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YPD hiring policy revised
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Civil-service panel eliminates dual lists
YOUNGSTOWN
The city’s civil-service commission approved an overhaul of Youngstown’s longstanding practice of how it hires police officers.
The commission voted 3-0 Wednesday to eliminate dual hiring lists — one for white men and the other for minorities and females — as well as reduce the importance of the written test by 50 percent and no longer have anyone receive a failing grade.
Rather than the dual lists, the commission will have one list and offer jobs to those who score the highest score on a written test and a physical agility test.
The physical test used to be given only to those who received a score of at least 70 percent on the written test. Now, all who take the written test also will take the physical test with each weighed equally.
Minorities and women haven’t scored as well on the written test as white males, but that doesn’t mean they’re not qualified, Mayor Jay Williams has said several times.
Also, no one taking the test can fail it. The commission agreed to eliminate the passing grade of at least 70 percent.
The commission followed recommendations from Barrett & Associates, a Cuyahoga Falls firm that specializes in legal and human-resources consulting, hired by the city to change the police civil-service hiring policies and oversee their implementation.
The city retained Barrett after its hiring policies came under scrutiny from members of the city administration, including the mayor, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Prompting the change was a federal appeals court declaring the use of two lists — one for white men and the other for minorities and women — by Shreveport, La., to be unconstitutional.
As for eliminating a minimum passing grade, Gerald V. Barrett, Barrett’s president, said 70 percent was an “arbitrary” number and getting rid of it likely would reduce the chance someone would have a legitimate legal argument that the city practices discrimination when hiring police officers.
Instead, the city first will offer police jobs to those who score the highest on the written and physical ability tests under a policy known as the “rule of 10,” he said.
That policy requires the city to offer jobs to those who finish in the top 10 on the tests. If those in the top 10 are either hired as police officers by the city or reject the position, the person with the next highest score moves into the top 10 and can be hired.
For at least two decades, the city has had two lists, hiring one minority or female for every two white men it hires.
The city probably will hire five to 15 new officers in the next 12 to 18 months, Williams has said.
City officials are satisfied these new policies are fair to all who take the test, said Law Director Iris Torres Guglucello.
“We wanted some experts to come in and help us do a better job with the [police] entry exam,” she said. “This will meet constitutional requirements, and we will be able to defend [ourselves against a lawsuit] because this is a valid exam.”
The deadline to sign up for this police entry test is 4 p.m. Friday. As of Wednesday, 293 people had submitted paperwork to take the test.
The written test will be given Feb. 5. A date for the physical test hasn’t been determined. The physical test would include running, simulating a rescue and scaling a wall.