Thursday, May 2, 2002
Six police sergeants have filed a lawsuit about the exam.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The city's civil service commission granted protests on some of the questions on a police lieutenants exam, leaving those who took the test wondering about their new scores.
"We have no idea how this affects any candidate," said Atty. James Fredericka, commission member, at a meeting Wednesday.
Seven people qualified to take the written portion of the test, which they say was unfair.
The test was given and grades were released. At that time, candidates had a period during which they could protest scores.
Problems with questions
Candidates were given a list of reference materials to study but said many of the test questions were not related to what was on the list. Candidates were told to study one edition of reference materials, while some of the test questions were addressed in an earlier edition.
The test is administered by Clancy & amp; Associates of Cleveland. The commission had previously granted another protest period for candidates upset about the Feb. 6 test.
Candidates filed protests to 64 of the test's 125 questions. The Cleveland company denied the bulk of the protests, and that recommendation was accepted by commission members Wednesday.
The commission then granted the protests on five questions.
Fredericka said Clancy will rescore the tests based on the commission's decision and hopes the new scores will be available soon.
Six city police sergeants filed a lawsuit in March, asking the court to order the civil service commission to give a new exam.
One of those sergeants, Robert M. Massucci, wants another protest period. He's concerned that commission members are taking the recommendations of Clancy, which initially erred in issuing a test on an earlier edition of the reference materials, rather than reviewing the reference books and tests themselves.
Commission members said they won't grant another protest period.
Psychological testing
The commission also heard from George Frazeskos, who wasn't hired as a city police officer. City officials told Frazeskos, who has spent about 10 years as a police officer in Warren Township, Campbell and Kinsman and as a Mahoning County sheriff's reserve deputy, that he wasn't being hired because of the results of his psychological exam, his attorney said.
The attorney, who declined to give her name, pointed to another psychological exam of Frazeskos in 1999 by a different psychologist. She asked that Frazeskos be retested. Fredericka said the commission can't order the city to re-examine a candidate.
Fred Harris, city safety service director, said that under the Ohio Revised Code, he makes the decision about who gets hired from the civil service list.
"Technically, I can hire anybody off the list that I choose," Harris said.
A committee including Harris, Mayor Hank Angelo, Police Chief John Mandopoulos, three police captains and a member of the community interview the candidates. The final decision rests with Harris, he said. The psychological test is just one component considered, Harris said.
The attorney also said the rankings of the five candidates differed from one list to another.
Fredericka said the commission will look into it.
In other business, the commission announced that the test for fire chief is set for Tuesday. The assessments for the fire chief and assistant fire chief positions will be set after the results of the fire chief's written exam are released.
dick@vindy.com