Parks hiring strained by new fingerprinting rule; staff describe recruitment and training plans

Parks department staff told the board that a new state fingerprinting requirement for municipal youth workers has lengthened the hiring pipeline and is creating a practical barrier to bringing part‑time staff onto payroll.

Ken Hissler, assistant director of recreation, described the standard hiring workflow: job posting, interviews and a conditional offer followed by a background check, controlled‑substance test and fingerprinting. “It’s a 6 to 7 week process to go from I created the posting… to get them on payroll,” Hissler said, adding that the fingerprint results are mailed to HR and must arrive before an employee can be placed on payroll.

Staff said the fingerprinting rule applies to municipal employers but not to private clubs or many nonprofits, and that the delayed results are especially burdensome for teenagers who must miss school for testing and then wait to be cleared. The department is paying for lifeguard training and Red Cross certification but asks new hires to commit to a minimum number of hours in return.

The board heard staffing metrics: the department averages 1,800–2,000 part‑time employees on payroll annually, brings on about 300–350 new part‑time employees each year, and typically needs roughly 200 part‑time staff to run all pools at peak season and about 250 staff for summer camps. Retention was described as generally strong given the training investments and targeted recruitment at schools, job fairs and college job boards.

Members asked whether the fingerprinting requirement could be amended or administratively sped up. Staff said the law delegates fingerprinting to sheriff or police and that conversations are occurring at the General Assembly level about implementation and scope but offered no immediate remedy.

Why it matters: the requirement affects the department’s ability to staff pools, camps and special events on schedule; staff warned it could reduce the ability to open facilities at full capacity if hires cannot be cleared on time.

What’s next: staff plan targeted recruitment (high schools, active‑adult groups), continued investments in training and monitoring of hiring timelines; the board encouraged staff to engage legislative contacts about administrative fixes.