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Civil Service staff reports large firefighter testing cycle, budget status and modernization plans
Summary
At the May 14 Civil Service Merit Board meeting, staff summarized a month dominated by firefighter testing, budget line-item status and modernization steps including a records digitization contract and negotiations to extend an online-testing contract.
Mr. Bradshaw, civil service staff, told the Civil Service Merit Board on May 14 that the office spent most of the past month running firefighter assessments and is wrapping up a large round of written and physical-performance exams.
The board was told the referral list for firefighter candidates has been sent to the fire department and that staff expect to provide final testing statistics at the June meeting. “We did several hundred firefighter written exams and physical performance tests,” Bradshaw said.
Board members were given a budget update showing operating categories generally in line with plan. Bradshaw said office-services spending — the line that includes outside legal counsel and testing vendor charges — is about 75% expended for the fiscal year. He noted a few outside legal invoices had been submitted but not yet processed to the city registry and said that those pending items likely make the year-to-date legal total closer to budgeted levels than the printout suggested.
Bradshaw also described several modernization initiatives. He said the board-funded records-digitization project has a contractor and an agreement in place to scan historical board minutes and materials now available only in bound volumes at the civil service office. “Money was approved. We’re gonna hire a contractor to come in and digitize all those records for us,” he said.
On the testing platform, Bradshaw said the office is negotiating with the current vendor, eSkill, whose contract “is gonna run out in it’s about September 1 or so.” He said staff are working with purchasing to increase the number of remote-proctored, online testing licenses from 50 to 500 using funds approved in a March budget amendment, and would prefer to have the contract adjusted before the September renewal if possible.
Bradshaw updated the board on a citywide Oracle recruiting/HR software project, saying staff still expect an October launch for the Fusion migration platform but acknowledged the timetable is aggressive and subject to change. He identified the vendor Highstreet as the firm assisting the city on the migration and said civil service staff continue to participate in vendor and IT meetings.
On casework, Bradshaw reported three active matters in the grievances and appeals queue — two grievances and one disciplinary appeal — and that only one matter currently has a hearing scheduled.
The report closed with an offer to provide fuller testing statistics and final firefighter numbers at the board’s next meeting.
