing what it would look like if we go with defined contribution. He said he would have to get together with Greg Carlson and the Relief Association to find out who is out there on retired status, who is on deferred status, when they will be getting a lump sum, etc., and also active members and what their status is. Chief Smith stated it would be a long process. OTHER Chief Smith asked if there is any procedure for follow-up on job applicants BUSINESS specifically to determine if a candidate has obtained his high school diploma after finishing probation and before becoming a firefighter. Chair Draper stated that if a probationary firefighter is in high school it should be up to that individual to provide his/her high school diploma upon completion. Discussion was held by the Committee regarding the term "State certification" being put into the job descriptions as a qualification for Firefighter I and Firefighter II. He stated that probationary firefighters attend classes to become firefighters and upon completion receive a certification of attendance. In addition to completing the course curriculum they must also successfully complete the State certification. MOTION Motion by Smith, seconded by Carlson to add "State certification" to the job descriptions for Firefi§hter I and Firefighter II. Voting in favor: All. ADJOURNMENT Because there was no further business to come before the Fire Personnel Committee, Carlson moved to adjourn. Seconded by Tate. The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. ~lespectfully submitted, Recording Secretary Fire Personnel Committee - 2 - April 6, 1993 CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Department Personnel Committee May 4, 1993 Meeting #4 Fire Station, 7:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER The New Hope Fire Personnel Committee met pursuant to due call and notice thereof; Chair Draper called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Carlson, Quarnstrom, Tate and Draper Absent: Smith MOTION Motion by Carlson, seconded by Quarnstrom to approve the minutes of April 6, 1993 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. FIREFIGHTER The Fire Personnel Committee discussed recruiting plans to get RECRUITING another group of probationary firefighters on board. Sherry told the PLANS Committee that at the Fire Chiefs meeting it was decided that all cities should recruit at the same time. Sherry said that advertising would take place in the City Newsletter, Cable T.V., the signboard on 42nd Avenue and POST Newspaper. Sherry went on to say that there are eight people on the certified list from the last recruiting and she has nine applications on file that include five daytime responders. Mr. Quarnstrom suggested she write to the people on the certified list and inquire as to their current availability and also letters should go out to the nine applicants and invite them to the informational meetings in July. Sherry informed the Committee that Chief Smith's objective is to have 38 firefighters on board, right now there are 32. The Committee discussed recruiting for day responders only. The dates of July 14 (evening) and July 16 (morning) were set for the informational meetings. MOTION Motion by Tate, seconded by Quarnstrom, to approve the recruiting procedure according to Chief Smith's memorandum. Voting in favor: All. FIRE Greg Carlson reported that there is to be a Fire Consolidation CONSOLIDATION Meeting in New Hope, Thursday, May 6. STUDY REPORT Fire Personnel Committee - 1 - May 4, 1993 ADJOURNMENT Because there was no further business to come before the Fire Personnel Committee, Carlson moved to adjourn. Seconded by Tate. Voting in favor: All. The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Recording Secretary ~ire Personnel Committee - 2 - May 4, 1993 CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Department Personnel Committee August 3, 1993 Meeting /15 Fire Station, 6:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER The New Hope Fire Personnel Committee met pursuant to due call and notice thereof; Chair Draper called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Smith, Carlson, Quarnstrom, Tate and Draper MOTION Motion by Smith, seconded by Tate to approve the minutes of May 4, 1993 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. INTERVIEWS Chief Smith informed the Committee that all applicants with day PROBATIONARY availability (10 of 24) had been invited to interview. He defined FIREFIGHTERS days as 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and availability as a minimum of 4 hours during the day. Also considered as day availability were: days off during the week. Not considered as day availability were: employer approval to leave during regular working hours and unemployed status. Sherry informed the Committee that the Personnel Board had reviewed the sample availability agreement and their opinion was that it would not withstand a legal test. Their recommendation was not to use an agreement, but to use the appointment letter to inform the candidates that the City may not have a position for them if their availability should change. Their alternative recommendation was to seek legal counsel regarding a signed agreement. The Committee decided to use the appointment letter. Sherry also updated the Committee on the status of the remaining candidates from the 1992 certified list. Of the eight, 3 did not respond to the interest letter, 1 moved out of the area, 3 are not available during the day, and 1 works 7 a.m to noon (qualifies as day available). This one candidate, Michael Iwanok, will be invited to the abilities testing. Certification for the other seven will expire. All interview candidates were provided with information on the required abilities testing and instructed to call Sherry Draper regarding their certification status. The Fire Personnel Committee interviewed the following candidates: Shelly Ray Paul Johnston Shelby Osborne Nicole Dockter Kathy Hammerseng Jim Mason Eric Beske Joel Nelson Doug Dunnette Pete Monson All candidates scored higher than the standard passing score of 60. All candidates were certified by consensus. OTHER BUSINESS A joint meeting of Crystal and New Hope departments is scheduled for August 26. They will talk about pensions and look at a defined contribution plan. This meeting will be videotaped for those who cannot attend. Greg Carlson reminded the Committee has this term expires at the end of the year and that recruiting plans need to be made for a replacement. ADJOURNMENT Because there was no further business to come before the Fire Personnel Committee, the meeting adjourned at 10:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sherry Draper Administrative Assistant tire Personnel Committee - 2 - August 3, 1993 CITY OF NEW HOPE MEMORANDUM DATE: September 3, 1993 TO: Fire Personnel Committee FROM: Sherry Draper ~ SUBJECT: Update on Probationary Firefighter Recruiting Since I believe a recruiting update would be the only agenda item for a September meeting, I am