Agenda - Council - 05/12/1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CASE# APPOINTMENT OF POLICE SERGEANT By: Ryan Schroeder, City Administrator Backgrot~r~d: This item w~s on the agenda for the last Personnel Committee meeting and at the request of Police Chief Ausp0s and City Administrator Schroeder, the Committee recommending tabling the decision. Four candidates applied for the position. They are: Bob Kuhn 13 years with the Police Department Jim W~.ay 7 years with the Police Department DaveGustafson 15 years with the Police Department Jeff Arneson 7 years with the Police Department On the basis Of years with the department and POST certification, all are qualified for the position. The four can~tidates took part in a written testing procedure prepared by Police Chief Auspos. This was followed by ,an oral interview. The interview panel included the Chief of Police for the City of Blaine, a Se~rgeant with the City of Anoka and an Anoka County Deputy. The Personnel Coordinator ~asipresent during the interviews but did not participate. The City Administrator and the Police Clgief'were not present. The results of this two-step process have been forwarded to Council, indopendent of this case. Procedurallyi Council appoints all positions above Class 2 for the City. Past practice has been to interview all ~ep~artment manager personnel. It should be noted that while this position is not as a department~an~ger, it is exempt and will be Ramsey's third highest paid staff person; above that paid to the l~iganCe Officer and City Engineer. The choice. Of a Police Sergeant has been a difficult one in that, as reported above, all four candidates a~e fully qualified for the position. Further, there are several issues which seem to come into girly during the thought process as to which of the candidates would be better not only for the Depag[ment but for the organization as a whole. In contemplation of this, I would like to suggest the t'OlloWing questions be asked: 1) How important is the philosophy of the candidate and does Council agree with this philos~ophy? 2) While it was not suggested prior to or during the testing/interview process, is it appropriate to cotlsider factors outside the process in decision-making such as the letter of introduction or impact of a particular choice on the other officers? 3) 4) While I believe it was assumed by the candidates and the balance of the department that a choice would be made upon the oral and written scores, must Council chose the candidate scor~ highest through the testing/interview process? What ~il}:the impact of any particular choice be on the Department in the short term or for the nekt five or ten years? 5) What will the impact of any particular choice be on the organization as a whole?