http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-firehire4mar26,0,3654092.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines
By Donna Porstner
Staff Writer
March 26, 2006
STAMFORD -- The Fire Commission has adopted new hiring procedures following criticism that members tried to hire their friends and relatives over more qualified applicants.
Commissioners are now scoring applicants on a scale of 1 to 10 during interviews weighing each candidate's ability to express himself, courage, confidence, preparation for the position, ability to take orders, desire for the position, education, work history and availability to start working.
Commissioners will compare their scores for each applicant when they make hiring decisions in late May or early June, Chairman Dick Lyons said.
In the past, the process was much more informal, with some members taking detailed notes and others jotting nothing down, Lyons said. Members who took notes did not always retain their records, he said.
"What we've established is a paper trail," Lyons said. "There will be a written record available, which wasn't there before."
Applicants may request to see their interview scores, he said.
Lyons said each candidate's raw score on the written exam "factors in to some degree" and will be considered during deliberations, but the score on the oral interview will be most important.
Only applicants who passed a physical agility test last year were allowed to sit for the written exam in August. The top 120 scorers on the exam were offered interviews.
According to the new policy, "Candidates that are chosen must be smart enough to learn, strong enough to carry a person out of a building, fit enough to respond to an emergency, to be trusted and be able to take orders."
The fire commission approved the new policy and procedures during a special meeting earlier this month. Interviews began last week.
It's the second time in six months the commission has set out to hire new entry-level firefighters.
In November, the commission hired four new firefighters and named eight alternatives who would be next in line for job openings -- only to toss out the alternate list two months later after The Advocate reported that top scorers on the written exam were questioning the process.
The mayor's nephew, the fire chief's son and the son of fire Commissioner E. Gaynor Brennan were among the eight alternates.
The commission had no record of members voting on those appointments, or debating who would be hired. The minutes of the meeting where the decisions were made only said the new hires and alternates were selected "after two days of interviewing and lengthy discussion."
Top scorers on the written exam said they left their interviews with the impression that the new hires were predetermined. Three men who spoke to The Advocate on the condition of anonymity said they knew they didn't have a shot at a job when they walked into the interview and the commissioners seemed uninterested.
All said they were in the room for no more than two or three minutes and were not asked personal questions.
Commissioners have maintained that they have done nothing wrong -- Commissioner Marilyn Dussault said there is no prohibition against hiring relatives of city officials -- but said they had no choice but to start the hiring process over to defend their integrity.
The five commissioners -- three Democrats and two Republicans -- are volunteers appointed by the mayor.
In January, Director of Human Resources Dennis Murphy suggested the commission devise a rating system that would allow members to evaluate all candidates using the same criteria.
Murphy said Friday that he has reviewed the new policy -- as well as the list of interview questions -- and is pleased. All of the questions the commissioners plan to ask are "entirely appropriate and job-related," Murphy said.
"I'm satisfied," he said. "I think it's a terrific approach."
The starting salary for a Stamford Fire & Rescue firefighter is $39,356. The base salary -- not including overtime -- rises to $60,342 after five years.
Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.