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