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S. B. No. 218 As IntroducedAs Introduced
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
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A BILL
To amend sections 124.44 and 124.45 of the Revised
Code to permit the legislative authority of a city
to grant the mayor authority to appoint the chief
of the police or fire departments and to provide
alternative procedures for the appointments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 124.44 and 124.45 of the Revised
Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 124.44. No The appointment of the chief of a police
department is subject to divisions (A) and (B) of this section.
(A) No positions above the rank of
patrol
officer
in the
police department shall be filled by original appointment.
Vacancies in positions above the rank of
patrol
officer
in a
police department shall be filled by promotion from among
persons
holding positions in a rank lower than the position to be
filled.
No position above the rank of
patrol officer in
a
police
department
shall be filled by any person unless
the
person has
first
passed a
competitive promotional examination.
Promotion
shall be by
successive ranks
insofar as
practicable, and no person
in a police
department shall be
promoted to a position in a higher
rank who
has not served at
least twelve months in the next lower
rank.
A municipal civil
service commission may require a period of
service of longer than
twelve months for promotion to the rank
immediately above the rank
of patrol officer.
No
competitive promotional examination shall be held unless
there
are at least two persons eligible to compete. Whenever a
municipal or civil service township civil service commission
determines that there are less than two persons holding positions
in the rank next lower than the position to be filled, who are
eligible and willing to compete,
the commission shall allow
the
persons holding positions in the then next lower rank who are
eligible, to compete with the persons holding positions in the
rank lower than the position to be filled.
An increase in the
salary or other compensation of anyone
holding a position in a
police department, beyond that fixed for
the rank in which
that
position is classified, shall be
deemed a
promotion, except as
provided in section 124.491 of the
Revised
Code.
If a
vacancy occurs in
a position above the rank of
patrol
officer in a police department, and there is no
eligible list
for
such rank,
the municipal or civil service
township civil service
commission
shall, within sixty days of
that vacancy, hold a
competitive
promotional examination. After
the examination has
been held
and an eligible list
established, the commission shall
forthwith
certify to the
appointing officer the
name of the
person
on
the list
receiving the highest rating. Upon
the
certification,
the
appointing officer shall appoint the
person so certified
within
thirty days from the date of
the certification. If there is
a
list, the commission shall,
when there is a vacancy, immediately
certify the
name
of the
person
on the list having the highest
rating,
and the
appointing authority shall appoint
that person
within thirty days
from the date of
the
certification.
No credit for seniority, efficiency, or any other reason
shall be added to an applicant's examination grade unless the
applicant achieves at least the minimum passing grade on the
examination without counting
that extra credit.
(B) The legislative authority of a city may, by a
three-fourths vote of its membership, adopt an ordinance that
grants the mayor of the city the authority to appoint the chief of
the police department, provides procedures for the appointment of
the chief of the police department that differ from the procedures
provided in this chapter so long as they comply with this
division, and that allows qualified law enforcement officers from
outside the police department to take the competitive promotional
examination for chief of the police department.
To be eligible to be appointed to the position of chief of
the police department, an applicant shall pass the competitive
promotional examination for that position. The mayor, however, may
appoint any eligible person, whether or not that person has
received the highest rating on the competitive promotional
examination, if the legislative authority has adopted an ordinance
that so provides.
Sec. 124.45. Vacancies The appointment of the chief of a
fire department is subject to divisions (A) and (B) of this
section.
(A) Vacancies in positions above the rank of
regular
fire
fighter in a fire department shall be
filled by
competitive
promotional examinations, and promotions shall be by
successive
ranks as provided in this section and sections 124.46
to 124.49 of
the Revised Code. Positions in which
those vacancies
occur
shall
be called promoted ranks.
When a vacancy occurs in the promoted rank immediately
above
the rank of regular
fire fighter, no person shall
be
eligible to
take the examination unless
the person has served
forty-eight
months, not including the person's
probationary period, in
the
rank of regular
fire fighter,
provided
that, in those
cases
when
there
are less than two
persons in the rank of regular
fire
fighter who have
served
forty-eight months, not including the
person's probationary period, in that rank and
who are willing to
take
the examination,
this service
requirement does not
apply.
