Euclid officials outline new police promotion process using Clancy & Associates

Euclid police leaders presented a proposed promotional process for sergeant and lieutenant posts at the Euclid Civil Service Commission’s June 17 meeting, saying they want eligibility lists ready before current lists expire. The department proposed using Clancy & Associates for written exams and an October assessment board, and asked the commission for feedback before seeking formal approval at the next meeting.

The proposal matters because the department’s promotional eligibility lists have upcoming expiration dates: the sergeant list expires Oct. 26, 2025, and both the lieutenant and captain lists expire Dec. 19, 2025. Captain Hauser said the department wants replacement lists in place when retirements occur and that preparing now avoids gaps in leadership.

Captain Hauser said the department has used Clancy for written tests for many years and described a new or expanded assessment option: “They use Ohio chiefs of police, current, retired, to do an assessment on oral boards if you will, based on recommendations of the characteristics we're asking them to test for,” he said. Hauser said the department will pair that oral assessment with a paired-comparison exercise used previously and that the chief supports the approach.

As presented, the tentative schedule would hold a written exam for both sergeant and lieutenant in early September, followed by an October assessment board. The department proposed weighting the components differently by rank: for sergeant, 60 percent written and 40 percent assessment; for lieutenant, 40 percent written and 60 percent assessment. The department also said it would retain the existing seniority/point scoring and the civil service protest period following the written exam.

Officials discussed cost estimates in the Clancy quote included with the packet: a baseline written-exam block is $1,500 for up to six candidates and $15 per additional candidate; assessment days are $5,800 for the first day (up to six candidates) and $2,900 for each additional day. The department provided a working estimate that, if every eligible candidate took both ranks’ exams, total costs could be “right around $25,000,” a figure the presenters contrasted with prior promotion-process expenses.

Commissioners asked for time to review the vendor proposal and said they expect the department to return with a formal motion at the next meeting. No formal approval or vote on the promotional plan occurred at the June 17 meeting; the presented material was for discussion and feedback only.

The department said the chief is not planning to retire immediately but expects a likely transition in about two years and wants successor lists available. The presenters said they would finalize scoring criteria with Clancy so assessment exercises (for example, role plays or council-presentations) match the competencies the department seeks.

The commission made no decisions at the June 17 meeting about adopting the vendor proposal; staff and department leaders were asked to bring a formal request and any additional cost information to the next meeting for action.