Madison Township disbands its Civil Service Commission

Nov. 12—Madison Township Police Department no longer will use civil service testing as a step in hiring new officers.

That change went into effect Nov. 8 when Madison Township trustees, at their regular meeting, voted unanimously to abolish the community's Civil Service Commission.

The approval of that resolution came about two weeks after civil service testing for police-officer applicants was a major topic of discussion at the Oct. 25 township trustees meeting.

During that gathering, Police Chief Matthew Byers requested that trustees disband the Civil Service Commission. He explained how civil service testing has become a hindrance in attempts to recruit and hire officers in a timely manner, when openings arise at the township Police Department.

Byers noted that the number of people taking Madison Township's civil service tests in recent years had dwindled to 10 or 11 applicants per exam. After background checks are performed on those same candidates, Byers said he would end up with a list of perhaps eight people who were still in the running to work as officers.

Of that number, Byers said he would be permitted to hire from the top six test takers. And those would be the only candidates he could choose from, during a one-year period or sometime longer, to employ as police officers.

In the meantime, Byers said opportunities would arise to hire top-notch police academy graduates or well-qualified officers from other departments.

But because they hadn't taken the civil test, he couldn't hire these candidates. Byers said these same prospects typically had no problem getting employment offers from other area police departments that didn't require civil service testing.

Byers, at the Nov. 8 trustees meeting, said civil service testing for the hiring of new officers in the township had outlived its usefulness.

"For right now, with the national emergency that police departments are having in hiring (police officers), (civil service) is handicapping us (at the Madison Township Police Department)," Byers said.

The Civil Service Commission was established by trustees in 1980 to oversee civil service tests given to people who applied to become police officers.

Patrick Walsh, who was the township's police chief at that time, convinced trustees to implement the testing shortly after he was appointed to lead the community's law-enforcement agency.

Trustee Kenneth Gauntner Jr., who was appointed as township administrator in 1982, said he had discussions with Walsh about why he was a proponent of civil service testing.

"It was a growing police department then, and (Walsh) was trying to professionalize the department," Gauntner said at the Oct. 25 township trustees meeting. "The hiring wasn't quite the way it ought to be. I think there was a lot of pressure being put on the police chief at the time to hire this friend or that friend and what have you."

During the Nov. 8 meeting, Gauntner said civil service testing served its purpose many years ago in Madison Township.

"But now (civil service) is hurting us," Gauntner said. "It's not helping us, and I think the chief's recommendation to disband it is appropriate."

Eliminating testing for new police officers "puts (Madison Township) back on an even playing field with other police agencies and departments that allows us to try and get the best and the brightest that are coming right out of the law enforcement schools," Gauntner said.

Trustee Max Anderson Jr., a retired township police officer, said he also favored dropping civil service testing for new patrolmen. He said eliminating that requirement also will make it easier to hire experienced officers from other law-enforcement agencies who want to do the same job in Madison Township.

Although Byers is pleased to see the end of the tests for hiring new police officers, he emphasized that competitive testing still will used for promotions within the department. The main difference will be that a Civil Service Commission won't administer the examinations.

"I don't have any intention of changing how we're promoting right now," he said.