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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-10-2014 Civil Service Commission/dTti0►19L1 CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Thursday, July 10, 2014 8:00 AM Helling Conference Room (Lobby Conference Room) City Hall 410 E. Washington St. Iowa City, IA 1. Fire Department promotional testing 2. Old business 3. New business Any late handouts will be included in the meeting minutes. r ^�h.® CITY OF I O W A CITY ME M RAN ru Date: July 8, 2014 To: Civil Service Commission From: Karen Jennings, Human Resources Administrator Re: Fire Promotional Testing The promotional lists for command positions in the fire department will expire October 30, 2014, making it necessary to conduct promotional testing for the positions of Deputy Fire Chief, Battalion Chief, Fire Captain and Fire Lieutenant. The promotional process that we have used in the past has been effective and staff recommends using the same testing procedure for each of these positions that was used previously. Staff recommends the use of an assessment center to determine the ability of the candidates for these positions. William (Bill) Ell conducted the last assessment centers for the fire department and is available and recommended again. Bill has an extensive background and experience in the Iowa Fire Service. Bill spent 36 years with the Burlington Fire Department; he served as Chief for 22 years and has over 20 years' experience facilitating assessment centers. Chief Ell ran very professional assessment centers for us in 2003, 2006, 2010, and 2012 which provided lists that have been successfully used for a number of promotions. Trained assessors are available from other fire departments in Iowa and/or the Midwest. It is very common for fire departments to provide assessors to other departments. Our command staff has participated as assessors for other cities and we anticipate assistance will be available to us on a reciprocal basis. For the position of Deputy Chief we anticipate assessors would hold the rank of Chief, Deputy Chief or Assistant Chief. Upon conclusion on the assessment center a numerical score will be generated for each candidate. The candidates will be ranked on the promotional list for each rank based upon this score. Only those candidates meeting an acceptable level of performance or above will be certified. As with any test, it is possible to fail an assessment center. Assessment centers are recommended to be held in October 2014. Deputy Fire Chief The requirements for this position include a Bachelor's degree or equivalent in business, public administration, or fire service from an institution accredited by a DOE recognized accreditation body; six years experience in fire and rescue management; currently hold the rank of Battalion Chief with the Iowa City Fire Department and a valid Iowa Class D driver's license. Master's degree in public administration or a related field from an institution accredited by a DOE recognized accreditation body; Officer I, Instructor ll, and Inspector I certifications; NFA Executive Fire Officer and Chief Fire Officer Designation are preferred. Battalion Chief The requirements for this position include a B.A./B.S. Degree in Fire Science or a related field from an institution accredited by a DOE recognized accreditation body; five years as a company officer with the Iowa City Fire Department; and a valid Iowa Class D driver's license. Master's degree or equivalent in Public Administration or a related field from an institution accredited by a DOE recognized accreditation body, Fire Science emphasis preferred. Officer I, Instructor ll, and Inspector I certifications; NFA Executive Fire Officer; five years of related experience and/or training are preferred. July 8, 2014 Page 2 Fire Captain The requirements for the position of Fire Captain include an A.A./A.S. Degree in Fire Science or a related field from an institution accredited by a DOE recognized accreditation body (sixty hours of coursework toward a B.A. Degree in Fire Science or a related field from an institution accredited by a DOE recognized accreditation body may substitute for A.A. Degree from an institution accredited by a DOE recognized accreditation body); one year as a Lieutenant with the Iowa City Fire Department; Instructor II certification; EMT-B certification; and valid Iowa Class D driver's license. B.A./B.S. Degree in Fire Science or a related field from an institution accredited by a DOE recognized accreditation body; experience in public education, hazardous materials, the Fire Prevention Bureau; Fire origin and cause training from State Fire Marshal or National Fire Academy are preferred. Fire Lieutenant The requirements for the position of Fire Lieutenant include three years as a Firefighter with the Iowa City Fire Department; Certificate in Fire Science from an institution accredited by a DOE recognized accreditation body with a minimum of 18 semester hours of Fire Science Technical courses (thirty hours of coursework toward A.A./A.S. Degree in Fire Science or a related field from an institution accredited by a DOE recognized accreditation body may substitute for certificate); Instructor I certification; Iowa or National EMT-B certification; and valid Iowa Class D driver's license. Experience in public education, hazardous materials, and the Fire Prevention Bureau is preferred. This is an entry-level command position and, as a result, we believe testing both technical knowledge and basic management skills is necessary. For this reason a two part testing procedure is recommended. Testing will consist of a written test to determine technical knowledge followed by an assessment center to determine management skills and knowledge. Because of the potentially large number of candidates for this position it is recommended that candidates meet the minimum passing score for the written test with no more than the top 15 candidates continuing on to an assessment center. Candidates must pass both the written test and the assessment center to be placed on the certified list. Final score will be based on a weight of 25% written test and 75% assessment center. Please feel free to call me or Chief Grier if you have any questions. CC: Chief Grier