Meanwhile, the provisional rankings of Fire Chief Brian Rooney and Police Chief Anthony Armeno, who formerly had acting status, have been extended until permanent chiefs are appointed, the result of a recent Civil Service Commission decision, said Ralph Jacobs, the city's personnel director. He added that he hopes to fill those jobs permanently in six to 10 weeks.

Several City Council members had questioned how long the chiefs would be allowed to hold provisional status.

Workers in provisional positions — used when a promotional exam has not been given for jobs that need to be filled quickly — are supposed be rotated every four calendar months, according to the city's charter.

The commission, however, also recently voted to stop making provisional appointments until Jacobs develops a testing and rotation plan for all other municipal jobs held on a provisional basis.

"I have 120 days to solve this decades-old problem," he said.

The charter also requires provisional workers to have one to three years of experience, and appointments can be made only "to prevent the stoppage of public business."

Minority firefighter groups have complained for years about a lack of rotation in jobs designated provisional, a problem that should be corrected, Jacobs said.

"We're in the process of putting together a testing schedule," said Jacobs, who was hired earlier this year.

The Bridgeport Fire Fighters Association Local 834 sued to require the scheduling of promotional exams, Jacobs said.

In addition to the chief, the Fire Department has one provisional deputy chief, 10 provisional assistant chiefs, 12 provisional captains and 10 provisionals in other ranks, according to Jacobs. Another provisional deputy chief retired in August. Many have been provisional for several years, including Rooney, who was a provisional deputy chief for seven years.

The issue resurfaced when the Civil Service Commission recently granted provisional status to two acting assistant fire chiefs, Richard Farrell and Dominick Carfi. They did not get raises, but had been paid $64,102 a year as acting officials.

The Bridgeport Hispanic Firefighters Association opposed the move. It also claimed that many of the provisional assistant chiefs do not have the experience outlined in a court ruling.

It is not the first time the provisional term has caused problems.

Earlier this year, elevating Rooney and Armeno to provisional status and giving them raises upset several City Council members.

Both Armeno and Rooney were initially named acting chiefs of their departments while city officials conduct a search to fill both jobs on a permanent basis.

They must still test for the jobs if they apply, along with the candidates from the national searches. About 25 people have applied for police chief and 18 for fire chief as of last week. Neither of the provisional chiefs has applied, Jacobs said.

The deadline for fire and police chief applications is today.

Armeno's salary rose from $87,258 to $97,960 when he became acting police chief, while Rooney's rose from $80,748 to $97,960. Their raises result from being named acting chiefs, but coincided with being appointed provisional leaders, Jacobs said.

Both can retire at the higher pay rate as provisional chiefs. If they lost the provisional rank, Armeno and Rooney would have returned to acting chiefs and could not have retired with the raises, he said.

As a result of a grievance in which an officer facing discipline claimed he was passed over for a promotion, the Board of Police Commissioners is also wrestling with the exact definition of the provisional and acting ranks.

Aaron Leo, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6222.