writing this memo in lieu of holding the meeting. As you will recall, we interviewed and certified ten candidates. One candidate withdrew application prior to the abilities testing, one did not pass the abilities testing, and one did not pass the motor vehicle records check. The remaining seven candidates have passed all tests and will be starting their activities Monday night. The new firefighters are: Eric Beske, Doug Dunnette, Kathy Hammerseng, Paul Johnston, Jim Mason, Joel Nelson, and Shelby Osborne. We will need to meet on October 5 to make recruiting plans for Fire Personnel Committee members (Greg and Dick), Assistant Chief, and Lieutenants. All these terms expire on 12/31/93. CITY OF NEW HOPE MEMORANDUM DATE: October 29, 1993 TO: Fire Personnel Committee FROM: Sherry Draper SUBJECT: October Meeting Since three of you were unable to attend the October 5 meeting, it was cancelled. Doug, Jon, and I met informally and set the following recruiting schedule for Lieutenants and Assistant Chief. Posting: October 15 Application Deadline: October 29 Interview: November 2 Since our regular meeting day, November 2, in an election day, we cannot officially begin our meeting until 8:00 p.m. However, if at all possible, please plan to arrive about 30 minutes early so we can prepare for the interviews that will start at 8:00 p.m. CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Department Personnel Committee November 2, 1993 Meeting //6 Fire Station, 8:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER The New Hope Fire Personnel Committee met pursuant to due call and notice thereof; Chair Draper called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Smith, Carlson, Quarnstrom, and Draper Absent: Tate MOTION Motion by Carlson, seconded by Quarnstrom to approve the minutes of August 3, 1993 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. INTERVIEWS The Committee recognized that the only applicants for the Assistant FIRE LIEUTENANTS Fire Chief and Fire Lieutenant positions were the incumbents, all & ASST. CHIEF fully-qualified. The interview questions were structured to gain insight from the officer's experiences during their past terms and their objectives for the future. The Committee interviewed Joe Amos and Henry Benton for Fire Lieutenant positions and Steve Homstad for Assistant Chief. They did not score the responses. Consensus was to recommend reappointment to the City Manager. REPORT ON NEW Chief Smith reported on the new class of probationary firefighters. PROBATIONARY Of the 10 candidates that were certified, one asked to be removed FIREFIGHTERS from the list (decided to continue schooling), one did not pass the physical abilities testing, one did not pass the motor vehicle record check, and one resigned (change in full-time employment) after appointment. The remaining six are actively pursuing their firefighter training. RECRUITING PLANS The Committee approved the following recruiting schedule for the C O M M I T T E E open firefighter position. Posting -- November 12, application MEMBERS deadline -- November 29, and interview -- December 7. Dick Quarnstrom said he would like to be reappointed to the citizen Fire Personnel Committee - 1 - November 2, 1993 representative position and he would be responding to the City Clerk's letter. CONSOLIDATION Chief Smith said that two consultants have been hired, one to assist REPORT with the pension issue and one to assist with the operations side. OTHER BUSINESS Chief Smith reported that all probationary firefighters from prior classes have successfully completed their training and been promoted to active firefighter status. After reviewing the requirements for all officers, Dick Quarnstrom suggested the addition of Fire Incident Command for the Assistant Chief position. Chief Smith mentioned that the City is proposing wellness programs as part of a change in employee benefit plans, and he stated he would be most interested in developing a wellness program for firefighters. ADJOURNMENT Because there was no further business to come before the Fire Personnel Committee, the meeting adjourned at 9:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sherry Draper Administrative Assistant Fire Personnel Committee - 2 - August 3, 1993 CITY OF NEW HOPE 4401 XYLON AVENUE NORTH HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA 55428 Fire Department Personnel Committee December 7, 1993 Meeting #7 City Hall, 7:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER The New Hope Fire Personnel Committee met pursuant to due call and notice thereof; Chair Sherry Draper called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Carlson, Quarnstrom, Smith, Tate, Draper and former member Myrle Reiswig. Absent: None MOTION Motion by Smith, seconded by Carlson to approve the minutes of November 2, 1993 as written. All present voted in favor. Motion carried. RECRUITING The Committee's open firefighter position was posted on November PLAN 12 with an application deadline of November 29, but no one applied. The Committee discussed possible reasons for the lack of interest as well as the future need for the Committee. Comments regarding the position included 1) not a lot of firefighter issues right now, 2) other opportunities for participation such as Relief Association and Consolidation Committee, and 3) officers are discouraged from applying because of the grievance/appeals process. It was noted that although the Committee was really busy in the beginning, the start-up objectives had been met, "things" have settled down, and there's not much to do now. Doug Smith stated that although there may not be a need to meet on a regular basis, the Committee's role in the recruiting process is very important. Myrle Reiswig said the Personnel Board is pleased with the Committee's accomplishments and would want it to continue. Consensus was to leave the firefighter position open for awhile and recruit again later on when there is more activity. In the meanwhile, firefighters should be surveyed to determine if the meeting date is a problem, and if so, it could be changed. The Committee also discussed the possibility of daytime meetings. Fire Personnel Committee December 7, 1993 Page 1 REOOGNITION/ Myrle Reiswig officially thanked Greg Carlson for his participation in GREG CARLSON the Committee and his efforts to help establish its credibility during the challenging start-up time. It was announced that dessert and informal recognition would follow the meeting. OTHER BUSINESS Chief Smith stated there are currently 38 firefighters on the roster. The only personnel related issue is that two are having trouble meeting attendance requirements and some action may need to be taken. Greg Carlson reported that the Consolidation Committee was still focused on the pension issue. They will be sending out an RFP for consulting help. ADJOURNMENT The Fire Personnel Committee adjourned at 8:04 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sherry Draper Staff Liaison Fire Personnel Committee December 7, 1993 Page 2