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Wheeling board approves changes to firefighter and police appointment rules, adds EMT‑basic requirement for paramedic candidates
Summary
The Village of Wheeling Board of Trustees on Jan. 20 adopted an ordinance amending Board of Fire and Police Commission rules to allow a candidate pool for police appointments and to require EMT‑Basic certification for firefighter‑paramedic applicants.
The Village of Wheeling Board of Trustees on Jan. 20 adopted an ordinance (13B) amending rules of the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners for original appointments to the Wheeling Police and Fire Departments.
The ordinance makes two principal changes: it allows the police commission to create a pool of qualified candidates from those who test — rather than strictly appointing in the order of written-test scores — and it requires firefighter‑paramedic applicants to hold an EMT‑Basic certification before appointment.
Why it matters: Village staff and the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners said the changes aim to improve efficiency in filling vacancies and to ensure firefighter‑paramedic recruits arrive with baseline emergency medical training, shortening time to field deployment.
Details from the meeting: Mr. Crotty (staff member) told the board the police-appointment change gives the commission flexibility to assemble a candidate pool at the start of a hiring cycle instead of advancing candidates strictly by written-test ranking, which he said often results in candidates washing out later in the process. On the fire side, Crotty said the EMT‑Basic requirement “will streamline and hopefully result in getting new firefighter paramedics on the street sooner than they otherwise would be.”
Trustee Krueger moved the ordinance; Trustee Papantos seconded. The roll-call vote recorded unanimous support: Trustee Vogel — yes; Trustee Ruffato — yes; Trustee Krueger — yes; Trustee Lang — yes; Trustee Vito — yes; Trustee Papantos — yes; President Horker — yes. The motion carried.
Clarifying points in the record: Staff described these changes as recommended by the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners and said the police appointment change relies on the village’s home‑rule authority to deviate from an unspecified state act that governs hiring lists. The transcript records that chiefs were supportive but does not include their full names or a separate formal statement from them.
Ending: The ordinance was approved by unanimous roll call. The transcript does not show additional implementation timelines or budget allocations tied to the change.
