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AGENDA
CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION
Thursday, September 26, 2019
8:15 AM
Helling Conference Room
(Lobby Conference Room)
City Hall
410 E. Washington St.
Iowa City, IA
1. Fire Department promotional testing
2. Police Department promotional testing
If you will need disability-related accommodations in
order to participate in this program/event, please
contact Karen Jennings, Human Resources at 319-
356-5025 or karen-jennings@iowa-city.org. Early
requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient
time to meet your access needs.
Date: September 20, 2019
To: Civil Service Commission
From: Karen Jennings, Human Resources Administrator
Re: Fire Promotional Testing
The promotional lists for command positions in the fire department expire October 31, 2019,
making it necessary to conduct promotional testing for the positions of Deputy Fire Chief,
Battalion Chief, Fire Captain and Fire Lieutenant. The Iowa Code allows up to ten names to be
certified for promotional positions.
After consulting with Chief Grier, we are recommending a testing process that uses
assessments relevant to the rank being tested to establish the rank order promotional lists
required by Chapter 400. The minimum requirements and proposed testing process (including
the recommended weighting, where applicable) for each rank is summarized in the following
table.
Rank Minimum Requirements Proposed Testing Process
Lieutenant
3 years as Firefighter with ICFD Written exam (25%)*
HS diploma or equivalent and certificate in
fire science with a minimum of 18 semester
hours of fire science technical courses and
Instructor I and Iowa or National EMT
certification required.
Thirty hours of coursework toward
Associate’s degree in fire science or related
field may substitute for certificate
Assessment Center (75%)
Experience in public education, hazardous
materials, technical rescue, and Fire
Prevention Bureau preferred
*Candidates with highest 15 passing
scores will be eligible to participate in
assessment center
Captain
1 year as Lieutenant with ICFD, Instructor II
Iowa or National EMT certification required
Assessment Center (100%)
Associate’s degree or 60 hours coursework
toward BA in Fire Science or related field
required
Bachelor’s degree, experience in public
education, hazardous materials, technical
rescue, and Fire Prevention Bureau and Fire
origin and cause training from State Fire
Marshall or National Fire Academy preferred
Battalion Chief
5 years as company officer with ICFD; 5
years’ experience in fire and safety
operations
Assessment Center (30%)
Bachelor’s degree required Panel interview with outside Fire Chiefs
(30%)
Master’s degree, Officer I, Instructor II and
Inspector I certifications, NFA Executive Fire
Officer and 5 years related experience and/or
training preferred
Panel interview with Chief, Deputy Chief
and City management staff (40%)
Page 2
Deputy Chief
6 years in Fire and Rescue Management,
currently hold rank of Battalion Chief with
ICFD
Assessment Center (30%)
Bachelor’s degree required Panel interview with outside Fire Chiefs
(30%)
Master’s degree, Officer I, Instructor II,
Inspector I certification, NFA Executive Fire
Officer and Chief Fire Officer Designation
preferred
Panel interview with Chief, Deputy Chief
and City management staff (40%)
As you can see, we are recommending that assessment centers be used in the testing process
for all promotional ranks. A consultant with experience in administering promotional testing
processes will be hired to design and administer the assessment centers. Exercises are
selected based on the position being testing and are developed in conjunction with input from
ICFD command staff and Human Resources. Because of the potentially large number of
candidates for the rank of Lieutenant it is recommended that candidates meet the minimum
passing score for the written test with no more than the top 15 candidates (assuming a natural
break in scoring) 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 Lieutenant score
will be based on a weight of 25% written test and 75% assessment center. Because the
Captain pool will be limited to current Lieutenants who have already passed a comparable
written exam and because this is a smaller potential applicant pool, we are only recommending
an assessment center for the Captain rank. Battalion Chief and Deputy Chief candidates will be
tested through three weighted components - an assessment center (30%), panel interview with
outside Fire Chiefs (30%) and a panel interview with Iowa City Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, and
City management staff (40%).
Cayler Consulting is recommended to administer assessment centers for the ranks of
Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief and Deputy Chief. Jeff Cayler has had a lengthy career in
law enforcement, retiring after serving as Police Chief in Carroll, Iowa for over 30 years. He has
been administering assessment centers for over 20 years and has administered assessment
centers for past City of Iowa City police and fire promotional testing processes.
A promotional test developed by the International Personnel Management Association (IPMA-
HR) is recommended as the written exam for the rank of Lieutenant. This is a multiple choice
test designed for entry-level fire service supervisors and consists of questions in the areas of
fire behavior/fire science, firefighting tactics and procedures, rescue and safety, firefighting
equipment, building construction, supervisory practices, hazardous materials, and fire
prevention and safety. IPMA-HR requires that applicants be given a minimum of 60 days study
time.
