(A) To be eligible for appointment to the Fire Department, an applicant must be:
(1) A legal resident of the United States at the time of application;
(2) A high school graduate or equivalent at the time of application;
(3) At least 21 years of age on the day that the application process closes, but under 36 years of age on the date of employment, which is the date that a member completes all of the conditions in the conditional offer of employment and is sworn in by the City Clerk. However, the age requirements do not apply to a person who has been previously employed as a member of a qualified fire department or who has prior military experience consistent with state law. A qualified fire department is one which participates in the Indiana State Pension Relief System (Act of 1977); and
(4) Accepted by the Indiana State Pension System (INPRS Act of 1977 for Fire and Police).
(B) No one may appeal any part of the hiring process, unless otherwise described herein.
(C) To be reappointed to the Department, persons must meet all the requirements for appointment. If they meet those requirements, they are automatically placed in the next Academy class.
(D) A person may not be appointed or reappointed if the person has a felony conviction of record.
(E) Applications for appointment or reappointment to the Department must be filed with the appropriate city agency. The applicant must produce satisfactory proof of the date and place of the applicant’s birth.
(F) Applicants for appointment to the Department must pass the general aptitude test required under state law. The general aptitude test shall: (1) reflect the essential functions of the job; (2) be conducted according to procedures adopted by the Commission; (3) be administered in a manner that reasonably accommodates the needs of disabled applicants; and (4) the written test will be provided, validated and scored by a testing agency. The results of the general aptitude test shall be filed with the Fire Administration. A minimum score of 70% shall be required to be placed on the eligibility list.
(G) Applicants for appointment or reappointment shall successfully complete within the allotted time of ten minutes and 20 seconds the Candidate Physical Ability Testing (“CPAT”), which assesses a candidate’s physical ability to perform the essential job functions of a firefighter consistent with the job description of a member. Applicants who fail to successfully complete the CPAT in under ten minutes and 20 seconds will be ineligible for hire.
(H) Applicants shall then be rated on the selection criteria and testing methods adopted by the Commission, which may include mental alertness, character, habits, and reputation. The Fire Administration shall place the names of applicants with passing scores on an eligibility list by the order of their scores on their general aptitude test and oral interview and shall submit the list to the Commission for approval.
(I) The following parameters shall be used to score and rank applicants:
(1) Diverse panels will be used to interview candidates to determine stress tolerance, ability to reason and solve problems, flexibility, ability to work as an effective team member, strength of interpersonal relations, support of diversity, service orientation, professional integrity, motivation and preparation for a public safety career, continuous learning and achievement striving, and strength of verbal communications.
(2) The panel will score the applicants based upon their answers to specific questions.
(3) A minimum score of 70% shall be required for placement on the eligibility list.
(J) The Fire Chief will determine the number of applicants to be given a conditional offer of employment. An average of the general aptitude test score and the oral interview score will be used to rank the applicants. Applicants will be placed on the eligibility list in the order of their ranking. Only those candidates who have passed the general aptitude test, the oral interview, and the CPAT will be placed on the eligibility list. Pursuant to state law, 5% will then be awarded to those applicants who have been honorably discharged from military service and children of professional municipal firefighters or police officers killed in the line of duty.
(1) Those on the eligibility list will be subject to a background investigation prior to proceeding with the required examinations identified in applicable state law.
(2) If an applicant reaches the applicant’s thirty-sixth birthday while still on the eligibility list, the applicant’s name shall be removed from the eligibility list, unless otherwise eligible under state law.
(3) The eligibility list remains effective for two years from the date of certification unless the Commission terminates or extends the expiration date of the list upon petition by the Fire Chief.
(K) When the Fire Chief deems it appropriate to fill vacancies in the Department, the Commission, upon request of the Fire Chief, shall direct the Fire Administration to administer the physical agility test required under state law to the appropriate number of applicants having the highest score on the eligibility list or to an applicant who completes a lateral transfer process established by the Fire Chief and approved by the Commission. If a selected applicant successfully completes the physical agility test, the applicant shall then be given a conditional offer of employment if:
(1) The applicant passes the required examinations identified in state law; and
(2) The applicant passes the background check.
(L) All appointments are probationary for a period not to exceed one year from the date of swearing in, unless extended by the Commission on petition by the Fire Chief or as otherwise stated herein. The Fire Chief has sole discretion to establish reasonable conditions and requirements for successful completion of the probationary period. Prior to the expiration of the probationary period, the Fire Chief may notify the member and the Union that the Fire Chief is investigating whether the member’s performance is satisfactory. Such notice suspends the expiration of the probationary period for that probationary member. If the Fire Chief determines that a probationary member’s conduct or capacity is not satisfactory or that a probationary member has not satisfied any of the conditions and requirements of successful completion of the probationary period, the Fire Chief may notify the Commission in writing of that determination, and make a recommendation that the probationary period be extended or that the probationary member be terminated from employment. The Fire Administration shall provide a copy of that notification and recommendation to the probationary member. The probationary member, within ten days of service of such notification, may request a hearing of the matter before the Commission, and that request shall be granted. The probationary period for the probationary member shall be extended until the Commission renders its decision regarding the Fire Chief's recommendation. In all other cases, at the end of the probationary period, the member is considered regularly employed. In no case shall the probationary period extend beyond two years from the date of swearing in.
(Ord. G-22-22, passed 12-13-22)