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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991/06/13 5:02 PM Civil Service Commission Minutes CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION City of Chula Vista MINUTES OF SAMUEL ROLLER HEARING OF AN APPEAL OF TERMINATION . Thursday, June 13, 1991 5:02 p.m. Administration Conference Room City Hall Building 1. CALL THE ROLL Commissioners Jimenez --.2L, Vogel _, Crouse _, Berry --.2L, Boerner --.2L. ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Candy Boshell, Director of Personnel Cliff Swanson, Deputy Director Public Works/City Engineer Samir Nuhaily, Associate Civil Engineer Ruth Fritsch, Assistant City Attorney, Chief Litigator 2. Ruth Fritsch noted that the hearing was scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and that Mr. Samuel Roller was not in attendance. . . Ruth Fritsch handed out copies of written communications from Mr. Roller along with copies of our responses and briefly summarized each verbally: a. Exhibit A Letter from Samuel Roller to Melody Kessler dated June 2, 1991 (Exhibit A) wherein Mr. Roller stated he anticipated getting an Attorney on June 5, 1991. This letter was a request for a continuance. b. Exhibit B Letter from Melody Kessler to Samuel Roller (Exhibit B) stating that his request was premature; and if he is able to obtain an attorney, he should have the attorney contact us. We would consider the request at that time. We felt that it was speculative to consider a continuance prior to him actually getting an attorney. To our knowledge, he has yet to obtain the services of an attorney. c. Exhibit C Wednesday, June 12, 1991 at approximately 5:00 p.m. Mr. Roller came in to see Ms. Kessler and presented her with a letter (Exhibit C). In this letter Mr. Roller says that he will be physically unable to attend the Civil Service Commission hearing regarding his appeal on June 13, 1991. He said he was suffering from lower back pains that started in January and that he couldn't sit in a chair for any length of time. The letter was addressed to the Civil Service Commission but was delivered to Ms. Kessler. The letter stated that we could contact Dr. Keith Lamy of the Kaiser Bonita Clinic to verify the condition of his lower back. The letter continues to state that he was scheduled to see an orthopedic surgeon in July. He also stated that he did not have an attorney at the present time and requested a postponement of the hearing until some time in July. Ms. Kessler then asked Mr. Roller if he would accompany her to the Attorney's office to discuss the matter. Ms. Kessler came in to see me shortly after 5:00 p.m. and said that Mr. Roller was out in the hallway. I asked her to send him in so we could discuss the matter. Ms. Kessler discovered that Mr. Roller had vanished. Therefore, we were unable to discuss the letter with him. MINUTES OF SAMUEL ROLLER HEARING OF AN APPEAL OF TERMINATION June 13, 1991 Page 2 . d. Exhibit D Mary Thigpen, Sr. Personnel Analyst, was able to contact Dr. Lamy's office as Mr. Roller had invited us to do. The next document (Exhibit D) are notes that Ms. Thigpen took with respect to her conversation with Dr. Lamy. Mr. Roller's letter implied that he had recently seen Dr. Lamy, and Dr. Lamy could verify his current condition. However, Ms. Thigpen was informed that Mr. Roller hadn't seen that doctor since February, 1991. Based on Mr. Roller's last visit, Dr. Lamy knew of no reason why he was not in any physical shape to attend the meeting. We tried to reach Mr. Roller to tell him that just because he dropped the letter off, it wasn't a sufficient excuse for the Commission to continue the hearing. Ms. Donna Toledo, Administrative Secretary, tried to call several times on the telephone. He finally answered the phone, and as soon as she identified herself as Donna Toledo from the Personnel Department, he hung up. A couple minutes later Candy Boshell, Director of Personnel, also called Mr. Roller. This time there was no answer. Ms. Boshell made at least one other attempt with no answer. e. Exhibit E We then asked a police officer to go out and deliver a letter Ruth Fritsch wrote to Mr. Roller telling him that if he failed to appear today, June 13, 1991, that we would consider this an abandonment of his appeal (Exhibit E). f. Exhibit F is the proof of service from the police officer who served the document. When he went to Mr. Roller's home, there was no answer so he posted it on the door. . 3. Ms. Fritsch stated that the issue for the Commission to decide is whether or not it wishes to grant Mr. Roller's request in Exhibit C for a continuance. 4. The Commission took a five minute break to review the material. 5. Discussion ensued regarding the impact to the City if a continuance is granted. MSC (Berry/Boerner) 3-0 to grant a continuation. A special meeting of the Civil Service Commission for the continuation of the hearing of the appeal by Mr. Samuel Roller will take place at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Conference Room on August 1, 1991. Mr. Roller and/or his representative must appear at this hearing or the claim will be considered abandoned, and Mr. Roller will not be able to pursue the issue of appealing his termination of employment with the City of Chula Vista any further. Notice of this action will be sent immediately to Mr. Roller via certified U.S. mail. 6. The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m. until the Special meeting on 8/1/91. . ( .. ,,' .." .' /\./ t'- P L.:.f / \ ./(I~<_('-ct>:' Donna Toledo, Recording Secretary A:\MINUTES\HEARING.SR