Bristol Personnel Board minutes: March 10 and April 8

March 10

Meeting convened: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson, Rhonda Nunes at 7:40 PM in the Conference Room of Mosaico at the Bristol StateHouse at 240 High Street by Board Chairperson, Rhonda Nunes.

Present: Linda Arruda, Rosetta DeLuca, Liz Harvey, Rhonda Nunes and Liz Rene.

Absent: None

Minutes: The minutes and particulars of the February 5, 2008 meeting were reviewed and discussed. Motion to accept/Liz Harvey seconded by Rosetta DeLuca. Vote: Unanimous.

The minutes of the special February 19, 2008 meeting were reviewed and discussed. Motion to accept/Rosetta DeLuca seconded by Liz Rene. Vote: Unanimous.

Old Business: Re: Written Exam Results for Candidates for Chief of Police.

Chairperson Rhonda Nunes opened the envelope received from the University of Maryland Scoring Center containing the scores of the 9 candidates who had sat for the Written Exam at the RWU/SOL on Saturday, February 23, 2008.

All members of the Personnel Board verified that 8 candidates with scores ranging from 61 to 83 out of a possible score of 100 had passed the written exam and that 1 candidate had scored 57 and, therefore, did not meet the required minimum passing score of 60.

Chairperson Nunes next opened the signed/sealed envelope received from Town Administrator Diane Mederos. Contained in this envelope was a grid prepared by the Town Administrator listing the names of 12 candidates, in alphabetical order, and the points which the Town Administrator had assigned to each candidate. Of the 12 names on the Administrator's list, she had indicated that 1 "does not meet the qualifications", and that a second candidate "withdrew 2/1/2008". The Board concurred that those remaining 9 names were the same as those persons who had sat for the Written Exam on February 23, 2008 at RWU/SOL.

Before filling in the Written Test Scores, Seniority Points and calculating the Composite Scores on the Grid received from the Administrator, the Board agreed that a clarification from the Town Administrator was in order since the members were not absolutely clear about what the Town Charter states regarding Seniority Points. We called the Town Administrator at her home and posed our inquiry. In order to be absolutely sure of the Charter wording, the Administrator suggested that she would go to her office to read to the Board directly from her copy of the Town Charter. She called the Board back promptly and said that the candidates could be assigned ten (10) Seniority Points according to the wording of the Charter. We thanked her for accommodating the Board in its deliberations and the Board returned to its task of filling in the scores of the Written Exam and the Seniority Points on the grid provided by the Town Administrator.

Chairperson Nunes wrote in the Written Test Scores and Seniority Points for all 9 candidates in alphabetical order. The Board next worked on calculating the Composite scores for all candidates who had scored from 61 to 83 out of 100 on the exam. The Board did not calculate the Composite score of the candidate who had scored 57 out of 100 since the Board agreed that candidate had not met the qualifications on the Written Exam.

All members of the Board verified and re-verified the correctness of the numbers and then certified the information as accurate to the best of their knowledge and each member affixed her signature to the grid which the Town Administrator had submitted to the Personnel Board.

The Secretary of the Personnel Board, Linda Arruda, was directed to make one photocopy of the grid before placing the original in a sealed and signed envelope and submitting it to the Town Administrator on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 as soon as possible in the morning.

New Business:

Re: The Notification of Patrol Officer Candidates:

There was a lengthy discussion on the lack of transparency regarding professional courtesies and the official notification process of those persons who had sat for the Patrol Officer's Exam at RWU/SOL on February 9, 2008. The Board wishes to verify exactly how the candidates were acknowledged, thanked for participation in the process and notified of eligibility for the March Police Academy.

Rosetta DeLuca volunteered to compose a letter to Town Administrator, Diane Mederos regarding this point in discussion for the Board's perusal at a future meeting.

RE: Return of unused materials to IPMA

Chairperson Nunes will pack all unused Test and Scores Sheets for return to IPMA in order to receive credit on the account. In order to assure continuity in security, she will need two persons to verify the contents of the package and to seal the package. Volunteers will be asked for availability for this project at the April meeting of the Board.

Adjournment: Motion to adjourn at 8:55 PM: Liz Rene seconded by Rosetta DeLuca. Vote: Unanimous.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda C. Arruda, Recording Secretary

April 8

Meeting convened: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson, Rhonda Nunes at 7:00 PM in the Conference Room of Mosaico at the Bristol StateHouse at 240 High Street.

Present: Linda Arruda, Rosetta DeLuca, Liz Harvey, Rhonda Nunes and Liz Rene.

Absent: None

Guest: Town Administrator, Diane Mederos; Consultant to the Town Administrator, Earl Sweeney and Town Solicitor, Michael Ursillo.

Minutes: The minutes and particulars of the March 10, 2008 meeting were approved and accepted as read. Motion to accept/Rosetta DeLuca and seconded by Liz Harvey. Vote: Unanimous.

Executive Session: Pursuant to the General Laws of the State of Rhode Island #42-46 5a1, Chairperson Rhonda Nunes requested that Solicitor Ursillo take the board into Executive Session at 7:05 PM.

Motion to seal the minutes of the Executive Session at 8:10 PM made by Liz Rene and seconded by Liz Harvey. Vote: Unanimous.

Public Session Reconvened: Motion by Liz Rene and seconded by Liz Harvey to reconvene in Public Session at 8:12 PM. Vote: Unanimous.

New Business: Chairperson Nunes reminded the Board that the IPMA materials and unused answer sheets must be returned to IPMA materials and unused answer sheets must be returned to IPMA in order to receive credit on the Town of Bristol's account. She will pack and mail the materials to IPMA as soon as possible. She will ask for volunteers to verify the contents of the parcel before mailing in order to maintain security and continuity of the shipping procedure.

Resignation: Chairperson Rhonda Nunes announced her resignation from the Personnel Board and as its Chairperson due to personal issues and employment necessities. She will submit her letter of Resignation to the Town Council in time for the April 16, 2008 meeting and will continue to serve on the board until such time that a new appointment is made by the council.

Adjournment: Motion to adjourn at 8:26PM/Liz Harvey and seconded by Rosetta DeLuca. Vote: Unanimous.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda C. Arruda, Recording Secretary

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