Exams for jobs at EPD, EFD scheduled for Monday

The El Dorado Fire Department's Central station is seen in this News-Times file photo.
The El Dorado Fire Department's Central station is seen in this News-Times file photo.

Civil service exams for entry-level positions within the El Dorado police and fire departments will be administered at 6 p.m. Monday.

Headquarters for both departments -- Central Fire Station and the El Dorado Police Department -- will serve as testing sites for the respective applicants, said Toddy Pitard, chairman of the El Dorado Civil Service Commission, who oversees the testing process.

The exams will mark the second civil service testing cycle in 2021. Entry-level and promotional exams for both departments were administered last spring.

The EPD requested a second round of testing in the fall to fill open positions. At times this year, vacancies for the EPD have run as high as six or seven for uniformed personnel.

Police Chief Kenny Hickman and Fire Chief Chad Mosby previously said they were able to fill positions following the testing cycle in the spring.

Capt. Scott Harwell said the EPD is looking to fill three vacancies with the upcoming exams, adding that five candidates have applied for entry-level positions and signed up to take the tests.

The EPD and EFD maintain parity with 51 slots each for non-civilian positions.

"There are three official openings for the police department right now. We've had some retirements -- one was in March and the other was around the same time -- and one recent resignation," Harwell said.

One officer who resigned earlier this year to take another job returned to the EPD a couple of months later, he said. He said the EPD has also hired two other certified officers within the past couple of months.

The most recent resignation came from an officer whose fiancee, a military servicewoman, was re-assigned to another location in the northern U.S.

"He resigned to go with her. He's also in the military, in the reserves," Harwell said.

Pitard said the civil service commission will meet at 5 p.m. Monday, an hour prior to the start of the written exams.

He said commissioners will reconvene at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the EPD to finalize and certify the test results.

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