HomeMy WebLinkAboutMO # 949: •
MUNICIPAL ORDER NO. 949
A MUNICIPAL ORDER GIVING COMMISSION ENDORSEMENT OF
STATEMENTS AND COMMITMENTS IN ATTACHED NAACP PETITION AND
MEMORANDUM AND INSTRUCTING STAFF TO PROCEED WITH ACTIONS
�—� REFERENCED IN MEMORANDUM
BE IT ORDERED BY THE CITY OF PADUCAH, KENTUCKY:
SECTION 1. That the Board of Commissioners of the City of Paducah,
Kentucky, hereby endorses the statements and commitments in the attached NAACP
Petition and Memorandum and instructs staff to proceed with actions referenced in the
memorandum.
SECTION 2. This Order shall be in full force and effect from and after
the date of its adoption.
ATTEST:
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Tammara S. Brock, Asst. City Clerk
Adopted by the Board of Commissioners April 24, 2002
Recorded by Tammara S. Brock, April 24, 2002
390
MEMORANDUM
TO: Committee of African American Leaders
FROM: Mayor Bill Paxton
` SUBJECT: NAACP Petition and Memo
DATE: April 23, 2002
At the Tuesday, April 9, City Commission Meeting J. W. Cleary and NAACP representatives
presented the following petition to the City Commissioners and me. City Manager Jim Zumwalt
drafted a memo dated April 12 to the Commission suggesting possible responses to the NAACP
petition. Monday morning, April 15, I met with the City Manager and suggested some changes
to his memo.
Thursday morning, April 17, I invited a group of African American leaders to meet with me and
discuss the challenges facing our Community. At that meeting I shared Zumwalt's revised memo
to the Commissioners with the group. I explained that the Commission had not met, discussed,
or taken any position on either the NAACP petition or the suggestions in the City Manager's
memo. I went on to assure the group that I supported the City Manager's suggestions and that I
would welcome ideas from the group for improving them.
The next afternoon, April 18, J. W. Cleary delivered a memo to me from the NAACP responding
to the City Manager's memo. Mr. Cleary also presented permit applications for informational
pickets at the Civic Center, Convention Center, and City Hall on April 24, 25, and 26 and for a
march through downtown on April 27.
The City Manager has prepared the requested permits. I will have them ready to deliver to Mr.
Cleary Monday morning.
When Mr. Cleary delivered the NAACP permit applications he explained that the NAACP might
withdraw the applications and cancel plans to picket during the Quilt Show if I made an adequate
response to the NAACP petition and April 18 Memo.
This memo includes the original NAACP petition this typeface, the April 18
NAACP Memo in this typeface, and my comments in this typeface.
I will meet again with the Committee of African American Leaders at 7:30 am Monday morning
in my office and will discuss this memo with them at that time. Bold and underline
information are the additions to my proposal after discussion with the group on Monday,
April 22.
We, the undersigned members of the Paducah McCracken County Branch
NAACP, various local organizations and individuals, hereby petition the City of
Paducah for action on positive changes as listed below:
1) Comprehensive investigation of the Paducah Police
Department by an unaffiliated firm or investigative
organization, focusing on hiring practices and procedures,
training procedures, psychological profiles and overall
management review and analysis.
391
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NAACP Petition & Memo
Page 2
We are requesting a re -investigation of the police issues to be performed
by Paul Gholston and Associates and a written commitment by the City
to adhere to his recommendations with the beginning of the investigation
scheduled within the next 60 days.
The Police Department is applying for state accreditation by the Kentucky Association of Chiefs
of Police. Departments that win accreditation represent the highest standards of performance of
all Departments across the Commonwealth. As part of the accreditation process an inspection
team assembled by the Chief's Association will visit Paducah and conduct a detailed review of
our policies and operations. Chief Bratton plans to be ready to schedule the accreditation review
visit by October 1, 2002.
The City has continued to retain Paul Gholston to conduct annual training for both the Police and
other City employees. Periodically city staff calls on his expertise in handling diversity issues.
