Faulty exam snags plans to fill King County Sheriff's jobs

A plan to boost the number of sergeants in the King County Sheriff's Office could be delayed well into next year by a legal dispute over a flawed civil service test.

Concerned about fairness and the test's validity, Sheriff Sue Rahr requested that June's promotional sergeant's exam be disqualified. The county's director of Human Resources, which oversees civil service functions, rejected the results and is planning a second test next month.

But the King County Police Officers' Guild has a filed a complaint over the decision, accusing the sheriff of improperly interfering with the test.

Some say the sheriff threw out the results because she didn't like who scored highest, though an investigation by the Prosecutor's Office refuted that claim.

Glitches with the test have already postponed a plan to fill 12 vacant sergeant spots by six months. Eight of those positions were created this year after a panel recommended adding more supervisors to improve accountability within the office.

The panel was formed in response to the Seattle P-I's "Conduct Unbecoming" series, which uncovered serious misconduct and lax oversight in the Sheriff's Office. Several of the panel's suggested reforms, such as creation of a civilian oversight office and new performance measures for officers, also are stalled as the county and guild negotiate the new policies through collective bargaining.

The complaint, filed with the state's Public Employment Relations Commission, contends that the Sheriff's Office is legally bound to the test once it's complete and scored. Hearings are scheduled for January, and a decision could take several months, said Chris Vick, the Seattle attorney representing the guild. The guild argues that no more tests should be conducted until the issue is decided.

The county's Human Resources division, however, isn't waiting and has a second test slated to begin Dec 7. If an arbitrator rules against the county, the Sheriff's Office could wind up with two lists of candidates, or be forced to undo promotions of deputies picked from the second test.

"We've looked at it and we think our position is pretty strong," said Michael Frawley, deputy director of Human Resources.

Employees now work overtime to compensate for the vacant sergeant posts, said Sgt. John Urquhart, a sheriff's spokesman. The Sheriff's Office has about 90 sergeant positions.

"We need sergeants and we will go with what (Human Resources) says," he said. "If this is the way they want to handle things, that's fine. But if it doesn't work out, they're going to have to wear it."

Civil service tests are meant to ensure employees are evaluated based on their merits. A civil service commission gives the hiring and promotional exams independently of the Sheriff's Office. The top 30 candidates who pass a written test go to a second stage of oral questioning. A final list of scores is certified and given to the sheriff.

In King County, Human Resources handles civil service functions.

The sergeants' test, held every two years, has highlighted the agency's growing frustration with the county's Human Resources division and civil service rules, which haven't been revised since 1986.

"It's ridiculous to work with rules that are 20 years old, especially when talking about labor issues that are highly technical and highly important," Urquhart said.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the Prosecutor's Office found the test had enough glitches to ask that the results be disqualified. The prosecutor's report attributes several mistakes to the county's Human Resources division. The division bought an "off-the-shelf" test from a national vendor of police exams. According to the report, the written test asked questions about laws that don't apply in Washington and had inaccurate information on case law.

Candidates also were given conflicting information on how the test scores would be weighted. Several candidates appealed after the written test, according to the report. Of 66 employees who took the test, only five scored higher than the vendor's suggested passing grade.

Despite the frustrations over the sergeants' test, county human resources officials have administered tests for 25 of 40 vacancies in the Sheriff's Office this year without hitches.

"I think a lot of things combined to make this an emotional issue, but we're trying to be understanding," Frawley said.