A proposal is in the works that aims to shift hiring power from Aurora’s civil service commission to the police and fire departments, giving them more control over which candidates for entry-level officer and firefighter positions enter the training academy.

Already faced with scrutiny from the commission, the proposal will likely be the subject of a special meeting next week.

Councilmember Dustin Zvonek presented a resolution at the public safety, courts & civil service committee meeting on Thursday. The resolution is now slated to go before the full council at a study session later this month.

“This really allows … a positive change, where both departments, fire and police, would have more involvement,” Zvonek said.

The Aurora Civil Service Commission was created in 1967 by the city charter. The commission of city citizens establishes qualifications, issues exams to candidates and set certification requirements for people applying to entry-level uniformed openings in the police and fire departments, among other duties.

In the early 2000s, the commission took over almost all aspects of hiring for entry-level firefighter and police officer positions, City Attorney Pete Schulte said during committee. That means the departments have not been meeting “their new employees until they showed up at academy,” Schulte said. Schulte told the committee he is not aware of any other municipalities that hire police and fire personnel the way Aurora does.

Zvonek’s goals are twofold, he said – to more heavily involve city departments in their own hiring process and to bolster accountability.

Right now, the commission oversees entry-level hiring of officers and firefighters as well as any appeals from candidates whose applications are rejected. Zvonek’s proposal would allow departments to accept or reject applicants, and the commission to make decisions on appeals. That way two different sets of eyes see the applications, he said.

The civil service commission would continue to run background checks and give applicants exams, he said, but after that point would hand a list of certified candidates over to the city agencies. The human resources, police and fire departments would then decide who from the list can enter the training academy, Zvonek said.

Zvonek’s drafted resolution acknowledges some commissioners believe such a change requires amending the city charter, but it states that is not accurate.

Harold Johnson, who chairs the civil service commission, remains unconvinced.

“The commission believes that more research needs to be done on whether the charter must be changed,” he said. “At this point, the commission, we don’t believe that you can just do that without changing the charter.”

The commission will likely hold a special meeting next week to discuss the proposal with legal counsel, he said, declining to comment further until the commission can convene together.

“We are concerned, that’s why we are going to have a special meeting,” he said.

Interim Chief of Police Dan Oates declined an interview regarding the proposal. A spokesperson for Aurora Fire Rescue did not immediately respond to an interview request with Interim fire Chief Allen Robnett.

Former chief Vanessa Wilson was outspoken in favor of reforms that gave the chief a larger role in hiring new officers. President of the Aurora chapter of the NAACP Omar Montgomery, and a co-chair of the consent decree’s community advisory council, also has hoped the council would take action to give the fire and police departments more voice in which candidates make it to academy.

Reached by text message, Councilmember Juan Marcano said he is supportive of the proposal too. He has discussed making this change with the consent decree monitor, department leadership and city management, who are also on the same page, he said.

Aurora’s consent decree requires the city to reform the hiring process, Zvonek told The Denver Gazette, pointing to the portion of it regarding the civil service commission role in hiring for police and fire positions.

The consent decree says the Aurora Police Department and Aurora Fire Rescue should “assume a much more active role in the hiring of candidates from the eligibility lists prepared by the commission and have final say on which candidates are hired.”

“We have to make this change. It is not an option,” Zvonek said during the committee meeting.