Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutD-1734-04 Fire/Police Merit BoardCOUNCILOR(S): Mayo and Sharp ORDINANCE D-1734-04 AS AMENDED AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARMEL~ INDIANA~ CREATING A CARMEL FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENT MERIT SYSTEM AND ADDING CHAPTER 6~ ARTICLE 3~ SECTION 6-33 TO THE CARMEL CITY CODE WHEREAS, the City of Carmel is committed to fair and objective hiring, promotion and disciplinary standards; and WHEREAS, the City and its Fire and Police Departments seek to utilize the best standards available when hiring, promoting and disciplining the City's sworn personnel. NOW, THEREORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, as follows: Section 1. The foregoing Recitals are incorporated herein by this reference. Section 2. Chapter 6, Article 3, Section 6-33, entitled "Carmel Police and Fire Department Merit System", is hereby added to the Carmel City Code and shall read as follows: "Sec. 6-33. Carmel Fire and Police Department Merit System (a) Authority This Carmel Fire and Police Department Merit System is established pursuant to Indiana Code 36-1-4-14. references herein to the male gender are to be read as applying equally to the female gender. All (b) Fire Chief; Police Chief 1. The Chief ("Fire Chief") of the City of Carmel Fire Department ("Fire Department" or "Department", as context dictates) and the Chief ("Police Chief") of the City of Carmel Metropolitan Police Department ("Police Department" or "Department", as context dictates) shall each be appointed by the Mayor, shall have exclusive control over and charge of the operations of their respective Departments, subject to lawful rules and orders, and, with the approval of the City of Carmel Board of Public Works and Safety, shall appoint any number of executive assistants as each deems necessary to efficiently discharge his executive duties. The Fire Chief shall select his executive assistants from Fire Department members who hold the permanent merit rank of Lieutenant or above and the Police Chief shall select his executive assistants from Police Department members who hold the permanent merit rank of Sergeant or above. These appointed ranks shall be temporary, and each member appointed to such a position shall retain his permanent merit rank, except as permitted by the Medt System established herein. Page One of Six Pages Re-drafted by Douglas C. Haney, Carmel City Attorney [Z:~LFine D Drive.lie s\OrdinancesX2004\D- 1734-04, As Amended.doc: 12/I 5/2004 1:42 PM] COUNCILOR(S): Mayo and Sharp (c) Carmel Fire Department Merit Board; Carmel Police Department Medt Board 1. There shall be established, under the Carmel Fire and Police Department Merit System, both a City of Carmel Civilian Fire Merit Board ("Fire Board" or "Board", as context dictates) and a City of Carmel Civilian Police Medt Board ("Police Board" or "Board", as context dictates), which Boards shall consist of five (5) commissioners each. One (1) commissioner of each Board shall be appointed by the Common Council, two (2) commissioners of each Board shall be appointed by the Mayor, two (2) commissioners of the Fire Board shall be elected by the active members of the Fire Department and two (2) commissioners of the Police Board shall be elected by the active members of the Police Department, all in accordance with the provisions of Indiana Code 36-8-3.5-8, as amended. Each Board commissioner shall be a resident of the City of Carmel or Clay Township and have been a resident of same for at least one (1) year prior to his appointment or election to the Board. No Board commissioner shall be an active member of a police department or a fire department, nor receive any remuneration in the form of salary from the City, nor hold any other elected or appointed office in either the City of Carmel or Clay Township. All Board commissioners shall serve for two (2) year terms, and shall serve until their successor is appointed or elected, and qualified. Commissioners serve at the pleasure of their appointing or electing authority, may be removed at any time with or without cause or right to a headng, and their replacements shall serve for the remainder of their term. Commissioners elected pursuant to indiana Code 36-8-3.5-8 shall also be removed and their replacement selected pursuant to that statutory section. Board commissioners may be re-appointed or elected for an unlimited number of successive two (2) year terms, may be appointed to serve on one or both Boards, and are not to be paid for their Board service, except that they may be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the performance of their Board duties. The Fire Chief and the Police Chief shall be ex officio members of their respective Boards, without voting power. 2. Three (3) commissioners of a Board shall constitute a quorum of that Board for purposes of taking official action. 3. Within sixty (60) days from the date of its selection, each Board shall establish rules to govern its operation, including the time and place of regular meetings and such special meetings as are necessary to transact its business. Each year, each Board shall select from its commissioners a President, a Vice President, and a Secretary. No commissioner may hold more than one of these offices on a Board at a time. 4. The Boards shall administer and supervise the Medt System established herein conscientiously and pursuant to applicable law. (d) Merit Selection; Procedures 1. All persons shall be appointed and/or re-appointed to the Fire Department or to the Police Department in accordance with the merit selection and appointment procedures created herein and with such written rules and regulations as may be established by their Department Board in accordance with same. Appointments and ru-appointments to the Police and Fire Departments shall be made without regard to a person's political party preference or activity. 