Amarillo Civil Service Commission: rules, promotional exams and appeals, 2020 to 2026

On January 8, 2020 the commission voted that two answers be marked correct on each of the two appealed questions on the December 10, 2019 Fire Lieutenant exam, recessed to recalculate, and approved the Fire Lieutenant eligibility register. ^[1]

The commission's caseload is not limited to police and fire: in the minutes read it also heard disciplinary appeals from civilian City employees, including employees of Transit and Solid Waste, and its monthly personnel action lists cover new employees, step increases, transfers, promotions, demotions, bypasses, temporary assignments and disciplinary actions. ^[2][3]

City Attorney: Asked about the revised rule that the probationary period is twelve calendar months for regular employees "except for certain Police Officers, and Fire Fighters," the City Attorney said the wording allows state law to control, and agreed that probationary firefighters are as stated in Chapter 143. ^[4]

City Attorney: The City Attorney told the commission that the Secretary of the Commission is the Director of Human Resources by rule, and that the rules are interchangeable between the classified system and civil service. ^[4]

Director of Human Resources: The Director of Human Resources told the commission that a miscommunication between HR and the testing company left a source out of the February 25, 2022 Police Captain exam. He declined to explain further in open session so as not to compromise the integrity of future examinations, deferring to the City Attorney. ^[5]

After an executive session on March 16, 2022 the commission voted to deny the appeal, and on March 25, 2022 it approved the Police Captain eligibility register for the February 25, 2022 exam. The minutes do not state the commission's reasons. The testing company is not named in the minutes. ^[5][6]

Director of Human Resources: The Director of Human Resources said on November 21, 2022 that the commission had been short of members for the past year, and that the election of chair and vice chair had been delayed until the commission was full; the item was tabled to January 2023. ^[9]

Lilia Escajeda first attended as a commissioner on August 24, 2022 and Bill Harris on October 12, 2022; for each, the minutes record that no commission vote was needed for the appointment. On January 11, 2023 the commission elected Lawrence Walker chair and Lilia Escajeda vice chair. ^[7][8][10]

Director of Human Resources: Reviewing the personnel action lists, a commissioner asked in October 2022 about the City's turnover rate compared with similar employers in the area; the Director of Human Resources said it was comparable. In January 2023, asked whether the number of changes was higher than normal, he said he would have to research it but that it appeared to be higher, including in entry-level positions such as utility worker. ^[8][10]

On November 21, 2022 the commission voted to accept the revisions to the Civil Service Commission rules; the Director of Human Resources said he had corrected two references in the Personnel Rules from "city commission" to "city council." ^[9]

Civil Service Commission chair; Director of Human Resources: The commission chair said that in all his time on the commission he had never appointed a physician board under Section 143.022(c). The commission appointed three physicians and three alternates from a list of area occupational-medicine providers that HR said it had compiled through a general Google search, and that no physician on the list had been contacted. ^[10]

City Attorney; Director of Human Resources: The City Attorney said the statute requires the commission to name the physicians because the applicant pays for the re-examination, and that applicants would not choose their own physician. The Director of Human Resources said the appointment was for the current hiring list and that a standing list would need to be explored with the City Attorney. ^[10]

President, Amarillo Fire Fighters Association: The president of the Amarillo Fire Fighters Association asked during public address whether a panel of physicians could be set in advance, saying the window between a disqualification and the start of the academy was very short. The City Attorney said he would work with HR to see if that was possible. ^[10]

Director of Human Resources: The Director of Human Resources said grouping performance reviews in January was in preparation for a new ERP system that would give the City more automated performance management. ^[11]

Director of Human Resources; police officers who spoke at the hearing: The Director of Human Resources said HR operated under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 143 and used the academy start date as the defining start date of a police officer's length of service. Officers who spoke argued the two years should run from academy graduation, and one said the Police Department's civilian personnel office had given HR a list of ineligible officers before the exam. ^[12]

a police officer speaking at the hearing: A police officer told the commission that nine members of the 98th Amarillo Police Academy had taken the February 8, 2024 Police Corporal exam. ^[12]

The minutes record the commission's vote to accept one appeal and deny two, but do not record a ruling or stated reason on whether members of the 98th academy were eligible to take the exam. ^[12]

On September 18, 2024 the commission voted unanimously to approve the appointment of three physicians under Texas Local Government Code Section 143.022(c). ^[13]

In the minutes read for January 2020 through August 2026, the commission decided question appeals on 17 police and fire promotional exams (Fire Driver 4, Fire Lieutenant 3, Fire Captain 1, Fire District Chief 1, Police Corporal 4, Police Sergeant 1, Police Lieutenant 1, Police Captain 2). On 13 of the 17 it eliminated at least one question or accepted an additional or corrected answer and recalculated the eligibility register; on 4 it left every appealed question as keyed. ^{[1][15][16][5][17][9][18][19][12][20][21][22][23][14]}

In April 2020 and April 2025 the minutes record that the organization that wrote the exam agreed with an appellant that a question was keyed wrong or had no correct answer; in each case the commission accepted the appeal. ^[15][23]

The minutes read record five disciplinary appeals heard by the commission between March 2020 and July 2024: one from a Fire Department employee and four from other City employees, including employees of Transit and Solid Waste. In all five the commission upheld the termination or demotion; in one the employee withdrew the appeal during the hearing. ^{[24][2][3][25]}

In the minutes read, the commission deliberated on exam and disciplinary appeals in executive session under Texas Open Meetings Act Section 551.074 and voted in open session; the minutes record the votes but not the commission's reasons. ^{[1][17][21][14]}