When a vacancy occurs in a promoted rank, other than the
promoted rank immediately above the rank of regular
fire
fighter,
no person shall be eligible to take the examination
unless
the
person has served twelve months in the rank from
which
the
promotion is to
be made, provided
that, in those cases
when there
are less than two
persons in
that next lower
rank who have served
twelve months
in that rank and
who
are willing to take the
examination, the
twelve-month
service requirement shall not apply.
If the
nonapplication of
the twelve-month service requirement to
persons
in the next lower
rank does not produce two persons
eligible and
willing to
compete,
the same method shall be followed
by
going to
successively lower ranks until two or more persons are
eligible
and willing to compete in an examination for the vacancy.
If this process of searching successively lower ranks
reaches
the
rank of regular
fire fighter, the
forty-eight-month
service
requirement applies, provided
that, in
those cases
when that
application still fails to
produce two persons who are eligible
and willing to compete,
the forty-eight-month service
requirement
does not
apply.
If two persons are
unwilling to compete for
the
examination,
the one person
who is willing to
compete shall be
appointed to fill the vacancy
after passing a
qualifying
examination.
Promotional examinations for positions within a fire
department shall relate to those matters
that test the
ability
of
the person examined to discharge the particular duties
of the
position sought,
shall include a written testing component, and,
in
examinations for positions requiring the operation of machines
or
equipment, may include practical demonstration tests of the
operation of
those
machines or equipment as a part of the
examination.
Those persons who compete in a promotional examination in
accordance with the rules of the civil service commission shall
have added to their grade credit for seniority. Credit for
seniority shall be given as follows: one point shall be added
for
each of the first four years of service, and six-tenths of a
point
shall be added for each year for the next ten years of
service.
In
computing the credit for seniority, half of the
credit
specified
in this paragraph shall be given for a half year
of
service.
Credit for seniority shall be based only on service in
the
municipal or civil service township fire department and the
service provided for in the next succeeding paragraph.
When service in a municipal or civil service township fire
department is interrupted by service in the armed forces of the
United States, seniority credit shall be granted in promotional
examinations for the time so served. No additional credit for
military service shall be allowed in promotional examinations.
Credit for efficiency may be given as an added credit,
shall
be ten per cent of the member's efficiency rating for the
last
year, and shall be based on the record of efficiency
maintained in
the fire department in the manner established by
the
civil service
commission, provided the efficiency shall be
graded
by three
ranking officers of the fire department familiar
with the
work of
the member. In those cases
when three such
officers
do not exist,
the ranking officers or officer familiar
with the
work of the
member shall grade the efficiency.
No credit for seniority, efficiency, or any other reason
shall be added to an applicant's grade unless the applicant
achieves at least the minimum passing grade on the examination
without counting
that extra credit.
After the grading of
examination papers, any
participant
in
the examination who
considers the participant's
examination
papers to
have been erroneously graded shall have the right to
appeal to
the commission, and
the appeal
shall be
heard by the
commission.
The public notice of a holding of a promotional examination
for a position or positions in a fire department shall, unless
waived by all persons eligible to participate, be published not
less than thirty days prior to the examination and shall contain
a
description of the source material from which the examination
questions are prepared.
The source material shall be readily
accessible to the examinee. Failure to comply with this
requirement shall make void the pursuant examination. This
paragraph does not prohibit the use of questions having answers
based on experience in the fire service within the fire
department
in which the promotional examination is being given.
(B) The legislative authority of a city may, by a
three-fourths vote of its membership, adopt an ordinance that
grants the mayor of the city the authority to appoint the chief of
the fire department, provides procedures for the appointment of
the chief of the fire department that differ from the procedures
provided in this chapter so long as they comply with this
division, and that allows qualified persons from outside the fire
department to take the competitive promotional examination for
chief of the fire department.
To be eligible to be appointed to the position of chief of
the fire department, an applicant shall pass the competitive
promotional examination for that position. The mayor, however, may
appoint any eligible person, whether or not that person has
received the highest rating on the competitive promotional
examination, if the legislative authority has adopted an ordinance
that so provides.
Section 2. That existing sections 124.44 and 124.45 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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