As a result, Mr. Gholston is generally familiar with the Police Department's hiring procedures
and training procedures. I would support hiring Mr. Gholston to review these procedures and to
report on other aspects of the department's management that fall within his expertise. Although I
am confident that the City management staff and Commission will want to implement any
recommendations Mr. Gholston makes, I will not recommend that the Commission commit to
implement recommendation before we know what they are.
2) A focus and recruitment on hiring and the retention of
African American Police Officers increasing the total
number of minority police officers to adequately reflect the
community.
The NAACP has an existing scholarship program for high school seniors
and those currently attending postsecondary education programs. We
are proposing an expansion of the program to include City funded
scholarships for those interested in law enforcement. Also implement
minority youths into the proposed explorers/shadow police program.
City should hire a liaison person (minority) to deal with public relations
and minority recruitment for all departments. We request that the
Manager refrain from using the phrase "affirmative action " and replace
with it "diversity".
To meet this goal we need help from the entire community to supplement city staff's recruitment
efforts.
In the past we have scheduled police candidate testing sessions every three to six months. I
support the City Manager's proposal that we amend our past practice and commit to schedule and
advertise a testing session immediately when we find a female or African American applicant
who appears on the surface to be a good candidate for police work.
In addition, I have proposed that the City sponsor a job fair to encourage Paducah residents to
apply for jobs with their local government.
The most successful diversity programs have a strong "grow your own" component. The existing
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NAACP Petition & Memo Page 3
Police Department college internships and Scout Explorer Post are examples of this approach as
is the new Citizens Police Academy. We need your help recruiting additional African American
participants into these programs.
I do not support donating taxpayers funds to a scholarship program of the NAACP or any other
private group. I do want to find additional ways to build ties between our Police Department and
T Paducah area young people who have an interest in law enforcement work. When we find a local
young person with a serious interest in law enforcement work we need a process to nurture that
interest, provide summer jobs or internship opportunities that will expose them to the work, and
help them find ways to finance their further education. Mayor will support establishing a
scholarship program that will include $3,300 per year for 3 (three) scholarships to be
awarded Each scholarship is for 2 (two) year term. If a student returns to Paducah to
work for a number of years to be determined, the scholarship will be considered a grant.
Otherwise, it will be a loan that must be repaid.
I am interested in creating a position that could supplement Stan Beauchamp's role as a liaison to
Paducah's African American community, assist with City public relations, and supplement the
work of Sergeant Steffan Jagoe, Officer Joe Benberry, and our Personnel Department staff
recruiting minority candidates for City positions. This past week I talked with Sergeant Jagoe
about how such a position might function. The Mayor will work with the NAACP to
implement the iob description and a recommendation on the person to fill the position.
The City Manager will use the term "diversity" instead of "affirmative action" in future
correspondence.
One positive result has already come from the recent public discussion of minority employment
and the Police Department. Six African American men who are interested in becoming Paducah
Police Officers have contacted us.
3) Appointment of a civilian review board to handle citizen
complaints, internal affairs and disciplinary review.
We still request the appointment of a civilian review board to make recommendations
to the Commission on police complaints and discipline. NOTE: The City Commission
and only City Commission can hire a police officer according to Kentucky Law.
Like the City Manager, I find responding to this request difficult because under Kentucky Law
the elected City Commission is the Police Department's civilian review board. The City
Commission, and only the City Commission, can discipline, suspend, hire, or fire a Police
Officer. (The Police Chief can ask an officer to voluntarily accept a disciplinary action or
voluntarily resign.) Furthermore, when a police officer is charged with a violation, state law
prohibits the City from making any statement to a citizen board or any other public group about
the alleged violation until final disposition of the charges.
To further strengthen the Commission's role, at the request of Commissioner Abraham we have
started sending to each Commissioner a copy of every formal (written) complaint received
against a Police Officer or the Police Department. We will also send the Commissioners a
summary of the investigation of each complaint.
393
NAACP Petition & Memo
Page 4
Two representatives from the Committee will research nationally for current civilian
review model program and the two representatives will modify and/or draft a proposed
program to establish a civilian review board and present it to the Mayor and the City
Commission.
