MINUTES
Of the meeting of the
BOARD OF PAROLE COMMISSIONERS
March 28, 2003
The Board of Parole Commissioners held a public meeting on March 28, 2003 beginning at 9:15 AM at the following locations:
Conference room at the central office of the Department of Corrections located at 4070 Silver Sage Road, Carson City, NV video-teleconference to the Cheyenne Campus, 3200 E Cheyenne Ave Rm 2105-C, Las Vegas, NV.
1. Call to order, roll call 9:15
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Dorla Salling. Present in Carson City were commissioners Hanebeck, Goodson, Bisbee and Morrow. Present in Las Vegas were commissioners Morales and Bass. No members were absent.
Also present was David Smith, Management Analyst III for the Board and Michael Somps, Deputy Attorney General. No members of the public attended at either meeting location.
2. Interviews for position of Executive Secretary to the Board of Parole Commissioners.
Seven candidates were interviewed for the position in the following order:
Deborah Miller, Shelly Williams, Monica Howk, Michelle Hamilton, Jennifer Conte, Kari Rhodes and Susan Lewis.
Each candidate was introduced to the board members. Each interview was conducted in a question and answer format with the questions being asked by Chairman Salling.
The questions asked were as follows:
1. Please tell us a little about your interest in the position of Executive Secretary and what qualities, abilities or knowledge that you would bring to the position.
2. One of the duties of the Executive Secretary will be to speak with victims of crime as well as family members of inmates. Can you describe a situation that you have been in where there were two competing interests on an issue and how you handled them? If you have never been in this type of situation, please describe how you would handle a situation like that.
3. Can you tell us a little about your knowledge of the parole system and how the pardons board differs from the parole board?
4. Please describe your knowledge of computer applications including knowledge or experience working with word processors, spreadsheets, information systems, etc.
5. The Executive Secretary will be performing many tasks and projects. Can you describe a job or task you performed that required you to work independently and prepare a detailed report?
6. The Board of Parole Commissioners receives confidential information related to crimes including graphic written descriptions and crime scene photographs depicting extreme violence. Are you able to work with these types of documents and photographs? Additionally, as Executive Secretary, you would be required to attend parole violation hearings which are conducted within the prison with the offender. Do you have any apprehension to working inside a prison institution and having contact with offenders?
7. Do you have any relatives or close friends currently incarcerated in Nevada, or on parole or probation? Answering yes would not disqualify you from the position, but disclosure is important. If you are chosen for the position, a criminal background check would be required. Is there anything that we should know about that you think might disqualify you for this position? Our office hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Is there any reason why you would not be able to work these hours?
8. Do you have any questions for us?
3. Selection of candidate for the position of executive secretary (action item).
Chairman Salling suggested that each member of the Board rank the top three candidates. Each member took a few moments to review their notes and ranked the candidates. The members were then asked to provide their choices and make any comments they felt were appropriate.
The entire board listed candidates Monica Howk and Jennifer Conte as their top two choices. The board then discussed the two applicants and the Chairman entertained a motion for a selection.
MOTION: Select Monica Howk as Executive Secretary to the Board of Parole Commissioners.
MADE BY: Tami Bass
SECONDED BY: John Morrow
VOTES IN FAVOR: Bass, Morales, Bisbee, Goodson, Hanebeck, Morrow, Salling
VOTES OPPOSED: None
The Board discussed the possibility of Monica not accepting the position and determined that it would be wise to make a contingency selection in the event Monica did not accept the position.
MOTION: To Select Jennifer Conte as Executive Secretary in the event Monica did not accept the position of Executive Secretary.
MADE BY: Yolanda Morales
SECONDED BY: John Morrow
VOTES IN FAVOR: Bass, Morales, Bisbee, Goodson, Hanebeck, Morrow, Salling
VOTES OPPOSED: None
4. Public Comment
There was no public comment.
5. Adjournment
Chairman Salling adjourned the meeting at 1:15 PM.