Aurora – The way police officers and firefighters are hired and promoted will be up to voters in November after the City Council on Monday approved ballot issues that would change the city’s charter.
City officials believe the decades-old Civil Service Commission is cumbersome, rigid and doesn’t allow the police and fire chiefs discretion in hiring and promotion.
But police and fire union officials argue against the changes, saying the Civil Service Commission guards against the good-old-boy system and is in place to make sure an unbiased hiring process picks the best candidates for jobs.
It’s a debate that likely will continue into the fall, when voters consider wholesale changes to the civil service process. Those changes include:
Switch hiring responsibilities from the Civil Service Commission to the city’s human resources office.
Allow the police chief to choose among candidates for captain who score within five points of the top score on the civil service exams.
Change terms for civil service commissioners, including shortening their terms from six to three years and allow them to be removed by a unanimous council vote.
Extend probationary periods for police officers and firefighters from six months to one year.
The council discarded a controversial ordinance that would have asked voters to allow the chief to promote one of the top three scorers on a civil service exam.
Both Police Chief Dan Oates and Fire Chief Casey Jones say they are handcuffed by rules that mandate the promotion of the top scorer in civil service exams. They say that diversifying the top ranks is difficult because of those restrictions.
“We are asking for more accountability,” Oates said. “Now we don’t have any substantive say in who gets hired.”
Both police and fire union heads disagreed with the proposal.
“We strongly stand behind a promotion based on merit, rather than having a latte with the chief,” said Bryan Butler, vice president of the Aurora Police Association. “A less qualified officer for the city means less revenue … less dependability to the citizens of Aurora.”
Off-duty police officers and firefighters crowded the council chambers and at one point were scolded by Mayor Ed Tauer for cheering for the police union’s attorney.
In other business, the council decided to levy an administrative fee on sex offenders to pay for tracking them. The fee could be one of the highest in the metro region, said Deputy City Manager Frank Ragan.
It would charge sex offenders $140 for new registration, $75 for re-registration with a new address and $55 for re-registration with the same address. The council also agreed to provide newly registered sex offenders a payment plan to afford the charges.
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer may be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
