Top city officials said Wednesday that changes need to be made so they can hire more minority firefighters, but any substantial increase in minority hiring would likely require voters to change the city’s charter.
But that move is considered a last resort. Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth said she would like to see the Civil Service Commission change the testing process to include placing a higher priority on oral interviews with candidates, making a heavier recruiting effort and diversifying the firefighter cadet program to boost the numbers.
During a meeting with the city’s safety committee, Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe and members of the Fire Department discussed firefighter recruitment and hiring. The meeting came just two weeks after Denver’s Firefighters Incorporated for Racial Equality (F.I.R.E.) threatened legal action.
Earl Peterson, executive director of the Civil Service Commission charged with hiring police and firefighters, and LaCabe addressed concerns expressed by the safety committee, including that no black firefighters have been hired in six years.
“I’m ashamed of the numbers,” Peterson said. “I am not proud of this. It’s very, very frustrating to me.”
The city’s Latino police officers have also criticized recruiting and hiring, and 31 of them have filed federal bias complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice.
Currently, the charter requires the hiring of firefighters based on test scores.
For instance, in 2001, 65 of 1,200 people who applied to be firefighters were black. Even when black applicants attain high scores, the sheer numbers of non-minority applicants often has them scoring less than the top qualifiers, LaCabe said.
“It’s almost an impossibility when you are dealing with a system that ranks people in numerical order,” LaCabe said, adding he has seen minority applicants who are qualified but score slightly lower than others. “When you rank by way of a computer graded test, there are things that you simply do not take into consideration: Your community involvement, experience, and desire to be on the job.”
Changing the ranking system would mean changing the city charter that governs hiring practices and possibly fending off accusations of reverse-discrimination or gender discrimination.
“Whatever you do, there is going to be a legal challenge from somewhere,” LaCabe said.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