2. Any person who is a citizen of the United States, is at least twenty-one (21) years of age and less than thirty-six (36) years of age, has at least a high school diploma or equivalent, and has not been convicted within the past twenty (20) years of a crime that is currently a felony under Indiana law, is eligible to apply to become a member of the Fire or Police Department. The above age requirements do not apply to a person who has previously been employed as a member of either Department. Each eligible applicant must meet and continue to meet all minimum fitness/medical/psychological standards as adopted by their Department as a condition of employment with said Department. Each Department shall develop such job related minimum standards with the assistance of an independent consultant, if necessary, in order to meet applicable federal and state laws. Ordinance No. D- 1734-04 Page Two of Six Pages Re-drafted by Douglas C. Haney, Carmel City Attorney [Z:\LFinc D Drive'File s\Ordinances~2004~D-1734~04. As Amended doc: 12/['5/2004 1:42 PM] COUNCILOR(S): Mayo and Sharp 3. All persons appointed or re-appointed to the Fire or Police Department must establish their place of residence within Hamilton County, or in an Indiana county that abuts Hamilton County, within twelve (12) months of their appointment or re- appointment. 4. All applicants must pass a written examination that evaluates their aptitude and intellectual capacity for work as a firefighter or police officer, a job related agility test, a structured oral interview process, and such other job related tests and examinations as may be required by the Chief of the applicable Bepartment, prior to beginning work in that Bepartment. 5. The terms and conditions contained in this Section shall, without further action by either Board, be deemed modified to the extent necessary to conform with any change in the law that renders the same unlawful, as set forth in a written legal opinion provided by the Carmel City Attorney. (e) Probationary Period 1) The probationary period for a firefighter or police officer appointed or re-appointed to their Department shall be for one (1) year from the date of hire. Each probationary firefighter and police officer shall be evaluated monthly during this period by his immediate supervisor pursuant to the evaluation system provided for herein or as later adopted by their Chief, after consultation with their respective Board. The appointment of a firefighter to the Fire Department or a police officer to the Police Department shall become permanent when he has successfully completed his one (1) year probationary period. While a firefighter or police officer is in probationary status, he is an "at-will" employee who may be terminated by the Department Chief with or without cause and without a hearing. (0 Merit Promotion System 1. There is hereby established a Carmel Fire and Police Department Medt Promotion System ("Merit Promotion System") that shall be administered in accordance with the Fire and Police Departments' respective rules and regulations. The Merit Promotion System shall apply to all promotions of Fire Bepartment members to the ranks of Engineer, Lieutenant, and Captain and to all promotions of Police Department members to the ranks of Officer, Sergeant and Lieutenant only. The Chief of each Department, after consultation with his Department's Board, shall set standards for merit promotion within his Department in conformity with similar standards of comparable fire or police departments, as the case may be, and shall establish reasonable prerequisites of training, education and experience for each rank, grade and position in their Department subject to the Merit Promotion System. 2. In determining years of service for promotion eligibility, all time served by a member from his most recent date of appointment to his Department shall be considered. The Board shall resolve any issues relating to the determination of a member's years of service. A member may be promoted only to the next highest rank in conjunction with his Department's rules and regulations. 3. The Fire Chief and the Police Chief, after consultation with their Department's Board, shall each establish process phases and procedures for use in selecting candidates for promotion to the various ranks within their respective Departments. The Chiefs may use the services of professional consultants from outside their Departments to assist them in developing and administering such process phases and procedures, which shall be established in conformity with standard psychometric procedures, equal opportunity laws and generally accepted standards for such Departments. Such processes may include a written examination, structured interviews, performance evaluations and/or assessment-centered techniques, structured to accommodate the various rank levels. Ordinance No. D-1734-04 Page Three of Six Pages Re-drafted by Douglas C. Haney, Carmel City Attorney [Z:\LFine D Drive\Files\Ordinances\2004~D- 1734-04, As Amended doc:12/21/2004 10:51 AM] COUNCILOR(S): Mayo and Sharp 4. The Fire Chief and Police Chief shall make premotions to ranks covered by the Merit Promotion System only after consultation with their Department's Board. Such promotions shall be made to position vacancies identified and designated by said Chief. In making these promotion decisions, the Chiefs shall promote those candidates who, in their opinion, after consultation with their Department Board, are best qualified for the position vacancies, based upon the cumulative scores generated by the premotion procedures established under the Carmel Firs and Police Department Merit System, and subject to and consistent with the needs of their Department, the City and applicable law. 5. All Merit Premofion System policies and procedures applicable to the Firs Department shall be posted at all Firs Department stations. All Merit Promotion System policies and procedures applicable to the Police Department shall be posted at all Police Department stations. 