The Civil Service Board met yesterday afternoon to discuss changing the hiring process for Greeneville Police and Fire Department.
The meeting was only to have a conversation on how to move forward with a better process for applicants and is an initial proposal. The layout of the application will remain the same as human resources has reviewed the proposal and like the layout of the application.
Radio Greeneville News spoke with Captain Kevin Gass from the Greeneville Police Department and Chairman of the Civil Service Board Joe Gonzalez, who both explained how the hiring process currently works. As of now testing is every two years. That means anyone trying to apply would have to wait another two years if they missed the exam. All agreed there needs to be a better process in place.
The new proposal which is just a rough draft, would do testing once a year or allow applicants to test quarterly rather than every two years. This gives more opportunities to anyone who wants to take the test but also helps the department with possible staffing issues. The proposal also includes the chance to retake the test.
A list was mentioned at the meeting which includes potential applicants who scored well enough on the tests. Those tests includes a civil service exam, a written exam, physical training test, and the applicant would then be selected for an interview. Only a limited amount of applicants can be selected which is a reason for the departments list of potential applicants, basically a hiring list. At times applicants were waiting on that list anywhere from 2 to 15 years according to history.
Testing quarterly would allow applicants to retake and score higher on the test which gives them a chance to place higher on the list. The more points scored, the higher you are on the list. Captain Kevin Gass said they’d like to have the plan developed by July so they could start advertising the exam and be set for testing in September. Gass wanted to be clear that this is a good start for now, but somethings still need to be ironed out. He and others just want the hiring process to be fair and right for everyone.
The matter was tabled until their next meeting in May, at which point more details would be provided.
