×

Liberty cans civil service tests to lessen bureaucracy in hiring

LIBERTY — At a time when it can be difficult to hire police officers and firefighters, Liberty trustees completed a move this week designed to decrease the bureaucratic time it takes to hire for these positions by doing away with the township’s civil service commissions.

“There is currently a nationwide shortage of police officers, firefighters and paramedics, resulting in a highly competitive hiring environment. As a civil service township, Liberty Township was required to hire only through the civil service testing process, which can be time consuming and expensive,” township attorney Cherry Poteet stated in an email.

Eliminating civil service testing will save money and give the township more flexibility in hiring, Poteet wrote, “allowing lateral hires from other departments and allowing the township to hire qualified applicants more quickly.”

The trustees determined it would be more “efficient and economical” to do away with the civil service commissions, to join the “vast majority of townships in Ohio that are not civil service townships,” Poteet states.

There are only a few townships in the state that are using civil service commissions, according to Poteet.

“Unlike cities, townships have a choice to be subject to civil service or not,” she states.

A 1974 state law allowed townships of 10,000 or more with more than 10 full-time police or firefighters to adopt civil service commissions by appointing three people to serve on a commission.

“As the township can choose to establish civil service, they also have the authority to decide no longer to be a civil service township and abolish the civil service commission,” Poteet explained.

Trustees at their Monday meeting thanked Poteet for taking on the process to eliminate the civil service commissions.

Poteet negotiated and worked with the police and fire unions in the township for more than a year to come to an agreement for how to proceed with hiring without a civil service commission. The new process for promotional testing and assessment was embedded into police union contracts, and an amendment to the fire union contract supports a new process.

The civil service test administered to candidates was of “general knowledge,” and not a test of firefighting or public safety.

“In recent years, the number of applicants taking the civil service hiring examination has decreased dramatically. The most recent civil service hiring examination for firefighters / (emergency medical technicians) in Liberty Township was administered in May 2021, resulting in an eligibility list of only four candidates,” Poteet states.

Standards for new police officers and firefighters will not decrease with the changes, according to Poteet.

All hires will continue to be “extremely well qualified,” Poteet stated, with full-time firefighters required to possess a state of Ohio paramedic certification and a firefighter II certification, which includes 240 hours of training, tests and practical examinations. Police officers must be certified by the Ohio Police Officer Training Academy after completing state peace officer training and must have an updated firearms qualification.

“The township trustees will hire the best qualified applicants for open positions, by advertising and interviewing qualified candidates, the process followed by almost all townships within Ohio,” Poteet states.

Though the civil service initially did more than administering new-hire tests, when the state gave public employees the right to bargain in 1984, union contracts that included grievance procedures quickly took over civil service commission responsibilities for determining if discipline or termination of a union member was justified, according to Poteet.

The police union favored eliminating the civil service to give more freedom in hiring decisions, speed up the hiring process and find experienced officers making lateral moves, according to Poteet.

For the fire department, trustees agreed to allow a firefighter to participate in initial interviews, to offer feedback on the candidates.

rfox@tribtoday.com

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.85/week.

Subscribe Today