County seeking volunteer for law Sheriff’s Office oversight board

Spokane County is seeking a volunteer from any political party to fill a vacancy on the Civil Service Commission, an oversight board that reviews firings, discipline, qualifications and hiring practices for sheriff’s deputies.

Traditionally, the Civil Service Commission has “guarded the public from losing the services of good public employees for reasons of political patronage,” but now does much more, said Ashlee Torres, chief examiner for the office. Civil Service Commission members must sign off on any changes the Spokane County Sheriff makes to hiring practices and ensure deputies are hired and promoted based on merit.

For example, the board recently decided to require deputy applicants have at least 60 semester credit hours or 90 quarter credit hours of college, or two years of work experience, before they are considered. Previously, the only education deputies needed to have was a high school diploma or GED.

Commission members can also make rulings when a sheriff’s office employee is fired or disciplined then appeals, but Torres said those rulings are infrequent.

Board members will possibly have to decide on the case of Deputy Jeff Thurman, who was fired after an internal investigation found he talked about killing Black people and sexually harassed a female deputy. Thurman recently sued Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich for defamation, but the case has been held up by COVID-19. Torres said the Civil Service Commission will not weigh in on Thurman’s case until his lawsuit is resolved.

The commission is made up of five members who must declare their political affiliation and be registered to vote. Currently, there are board members from a mix of political parties . The County’s Civil Service Commission can have up to three members from one political party, so applicants for the position can be affiliated with any political party.

Applicants must have lived in Spokane County for two years, and county employees or elected officials are not eligible to serve. The commission meets monthly for about an hour, though sometimes has hearings that take longer. The term is for six years, and members are appointed by the Spokane County Commissioners.

A full description of the requirements and responsibilities can be found at www.spokanecounty.org/1144/Civil-Service-Commission. Applications can be submitted to Spokane County Clerk Ginna Vasquez at gvasquez@spokanecounty.org. Questions can be directed to 477-2268.

The Civil Service Commission is one of several vacancies on volunteer county and regional boards that oversees health care, emergency management and other public services. For example, the Spokane Regional Emergency Communications center is also seeking a citizen volunteer to fill a nonvoting position. More information can be found at srec911.org/leadership-1.

A list of all current vacancies can be found at www.spokanecounty.org/2061/Current-Vacancies.