Lakewood panel certifies new police eligibility lists after testing vendor changes; sergeant list tabled until July

The Lakewood Civil Service Commission on May 21, 2025, certified an eight-person entry-level police officer eligibility list and approved a lateral officer list, and it postponed consideration of a police sergeant eligibility list until the commission’s July meeting after the city’s testing vendor changed its written exam format.

Commission members said the vendor change by PST (Public Safety Testing) created two separate exam tracks and left one candidate on the existing entry-level list, which the commission moved to cancel before certifying the new list. The commission approved the new entry‑level list for a one-year period and approved certification of a lateral eligibility list by voice vote.

The change in testing procedures meant candidates who took the older exam could not be merged with the new-test pool, staff told the commission. “PST, which is the company we use for testing, they switched written tests on us. They just decided to go to different format of testing,” a department representative said during the meeting. Staff said the remaining person on the older list will expire from that list the day after the meeting and will not merge into the new list.

Separately, commissioners agreed to table action on the police sergeant eligibility list until the commission’s July meeting; staff said the sergeant item and a related certification will be taken up at that later date. The commission set a June 5 meeting to certify any additional entry or lateral lists that result from upcoming oral boards, and commissioners confirmed a regular meeting on July 3 for follow-up business.

Commissioners and staff discussed department staffing while reviewing the eligibility lists. The department said the city is authorized for two over‑hire positions; commission discussion noted the department’s current staffing level was about 101 sworn positions, compared with a normal authorized staffing level of 99. Staff reported four anticipated vacancies from retirements and other departures, with a round of retirements expected in June. Commissioners and staff also discussed officers on military and medical leave and the way over‑hire positions are used to cover those absences.

Recruiting activity was described as active: staff said two oral board dates were scheduled and that roughly eight candidates are processed per oral‑board day. The commission’s chief examiner said she will be on vacation for the July meeting and indicated another staff member would attend in her place.

Actions taken at the meeting were recorded by voice vote and were approved without a roll‑call tally reported in the transcript.