(A) Notice of examinations. Examinations shall be held on the dates fixed by the Board and advertised in a local paper in accordance with the Statutes of the State of Illinois. Examinations may be postponed, however, by order of the Commission, which order shall state the reason for such postponement and shall designate a new date for said examination. Applicants shall be notified of the postponement of any examination and of the new date fixed for said examination.
(B) Examinations. The Board shall call examinations to fill vacancies in the class of service in which vacancies are liable to occur. A call for such examination shall be entered in the minutes of the Board and shall include a statement of:
(1) The time and place where such examination will be held.
(2) The location where applications may be obtained and the date by which applications must be returned to the Board.
(3) The position to be filled from the resulting eligibility list.
(C) Type of examinations. Applicants must attend the orientation program sponsored by the Board. In addition, applicants may be required to participate in a physical aptitude test, written and oral examinations as determined by the Board and as more particularly set forth in division (D) below. No examination shall contain questions regarding applicant’s political or religious opinions or affiliations.
(D) Examinations–minimum grade. The following examinations may be conducted by the Board. The sequence of testing may vary at the discretion of the Board. Failure to achieve the minimum passing grade in any examination disqualifies the applicant from any further participation. Each weighted component of the examination process shall be based upon a scale of one to 100.
EXAMINATIONS | % OF TOTAL GRADE | MINIMUM PASSING |
EXAMINATIONS | % OF TOTAL GRADE | MINIMUM PASSING |
Orientation | - | Attendance mandatory |
Physical aptitude test | - | ** |
Written test | 67% | |
Oral test (interview) | 33% | |
Polygraph test | - | Pass or Fail |
Background investigation | - | Pass or Fail |
Conditional Offer of Employment | ||
Psychological examination | - | Pass or Fail |
Medical examination | - | Pass or Fail |
* To be announced by the Board prior to conducting the examination and may vary based upon the examination or the testing agency used by the Board. ** This test may be administered on a pass/fail basis or given solely for demonstration purposes. Certification that a firefighter candidate has successfully, within the 12 months immediately preceding the conduct of the written test, passed the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT), as licensed and approved by the International Fire Chiefs Association and the International Association of Fire Fighters, satisfies the candidate’s obligation to complete the physical aptitude test component of this screening process. Note: To any person who is entitled to military, educational or law enforcement certification preference points whose name appears on the register of eligibles, the Board shall add five points (ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, §§ 10-2.1-8 and 5/10-2.1-9) upon request of the applicant. Firefighter/paramedic preference points shall be awarded in accordance with division (J) below. | ||
(E) Original appointment–physical aptitude test. All applicants may be required to submit themselves to a physical aptitude test.
(F) Original appointment–written examinations. Information as to the type of written examination employed by the Board will be provided as part of the orientation program. All examination papers shall be and remain the property of the Board and the grading thereof by the Board shall be final and conclusive and not subject to review by any other board or tribunal of any kind or description. Candidates who fail to achieve a passing grade will be notified and eliminated from all further consideration.
(G) Eligibility registers–police officer.
(1) The Commissioners will prepare an initial eligibility register of the candidates successfully completing the orientation, written test, oral test (interview), and physical aptitude test, if any. Candidates shall be placed on the eligibility list in order of their relative excellence as determined by their test scores. The candidates will be listed in order of excellence based on their final score.
(2) This register is subject to change with the addition of any claimed preference points as prescribed in ILCS Ch. 65, Act 5, §§ 10-2.1-8 and 10-2.1-9(a) and (b). Candidates who are eligible for veteran, educational or law enforcement certification preference points, shall make a claim in writing with proof thereof within ten days after the date of the first posting of the initial eligibility list or such claim shall be deemed waived.
(3) A dated copy of the final eligibility register, duly adjusted with preference points awarded, shall be sent to each person appearing thereon.
(4) A candidate’s name shall be stricken from an initial eligibility register or a subsequent final register after the name has been on the initial eligibility register for a period exceeding two years.
(H) Final eligibility register–police officer.
(1) Final appointment for the Police Department shall be from the names appearing on the final eligibility register.
(2) The Board shall select a number of candidates (the number to be determined at the discretion of the Board and announced at orientation) from the top of the initial eligibility list who shall be required to submit to an oral interview to be conducted by the Board and, if successful, whose names will be included on the final eligibility register.
(3) The names of the applicants shall be placed upon the final eligibility register in rank order, highest first. Rank order shall be based upon the applicant’s total cumulative score which shall be calculated as follows:
(a) Within ten days after the posting of the initial eligibility register, applicants, whose names appear thereon, shall make a claim for preference points. Failure to timely make a claim for preference points shall constitute a waiver thereof. Preference points shall be awarded as follows:
1. Residency points - 5 points. Applicants who maintain their principal personal residence within the boundaries of the village at the time of application shall receive five preference points. Proof of residency must be shown in order to obtain the points.
(b) Oral interview score multiplied by 33%.
(4) In the event a final eligibility register
is exhausted prior to the expiration of the initial eligibility register, the Board may establish another final eligibility register in accordance with divisions (H)(1) through (3) above.
(5) Applicants shall be appointed from the eligibility list in descending order. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained within these rules and regulations, the Board may, at its discretion, choose to appoint an applicant, for a police officer’s position, who has been awarded a certificate attesting to his or her successful completion of the Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement Training Course, as provided in the Illinois Police Training Act, ahead of non-certified applicants.
(6) Appointment from the final eligibility register is subject to satisfactorily passing or completing an in-depth psychological examination, a polygraph test, background investigation, and a thorough medical examination (which may include a test of the applicant’s vision and hearing, a test for the presence of communicable diseases as well as a test to screen for the use of drugs and/or narcotics).
