Westfield Fire Department patch. (WNG File Photo)
WESTFIELD – The Westfield Fire Commission held a special meeting on Thursday afternoon in order to discuss a situation they are facing with the fire chief’s exam.
Albert Masciadrelli, Chairman of the commission, started off the meeting by giving an overview of the issue. The state of Massachusetts Civil Service department has been changing the civil service exams over the years and, recently, the fire commission learned that the state will no longer be offering civil service exams for deputy chiefs looking to become fire chiefs.
Because of this change the City of Westfield would have to hire an assessment center to take care of their process of selecting the next fire chief.
Masciadrelli addressed the problem by saying that the assessment center process could bring a negative financial impact to the city.
“Now it’s going to start affecting municipalities by cost,” said Mascidrelli.
According to Masciadrelli, the commission has been doing its research on this matter and have received quotes of anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 for the city to hire an assessment center.
The Westfield Fire Commission discussed the dilemma with the fire chief’s exam on late Thursday afternoon. (Photo courtesy of Greg Fitzpatrick)
Investigating other avenues to avoid the high cost, Masciadrelli is considering removing the fire chief position from the civil service test which would then allow the City’s fire department to keep the same in-house process that they have used in the past to select a chief.
The Westfield Fire Department currently has five deputies and one option is to allow all five deputies to be eligible and apply for the position if they choose to do so.
With only one member of the department qualified under the civil service to apply for chief at this time, it is a concern for the commission. Fire Chief Mary Regan is expected to retire at some point after FY (Fiscal Year) 2018.
The option of paying the cost for an assessment center may not be the popular choice at the moment, however, the next step is for the commission to meet with Mayor Sullivan to discuss what the city has for money and what option would be best.
Masciadrelli also said that this issue will be discussed again at their next meeting.
