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Commission reviews draft to accept out-of-area CPAT transfers for firefighter recruits
Summary
The Davenport Civil Service Commission was presented a draft change to rule 2.5 that would let the city accept CPAT transfers from the Quad Cities Consortium and the National Testing Network to widen the applicant pool; the item was informational and will be voted on next month.
Speaker 4 presented a proposed amendment to Davenport’s civil service rule 2.5 to expand which Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) results the city will accept for firefighter recruits. The draft would add two sources — the Quad Cities Consortium and the National Testing Network — to the existing Eastern Iowa Consortium transfer policy.
The proposed change aims to let candidates who completed an accepted CPAT elsewhere within the past year transfer that result rather than retake the physical test in Davenport. "So as part of the Davenport firefighter testing process, candidates are required to pass a, candidate physical ability test, also known as CPAT," Speaker 4 said. She added the Quad Cities Consortium and the National Testing Network "do follow, nationally recognized CPAT standards, which are the same standards that this city is required to follow as well." Speaker 5 described the CPAT as "a very standardized test" that uses expensive equipment and multiple stations.
Commission members asked about logistics. Speaker 2 requested clarification on which organizations administer the test; Speaker 4 explained that the Eastern Iowa Consortium currently includes Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, Dubuque, Iowa City, Muscatine, Waterloo and Marion and that the Quad Cities group includes Rock Island, Moline and East Moline. Speaker 4 and Speaker 5 said the equipment is shared among consortium members and that tests are administered by trained department personnel when recruiting is open in a jurisdiction.
The presenters emphasized limits and process: transfers would be accepted only within a one-year window of the original CPAT, and candidates would still complete Davenport’s written exam and interview steps. Speaker 4 said the draft is presented for review and that the commission will vote on the final version at the next meeting.
The commission did not take a vote on the rule change during this meeting; it was presented for consideration and comment. The next procedural step is a formal vote on the adopted language at the commission’s next meeting.
