The Dickinson Civil Service Commission did not make a decision on the fate of the recently fired city attorney's job because of conflicts between a job description and the Dickinson Municipal Code, which governs it.
The Civil Service Commission had planned to render a decision on the appeal of Jennifer Gooss, the former city attorney who was fired on June 29 because of a perceived conflict of interest, on Thursday.
However, the commission felt the decision may be out of its hands due to a conflict between a job description for the city attorney, which states the city attorney is a civil service position, and a failure to update the Civil Service Commission section of the Dickinson Municipal Code, which states the city attorney is exempt from its rulings.
The city attorney job description was last updated in May 2015 and was approved by both the Civil Service Commission and the Dickinson City Commission before Gooss was hired.
The commissioners expressed discomfort making a decision they weren't sure they were able to make and decided to look for impartial legal advice from a source either within the state's attorney's office or from a private practitioner outside of the area.
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The Dickinson Human Resources Committee is working on updating the municipal code.
The commission is still required to make a decision about Gooss' appeal by Aug. 18, per the code, which states it's required to render a decision within 10 business days of hearing an appeal.
