Sacramento Civil Service Board Meeting – April 18, 2022

The Civil Service Board of Sacramento, California, met virtually via Zoom on Monday, April 18, 2022, beginning at approximately 1:02 p.m. and adjourning at 1:44 p.m. Chair Gwynnae Byrd presided, with Members Joy Gonzales-Cabatic and Shalinee Hunter present; Members Emmanuel Amanfor and Kathryn Meola were absent. The board acted on a closed session matter, approved its consent calendar, heard an employment disqualification appeal, and received public comment.

Closed Session

• The board held a closed session under Government Code Section 54957 pertaining to public employee discipline/dismissal/release. A motion by Member Hunter and second by Member Cabatic passed 3-0 to accept the Arbitrator's decision.
• Discrepancy note: The official minutes describe the action as “accepting the Arbitrator’s decision,” while the closed session report read aloud stated the board “reduced the discipline ... imposed in the arbitrator’s decision and adopted rebalance of the proposed decision” for a street construction laborer.

Consent Calendar

• Agenda Item 2: Approval of the Civil Service Board meeting minutes of March 21, 2022. Member Cabatic moved, Member Hunter seconded, and the motion passed 3-0. No public comments were directed to the consent calendar.

Public Comments & Testimony

• During the consent calendar, callers identifying as “concerned citizens” were told their topic was not related to the minutes and could be addressed during the “Matters Not on the Agenda” period.
• One public commenter (phone ending 6200) expressed frustration about homeless encampments and garbage dumping in their neighborhood, saying the city had told residents that people have a right to dump trash. The commenter referenced the recent death of a young girl at Burbank High School and argued that minority neighborhoods are treated differently from more affluent areas. The board took no action.

Discussion Items

• Agenda Item 3: Appeal of Tim Moran’s disqualification from the Arborist/Urban Forester Recruitment (File ID 2022-00810).
  • Ebony Heaven, Senior Personnel Analyst, presented the city’s timeline: the job announcement posted November 21, 2021; Moran submitted a timely application on December 18, 2021; he was disqualified on March 15, 2022 for not passing the examination. Moran appealed under Civil Service Board Rule 4.10(c)(1), alleging erroneous interpretation/application of qualification standards.
  • City staff argued that Moran met the minimum qualifications but did not achieve a passing score on the oral examination. Staff cited Civil Service Board Rules 4.3(a), 4.9(a), and 5.5, and stated that subject matter experts at or above the classification level rated the responses consistently for all applicants.
  • Tim Moran, speaking on his own behalf, stated that he passed the same examination two years earlier, has added substantial experience and certifications since then, and currently performs arborist duties on city street trees. He questioned whether a video recording error or an incompatibility with the Spark Hire platform affected his score, and he expressed concern that the reviewers may not have understood his qualifications.
  • Staff responded that Moran never reported a technical issue to Spark Hire, that no post-exam feedback is provided, and that the named department experts would not be allowed to re-score his examination to maintain fairness. Staff noted Moran can reapply and retake the exam the next time the position posts, with no minimum wait time.

Key Outcomes

• The board unanimously passed a motion (3-0: Byrd, Cabatic, and Hunter voting yes; Amanfor and Meola absent) to waive formal rules for the hearing pursuant to Civil Service Board Rule 4(11)(c)(7) and affirm the Director’s disqualification of Tim Moran from the Arborist/Urban Forester Recruitment pursuant to Civil Service Board Rule 4.10.
• The consent calendar was approved as presented.
• The closed session action was reported out.
• The meeting was adjourned at 1:44 p.m.