College Place Civil Service Commission notes firefighter vacancy and detective rotation

The College Place Civil Service Commission met at 12:08 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, and heard staff report that the fire department has an open position after a lieutenant resigned and that the police detective rotation for 2025 is assigned to Detective Brandon Rhodes.

Max, a staff member, told commissioners there is “an open firefighter position. 1 of our fire lieutenants has turned in her resignation.” He said the city sent the top three candidates that the civil service panel approved in July 2024 to Fire Marshal John Boos because “one of the candidates is a relative of the fire chief,” and the marshal is conducting interviews.

Max also reported that the three-year police detective rotation ended at the end of 2024 and that “for 2025, for 3 years, we have, Detective Brandon Rhodes is in the position.” The report did not include additional details such as the firefighter candidate names, hire timeline, or any required external approvals.

Earlier in the meeting the commission approved the consent agenda, which included the Feb. 13, 2025 agenda, minutes from the Jan. 9, 2025 meeting and payroll for January 2025. A motion to approve the consent agenda was made, seconded and the commission voted in favor; the transcript records the vote as "Aye" responses but does not list a roll-call tally by name.

The meeting concluded at 12:12 p.m.

Why it matters: vacancies and personnel assignments in police and fire departments affect departmental staffing and operations; the commission's handling of candidate lists and recusal/relative-of-staff concerns are part of its oversight duties.