By Ann Barks
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Copyright 2007 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company
ST. TAMMANY, La. — A drive to mandate higher education courses or degrees for promotion within St. Tammany Fire Protection District 1 has been met with opposition from the local firefighters union, though some firefighters are supportive of the initiative by Fire Chief Larry Hess.
The proposal has dominated the agenda of the district’s Board of Commissioners for two months. At this month’s meeting, Commission Chairman Calvin Kline charged a special committee to recommend what standards or incentives, if any, should be enacted.
Hess said the proposed changes were made to “establish some basis of promotion other than the existing Civil Service” system that allows candidates with sufficient on-the-job time to test for advancement, with those passing being promoted based on years on the job.
After hearing from firefighters at the March commission meeting, the proposed standards were revised to lower the mandated educational requirements from the initial proposal. The new recommendations presented this month were: those promoted to leadership positions such as captain will need to have seven core courses in college-level subjects of the fire science associate’s degree curriculum; and deputy chiefs would need to have a fire science associate’s degree. The proposal that chiefs have a bachelor’s degree and the fire chief have a master’s degree has been dropped, Hess said.
The initial proposal was five months in development, Hess told the commissioners, and was brought forward only after he’d met with all employees of the district.
From the remarks by firefighters at the commission meeting, Hess said, he believes there is concurrence that there is a need to “establish some recognized promotion standards.”
Chris Duffaunt, president of the Slidell Fire Fighters Association Local 2455 (SFFA), said the union opposes mandatory college classes and degrees as a requirement for promotion because they are unfair to those with financial or family obligations that would make class attendance onerous. Duffaunt and SSFA attorney Louis Robein also questioned the legality of the process to make the changes. They said such changes can only be enacted after a vote by the local Civil Service Board with the approval of the state examiner.
Robein said another concern was the “reasonableness” of a mandatory education requirement, noting that the commission’s human resources consultant’s study of other fire districts in Louisiana had determined that they allowed substitution of years of experience for higher education.
Several speakers at the March meeting of the commission voiced opposition to the new requirements as devaluing the job experience of long-time firefighters who may now find that promotions are out of reach.
Others voiced opinions that higher training or a degree is a “solid foundation” for management and delivering effective service to the community.
After hearing a report from the district’s human resources consultant, Leo Jackson of PMI, Kline said the commission felt the recommendations were not realistic. However, he said he feels the commission still wants to “improve the quality of leadership in the department.” He said the committee that will examine the proposed standards and alternatives should report back at the May meeting.
The commission’s next meeting is set for May 16, 5:30 p.m., at the district’s Training Academy, 34780 S. Range Road, Camp Villere.