Civil Service Commission highlights continuous police testing, EDGE program and staffing needs

Interim Executive Director Jennifer Shea presented the Civil Service Commission’s 2025 proposed operating budget and described the commission’s role in testing, classification reviews and workforce access.

Shea said the commission’s 2025 request is $6,712,000, a figure similar to 2024 that includes modest personnel increases to support succession and strategic planning. She described 2024 activities including maintenance of the city’s classification plan, administering both uniformed and non‑uniformed examinations and maintaining open, continuous testing and monthly additions to the police officer eligible list to keep that pool current.

Why it matters: The commission’s testing and list management affect hiring for police, fire and many other city jobs. Shea noted the commission administered promotional exams for ranks including police lieutenant and fire battalion chief and that continuous additions to the police officer list help departments needing to fill multiple classes while acknowledging that background checks and medical screening continue after test lists are produced.

Details and context -The commission said it reviews more than 650 job classifications on a five‑year cycle and maintains approximately 200 tested job classifications; the majority of classifications are non‑tested or unclassified. -Shea described civil‑service testing practices to detect and remove exam questions that show adverse impact: “If there is a...question that perhaps a specific group of people scored much lower on that question than others...we would remove it in our grading,” she said. -The commission funds and reported a $300,000 grant to the EDGE (Empowering Development by Gaining Employment) program, a five‑month cohort program that serves people with justice-system involvement. Shea said EDGE serves two cohorts of 24 participants per year and provides job-readiness supports and connections to workforce partners; the commission is beginning baseline data collection on EDGE cohort outcomes, including housing-cost-burden goals. -The commission anticipates administering the firefighter entry exam and multiple promotional exams in 2025; those exams and related assessments are expected to cost about $350,000 in administration.

Discussion highlights -Council members asked about test construction, adverse‑impact reviews and accommodations for test takers with anxiety or disabilities; Shea described internal statistical reviews and the availability of accommodations when warranted. -Council members also asked about classification reviews and the potential to reclassify positions as non‑competitive when job duties change; Shea said departments may request priority reviews outside the five‑year rotation.

Ending -The commission framed its 2025 budget request as maintaining core testing operations, supporting succession planning and partnering with workforce programs such as EDGE to support reentry and employment outcomes.