With spring civil service exams on the horizon, the El Dorado fire and police departments have been actively recruiting.
Fire Chief Chad Mosby said that in addition to newspaper ads, they have begun targeted advertising online and are updating their recruitment advertisements weekly. The police department is currently fully staffed.
The deadline to submit an application to take the civil service exam is 4 p.m. March 23. So far, the police department has had nine requests for exam applications, while the fire department has had six applicants. The fire department has two open positions that need to be filled, and two lieutenant engineer positions that current employees will be promoted to after the exam results are certified.
The exam will begin at 6 p.m. April 2. The fire department will have their physical agility test April 3 at Memorial Stadium, slated for 1:30 p.m. but subject to change depending on the volume of applications submitted, and the police department will have their own that evening. The police will commence the oral interview part of the exam after the physical test, and the fire department will begin their interviews the next morning.
At a Civil Service Commission meeting Monday, White and Mosby helped organize a cookout with commissioners, where the exam scores will be announced. The cookout will be held at the police department, tentatively slated for 11:30 a.m. April 6.
In other business, the Civil Service Commission discussed rules and regulations. Chairman Toddy Pitard said it is a “work in progress,” and noted he has been collaborating with Bob Cooper of the Fort Smith Civil Service Commission.
Mosby said new state regulations may pass through the Legislature, something to watch as the local rules are reviewed.
New hire pamphlets for the police and fire departments have been approved, and Pitard is getting a price quote from El Dorado Printing. It was noted that the pamphlets would need to be updated whenever a new commissioner is added, and the commission decided that in the future, they will make the pamphlets so they can be edited without needing to be redesigned.
Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].