Evansville fire commission delays vote on merit ordinance, approves four instructor candidate scores

The Evansville Fire Commission on March 11 discussed revisions to the city's merit ordinance and took formal action to accept testing-company scores ranking four instructor candidates, but it delayed any vote to send the ordinance changes to the City Council. A quorum of the five-member commission was present, and commissioners agreed to hold the merit-ordinance matter for further review after some members said they had not received the draft in time to vote. The commission accepted, by motion, the testing company's submitted scores and rankings for four candidates for instructor certification. Chief Garrett told commissioners the sealed score envelopes would be disseminated and the final rank established from those scores. "Chief Garrett will disseminate all that out and then get the final rank because we don't have names anyway here," the chief said during the meeting. Under unfinished business commissioners reviewed a redlined draft of the merit ordinance. No formal concurrence or referral to City Council occurred at the meeting. A commissioner asked whether there was a timeframe for adopting the revisions; the response was that there is no set deadline and the process would move forward only after agreement among the commission, the union and the mayor. Commissioner Masterson proposed adding a preference point for applicants raised inside the Evansville city limits. "I like to make a recommendation that there be a point allocated for individuals who would be ... those who have been raised in this ... the city limits of Evansville," Commissioner Masterson said. Commissioner Fetchers urged that the idea be presented as a commission recommendation rather than an individual proposal so the union and other stakeholders could consider it collectively. "I would like to see it disseminated between all of you and be brought back ... as a commission recommendation rather than an individual," Fetchers said. The commission also noted several related personnel items. A commissioner said the union would submit a union-side vacancy nomination within a 30-day window; commissioners were told nominations would be considered at the next meeting in April. Commissioner Fetchers said he is still investigating an overtime-pay issue and expects a more detailed report at the April meeting. The meeting opened with members acknowledging the recent death of a long-serving firefighter and commission member; commissioners offered condolences to the Masterson family but did not take formal action related to that matter during the session. The commission adjourned after routine approvals, including a motion to pay for a commissioner nameplate and approval of the February 11 minutes. Next steps recorded at the meeting: (1) further review of the merit-ordinance draft by commissioners, the mayor's office and the union before any formal submission to City Council; (2) Chief Garrett's dissemination of candidate-score envelopes and confirmation of final rankings; and (3) an overtime-pay update and consideration of union vacancy nominations at the April meeting.