Pittsfield Task Force Narrows Civil Service Research
 The Civil Service Task Force met with Police Chief Michael Wynn to gather his opinions on the system. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After years with acting chiefs, a city task force is determining the best hiring process for permanent police and fire chiefs.
The task force met for the second time on Thursday and narrowed its focus to primarily those two positions after an initial meeting left confusion on what they were tasked with.
The group is now primarily looking to determine the best option for hiring permanent chiefs, with a look at the Civil Service requirement being part of that scope.
Mayor Daniel Bianchi formed the group to begin the process of appointing permanent chiefs, which was stipulated in the city's new charter.
The city currently uses the civil service system. Previously, the it attempted to go without the requirement for police chief for a period of 13 years but ultimately voters opted to retain the post.
Both the fire and police chief were appointed as "acting" outside of Civil Service requirements. Police Chief Michael Wynn has been in his post since 2007; Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski is the third acting appointment in that post in the last decade.
Bianchi proposed the group look at the Civil Service system including all employees but the group decided to narrow its focus to creating only a recommendation for the chief positions. It also will gather information that could later be used if the mayor decides to deliberate further on the system's role for other positions.
"We're focusing on the police and fire chief," said City Solicitor Kathleen Degnan, who sits on the task force. "This is an arena to get input, ideas."
Narrowing the focus will help guide the group to reaching a self-imposed May 1 deadline. But, the group acknowledges that further vetting of the Civil Service system will include discussions and information about future expansion but the deadline and narrow focus will keep them on track.
"I don't think this is something that needs to drag on for eight months," said Pamela Green, who was elected to chair the task force.
The mayor has previously voiced concerns with the pool of candidates the Civil Service system provides. The task force is looking to see if there are better ways. However, both the police and fire unions have opposed getting rid of the system. In the period when the police chief was not Civil Service, the city seemed to have a new chief after every mayoral election.
Wynn said there are built-in protections in the system that prevents chiefs from being fired because of politics.
That doesn't mean there is no way to fire a chief on just causes, he said, adding he had won discipline cases through the Civil Service appeal process.
"You can get rid of them by cause," Wynn said, but it is "cumbersome."
Wynn said chiefs need to be cognizant of mayoral direction. The mayor sets the vision for the city, Wynn said, and the department is responsible for the security. For example, the mayor chooses which events the city will put on, the security detail is left to police.
But if the chief makes a politically unpopular decision, he or she benefits from having those Civil Service protections to keep him from getting fired on a whim. The firing must be justified.
Firefighters union representative Tim Bartini says it is the "political" aspect of the high-ranking position that the union wants to avoid. The union wants all candidates to have a fair shot based on the most objective data.
It was politics, Bartini said, that kept Czerwinski from being hired as permanent. Bartini said three candidates passed the Civil Service exam but two decided not to go after the position because of how close they were to retirement. With Czerwinski being the only one left, then Mayor James Ruberto opted to go the interim route, Bartini said, questioning why Czerwinski was good enough to be acting chief for years but not permanent.
"It would go a long way in our department for morale," he said of the difference between a permanent chief and acting.
Wynn says the interim position doesn't affect his job so much but that it is the "people's right" to know who is in charge.
"The public wants to know what the status is of their police and fire chiefs," Wynn said.
Wynn provided insight on the Civil Service process in hiring, saying he supports the system's assessment centers. They come at a cost to the city but serve as essentially a multi-day tryout led by law enforcement professionals, including putting a potential chief in real-life situations.
He said he's had officers show leadership qualities but fail the test. An assessment center added to the process would help to vet the candidates in-the-field knowledge.
Through the Civil Service hiring process, the city could opt to narrow it down to three candidates through just the exam — either through an in-house offering or statewide — could opt for just the assessment center or both. Through any number of weighted scales, the process narrows the candidate pool to the top three — the top three are further narrowed by the candidates agreement to relocate.
The city has the option to open it up to the entire state or just within the department. The unions say they would like the guys working within the department to have the first shot. Wynn said he supports a larger pool because many chiefs move from department to department and that new eyes on a position is sometimes good.
The task force is now seeking input from communities that have implemented other systems for hiring and looking at the various costs associated with the current Civil Service hiring steps.
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