The Mayor’s Public Safety Task Force is calling for cadet programs to be implemented for the Kansas City, Kan., police and fire departments and the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department.
The Mayor’s Public Safety Task Force will present that and other recommendations at 7 p.m. Thursday to the Unified Government Commission at City Hall.
The task force has been studying the recruitment, hiring and promotion of minorities and women in the UG public safety departments since last year. Mayor Mark Holland started the process in January 2014, and a task force was later appointed. It held community meetings and evaluated the Unified Government’s practices concerning minorities and women in public safety.
The task force met from December to May to develop its recommendations.
According to information from the UG agenda for Thursday:
The cadet program would be implemented for police, fire and sheriff’s departments under one of the proposed recommendations. The program helps with recruiting.
Also, the age would be reduced for the Fire Department from 21 to 19 under one of the proposed changes. Another recommendation is to allow permanent residents to apply for the Fire Department.
The emergency medical technician certification would be eliminated as a requirement for hiring. Instead, employees would be hired first and then provided with a path to receive their EMT certification, under the proposed change.
Recommendations for recruitment also include: publicly posting all disqualifiers; an increase in the 2015-2016 proposed budget for recruitment; to make recruitment efforts year-round, to have dedicated recruiters chosen by chiefs and sheriff; to produce recruiting literature, dated, online and in print; enhanced web and technical support for human resources; and increase partnerships with all school districts and the community colleges in Wyandotte County.
Under hiring, the task force recommends human resources-driven hiring throughout public safety. It recommends smaller academy classes for public safety; validate testing standards, psychological, physical agility, written, CVSA; provide voluntary orientation for agility training; and enhanced web and technical support for human resources.
Also, it recommends establishing a physical agility test for the Sheriff’s Department.
Applicants who receive a conditional offer for employment would get a signed release of explanation if the offer of employment is withdrawn, under these recommendations.
The task force also recommends human resources driven promotions.
The contract language would be removed that drives testing dates; human resources would have oversight for all promotional testing; and physical agility exams would be reviewed for validation.
Also recommended is an internal pathway to paramedics certification.
Long-term oversight recommendations are to provide
– Ongoing training on ethnic, general, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered sensitivity;
– The Human Relations Commission or other agency would be responsible for accountability, transparency, disallow nepotism and patronage, and monitor and validate testing.
– Increase public safety presence in all Wyandotte County schools.
The complete recommendations can be found in the UG agenda for June 4, online at www.wycokck.org.