Tuscaloosa City approves consultant contract for public-safety promotional testing

Tuscaloosa City on Thursday approved an annual professional-services contract with Industrial Organization Solutions to administer the city's public-safety promotional testing, city officials said.

HR Director (speaker identified in the meeting as the HR director) told the body the contract covers the promotional process for police this year and fire in 2027, and is paid from the city's outside services budget. "This is a request for an agreement with professional for professional services contract with Industrial Organization Solutions," the HR director said.

City staff described a yearlong preparation cycle that begins after each promotion round concludes in late spring. An HR staff member said the city contacts the consultant (identified in the meeting as Dr. Ford), schedules dates and facilities, and convenes department subject-matter experts to help design written test questions and practical scenarios. "We start prepping and getting everything in place, kinda dates and, you know, facilities reserved," the staff member said.

Staff said the process combines a written exam and a multi-day assessment center. The HR staff explained that assessors from other jurisdictions are brought in to evaluate candidates anonymously to protect the integrity of scoring. "Our candidates don't know them. They are evaluating based on their performance," the HR staff said.

On scoring, staff said the consultant compiles assessor scores and the city then applies seniority points. The presentation specified that seniority points are capped at 10 years and are applied after exam scoring. "It's capped at 10 years," the HR staff said. The meeting record also set the written exam as 60% of a candidate's total grade and practical/assessment-center performance as 40%.

After exams and scoring, chiefs receive the top-five names (a band) for vacancies and make recommendations to the personnel board. Staff referenced the city code and the personnel act as the procedural authorities governing how chiefs present recommendations and how the personnel board acts.

The chief briefed the body on new formalized training courses for apparatus operators and officers that the department has begun offering ahead of testing. HR staff also said the city will hold a mock assessment center and invited members to observe.

A motion to approve the HR item was made and seconded, and the body approved it by voice vote; the chair called for the vote and members responded "Aye." The contract approval was recorded as approved by voice vote with no roll-call tally provided.

The HR director thanked the body after the vote; personnel-board and departmental steps remain in place for implementing promotions under the approved process.