(H) Preliminary eligibility list–firefighter. The Commissioners will prepare a preliminary eligibility register of the candidates who have attended the orientation, passed the written test and who are currently certified as having successfully passed the CPAT test as set forth in division (D) above. Candidates shall be placed on the initial eligibility list in the order of their relative excellence as determined by their written test scores.
(I) Preliminary eligibility list–firefighter. The Commissioners will prepare a preliminary eligibility register of the candidates who have attended the orientation, passed the written test and who are currently certified as having successfully passed the CPAT test as set forth in division (D) above. Candidates shall be placed on the initial eligibility list in the order of their relative excellence as determined by their written test scores.
(J) Initial eligibility list–firefighters.
(1) The Board shall select a number of candidates (the number to be determined at the discretion of the Board and announced at orientation) from the top of the preliminary eligibility list who shall be required to submit to an oral interview to be administered by the Board and, if successful, their names will be included on the initial eligibility register.
(2) The names of the applicants shall be placed upon the initial eligibility register in rank order, highest first. All scored examinations shall be based upon a scale of one to 100. Rank order shall be based upon the applicant’s total cumulative score which shall be calculated as follows:
(a) Original written test score multiplied by 67%; and
(b) Oral interview score multiplied by 33%.
(K) Final eligibility list–firefighter.
(1) Within ten days after the posting of the initial eligibility register, applicants, whose names appear thereon, shall make a claim for preference points. Failure to timely make a claim for preference points shall constitute a waiver thereof. Preference points shall be awarded as follows:
(a) Military preference - 5 points. Awarded to applicants who have served a minimum of 12 months on active duty in the service of the U. S.
military and who have either been honorably discharged or, in lieu of an honorable discharge, are still serving in an active or inactive reserve status.
(b) Fire cadet training - none.
(c) Education preference - 5 points. Candidates must have an associate’s degree in fire science or emergency medical services from an accredited community or junior college or a bachelor’s degree in any field from an accredited college or university.
(d) Paramedic preference - none.
(e) Experience points - none. See additional preference below.
(f) Residency points - 5 points. Applicants who maintain their principal personal residence within the boundaries of the village at the time of application shall receive five preference points. Proof of residency must be shown in order to obtain the points.
(g) Additional points - none.
(2) Applicants shall be appointed from the final eligibility register in descending order. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Commission, at its discretion, may bypass a higher ranking candidate and appoint a lower ranking candidate if, in the Commission’s opinion, the lower ranking candidate is more qualified for the position and that candidate’s name appears within the top 5% of the names remaining on the list or, if there are less than 100 names remaining on the list, the applicant’s name is within the top five names remaining on the list.
(3) Appointment from the final eligibility register is subject to satisfactorily passing or completing an in-depth psychological examination, a polygraph test, background investigation, and a thorough medical examination (which may include a test of the applicant’s vision and hearing, a test for the presence of communicable diseases as well as a test to screen for the use of drugs and/or narcotics). A conditional offer of employment shall be made prior to an applicant submitting to the in-depth psychological examination and the medical exam.
(L) Professional examinations and tests.
(1) Each applicant for original appointment shall submit to a psychological examination by such psychologist or psychiatrist as the Board may designate. Such examination shall be without expense to the applicant. Failure of the applicant to take or successfully complete such test shall eliminate him or her from further consideration.
(2) Any applicant for original appointment to the Fire or Police Department of the Village of Bellwood, Illinois, may be required to submit to a polygraph device deceptive test, commonly known as a lie detector test, at such time and place as the Board may designate. Such test shall be given without expense to the applicant. Failure of the applicant to take or successfully complete such test shall disqualify him or her to enter upon the duties of the office for which the application for examination was filed.
(3) Medical examinations shall be performed by a licensed physician.
(M) Probationary appointment.
(1) All vacancies in the Fire or Police Departments shall be filled by individuals from the final eligibility register.
(2) All original appointments to the Police Department shall be for a probationary period of 18 months. All original appointments to the Fire Department shall be for a period of 12 months. The probationary period of a newly appointed firefighter or police officer shall commence as of the first date said individual reports for work with the Department. A probationary period may be tolled for those periods of time a probationaiy employee, is unable or unavailable to perform his or her assigned duties due to required training or due to injury or illness (whether or not job-related) if such periods of absence exceed 30 days.
(3) Any person whose name appears on the final eligibility register may decline appointment. Should an applicant choose to decline an appointment twice, it shall be the option of the Board to strike from or maintain upon the register the name of such candidate without otherwise altering the candidate’s original position on the final eligibility register.
(4) Probationary employees may be summarily dismissed by the Board and are not entitled to the protection afforded to other full-time officers or firefighters by statute or these rules.
(N) Certification.
(1) Final certification of probationary police officers shall be subject to successful completion of the Basic Training Course as provided by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board within the prescribed probationary period. Inability to successfully complete this course shall be grounds for dismissal.
(2) Final certification of probationary firefighter/paramedics shall be subject to successful completion of the Certified Firefighter Basic Training Course as prescribed by the Illinois Fire Protection Personnel Standard and Education Board within the prescribed probationary period. Inability to successfully complete this course shall be grounds for dismissal. Firefighters serving as paramedics shall also be required to maintain their certification as paramedics. Inability to successfully complete these courses or failure to maintain paramedic certification shall be grounds for dismissal.
(Ord. 12-38, passed 10-17-12; Am. Ord. 16-18, passed 8-17-16; Am. Ord. 16-20, passed 9-21-16)