Staff recommends that City Human Resources staff be authorized to administer the IPMA-HR
written exam for Lieutenant candidates and the panel interviews recommended for the ranks of
Battalion Chief and Deputy Chief. Human Resources staff will be involved at all stages of the
process to ensure that legal requirements associated with the hiring process are met.
Testing is tentatively planned to take place in early 2020. I look forward to answering any
questions at your upcoming meeting.
Please feel free to call me or Chief Grier if you have any questions.
CC: Chief Grier
Date: September 20, 2019
To: Civil Service Commission
From: Karen Jennings, Human Resources Administrator
Re: Police Department Promotional Testing
The certified lists for promotional positions in the Police Department expired on July 19, 2019.
To enable the Chief to fill future vacancies, we need to hold a new promotional process. The
Iowa Code allows up to ten names to be certified for promotional positions.
After consulting with Chief Matherly and City Administration, we are recommending a testing
process for each rank which includes 2-3 weighted components to establish the rank order
promotional lists required by Chapter 400. The minimum requirements and proposed testing
process (including the recommended weighting) for each rank is summarized in the following
table.
Rank Minimum Requirements Proposed Testing process
Sergeant
3 years as Iowa City Police Officer Written exam (25%)*
Associate’s degree or 60 hours college
credit
Assessment center (75%)
*Candidate with highest 15 passing scores will
be eligible to participate in assessment center
Lieutenant
5 years in law enforcement including 2
years minimum as a Sergeant
Assessment center (65%)
Associate’s degree or 60 hours college
credit
Panel interview with Captains or equivalent from
area agencies (35%)
Bachelor’s degree is preferred
Captain
4 years at Sergeant rank or higher Assessment center (30%)
Bachelor’s degree Panel interview with ICPD command staff (30%)
Experience at Lieutenant rank and Master’s
degree is preferred
Panel interview with City
Administration/Department Directors (40%)
As you can see, we are recommending that assessment centers be used in the selection
process for each of these positions. An assessment center is a process whereby assessors
who have held command staff positions in other law enforcement agencies evaluate candidates
for a position based on candidate performance in exercises designed to simulate situations
encountered by a person in the rank they are seeking to hold. Previous assessment center
exercises have included a number of the following: problem-solving, training presentation,
citizen complaint, tactical, oral presentation, in-basket, employee interview or other job related
situations. A consultant with police administration background and experience in administering
civil service promotional testing processes will be hired to design and administer the
assessment centers. Exercises are selected based on the position being tested and are
developed in conjunction with input from ICPD personnel and Human Resources. Following
completion of the assessment center the consultant will be available to meet with candidates to
provide feedback regarding the candidate's participation in the assessment center. This is the
opportunity for candidates to hear the assessors' comments regarding their strengths and
weaknesses. This type of feedback is valuable to candidates as it provides them with
information they can use in their professional development.
September 23, 2019
Page 2
Cayler Consulting is recommended to administer the promotional assessment centers. Jeff
Cayler has had a lengthy career in law enforcement, having served as Police Chief in Carroll,
Iowa for over 30 years before retiring in 2015. He has been administering assessment centers
for law enforcement agencies for over 20 years and has both administered assessment centers
and served as an assessor in past City of Iowa City police promotional testing processes.
A promotional test developed by the International Personnel Management Association (IPMA) is
recommended as the written exam for the rank of Sergeant. This test is a multiple-choice test
designed for entry level law enforcement supervisors. It consists of questions in the following
areas: laws related to police work; police field operations; investigative procedures; supervisory
practices; and reports, records and paperwork. Any candidate who meets the education and
experience requirement for the position and submits an application form in a timely manner will
be eligible to participate in the written Sergeant exam. IPMA requires that applicants be
provided the required reading list for the exam at least 60 days prior to the test date to provide
adequate study time. To assist candidates in preparing for this test the City will work with the
Iowa City Public Library to make the books available. It is recommended that approximately the
top 15 applicants who score 70% or higher on the written test (final number to be determined by
a natural break in scoring) be eligible to participate in the assessment center.
We recommend that City Human Resources staff be authorized to administer the IPMA written
exam for the Sergeant process and the panel interviews for the Lieutenant and Captain
processes on behalf of the Civil Service Commission. Human Resources staff will be involved
at all stages of the process to ensure that legal requirements associated with the hiring process
are met.
Testing is tentatively planned to take place in late 2019/early 2020. I look forward to answering
any questions you may have at your upcoming meeting.
cc: Chief Matherly