Minutes: Civil Service Board 12-13-22

City of Miami

3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL  33133
www.miamigov.com

Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, December 13, 2022
10:00 AM
Commission Chambers

Civil Service Board

Troy Sutton, Chairperson
Rodrigo Jimenez, Chief Examiner
Rafael Cabrera, Board Member
Ulysses Garcia, Board Member
Travis Lindsey, Board Member

Pledge of Allegiance

 

Attendee Name

Title

Status

Troy Sutton

Chairperson

Present

Rodrigo Jimenez

Chief Examiner

Present

Rafael Cabrera

Board Member

Present

Ulysses Garcia

Board Member

Present

Travis Lindsey

Board Member

Present

Adoption of Agenda

A.        Approving of the Minutes

A.1

Civil Service Board - Regular Meeting - November 15, 2022

Motion by Board Member Cabrera, seconded by Board Member Lindsey, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:

AYES:                  Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Garcia, Lindsey


B.        Personnel Matters


C.        Military Leaves of Absence

 

C.1

Alejandro Cuervo, Fire Lieutenant, requests Active-Duty Military Leave extension through December 20, 2022. Copy of Orders extending leave submitted. (DISCUSSION)

Motion by Board Member Garcia, seconded by Board Member Lindsey, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:

AYES:                  Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Garcia, Lindsey

C.2

Jim Cadestin, Police Officer, requests extension of Active-Duty Military Leave without pay through November 02, 2023. Copy of Orders extending leave submitted. (DISCUSSION)

Motion by Board Member Lindsey, seconded by Board Member Cabrera, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:

AYES:                  Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Garcia, Lindsey

C.3

Matthew Conway, Firefighter, requests re-employment as a Firefighter, following his return from Active-Duty Military Leave. Copy of a memorandum from the Army, indicating Honorable Discharge submitted. (DISCUSSION)

Motion by Board Member Lindsey, seconded by Board Member Cabrera, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:

AYES:                  Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Garcia, Lindsey

C.4

Raweewan Andrews, GIS Data Specialist, requests re-employment as a GIS Data Specialist, following her return from Active-Duty Military Leave. Copy of memorandum from the Air Force indicating Honorable Discharge submitted. (DISCUSSION)

Motion by Board Member Lindsey, seconded by Board Member Jimenez, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:

AYES:                  Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Garcia, Lindsey

D.        Disciplinary Matters

D.1

Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Mario Menegazzo, Police Sergeant, of a 400-hour suspension, effective November 12, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

D.2

Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Thomas Reyes, Police Sergeant, of a 20-hour suspension, effective November 17, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

D.3

Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Brandon Manning, Police Officer, of a 10-hour suspension, effective November 30, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

D.4

Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Brandon Manning, Police Officer, of a 10-hour suspension, effective December 3, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

D.5

Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Brandon Manning, Police Officer, of a 40-hour suspension, effective December 14, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

D.6

Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Aileen Rodriguez, Police Officer, of a 240-hour suspension, effective November 28, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

D.7

Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Sarah Mendoza-Pujols, Police Officer, of a 10-hour forfeiture, effective November 29, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

D.8

Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Anthony Coello, Police Officer, of a 10-hour forfeiture, effective December 6, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

D.9

Copy of a letter from Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales, Department of Police, notifying Joseph Acuna, Police Officer, of a 10-hour forfeiture, effective December 9, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

D.10

Copy of a letter from Arthur Noriega, V., City Manager, notifying Alexander Garcia-Contreras, Police Officer, of his Termination, effective November 10, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

E.        General Items

E.1

Copy of a request to continue from David Winker, Attorney, concerning the Whistleblower Hearing in accordance with Florida Statute 112.3187 of Suzanne Hollander, former DREAM Director, as it relates to her Termination, effective February 25, 2022, (CSB#22-14G). Stephanie K. Panoff, Senior Assistant City Attorney, expressed no objection. (DISCUSSION) Whistleblower Hearing is scheduled for today.

Motion by Board Member Garcia, seconded by Board Member Lindsey, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:

AYES:                  Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Garcia, Lindsey

E.2

Copy of a request to continue from David Flanders, Police Officer, concerning his Appeal Hearing, as it relates to his 40-hour suspension, effective May 22, 2022, (CSB#22-16D). Adanna Ferguson, Assistant City Attorney, expressed no objection to the request. (DISCUSSION)Hearing is scheduled for today.

Motion by Board Member Lindsey, seconded by Board Member Jimenez, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:

AYES:                  Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Garcia, Lindsey

F.         Reports

F.1

Hearings Pending List as of December 13, 2022. (NOTIFICATION)

F.2

Civil Service Board Meetings 2023 Calendar. (DISCUSSION)

At the request of the Board, this item will be carried over to the meeting of January 10, 2023.

G.        Requests for Hearings

G.1

Copy of a request for a Grievance Hearing from Lizlinda Bremer, Et. al. Police Sergeant, pursuant to Civil Service Rules 6.3-Contents of Examination; 6.5-Method of Rating; 6.6-Rating of Examination Results, and 6.7-Seniority, in reference to the 2022 Police Lieutenant Promotional Exam. (DISCUSSION)

The Acting Executive Secretary advised the Board of the continuance request received from Sergeant Bremer, on behalf of the collective group of employees. Terri Guttman-Valdes, Attorney, appeared on behalf of Sergeants Raul Delgado, Robert Perez, and Maximiliano Valdes.

Adanna Ferguson, Assistant City Attorney, expressed no objection to the continuance, which was presented before the Board with the stipulation of hearing the cases together.

Acting Executive Secretary Jackson advised the Board that Sergeants Joaquin Polanco and Robert Robinson submitted a request to have their names removed from the request for hearing.

Following discussion, a motion was made to GRANT the Grievance hearing, which resulted as follows:

Motion by Board Member Lindsey, seconded by Board Member Jimenez, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:

AYES: Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Garcia, Lindsey

 

H.        Today's Hearings

H.1

Whistleblower Hearing in accordance with Florida Statute 112.3187 on behalf of Suzanne Hollander, former DREAM Director, concerning her Termination, effective February 25, 2022.

Continued…… refer to Item G.1

H.2

Appeal Hearing on behalf of David Flanders, Police Officer, concerning his 40-hour suspension, effective May 22, 2022.

Continued…… refer to Item G.2

ADJOURNMENT:

There being no further business before the Board, a motion was entered to adjourn the meeting at 10:27 am, which resulted as follows:

Motion by Board Member Cabrera, seconded by Board Member Garcia, that this matter be Approved, passed by the following vote:

AYES:                 Sutton, Jimenez, Cabrera, Garcia, Lindsey

SIGNATURE: Troy Sutton, Board Chairperson

ATTEST: Tishria L. Mindingall, Executive Secretary