City of Rock Springs v. Police Protection Ass'n

610 P.2d 975, 1980 Wyo. LEXIS 261
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedApril 30, 1980
Docket5171
StatusPublished
Cited by65 cases

This text of 610 P.2d 975 (City of Rock Springs v. Police Protection Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Rock Springs v. Police Protection Ass'n, 610 P.2d 975, 1980 Wyo. LEXIS 261 (Wyo. 1980).

Opinion

ROSE, Justice.

The predicate for this appeal occurred March 8, 1979, when petitioners-appellees, the Police Protective Association of Rock Springs, Wyoming, an unincorporated association (hereafter P.P.A.), together with Barney Ferrero, James Songster and Steven Majhanovich, in their official capacity as the Rock Springs Police Department Civil Service Commission (hereafter the Commission), filed their petition praying for in-junctive relief against the City of Rock Springs, Wyoming, a municipal corporation, Keith West, Mayor of the City of Rock Springs, and Russell Hawk, Chief of Police of the City of Rock Springs, respondents-appellants.

The petition took notice that the Mayor and City Council, at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, March 6, 1979, created a new job classification with the title of “Commander” within the Rock Springs Police Department. At the same meeting, Lawrence Levitt — a person not theretofore a member of the Rock Springs Police Department — was appointed to the newly created post. It is the contention of the Commission and the P.P.A. that this action violated the statutes of the State of Wyoming and various rules of the Commission.

The petitioners prayed for temporary in-junctive relief whereby the respondents would be enjoined from giving effect to the purported appointment. Petitioners further prayed the court would, upon final hearing, permanently enjoin the respondents from creating the job classification in question without complying with Civil Service Rules and statutory provisions regarding such matters.

A temporary restraining order and an order granting permanent injunction were entered. An appeal has been taken from the order granting the permanent injunction.

FACTS

Mayor West took his oath of office January 1, 1979, and Police Chief Hawk was hired March 1, 1979. Their testimony is that unrest was present within the Police Department when they assumed the superintendence of the City and the Department of Police. The Mayor and Chief both felt a need to obtain upper-echelon police assistance and, with the consent of a majority of the city council, hired Mr. Levitt as “Commander."

On March 8, 1979, the Rock Springs Police Department Civil Service Commission was notified by Chief Hawk that a “temporary emergency” existed. The notification stated the emergency might be expected to last ninety days and, in response to the emergency, Larry Levitt had been appointed as a temporary emergency employee to the position of Commander in the Police Department.

The Chief, in his letter to the Commission, said that the reason for the “temporary emergency” employment is:

“. . . Mr. Levitt possesses the qualifications and skills, I personally know are needed to be implemented immediately to carry out my plan to upgrade the department in general. . . . ”

The Chief further observed:

.At this time, no other person possessing these qualifications is immediately available within the Rock Springs Police Department.”

Evidence with respect to the term for which Levitt was appointed is in conflict. There is testimony he was to have his appointment on a “temporary emergency” basis. Other indications are that his tenure as Commander was not intended to be temporary and was to be coextensive with that of the Chief of Police, which was, itself, for an indefinite period.

ISSUE NO. 1.

The appellants identify the following as the first issue for this court’s consideration:

“1. Whether the hiring of Larry Levitt as a temporary emergency Commander in the Rock Springs Police Department *977 was legal under Section 15-1-103(a)(xxxv)(A); Sections 15-5-106 & 112, W.S.1977; or, Rules 8-4 & 8-15, Rock Springs Civil Service Board (Revised 5-14-59) particularly in light of Wyoming Constitution Article 13, Section 1(d)? [sic].”

Consideration of the applicable statutes and rules leads to this summary:

According to § 15-5-102(b), W.S.1977 1 , the Rock Springs Police Department Civil Service Commission was authorized; and, by ordinance, the civil service system was adopted for the City of Rock Springs. By statute, § 15-5-120, W.S.1977 2 , the Commission is directed to adopt rules governing its proceedings and is obliged to enforce its rules. Under the same section, the Commission must adopt rules for the classification of employment, for promotion on the basis set out in the statute and prepare eligibility lists from which vacancies are to be filled. Section 15-5-107, W.S.1977 3 , also requires the Commission to classify various employments and to examine the qualifications of applicants. Such rules as will govern these and other relevant matters were adopted. Commission Rule 1-13 4 provides for new job classification procedures and at the time of trial, the city ordinance indicates police classifications for

“City Marshall, Assistant City Marshall, Police Lieutenants, Police Sergeants, and Deputy City Marshall.”

Section 15-5-106, W.S.1977 5 , provides no person may be employed or appointed in the *978 police department except from a list of eligible persons certified by the commission to the mayor and city council. Rule 8-1 of the Commission Rules 6 provides that the head of the police department will appoint “all subordinate officers” from the list furnished by the Commission. Section A1 7 of the Commission Rules provides that assistant chiefs of the police department “shall ” be appointed from the classified civil service.

Section 15-5-111, W.S.1977 8 , provides when a vacancy occurs in the officer grade (except the chief’s position), it will be filled by a competent person from the next lowest grade and the commission will judge the competency of the person to fill the Vacancy-

Section 15-5-109, W.S.1977, fn. 11, infra, provides where a position is to be filled, the commission will submit to the appointing body (upon its request) the names of three qualified persons, one of which shall be appointed. If there are no such qualified persons, the commission will certify additional names — but if there be no registered applicants,

“the commission may allow provisional employment, or it may authorize the appointive authority to select a suitable person for examination, and if qualified, he shall be certified for employment.”

At the time of trial, the governing body of Rock Springs, under § 15-1-103(a)(xxxv)(A), W.S.1977 9

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Bluebook (online)
610 P.2d 975, 1980 Wyo. LEXIS 261, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-rock-springs-v-police-protection-assn-wyo-1980.