6. All Merit Premotion System promotions shall be made without regard to a candidate's political party prefersnce or activities. There shall be no acting ranks in suppression. (g) Evaluations The Fire Chief and the Police Chief, after consultation with their Department's Board, shall each establish a written system for the evaluation of the work performance of each member of his Department at least once each calendar year. (h) Discipline 1. The Fire and Police Departments shall follow the substantive provisions and procedurss set forth in Indiana Code Section 36-8-3-4, as amended, when disciplining any regular member of their Department, with their Department's Board taking the rele of the "safety board' for purposes thersof. The procedurss set forth in Indiana Code Section 36-8-3-4 may be expanded upon, but not limited by, wdtten policies and precedures adopted by the Boards. 2. Any hearing befors a Board shall be an administrative hearing, shall be de novo and shall be a headng of record. The evidence before a Board shall consist of the written charges and the determination of the Department Chief upon those charges, as well as any other evidence requested by the Board, presented by the aggrieved firefighter or police officer, or by the Fire or Police Chief. 3. Any firefighter or police officer appealing any decision of his Department Chief shall be given notice at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the hearing before the Department's Board. 4. Before a Board, legal counsel may represent an appealing firefighter or police officer, and the City Attorney or his/her designee shall represent the Firs or Police Chief. 5. A Board may fully or partially affirm or completely reverse any portion of its Department Chief's determination that is appealable. In the case of the demotion, a Board may demote a firefighter or police officer, as applicable, only one (1) permanent rank at any one (1) time. A Board may order any firefighter or police officer rsinstated with pay for any appealable suspension. In addition, a Board may remand an action for further review by the Fire or Police Chief, as applicable. 6. After hearing the evidence, a Board shall make a finding by majority voice vote and then reduce its findings and decision to writing. A copy of the findings and decision shall be forwarded to the firefighter or police officer in question and shall become a permanent part of his personnel record. 7. For the purpose of all hearings before the Chief and a Board, each shall have subpoena power enforceable by the court system. Ordinance No. D-1734-04 Page Six of Six Pages Re-drafted by Douglas C. Haney, Carmel City Attorney [Z:~LFine D Drive,Fire s\Ordinances~2004\D* 1734-04, A~ Amended.doc: 12/15/2004 1:42 Pm] COUNCILOR(S): Mayo and Sharp Any member of the Fire or Police Department may, following a decision of his Department's Board regarding such member, file a verified petition in the superior or cimuit court of Hamilton County for a review of such Board decision. The petition for review shall be filed within thirty (30) days of the written decision of the Board, unless a different time pedod is set by applicable law. The City of Carmel, Indiana shall be the sole defendant in any such petition. Within thirty (30) days after receipt of a summons pertaining to such a petition, the City shall cause the applicable Board to file a complete transcript of the Board's hearing with the court. The court, without jury, shall review the record and render its decision as in other administrative reviews. The clerk of the court shall send a copy of the court's decision to the City Attorney and to the appealing firefighter or police officer. Either party may then appeal the decision of the court as permitted by law." Section 3. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect on January 1, 2005, upon approval of the Common Council, execution by the Mayor and such publication as is required by law. Section 4. All prior Ordinances or parts thereof inconsistent with any provision of this Ordinance are hereby repealed as of the effective date of this Ordinance. Section 5. All prior ordinances or parts thereof inconsistent with any provision of this Ordinance are hereby repealed, to the extent of such inconsistency only, as of the effective date of this Ordinance. However, the repeal or amendment by this Ordinance of any other ordinance does not affect any rights or liabilities accrued, penalties incurred or proceedings begun prior to the effective date of this Ordinance. Those rights, liabilities and proceedings are continued and penalties shall be imposed and enforced under such repealed or amended ordinance as if this Ordinance had not been adopted. Section 6. Should any provision or portion of this Ordinance be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid for any reason, the remaining provisions shall not be affected so long as they can, without the invalid provision, be given the effect intended by the Common Council in adopting this Ordinance. To this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are severable. PASSED by the Common Council of the City of Cannel, Indiana, this ,~L3W"day of ,2004, by a vote of '7 ayes and C) nays. Ordinance No. D- 1734-04 Page Five of Six Pages Re-drafted by Douglas C. Haney, Carmel City Attorney [Z:~LFine D DrivekFire s\Ordinances~2004\D - 1734-04, As Amended.doc: 12/15/2004 1:42 PM] COUNCILOR(S): Mayo and Sharp COMMON COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF CARMEL, 1NDIANA ,~Iko~ald E/,~esident Pro Tempore ~/~6s~/Gfi friths // Kevin ~~~, ~ Mark Ratt'~] ~xtn Richard L. Sharp Diana L. Cordray, IAMC,~asurer Presented by me to the Mayor of the City of Carmel, Indiana, this ~ ['~+ day of~) 2004, at Q' lc> O'clock, fl .M. Diana L. Cordra reasurer Approved by me, Mayor of the City of Carmel, Indiana, thisc3~ I day of ~-~- 2004, at c'/. / (9 O'clock, /~ . M. J~4aes Brainard, Mayor Diana L. Cordray, IAMC, C~rk-T~asurer Ordinance No. D- 1734-04 Page Six of Six Pages Re-drafted by Douglas CHaney, Carmel City Attorney [Z:\Law/E Bass\My Docun cn s~ORDINANCES/AmendCode\2004\MERIT 6 Fire Police DCH.doc:11118/2004 12:20 PM]