Hermosa Beach board approves updates to four job descriptions, clarifies police promotion language

The Hermosa Beach Civil Service Board on Dec. 1 approved updates to four job classifications, clarifying internal promotion language for the police sergeant position and ordering minor editorial fixes across the package. The changes affect the police sergeant and lieutenant classifications, the equipment mechanic specification and the senior engineer title.

Tiffany Nguyen, the city’s human-resources manager, told the board the four sets of revisions were proposed by departments and reviewed with employee associations. “We also worked with the associated unions for approval of these proposed changes,” Nguyen said, summarizing the review process and saying the updates ensure job duties and requirements match current practice.

The police sergeant specification was clarified to state that a portion of the required sworn experience should be recent service with the Hermosa Beach Police Department; staff said protected leave taken while still employed would count toward that service. Board members asked whether employees who left the department and returned, or who had outside service, would meet the clarified requirement; Nguyen said staff would check further with the police department on edge cases.

Members also suggested wording and formatting edits: spelling, punctuation, and expanding acronyms such as POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training). One member asked that the term “citizens” be replaced with “community members” to avoid excluding residents who are not U.S. citizens; Nguyen said staff would make that substitution. The board agreed staff could correct typographical errors and spell out acronyms before publication.

On the police lieutenant spec, a board member recommended listing “artificial intelligence” among examples of emerging technologies to ensure awareness of AI tools; another board member and the chair expressed reservations about adding AI at this level, arguing the potential for inaccuracy and misuse. Nguyen said that adding AI was not part of the current proposal and would require conversations with the police department and unions if the board wanted to pursue it.

Questions about the equipment mechanic classification prompted staff to confirm that after-hours call-backs for emergency repairs would trigger overtime pay and to note they would spell out technical-certification acronyms such as ASE.

A board member moved to approve the staff recommendations for police sergeant, police lieutenant, equipment mechanic and senior engineer "with the typographical changes that were discussed and the substitution of the word 'community member' for 'citizen' in the police sergeant description." The motion was seconded, public comment was opened and none was offered, and the board voted to approve the package. Members Ellman, Wolf, Williams and Jones voted in favor; Member Collins registered an abstention.

The approved edits are editorial or clarifying in nature, staff said; any substantive changes proposed later would return to the board for formal approval.