Fire election sparks debate From the cover
The big picture
Frisco hiring
Standard civil service hiring
• Overseen by city • Must have high school diploma or GED • Must be at least 18 years old
• Overseen by three-citizen Civil Service Commission • Must have high school diploma or GED • Must be between 18-35 years old • Application • Score at least a 70 on a written test with additional points given for military service members • Physical ability tests
Civil service is a system with a three-citizen commission and tests to assess the hiring, ring and promotion of re ghters. Collective bargaining allows re representatives to negotiate for annual contracts and department rules with the city. To understand civil service better, Frisco residents can look to Plano, which adopted it in the 1970s. “[Civil service] never impacted my ability to hire, terminate, promote, demote, whatever I needed to do,” said Sam Greif, Plano’s current deputy city manager and former re chief. Under civil service, re ghter terminations would go through the three-citizen commission for review before any action is taken. Before Plano, Greif started his career in Fort Worth, which adopted civil service in the 1950s and collective bargaining in 2007. The two systems are nothing to be afraid of, Greif said. Collective bargaining requires department and city o cials to agree to terms including sick leave,
• Application • Written test • Physical ability tests • Background check • Interview before a board • Fire chief interview • Polygraph • Psychological evaluation • Medical check
SOURCE: CITY OF FRISCO, CITY OF PLANO COMMUNITY IMPACT
bene ts and pay, Greif said. If neither side can agree, a judge steps in for the nal decision, he said. Safety First Frisco member Bill Woodard, also a Frisco City Council member, said the structures could hurt the city’s progress by removing Frisco o cials’ ability to manage the department. Woodard said he participates in the political action committee as a citizen and any city statements would come from its communications department.
City o cials declined interview requests. The items already have some residential approval, Frisco Fire Fighters Association President Matt Sapp said. Over 5,000 signatures were collected across two petitions last summer to put the items on the ballot, according to city documents. Woodard and the rest of council signed an open letter in August encouraging residents not to sign the association’s petitions.
What they’re saying
“[Frisco has] phenomenal employees that work so hard for the residents of Frisco, and we’ve built a great city because of that
“[Civil service] takes some of the arbitrariness out that happens in a city where they miss steps. You’ve got state law on your
“It’s one of the best, cost-e ective ways to create a fair, transparent workplace … . It’s part of Texas
over the last 30 years ... We haven’t needed collective bargaining or civil service to build that great city.”
state law – supported by Republicans, Democrats and Independents. JOHN RIDDLE, TEXAS STATE ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS PRESIDENT
side—just follow the law, follow the procedures.” SAM GREIF, PLANO DEPUTY CITY MANAGER
BILL WOODARD, SAFETY FIRST FRISCO MEMBER
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