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Committee approves emergency contracts for police psychological exams and online pre-employment testing
Summary
Akron's budget and finance committee approved ordinances allowing the city to contract without public bidding for psychological exams with Faust Psychological Services and online pre-employment testing with National Testing Network, with the Faust suspension of rules recorded by roll call and the testing contract approved by voice vote.
The Akron City Council budget and finance committee voted to allow emergency, no-bid contracts for two hiring-related services used by city safety forces.
The committee voted to suspend the rules and advance an ordinance authorizing the director of human resources to enter a contract with Faust Psychological Services to administer psychological examinations and evaluations for police and other safety personnel. The committee also approved an ordinance authorizing a contract with National Testing Network to provide online pre-employment testing for Akron Safety Forces; members moved to suspend the rules on that measure and approved it by voice vote.
Why it matters: Both measures permit the administration to execute contracts without the formal public-bidding process, enabling the city to continue or expand screening services for prospective public-safety hires. Committee members framed the National Testing Network service as an online testing option intended to increase recruitment by allowing candidates to test at many locations nationally.
Committee discussion and votes: Chris (staff member) described Faust’s services as long-established, saying, “He’s got a long history, a lot of experience in providing those services for safety forces.” When members moved to suspend the rules on the Faust ordinance, Councilwoman Amobian joined online and a roll call was held: Lombardo abstained; Amobian, Fusco, Boyes and Bolden voted aye. The chair announced, “The motion to suspend the rules passes 4 to 0 with 1 abstention.”
On the National Testing Network item, staff described the service as “a pre-employment testing” platform that operates online and can be completed at multiple nationwide sites; the committee approved suspension of the rules and advanced the ordinance by voice vote.
What was not decided: The meeting record does not include contract amounts, term lengths, or effective dates for either procurement; those specifics were not specified in the discussion recorded in the transcript. The ordinances were characterized in the meeting as declarations of emergency to allow direct contracting, but no execution details were provided on the record.
Next steps: With suspension of rules approved, the ordinances were advanced for finalization so contract execution can proceed per the authorizations the committee approved.
