Council approves certification lists for multiple municipal positions; police captain promotion slated Monday

The City Council approved certification lists for multiple municipal positions, advancing candidates for fire chief, police captain, water pollution plant operations supervisor, public service cashier and steward TV technician openings. Council members heard staff summaries of each testing process and candidate counts before voting to certify the lists. For the fire chief recruitment, staff said the testing process—treated as entry-level for civil-service testing purposes under Iowa Chapter 400—produced four candidates for certification after an initial pool of 31 applicants. "We had 31 applicants. All 31 were qualified ... 20 of them failed, leaving us with 9 candidates ... 4 of those candidates passed [the virtual interview and panels] and are on the list to be certified," the presenter said. Staff described the police captain promotional process following the promotion of Greg Benning to assistant chief/major; six lieutenants applied, one withdrew before practical components, and five completed and passed the practical examination. "Pending certification of today's list, Lieutenant Jason Smith will become Captain Jason Smith on Monday," Scott said. The staff account attributed the decision on the promotion to the chief. Other certified lists approved by the council included: - Plant operations supervisor (water pollution control plant): one candidate passed the written exam and interview. Minimums include a bachelor's degree in environmental science, engineering, biology or related field; five years' relevant operational experience (including two years supervisory); and a Grade 4 wastewater operator certification to be obtained within six months of hire. - Public service cashier (finance department, AFSCME): 146 applicants applied; 107 were qualified and invited to the written exam. After no-shows, withdrawals and scoring below the 70% threshold, five candidates were advanced for background checks and included on the certification list. - Steward TV technician (promotional, Teamsters): eight applicants applied and three candidates passed and are on the certification list; position requires two years' sewer construction and repair experience including one year operating specialized TV equipment and certifications (PACP/NASSCO) and a Class B CDL with tanker endorsement. A motion to approve the combined certification lists passed by voice vote. Staff noted the fire chief testing process used a three-step pass/fail progression (matrix review, virtual interview, multi-panel interviews) and included department stakeholders, union leadership and community partners on interview panels. The presenter said the fire chief position was non‑bargaining but supervises union positions. Councilors asked about transparency of applicant-step reporting; staff said an outside firm handled the initial application intake for at least one recruitment and that the city could request additional applicant-step detail from the contractor. No additional actions were taken beyond certifying the candidate lists; the council adjourned after the approvals. "This was a 100% practical [examination] process" for the police captain promotion, Scott said, describing the leadership presentation and cross‑departmental panel components. On the fire chief list, staff noted the candidates passed background checks and the multi‑panel interviews and are now certified for potential appointment. The certification-list approvals put the named candidates and those on the published lists in position to be hired or promoted according to departmental appointment processes.