San Diego Civil Service Commission Meeting - February 5, 2024

The Civil Service Commission met on February 5, 2024, to consider a consent agenda, multiple special salary adjustment requests, departmental updates, and other administrative matters. The meeting featured staff presentations, public comments, and unanimous approval on most items, with the exception of a lifeguard salary request that was tabled for further analysis.

Consent Calendar

• Unanimously approved the minutes from the December 7, 2023 commission meeting.

Discussion Items

• Item 19 – Police Officer Leave Extension: Approved a three-month second extension without pay for Police Officer 2 Micah Van Esler, ending April 1, 2024, with his name placed on the eligible list. Unanimous.
• Item 20 – Street Lighting Electrician Appointments: Approved suspension of competition to appoint 11 incumbent electricians to the newly reclassified street lighting electrician position. The department confirmed 14 current electricians, with 11 meeting requirements. Unanimous.
• Item 21 – Special Salary Adjustments (Fourth Set):
  • Emergency Services Coordinator Series: Approved creation of a new Associate Emergency Services Coordinator classification (monthly salary ~$7,738) and a 2.5% special salary adjustment for the Supervising Emergency Services Coordinator, with title change to Senior Emergency Services Coordinator. Unanimous.
  • Laboratory Technician Series: Approved 9% special salary adjustment for Laboratory Technician and Assistant Laboratory Technician based on recruitment and turnover problems. Unanimous.
  • Paralegal Series: Approved 11% special salary adjustment for the paralegal classification series, based on salary differential and recruiting issues. Unanimous.
  • Supervising Polygrapher: Approved creation of a new Supervising Polygrapher classification (monthly salary ~$10,201). Commissioner Moore expressed reservations about the practice of polygraph testing. Unanimous.
  • Lifeguard 2 (Teamsters Local 911 request): Staff did not recommend the adjustment, citing an appropriate 26.9% differential. Public comment from Stephen Yer (Teamsters steward) argued take-home pay decreases upon promotion, housing costs have risen 180% since 2009, and lifeguard wages only increased 27%. He noted the city’s low-income threshold ($77,200) exceeds an A-step lifeguard 2 salary (~$70,000). Commissioners discussed potential compression and broader implications. Deputy COO Alia Corey recommended adjusting the entire series to maintain compaction. After debate, the commission voted to table the item to allow staff to recalculate for lifeguard 2, 3, and sergeant. Vote: 3-0 to table.
• Item 22 – Salary Review Schedule for FY2026: Approved the proposed schedule extending the submission window from February to June (previously one month in June/July). Staff noted this addresses feedback from departments. Unanimous.
• Item 23 – Personnel Manual Revisions: Approved revisions to addendum D3 to include the new street lighting electrician classification and remove deleted classifications. Unanimous.
• Item 24 – Ad Hoc Committee for Personnel Director Recruitment: Formed an ad hoc committee consisting of Commissioner Moore and President Governing to research and recommend a recruitment process. Unanimous.
• Item 25 – Update on Employee ID Number Delays: Staff reported that a successful pilot program now allows electronic submission of new hire/rehire PCRs, providing immediate employee ID numbers. Thanked staff member Edith Merguia.
• Item 26 – Personnel Department Updates: Reported whistleblower training (Jan 29), e-Verify MOU, SAP tracking for LTD employees, and a repurposed working group that has completed over half of 90+ improvements. Highlighted a PUD job fair with 400+ attendees and 70 pre-scheduled interviews.
• Item 27 – COO Designee Update: HR Director Julie Rasco and Deputy COO Alia Corey provided updates on hiring improvements, including a dedicated hiring manager, proactive recruiting, LinkedIn/Handshake sourcing, and a people analytics program. Expressed ongoing collaboration with Personnel.

Key Outcomes

• All items except the lifeguard 2 salary adjustment were approved unanimously.
• The lifeguard 2 request was tabled for recalculations covering lifeguard 2, 3, and sergeant classifications.
• An ad hoc committee was formed to develop a plan for recruiting a permanent Personnel Director.
• Staff committed to continued reporting on departmental improvements at future meetings.