08-18-2009 POLMHutchinson Police Commission Minutes
The Hutchinson Police Commission held a meeting on Tuesday, August 18, 2009, at the
Hutchinson Emergency Operation Center. Present at the meeting were Mark Jelkin, Julie
Jensen, Steve Sherman and Chief Daniel Hatten.
The meeting was called to order at 5:40 p.m.
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Chairperson Jelkin asked if there were any changes to the minutes from the July 21 meeting.
With there being no changes, a motion was made by Steve Sherman, seconded by Julie
Jensen, to approve the minutes from the July meeting. Motion carried.
Chief Hatten then updated the Commission with regard to personnel staffing. He stated that
decisions were made at the budget work shop. The City Council approved the expenditure for
the lieutenant and two sergeant positions, the communication specialist position and the hiring
of two new peace officers. He stated that there will remain one vacant peace officer position
until the 2010 budget is completed and that he agreed with this decision.
The public announcement for the communication specialist position has been completed with a
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closing date of August 14. Applications have been received and the process is moving
forward. The peace officer position is being advertised at this time and it has a closing date of
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August 31. Chief Hatten stated that he knew the Commission had been concerned with regard
to getting these positions filled. Chief Hatten then handed out to each Commissioner a timeline
that had been developed that included both hiring and promotional processes. He stated that
this was done to help stay on track and meet deadlines as well as making sure not to overbook
personnel.
Chief Hatten stated that Communication Specialist Heather Daves had already completed her
final shift. He stated that approximately 75 applications had been received for this position and
that human resources had evaluated the applications and forwarded the top 40 applicants.
Hatten stated that he was working on creating the written test process for the promotions. He
said that he had spoken with other departments as well as reviewed the company previously
used by the department. He stated he was leaning toward using the company Resource
Management who was used in previous promotion processes within the department. This
company will add the Minnesota Statutes to the test and for a fee would add questions that
pertain to the policy manual. After reviewing the timeline handed out by Chief Hatten
Chairperson Jelkin suggested that the final interviews be divided up between the
Commissioners instead of just having the chairperson perform this function. He stated that this
would give each of them experience performing this task which would be beneficial to everyone.
After some discussion is was decided that the final interview for the communication specialist
position would be done by Commissioner Jensen, the final interview for the peace officer
position would be done by Commissioner Sherman and the final interview for the lieutenant and
sergeant promotions would been done by Commissioner Jelkin. A discussion was then held
with regard to how the final interview process is conducted and explained.
The meeting then proceeded to the police chief hiring process. The process was reviewed and
discussed by the commission. A process will be edited to reflect the changes discussed and
presented at the next meeting.
Chairperson Jelkin asked if there were any items from the floor. Chief Hatten requested that the
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next monthly meeting be moved up one week to the 8 of September due to the fact that the
communication specialist eligibility roster would need to be approved in order to continue with
the process.
Police Commission Meeting
August 18, 2009
Page 2
With there being no further business to discuss, a motion was made by Steve Sherman,
seconded by Julie Jensen, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried.
Time of adjournment was 6:41 p.m.
Next Meeting to be held on September 8, 2009 at 5:30 pm
. (Note date changed from regular
schedule.)
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