The Mississippi State Minimum Standards Board voted down a critical exam for the city of Jackson's class of firefighters today, saying the city had broken a standard rule while administering the Candidate Physical Ability Test.
"In order to meet the entrance requirements for the certification, a Mississippi State Fire Academy representative or a monitor qualified by academy personnel needs to be at the location of the CPAT, and you're stating that you did not have that?" Board President Ellis Koonce asked Assistant Fire Chief Vernon Hughes at today's board meeting.
"I did not have a monitor from the state or a representative of the board, if that's what you're asking," Hughes replied.
"Were you advised of that (need)?" Koonce asked.
"I don't recall specifically as to what needed to be done or whose presence (was required) at that time. ... We were under considerable pressure by the administration because of the shortage of manpower, and we did the best we could under the circumstances," Hughes said.
Board member Reggie Bell argued on behalf of the city.
"I discussed with Chief Hughes the CPAT program. At that time he told me that he had permission from you (Koonce) to do the class and to do CPAT. ... We were told the dates you had given approval for, but (with) my schedule at the academy, I had nobody who (was available) on those dates," Bell said. "We're a board that's known for leniency. I stood for Vernon on that and (the CPAT) was conducted."
Hughes added that he had recorded the May 11 administration of the CPAT test for perusal by the board.
"We videoed the entire CPAT process and had persons from the personnel department and people from the legal department to see if the we were following guidelines," he said.
The recording wasn't enough to satisfy the board. A majority of members said they feared the board would be liable for potential legal problems if they approved an unsupervised test. That majority voted to nullify the certification.
"The motion fails," Koonce proclaimed after the vote. "Mr. Huges, we'll have another board meeting in June. ... Speak with the secretary, and we'll go from there."
Local firefighter's union president Capt. Brandon Falcon said the decision might mean that the 25 fire academy trainees--whittled down from 62 original applicants--who successfully passed background checks and completed the department's strenuous training period have likely wasted their time.
"May 25 is one year from the beginning of the testing cycle," Falcon said. "So the question is: Does our exam expire tomorrow? Do we have to start over from ground zero when we're already 50 firemen short?"
The delay in graduates comes at an inopportune time. The city's fire department is critically short 60 people, and about 80 firefighters on the payroll have filed their intent to retire soon. The shortage adds to overtime because federal requirements require a certain number of firefighters occupy each station at all times. The city reported in April that overtime in the fire departments was projected to run $1.1 million over budget, making up more than a quarter of the city's $3.9 million budget shortfall.
"This speaks to the lack of sound leadership in the fire department," Councilman Marshand Crisler said. "You cannot run a fire department without a director, and right now we don't have a director in this very critical city department."
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