Everett sets assessment-center timeline for permanent fire chief, union and HR outline May target

The Everett City Council received an update Tuesday on the long-running effort to appoint a permanent fire chief, with the administration and Everett Firefighters Local 143 describing a jointly agreed assessment-center process and a target timeline for mid-May.

Terri Ronko, the city's human resources director, told the council, "We have secured the assessment center in partnership with Civil Service" and said the vendor is meeting with city staff this week to set evaluation details. Ronko said the administration expects a resolution on hiring practice by May and that the vendor-conducted assessments are being coordinated with state civil-service procedures.

Tom Ross, president of Everett Firefighters Local 143, confirmed the union's 2022 agreement to use an assessment center and said candidates (the deputy chiefs) would have a three-month preparation window; he and union officials described an anticipated timeline "for a permanent sitting chief by sometime in early to mid May." The union said the assessment center will be vetted through Civil Service and the resulting scores will be combined with traditional civil-service education and experience information to form a certified list.

Councilors pressed for clarity on whether the mayor must appoint the top candidate. The legal and administrative explanation given to the council was that civil service will publish a certified ranked list based on combined scores and that the mayor typically appoints the number-one candidate from that list. Councilors also requested roll-call and public updates; the council voted to expect a full update from HR and administration at its Feb. 26 meeting.

Next steps: HR and the union will meet the vendor and return to the council with a progress update at the February 26 meeting, and council offices will monitor scheduling and candidate eligibility.