As we have discussed, I intend to continue to invite a group of African American Leaders to meet
with me so we can work together on improving interracial relations and moving Paducah
forward. I would be happy to review with this group the findings and disposition of any police
department complaint that is of interest to them after it has been through the process stipulated by
state law.
4) Public and written apology to the Jose Lee Family from
Officer Rob Hefner, Chief Randy Bratton, City Manager
James Zumwalt and Mayor William Paxton concerning the
Jose Lee incident.
Agree with plan.
We have sent a letter of apology from the City Manager, Chief Bratton, Officer Hefner, and me
to the Lee family.
S) Recruit African American employees for city departments and
divisions who currently have no minority representation
(Engineering Dept., Flood Control Division, Street Division,
Fleet Division and Information Systems Department)
Since the listed set of rules apply to all civil service positions, we don't
understand why there is a problem in recruiting qualified candidates for these
departments other than the hiring decisions of the directors. The requested
liaison person would be helpful in recruiting for these positions.
We also need help from the entire community to supplement city staff's recruitment efforts to
meet this goal. We particularly need help recruiting to Paducah African Americans with
professional credentials in areas like engineering and computer science. Each time we have a
clerical or non-professional opening Engineering, Information Services or any other Department
we will work to recruit African American candidates.
The City Manager explained in his memo that in his opinion that three sets of rules handicap our T'
ability to hire and promote African Americans in our Flood Control, Street, and Fleet Divisions:
1. Our graduated wage scale requires us to hire new blue-collar employees 80% below the
base wage for the position. This restriction causes us to lose some attractive candidates.
2. Our Civil Service screening process restricts supervisors to considering only the three
applicants to a position with the highest score on a written test. They are not allowed to
consider African American candidates who have demonstrated work skills but are not the
best test takers.
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NAACP Petition & Memo
Page 5
3. Our Civil Service regulations require us to make promotions on a strict seniority basis as
long as the most senior employee can perform the job. If a junior African American
employee can perform the job better, we are not allowed to promote him or her.
All three of these restrictions are written into our labor contract with the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees. Mr. Zumwalt suggested that when we open
negotiations next fall the Commission may want to have its negotiating teamwork on removing
some of these restrictions.
To explain further the City Manager's point, when we have a vacancy in the Street, Fleet, or
Floodwall Divisions, we very seldom advertise the vacancy. If three existing city employees sign
up to take the civil service test for a vacancy, Civil Service rules do not allow interested African
Americans who are not already City employees to compete. In cases where we do advertise for
external applicants, if an African American candidate is highly qualified and would make an
excellent employee, but makes the fourth highest score on the civil service test, the Department
Director is not allowed to consider him for employment.
With all of that said, the recruitment and hiring of minorities will be heavily emphasized
and accountability will come from the top down in meeting this priority.
6) Review and adjust (if necessary) all minority (non -
bargaining) employees salaries based on comparable
positions within the city.
We feel that the review and analysis of obvious pay discrepancies can be
addressed and adjusted immediately (within the next 30 days) by the
responsible department head in coordination with the personnel director
and City Manager. The overall review of all salaries would be helpful in
the future for reasons listed by the City Manager.
Like hiring and firing, salary changes require City Commission action. Department Heads nor
the City Manager can change salaries on their own. I have listened as speakers at Commission
meetings have recommended raises for Chief Benton and Earlie Fugate and I have briefly
reviewed the analysis of staff salaries Danny Fugate gave me when we met last Thursday.
Instead of addressing the pay of individual employees, let me suggest the following:
Immediately, the City Manager will be given charge to review all salaried positions, to meet
with Dick Berry and Mayor to make a report and recommendation to the City Commission
for any pay adiustments as warranted based on the review. Additionally, if our FY 2003
budget will allow the expense, I will support the City Manager's recommendation to hire a
personnel -consulting firm to review and update our pay and classification plan. In addition
reviewing cross -racial and other internal inequities the review will give us a basis for making
decisions about bargaining unit pay levels when we negotiate new Police, Fire, and Public Works
labor contracts.
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